The perfect food for a hot day

Caramel Semifreddo.


It's an Italian frozen dessert, much like ice cream but in my opinion a lot easier to make. Very much appreciated on such a hot day like today :)

I got this particular recipe from Donna Hay, and for anyone who likes caramel I highly recommend you give it a go, it's delish! I forgot to buy pecans so I didn't make the salted maple pecans, although I can imagine they would match perfectly, after all salted caramel is a match made in heaven:


http://www.donnahay.com.au/CatalogueRetrieve.aspx?ProductID=2560990&A=SearchResult&SearchID=2035835&ObjectID=2560990&ObjectType=27


I've got my eye on a raspberry and nougat semifreddo recipe for Christmas (although knowing me I'll change my menu many times over until it's just right :p)

Fresh bread anyone?

Recently I've been paying careful attention to amount of salt that is in packaged and processed foods, and the long story short is - we are eating WAY too much salt in our daily diets.

 I was surprised to discover that most breads contain a ridiculous amount of salt. So with this in mind, I've been endeavoring to make my own bread, not to mention reduce the amount of packaged and processed foods in my daily diet.


This has been a very rewarding project and while the thought of kneading dough can appear a cumbersome process, it is actually quiet therapeutic and once you get the knack of it, the task gets easier to do.

One important tip I can provide is to make sure you use a strong '00' flour, usually referred to as bread or pizza flour. If you use regular flour, the bread can turn out doughy in the middle.

Thus far I've cooked a cob loaf and focaccia, all with minimal salt and using a good quality organic flour. The smell of baking bread whafting through the house is well worth it.