Customer Reviews

Coconut Cookery

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm disappointed that I can't give this book zero stars, because that's what it deserves. It really is the worst cookbook I have ever read.
I got sick just *reading* the recipes. What was this woman thinking? Here's some examples: Pea Soup Icecream with tinned pea soup and coconut milk; Irish Moss Shake with dried Irish moss, flax seed powder, powdered coconut milk, and sweetened condensed milk; Dulse "Snackerels", which consist of Dulse (seaweed) topped with shredded coconut and shredded cheese!
I could go on, but why bother? Unless you like to mix things like Worchester sauce or aged cheese or tinned soup with coconut, you'll do yourself a favor by avoiding this book.
While the book also pretends to be about "Coconuts & Health", don't expect to learn anything here. The bulk of the chapter consists of two odd-ball stories: one about the author's uncle, who accidentally dumped peas into a fruit salad, and one about her grandfather, who lost his dentures when he sneezed on a beach and they went out to sea. Really!
If you want to good coconut-based recipes, check out a Thai cookbook. These folks have been cooking with coconuts for centuries, and understand the fundamentals about tasty food combining.
If you want to learn more about the healthful properties of coconut, and unprocessed saturated fat, you'd be better off checking out Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions". While she, too, has some strange recipes (most notably for organ meats), there are also a plethora of delicious meals. And Fallon is an excellent writer who probes deeply into the issues concerning what's really healthy, and what's not.

This is the most appalling cookbook I've ever read. MacBean can't write, and she certainly can't cook. The other reviewer is right; this book is filled with absolutely gross food combinations. What made this woman think that canned cream of celery soup would go well with coconut?!?! And what's the point of publishing a cookbook that relies heavily on tinned, premade ingredients? Better to just follow the recipes on the Campbell's soup labels; they are much tastier.
Unfortunately, the writing is actually worse than the recipes. If you can't write and you can't cook, you have no business publishing a cookbook!

YOU JUST HAVE TO LIKE COCONUT TO ENJOY THIS BOOK. THERE ARE A FEW RECIPES THAT DID NOT APPEAL TO US, BUT WE NEVER TRIED THEM, EITHER, SO WHO KNOWS. SOME OF THESE RECIPES CALL FOR COCONUT MILK, SO IF IT SEEMS LIKE REAL COCONUT WOULD NOT BE GOOD, IT WORKS WITH THE MILK. THERE ARE SOME GREAT RECIPES IN THIS BOOK: APPLE SOUP; FUDGE BALLS; MACAROONS; CRANBERRY & APPLE SAUCE; COFFEE ICE CREAM; COCOA CAKE & FESTIVE MARMALADE SWEET POTATOES! AND, MANY MORE. YUM!

yum..........Now if only my kids will be more adventures when it comes to eating coconuts. They are terrific..the smell and the taste are exotic.