(Oil) Pull My Finger

Photo Source: Fat Girl Kitchen via educatedhomemaker.com

In this great and intricate world, it never ceases to amaze me how things work down to every single detail.  

Recently, there has been a bandwagon that a lot of people are jumping on for oil pulling.  Oil pulling is when you take organic oil - typically coconut for its anti-microbial properties - and swish it around in your mouth for between five-to-twenty minutes and it magically cleans your mouth, heals gum disease, detoxes your body, and whitens your teeth.  Oil.  In your mouth.  OIL......AND IT WORKS.  We were oil pulling in my household before oil pulling was cool.  (IS it cool?)  It cured - yes, CURED - two cavities I had.  Truly a healthy pull.

I've discovered there are a LOT of things that have the 'pull' factor.  Let's take thyme, for example.  (Ain't nobody got THYME fo' dat!) Yes, the herb.  Most people take it from the bottom and pull it from there to get that fragrant lemony and woodsy flavor into their food.  That's already a good pull factor.  Did you know if you hold it from the top and pull, the part of the stick that you can still use and cook will automatically come off?  So this is a win-win pull!

What about pork?  We don't eat a lot of it in my home, so when we do, it's a real treat.  And pork (especially BACON!) is just GOOD.  So what could possibly make pork taste even more delicious?  PULLED pork, of course!  That's a porky pull!

One of my favorite pulls?  Wine cork from the bottle.  Funny how that works.  Now, there has been a time or two when I have had to push that sucker INTO the bottle, but it sure isn't as good.  I had to struggle to get the wine to pour because the cork kept getting in the way, not to mention the tiny bits and pieces of cork I kept sipping into my mouth.  Bleh.  But when pulled, it makes a slight pop-sound (music to my ears), and the aroma of the wine can even be breathed in from the cork itself.  Pure delight of a pull!

Another one of life's great pulls is to pull someone's leg......but only when it's all in good fun and you keep your hands to yourself.  Yankin' yer chain pull.  

If you're among the lucky ones, you can pull strings.  Pulling strings has been done since the dawn of time, and can most definitely be a help in times of need.  This pull means you've actually got "pull"!

But above all pulls, I love and appreciate the finger pull.  I happen to have two boys, a son-in-law, AND The Hubster.  (And not only boys do the finger pull.  The Daughts has been known to make this request a time or two in her younger years!)  I've been asked to pull more fingers than I can shake a stick at.  But whether I ever follow through on the request or not, it's the funny kind of pull that brings a smile to my face, regardless of the end, uh - RESULT.  And that smile is a good thing!  Especially if you participate in the oil pulling - those smiling teeth are bright and shiny!

What kind of pull keeps your mind, body, and spirit in balance in your life?  Whether it’s the kind of pull that helps keep your body healthy, or one that brings a smile to your face for emotional well-being, or perhaps a spiritual pull that you can't (or shouldn't) ignore, life is chocked full of the kind of intricate pulls that won't be pushed around.

The Perfect Blend

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rgarciasuarez74/4012174390/

When I met Adrian, it was clear we had similar "baggage". We both came from a not-so-amicable divorce, we both had children from that previous marriage, and we both were never going to get married again. (Ya see how that worked out, don't ya?)

These days, we live in a society of blended families. It's the norm, really. People never used to be as surprised to hear an older, married couple say they were celebrating their 25th, 40th, or 50th wedding anniversary. Nowadays, it's astonishing just to hear if someone hasn't been divorced at least once. And yep - I'm part of that society.

After we started seeing each other on a serious level (sounds so mature, doesn't it?), we knew that we weren't just seeing each other, but also each other's children. Then, when we got married, we knew we weren't just marrying each other, but becoming part of the parental units the children would share. I am a person of faith, and I can tell you that the moment I accepted Adrian's proposal, I prayed he would be an example of a man that would buy the truth and not sell it; gain wisdom, instruction, and understanding, and then deliver it to our children. I prayed with all my might he would put aside all judgment and generously share with the children his unconditional love he had for me, and that he would have a "Joseph-spirit", (Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, who, in my opinion was the greatest step-father who ever lived).

I prayed he would be the perfect father, and that together we would be the perfect parents.

Um, NO.

Though at the present time I am the richest woman in the world, it has not come without its trials, pitfalls, difficulties, and snags. The process has been less-than-perfect. There have been disagreements, arguments, knock-down-drag-outs, and moments we are less-than-proud of. We have seen illness, death, valleys, and psychiatrists. We have had seasons where we gained friends and family, but also lost friends and family. We have shared in drama, defeat, lost savings; had powerful, emotional lows, and scraped the bottom of life's barrel. And we did it all together.

Don't get me wrong, we have all - Adrian, me, AND the kids - worked at it with all our hearts, and the price of the success we share as a family unit came through that hard work and dedication. Because with all of those things, we have also seen grace, mercy, compassion, and triumph over illness. We have been taught endurance, grown in faith, strength, and perseverance, and learned to trust. We have celebrated the peaks, marriages, each other, life, and love. And we did it all together.

We have a beautiful family, and we are protective of that. We live a charmed life, always enjoying the things that most people don't see right in front of them, and we are joyful and thankful for that. But if it was all taken away from us tomorrow, we would remember that life is a big canvas and we threw all the paint on it we could; we would remember that we made the decision to be a family and commit ourselves to making it a success; we would remember that without the valleys there would be no peaks. We would remember that we were given the gift of being like a unique wine - the gift of being intricately perfected and blended.

Go Bananas!

Photo Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_hat#/media/File:Carmen_Miranda_in_The_Gang%27s_All_Here_trailer_cropped.jpg

I know this is going to come as a shock to anyone reading this so brace yourself: Most people think I'm crazy.  I know, I know - SHOCKING!  Now I don't think that means incapacitated-crazy, or lobotomy-crazy (well, perhaps), but extremely eccentric-crazy, or largely unconventional...and they are right!  Oddly enough, I am very old-fashioned and nostalgic to antiques and history and the things that give them (and me!) character as well.  I know those two things don't always connect, but it's what makes me, me.

With my history comes the fact that I did not grow up affluent; in fact, we were raised to accept and appreciate hand-me-down clothing, sharing a room, and liver and onions for dinner because it was cheap.  My favorite lunch when my parents were out working was to smear ketchup on a piece of bread.  To me, that was a rare delicacy, and even if I was hungry, I would painstakingly chew every bite until it melted in my mouth because it tasted so good.  I suppose I was a foodie before my time!

That history makes up who I am today.  Though I am quite certain my palette is much more refined (organic ketchup on rice bread?), I still have a little panic button if I see that the "staples" of the pantry are dwindling.  I am one of the most frugal people I know.  It is part gift, part skill.  I can shop for all the healthy food that will restock my pantry without paying a mortgage to do so.  And I do.  I also don't like to waste.  Not anything. So I will freeze just about everything; leftovers, bread, tortillas... I don't know if that is the frugal side of me or the unconventional side of me, but either way, it has saved us from a pinch a time or two!

So!  Where is this frugal / unconventional She history lesson headed, you ask?

BANANAS.  Yep.  Bananas.  Not like me-being-crazy bananas, but real, wholesome, packed-full-of-potassium bananas.  Most people love them.  I do.  The downfall of bananas is that they go black QUICK.  Now, that doesn't mean they're bad to eat, necessarily, depending on how mushy or firm you like your banana, but it does mean fruit flies or gnats, or sticky counters or bowls.   Every grocery trip, I buy organic as-green-as-I-can-get-em bananas.  But rest-assured, they turn yellow and then black before we can eat them all.  What to do with the bananas so that the history in me doesn't let them go to waste?

At the risk of sounding like Bubba Gump, there are LOTS of things you can do with bananas!  Banana bread, banana cookies, banana pancakes, banana smoothies.  But the question is: do we want that every day of our lives just to keep the bananas from going South?  Of course not!  The solution?  FREEZE THEM.  That's right.   "She must be crazy" you're saying to yourself.  Well, I established that early on in the post so you can't say I didn't warn you.

I put my bananas in the freezer to keep.  They turn black almost immediately, but trust me, they are still usable for a very long period of time.  I devote the entire top shelf of my freezer to leftover bananas.  They don't go to waste and they are there for healthy, delicious snacks or recipes.  I posted a couple of my favorite below, so if you're a banana-lover, feel free to indulge.  I even included one strictly for serendipitous purposes and the nostalgic sake of the story above - banana ketchup!!

Our past makes us who we are for our future.  My living legacy is as important to me as the one I leave behind; that not only means my faith or how I treat people, but the little things in life that make me rich...REALLY rich.  I don't have to have a lot of money to tell you I'm one of the richest people I know - even if I AM bananas!

THREE-INGREDIENT HEALTHY BANANA COOKIES (quick, easy, healthy and DELICIOUS!)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup of uncooked Old Fashioned Oats
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.  Mix the mashed bananas and oats in a bowl. Fold in the chocolate chips. Using a spoon, scoop up the batter and place on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.

ROASTED BANANAS WITH BROWN SUGAR WALNUT GLAZE (Good for a side dish or a dessert!)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice $
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 large firm ripe bananas
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla frozen yogurt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450°.
• Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl, and set aside.
• Cut bananas in half lengthwise. Place banana halves, cut sides up, on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 4 minutes. Drizzle sugar mixture evenly over banana halves, and sprinkle with toasted walnuts. Bake an additional 3 minutes. Cut each banana piece into thirds crosswise. Serve bananas with frozen yogurt; drizzle with any remaining sugar mixture.

BANANA KETCHUP (I love to baste my chicken with this stuff before grilling!)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion (about 1 small onion)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño from (about 1 small jalapeño)
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large bananas)
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• Water, as needed

Directions:

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have softened. Add garlic, jalapeno, ginger, turmeric, and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in bananas, vinegar, honey, rum, tomato paste, soy sauce, and salt; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.  Transfer ketchup to a food processor or blender (processor is better if you have one) and process until smooth. Thin out with water as needed to reach a ketchup-like consistency. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Step on a Crack

https://www.flickr.com/photos/markjsebastian/3425397343/

We've all heard the expression, right?  “Step on a crack”…you can finish it; I know you can…”break your mother’s back!!”

Though I think that is quite insensitive to the mothers of the world, when it comes to me, if I step on a crack, I usually break SOMETHING.  I have had more broken bones, torn ligaments, fractured whatevers, cracked something-or-others, and ‘itises” of the whatchamacallits than anyone I know.  True story.

It is very difficult to have an opinion these days, especially if you’re me.  I am a bit of a nut-bucket (no secret), and for that reason, people sometimes find it hard to take me seriously.  For instance, when I am touting all the good reasons to be a clean and healthy eater, most people – not all, but most – guffaw at organics or the thought of taking processed foods out of their diets.  (Nice usage of ‘guffaw’, right??)

But I’m here to tell you I have PROOF of what I am posting about today…so keep yer guffaws to yerselves.   (Totally went Cowboy Camp Speak on ya there; sorry)

This guy – we’ll call him Dr. Derek Maxson, since that’s his name – is a chiropractor from another PLANET.  First day, I walked (limped) into his office and I say, “I've got this knee thing.”  By the time I walked out – I WALKED OUT.  No limp! 

Next, I walk in and say, “So I've been running now!  Thanks for fixing my knee!  But I've run myself into a bunion.”  Low-and-behold, bunion gone within minutes.  Another time: “Cough, cough!!”  (That’s me coughing)  I hand him a hand-written note saying I have zero voice, sore throat, ear ache, AND I have to sing the very next morning.  BOOM.  Voice back by the next day after one of those “adjustments”.   AND he adjusted my EAR to fix it.  MY EAR, PEOPLE.

But recently, a diverticulitis and gall bladder attack set me back.  (It’s an epidemic these days, but I've been dealing with this since I was a kid) I mean it was such terrible pain.  I walked in with swelling that made me look five-months pregnant and pain shooting through me all up in my down-below.  (And this is AFTER an emergency-room visit did NOT help me) I did what he asked (some crazy contraption and a different kind of adjustment) and I walked out of there moments – literally MOMENTS – later with no swelling and relief from the pain enough to tend to it from home properly.

Last but certainly not least, I recently had a sweet friend yawn and dislocate his jaw.  Don’t laugh; it COULD happen to you!   It was not only painful, it was scary.  And it was late at night.  But Dr. Derek Maxson (I’m starting to sound like a commercial for him at this point) got up, met my friend at his clinic, and gently and patiently adjusted and healed his jaw. 

I know – not only do I sound like I’m selling you on a pyramid scheme of some sort or trying to get you to buy a time-share, but I’m also making him sound like some sort of weird superhero.  Well Folks, that’s because HE IS.  (Minus the pyramid scheme/time share part!) 

Me telling you all about my chiropractor may sound like quite the little thing in the grand scheme of life.  But I think we MUST enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.  Thank you for helping to keep me well, Derek.  My health is a big thing.  That’s just my opinion.

Trust and adjust!!

Photo Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/perpetualplum/3995213761

CrossingJordan

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

Being a blended family is no easy task.  It’s been done since the dawn of time, though; even in biblical times.  Joseph is probably the world’s best-known and greatest step-dad ever!

Well our blended family dynamic is one we are consistently working on.   As people change and grow, so does the dynamic.  Jordan is our youngest.  He has always been our “quiet one”.  But, just like his dad, though he doesn't have much to say, when he does, it’s funny, crazy, or profound.

I remember showing him how to tie his shoe: “Over, under, around, and through…that’s how Jordan ties his shoe!”  I remember him saying the word shoes in Spanish – “zapatos” – and he would crack me up every time because of how deliberate and intentional he was about it.  I remember him saying he wanted to be a fireman when he grew up so I arranged for a tour of a firehouse – he screamed and cried the entire time, louder than the firetruck!

Once, he came home and said, “I’ve been thinking about what you were going to cook for dinner aaall day!  You’re a good cooker!”

All good memories.  I would be remiss if I told you it’s all been cheese and lollipops, though.  Of course, we have had disagreements.  Of course we have had misunderstandings.  Of course we have had moments of pain, suffering, and disappointment.  But that happens in ANY family.

I am grateful for Jordan.  Without him even knowing it, he has changed my life in so many ways.  Chelsea and Cameron are so outgoing and (booyah!) “in-yo-face”.  I've watched poor Jordan take a back seat to that so many times – but with quiet fortitude and grace.  I've learned that you can scream something to someone in a relationship without ever making a sound because of Jordan.  I've learned that sometimes that’s best.  I've also learned that you can love a child as though they are your very own, even when they are not because of Jordan.  I've learned that a blood relation does not mean unconditional love, but rather unconditional love deepens a relationship.  I've learned, because of Jordan, that there are more than two sides to every story, and that truth is vital.

I spend a lot of time writing blog posts about my family because they've all been strategically placed in my life to continue to form and mold me.  I blog about all the paths these people in my life have crossed and the way it’s made me become She – the way it’s helped me form my living legacy and the legacy I leave behind.  I've written about crossing paths with many different people, but before today, I’ve yet to write about crossing Jordan and the difference he’s made in me.

Who has made a difference in your life that may not get quite the credit they deserve?  Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said; people will forget what you did; but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

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Button Up!

Photo Source: http://www.public-domain-image.com/free-images/objects/sewing-buttons/attachment/sewing-buttons

I have a ton of jewelry.  Some of it is antique or vintage, but most of it is costume, eccentric, and / or tacky.  That’s just how I like it; in fact, that’s who I am – vintage, eccentric, and / or tacky.  I’m 42 and still working on getting better.   

I found myself somewhat frustrated some time ago, because I am a bit obsessive-compulsive and was finding it hard to keep up with all my jewelry pieces, and I like to take care of them. 

At first, The Hubster (we’ll call him Adrian since that’s actually his name), lent a hand.  He, too, is OCD and for his own empathy’s sake wanted to see it organized.  (He ain’t just purty)  He took a piece of his fishing tackle box and cut it down to fit my stand-up jewelry box that didn’t have dividers – just deep drawers.  I put all my earrings in the compartments.  I hung all my necklaces up with adorable hooks and got quirky baskets for all my rings and bracelets, but felt pretty cool about how he had engineered earring compartments. 

But I still found myself hunting and rifling through the partitions he had put together for me.  I could always find one earring and would have to hunt the rest of the compartments for the other because they would somehow split up when I would put them away.  It is like when I am certain I put two socks in the washer, but somehow only one comes out of the dryer!

I always hook my loops together.  My jy-normous earrings I don’t ever have to worry about because I don’t tend to lose them as often – because they’re jy-normous.  But the ones that are posts, or dangly ones without loops to hook one another to…… I had no idea what to do with them.  So I started to clean the jewelry box out in hopes of coming up with an idea as I organized.  At the bottom of the jewelry box, I found a button.  I remember getting an adorable jacket at Goodwill (read back on the post: Goodwill Toward Men) and found an extra button in the pocket.  I remember putting it in the jewelry box thinking I had to find a place for the extra buttons I had, too.  And then……it came to me.  The idea that would take care of stray earrings AND extra buttons!

I took different-sized buttons out of my sewing kit – some people still sew!  I took extra buttons out of Cameron’s room.  I searched the house high and low for anywhere I thought I would find extra buttons.  I had buttons of all sizes, shapes and colors.  It was a button-fest!  The only extra button not being used was my belly button!  And here’s what I did:

These images are © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

So remember: when you think there is no place for something, before you toss it aside, think about what other uses it may hold.  If you feel out-of-sorts and unorganized and find yourself rifling through the day, just stop – compartmentalize, and think about the things that are important; about the ways you can display the friendships of the people in your life so that those relationships can become vintage and well-cared for.  Search high and low for the love you have in your life of all different shapes, sizes, and colors.  And how do you keep them warm in your heart?  Just be sure to BUTTON UP!

Picture Perfect Memories

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Have you ever looked back on a picture and thought to yourself, “WHAT WAS I THINKING??”  I do it ALL the time, unfortunately.

There are some I cringe to look at because I was so young and now I’m so not.

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Ahhh, the days of innocence when the thought of the chemical lighter fluid behind me didn't make me think of eating a carcinogen marshmallow.

There are some that I abhor because I was fat.

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Woo!  And I actually got fatter than THAT!

There are some I look at and am embarrassed because I thought I was all that.

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Well, I WAS all that in this picture, but I’m standing in a Dollar Store posing like that, soooo not really.

There are some I look at and think, “What was I wearing??”

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What??  That cotton puffpaint-suit had matching earrings!

There are some that confuse me because I just don’t know WHAT I was trying to do.

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Uhhh…YEA.

There are some pictures that make me just miss my old eyebrows.

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Brook Shields had NOTHIN’ on me, apparently.

There are some where I realize, the higher and bigger the hair, the higher and bigger the fool.

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I wonder where I was all dressed up to go in my Z Cavaricci pants with the towel so elegantly draped over the window behind me?

There are some that even friends warn you not to show.

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(From Facebook): Hugh Durlam: "WOW. Some pictures are meant to be burned. I'm not sure what the biggest offender in this pic is; The hair, the wine in the jelly jar, or the wood paneling."

‘Nuff said.

Some I just wish for that smooth, collagen-plump baby face back.

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But not the dress.  OR the hair.

Some I’m not even sure are ME.

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Dang it.  It’s me.

And then there are those pictures that are worth a thousand words.

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Or no words at all.  (That one is so bad, that I cropped the other person out of the photo to help them avoid the embarrassment of standing there with me!  You're welcome.)

Yep.  I think we all have a collage of pictures we’re not sure we’d ever have the courage to show.  But I don’t regret one of them.  Nope, not even the puffpaint-suit one.  Each and every one of them contains a memory that has evolved me into the person I am today, and given me the life I now cherish and know is short-lived.

I wish I had a picture for every single moment: the good AND the bad.  It would give me a chance to reflect on what was sweet and savory, and what mistakes helped me learn and gave me wisdom.  I don’t have pictures of the hours I labored to give birth to Cameron and my bff, Sina, wouldn't let me push too early so that he would come into this world with a beautiful and perfectly round head.  I don’t have a photo for the moment I received a call that a good friend died.  I don’t have a photo for the first time Chelsea said, “I love you, Mommy.”  There is no photo I have to represent the very instant I accepted Christ as my Savior and my whole life changed.  I don’t have a photo for the first time I saw Jordan cry and it made my chest feel pinched.  I don’t have a photo to represent the heartaches of broken relationships.  I don’t have a photo of the butterflies in my stomach when I met Adrian and knew he was The One.  But though I don’t have a photo for those things, I have a picture of them.  They’re all in my memory, and they’re all perfect.  So go on and shake your head in revulsion over that photo of you dressed in satin shorts and tube socks with the world’s worst hair cut – but make sure you keep the picture of that memory in the perfect album: Your Heart.

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A Pie To The Face

Photo Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/72006245@N05/6506044479

Back in the days of Vaudeville, and when variety acts and shows were a really big deal, slapstick comedy was a must.  You know, the days when they would use a cane to get you off the stage if they thought you stunk, because it would save you from being pelted with rotten tomatoes.  Back then (and now, really) a pie to the face was FUNNY.  There is actually a name for it: pieing.

For some reason, it was always a coconut cream pie.  This was not considered a waste of a perfectly good coconut cream pie, either, because it was something that brought a smile to your face.  All the great comedians did it: Soupy Sales was the master of it, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, The Three Stooges…heck, Charlie Chaplin even made the first movie that ever had pieing in it, Behind the Screen, in 1916.  Can you believe that??  1916!!

So I think it’s a fair statement that pieing has been around for a while.  I would even venture to say it is part of comedic history.  Why?  Because a coconut cream pie to the face can bring a smile.

Well, I pied my friend.  And I’m proud of it.  Yes, I put a coconut cream pie in her face……and it made her smile.  I baked my special coconut cream pie and delivered it to my friend Kacey and within an hour, I received a phone call.  “This is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth!!  No, all kidding aside, it makes up for everything bad that has ever happened in my life!”  I have to tell you that brought tears of joy to my eyes, because I had baked it with 100% love in the recipe.  (Remember Flat Biscuits?)  It truly was one of the nicest compliments I've ever received – so I guess I’m part of comedic history!

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, I am avoiding being caned off-stage for not sharing the recipe for this pie.  But a word of caution:  love is not listed as one of the ingredients in the recipe - that should just be a given.  There is a secret ingredient that will make the entire pie amazing…but without creating this masterpiece with love, it just won’t taste the same.

Sometimes we may feel as though we’re on the receiving end of pieing.  It can make us feel like rotten tomatoes are being pelted at us.  But remember that some of the greats got pied and made history!  And also remember that being on the receiving end of a pie-to-the-face isn't ALWAYS a bad thing. :-)

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

Coconut Cream Pie-to-the-Face Pie

Ingredients (I use all-organic, but it’s not necessary)

5 cups sweetened flaked coconut

7 tablespoons butter

About 1/2 cup chocolate chips (the secret ingredient!) – I don’t measure, I just cover the entire crust with the chips

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

Additional sweetened flaked coconut, toasted – NECESSARY!

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mist a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Place 3 cups coconut in a bowl. In a pan, melt 5 tablespoons of the butter. Stir butter into coconut until it’s all moistened. Press into the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Bake until crust is deep golden brown, which is usually about 25-to-30 minutes. Check on it often—if edges are browning before the bottom does, cover the edges with foil. Take the crust out of the oven. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot crust and let stand for 5 minutes, until melted. Gently spread chocolate over bottom of crust. Refrigerate crust for 10-to-15 minutes.

2. In a bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla until smooth. Warm milk in a pan over medium heat until nearly simmering, BUT DON’T LET IT BOIL. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot milk into egg mixture (this is called tempering so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs in your pie). Return milk mixture to pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil and thickens enough to coat back of a spoon, which usually takes about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the remaining 2 cups coconut and last 2 tablespoons butter; let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour custard into crust. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against surface of custard, and chill completely, and hour-and-a-half.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over custard, swirling decoratively. Chill pie for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. 

4.  Put it in yer face.  SMILE.

Photo Source: facebook.com/kaceyboagni