The other day, I bought two bags of unsweetened shredded coconut and left them in my bag for a few days. They weren't going to spoil, I was sick, and not about to use them immediately, nor was I going out, and anyways, I was lazy. This is how I discovered what could be a major innovation for the tissue industry. If I was industrious, I would sell them my idea, but I'm too busy writing a dissertation right now, so I'll share it with all of you instead: coconut scented tissues. I've never liked the sickly sweet scent of scented tissues, but the gentle coconut perfume suffused mine in a very pleasant fashion.

Today I baked my first coconut macaroons, a chance to try out my new baking toy, a Silpat, otherwise known as a silicon baking mat, designed to be thoroughly non-stick. It looks like a thin sheet of plastic, but is usable in oven temperatures up to just below broiling, and in freezers. Happily, it also washes easily, which meant I didn't have to wait for the baking sheet to cool before transferring the macaroons and doing the next batch. It took me several batches to figure out the right temperature and baking time for the macaroons. I knew our oven ran hot, but perhaps it's running hotter than I thought it was. My next kitchen purchase will be an oven thermometer.