I got a GREAT recipe through the GAPShelp list. It claims to be from 'Cocoyo' but I googled 'Cocoyo' and nothing came up. Oh well. Here is the recipe:
5 cups boiling water
3 cups unsweetened dried coconut
1 tablespoon honey
Bring water to a boil. Add coconut and let it simmer. Turn off heat and let it cool to room temperature. Blend in the blender with the honey. Add culture and put in yogurt maker for 8-12 hours. If you use a nondairy starter then this recipe is completely dairy free. It tastes like yogurt, but it is coconutty and good. Also you don't strain the fiber out, but that just improves the texture.
I had heard that milk kefir grains would ferment any nondairy milk substitute, including coconut milk, but had never tried it. But since dairy kefir gives me a stomachache (despite being made from raw milk), I thought I would try making coconut kefir. The result? It takes two days to get nice and sour, but once it gets that way it has a distinct kefir flavor. It seems more sour than the dairy version, but that is to be expected. The fiber is still in there, so it sort of reminds me of sauerkraut. To be honest, it is not the most thrilling thing to eat . . . BUT it doesn't give me a stomachache! Which means the only dairy I am eating is ghee. Which is fine as long as I can have my coconut! While the kefir grains are not busy fermenting coconut, I let them sit in the fridge in milk. Oh, and if you make a batch of the coconut mixture, if you turn it into kefir you will have leftovers, which makes a great milk substitute! FYI: If you strain the fiber out, you will not get much milk because the fiber absorbs water like crazy!
