Fall Is Here - Want Some Autumnal Ice Cream?

This time of year, the sunny days of summer can seem like a distant memory. The leaves are falling from the trees, the landscape is changing and the daylight hours becoming shorter. So what do you do at this time of year to 'brighten' up the day? Well, of course there's lots to choose from but many people, including myself, turn to the kitchen and see what we can cook up that's new and exciting.

At the moment my family is into Thai food and every week I'm working on a new and appropriate recipe. The essential ingredient in Thai food is coconut. It adds such a creamy and exotic taste to the dishes. If you like coconut then Thai food is for you!

Clearly a lot of people like coconut - my coconut ice cream recipe is one of the most popular downloads on ice-cream-recipes.com. In the last 12 months it has bee viewed times!

So if you long for a taste of summer this time of year, try some homemade coconut ice cream.

National Ice Cream Month & National Ice Cream Day

Last year in July, I wrote about the 24th anniversary of 'National Ice Cream Month'. So this year of course it's going to be the 25th anniversary - a quarter of a century that Americans have officially recognised the importance of celebrating the magic of ice cream!

When you sit down and think about it, you begin to realise that ice cream is not just a treat; it was never going to be a passing fad either but it has become a part of modern culture. For many people ice cream is a symbol of fun, enjoyable summer days and brings back childhood memories chasing after the ice cream truck when it came down the street. I certainly remember that!

Today we have a marvellous rich variety of ice cream flavors to choose from - whether it's from the ice cream truck or whether you make your own homemade ice cream. You might choose a simple vanilla ice cream decorated with a delicious ice cream topping or sauce or you might prefer to try something a little more adventurous such as coconut ice cream. You can even go a step further and try making gelato for the first time. It's easy enough and there are some great, simple gelato recipes you can try out. Always sounds good too when you next meet up with friends and talk about how your gelato worked out - very impressive!

Oh and don't forget - 20 July is National Ice Cream Day this year.