Made this tonight and it was loved by all. A great recipe for summer as it doesn't heat up your house--no baking, and it goes together really quick! I've adapted the "Coconut Chocolate Dream Pie" recipe from allrecipes.com.

Chocolate Coconut Dream Pie
1/2 c flaked coconut
1/2 c rice milk (could sub other milk)
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips--overfull
1 T maple syrup
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/8 t almond extract
1 10-oz. pkg. silken tofu (I used Mori-Nu lite firm)
1 graham cracker crust (I used ready-made)

In pot over medium heat, toast coconut. (Watch carefully and stir often, this happens quick). Remove from heat, scoop out 1-2 Tbsp coconut which can be used to decorate the top of the pie when serving. Stir in rice milk, then chocolate chips, put back over medium-low heat until chips have melted. (This happens quick too, and the chocolate sauce will look a bit lumpy with the toasted coconut in).

Separately, put tofu, extracts, and syrup in blender. Puree. Add melted chocolate mix. Puree well. (There will be little bits of coconut in, giving a bit of texture to the pie--I whizzed about 3-4 minutes). Pour into graham crust and refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours. Serve chilled, sprinkled with reserved coconut if desired. (Here, adults desired, kids didn't.) :-)

Daegan’s class, for 6-8 year olds, was considerably more advanced, with a fairly long script that had the kids memorizing lines. (Gareth’s class had very short lines to learn; the bulk of the story was narrated by the teacher and the kids simply acted out the story). Here, the story was “The Principal’s New Clothes”, a take-off on “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, but set in a school. Daegan played the role of “Roger, the smartest boy in school.” I LOVED what the instructor did to work with the kids’ strengths; for example, in Daegan’s script at one point his line was: “Mr. Bundy [the principal], did you know….(mentions several interesting facts about dinosaurs)”, which Daegan had no problem filling in in his “Little Professor” way. Jim got a chuckle out of other parents in the audience murmuring, “Wow! What a long line he memorized.” LOL! I also asked Daegan how he felt about playing a school kid (we homeschool), and he said, “It’s just pretend, Mom!” This not-corresponding-to-reality is the kind of thing that Daegan would flip out about when he was younger, so this was wonderful to hear. Yay for drama!

Daegan was very proud of himself for his performance. While he was kind of bouncy from nerves and excitement (this was the first time he had ever performed for an audience), he remembered ALL his lines without needing prompts or the script! And I was pleased that he said his lines loud enough for the audience to hear—for the first stage of drama, remembering what you are supposed to say, when you are supposed to say it, and saying it loud enough for all to hear is SUPER! And Daegan loved, loved, LOVED this class—both he and Gareth have asked to be signed up for more drama classes in the fall. Here’s some pics:

The same weekend we went to Drumheller for Daegan’s birthday, both boys had their final performances from their drama classes—Gareth on Friday, Daegan on Saturday. It was a busy time! Gareth took a class called “Lions, Tigers and Bears am I” which combined visual arts and drama. One class an art instructor took them and the kids created the sets and costumes; next class a drama instructor helped them create their play and rehearse—back and forth for the 8-10 weeks. Gareth LOVED it! In their play, the kids were different animal characters, who went on a quest through different regions (water, underground, forest, volcano) to find the 4 pieces of a treasure map. Once they found the map, they found the treasure chest—filled with chocolate coins! Here’s some pics (hover your mouse over for details):