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Jess's Coconut Pudding

This has become my new favorite snack, thanks to Jess's love of coconuts and

nut-rich raw food diet. It's silky and rich in texture, naturally sweet and filling. You can experiment with adding a bit of ground nutmeg or cinnamon or cardamom, or using vanilla extract if you don't have a vanilla bean on hand. I also like to put half aside and blend the remaining half with a little cocoa powder and/or cocoa nibs. It's also delicious to blend about 1/2 cup with about 1 cup brewed green tea for a frothy, nutty hot tea drink. Really, it's wonderful as is; but the pudding can easily act as a base for which to add other flavors.

1 young Thai coconut (water and flesh)

1/2 c soaked raw cashews

1/2 c soaked raw almonds

1/2 vanilla bean (or about a 2 inch piece)

water to cover nuts and bean

At least 30 minutes ahead of time, soak cashews and almonds in water (just enough to cover nuts) in a small bowl. Boil a little bit of water. Place vanilla bean pod in another small bowl and pour about 1/4 c boiling water over it. Allow to steep for about 5 minutes and then slice open and scrape beans into water. Once nuts are soaked, crack open coconut and pour all the water into blender. Scrape coconut flesh out and place in blender. Add the nuts and their water. Discard vanilla bean pod and add water with scrapings to blender. Blend until very smooth. Keep refrigerated.