Coconut milk is all that and then some. It is the perfect creamy addition for both sweet and savory dishes.

In our house, we use coconut milk more often with spicy curries and soups and only occasionally in drinks like coquito and sweets like Vietnamese rice pudding (che dau trang).

Growing up, coconut was rarely eaten in our house – except for the shredded version my mom used in desserts or those extremely rare occasions when my dad busted open a hairy, brown coconut. First, he carefully drained the precious coconut water by piercing the coconut eyes (pores) with a hammer and long nail. As youngsters, my little sister and I always lined up for a sip. Then he covered the coconut with a towel and whacked it with the hammer.  And, finally we got to pry at that precious white flesh.

Fresh coconut is still hard to come by, and a bit hit or miss when I find one at the market here in Denver. Thankfully, canned coconut milk is more readily available.

In this Filipino recipe for Ginataang Sitaw Kalabasa, squash and green beans are simmered in coconut milk to create a luscious meal. “Ginataang” (also spelled “ginataan” or “guinataan”) is a Filipino term referring to food cooked with “gata,” the Tagalog word for coconut milk.

My girlfriend Cher turned me onto this dish last fall when her garden was bursting with buttercup squash and the cool weather of the new season was setting in. It’s one of her favorite Filipino dishes that her mamma makes. It’s so good that my husband and I gobbled up three servings each and took home the leftovers. I can be gluttunous – especially where coconut milk is involved.

If you can find buttercup squash use it – please.  As the name suggests, it’s buttery and also a little sweet. Its flavor is not duplicated with other squash varieties. If you can’t find buttercup, substitute with acorn or your favorite squash – your dish will still be delicious. Also note that most traditional recipes for ginataang sitaw kalabasa use long beans, but tender green beans are a good substitute.

This is comfort food, Filipino style.

Tidbits on coconut milk:

1. The coconut tree, cocos nucifer, is considered one of the most useful trees in the world. The long list of uses includes:  food and drink, serving vessels, cooking fuel, textile fibers, thatching/basket materials, timber, medicines and many other useful products.
2. Coconut milk is a thick sweet liquid that is made by pressing water through grated coconut flesh. Do not confuse coconut milk with the naturally occurring opaque liquid derived from the coconut.
3. Canned coconut milk has a fat content ranging from 10 to 25 percent. The higher the percentage means it has more coconut cream and less water, and is also more thick. Pay attention to whether your recipes call for milk or cream.
4. When purchasing coconut milk, opt for those canned versions that do not contain gums or thickeners. Quality canned coconut milk will separate, with the cream rising to the top. Just shake the can before using. Coconut milk is also available in fresh form in the refrigerated section of markets.
5. Refrigerate unused canned coconut milk and use within a few days.

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A few of you have said “grits” (the name) is off-putting.

True, it’s a little rough and abrupt. It doesn’t roll fluidly off the tongue. But, I like it. Just like I dig accents and colloquialisms – Southern included. When I lived in Texas, I couldn’t resist picking up a little twang and using “y’all” and “fixin’s” in my vernacular. It was signature to the South, just like grits.

To no surprise, shrimp and grits is also rooted there – South Carolina in particular. It was referred to as “breakfast shrimp” and was a simple fisherman’s breakfast during shrimping season–usually consisting only of shrimp, grits and salt.

Then along came Bill Neal, a young North Carolina chef whose interpretation of the dish has been described as “one of the signature dishes of the Southern culinary renaissance.”

Neal gussied up the low-country version adding sautéed mushrooms, bacon, garlic and cheese grits. It was a hit. Not really a surprise to me since it has bacon and cheese.

His version has become popularized with a little help from a New York Times review and his Southern cookbooks: Bill Neal’s Southern Cooking; Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie; and Good Old Grits Cookbook. Neal died in 1991, but his shrimp and grits are still a favorite at his former restaurant Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, N.C. For any of you into Southern food, you may also want to check out Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes from a Life in Cooking, another collection of his recipes used at Crook’s, which was published in 2004.

The recipe below is adapted from Neal’s version. I reduced the amount of bacon, increased mushrooms, tweaked the seasonings and used green chile cheese grits for some extra earthiness and depth. It’s relatively easy to make and is fantastic for brunch served with some home-made biscuits. It’s good. So good, my husband puts it in his top 5 recipes on this site.

Also, I wanted to share this quirky, little black and white film about grits that I found while perusing the internet.

Tidbits on Grits:

1. Southerners generally prefer stone-ground grits to the instant version. I found at least one reference to instant grits as “hog slop.”
2. St. George, South Carolina hosts the World Grits Festival.
3. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ga., Quaker (the grits producer) introduced the international audience to grits via its grits campaign.

Sources: Good Old Grits Cookbook by Bill Neal & David Perry; “Some South for Your Mouth,” Duke Magazine.

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