Winter to Spring in five hours!

Today started very foggy and became lovely and sunny.
All the pictures are full colour.

Some more of my photos can be found on google + by clicking here

A year of being inspired to take a photo a day

Having started on November 1st 2012,

There is a photo for every day,  following the prompts from Fat Mum Slim photo a day.

Some days I used an archive photo but most were taken on the day.

I used my android phone or my canon bridge camera.

Here they are in monthly collages - but first of all this collage, with my highlights. 

The five photos in the middle are pictures selected to feature in the daily 'Fab Four'.

The collages alternate with the monthly prompts. 

Where the collage is in a grid the photos are in chronological order. It may be  a bit more challenging in the other months to link to the photo to the prompts, hey ho!

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013 

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October

Monkey Cinnamon Bread

Monkey bread / cinnamon pull-apart bread

This is not a quick-make!!

Make the dough (I use a bread machine):

or you might choose to get Mr Pillsbury to make yours for you

Ingredients:

·        360ml  / 1 ½ cups           warm water

·        2                                     egg yolks

·        2 tbsp                             melted butter

·        2 tbsp                             salt

·        600g / 3 ¾ cups              Strong white flour (bread flour)

·        2 tsp                               easy bake yeast (dried yeast)

1.      Put the ingredients in to your pan in the order your machine manufacturer suggests (mine go in the order listed).

2.      Use the ‘dough’ programme

3.      Knead it for 5 mins ( I used to skip this but it does make the dough lighter in the end)

4.      leave to rise for 30 mins in a bowl covered in cling film

Putting it all together…

These quantities are approximate as I guess a lot of the time:

·        I tbsp                 cinnamon

·        I cup / 200g       soft brown sugar

·        ¾ cup / 175g     melted butter

·        ½ cup / 50g       icing sugar
(for non UK people I think you call it confectioner’s sugar, it’s a very fine powdery sugar)

Method

1.      Mix the melted butter, cinnamon and sugar

2.      Separate it into 16 and then quarter all of those

3.      Coat all the balls in the buttery, sugary, cinnamon loveliness (it’s messy and takes time but it’s worth it, having a glass of wine next to you and your favourite music playing helps too).

4.      Butter your baking tin – I used an 8 inch square silicone pan  

5.      Arrange your dough balls in two layers.

6.      If you have made your own dough, leave to rise for 30mins until they have doubled in size

7.      Pop them in a pre-heated oven for about 25mins (I take them out when they small right and look right)

8.      Let it cool for a few minutes and turn out onto a serving plate

9.      Drizzle water icing over it – mix icing sugar with a small amount of water

1.   You tear it apart to eat it and don’t worry about the calories