Easter Weekend - Stay at home

Easter weekend:

The official verdict on our first Easter in Warkworth! Weather Wonderful - Traffic Terrible.

Firstly, make sure you don't have to go anywhere near the Village or god forbid, anywhere north.. I made an attempt on Saturday to get to Matakana Markets and was stuck fast in the Dome Valley for 1/2 an hour and travelled about 3km, I found a driveway to do a U turn and headed home. The queue of traffic was a nightmare, why do people do it? It can't be a new experience, and yet people still do it.
What is it they say about insanity; "Its doing the same thing every time and expecting a different result"

I decided to go into the Village and thankfully the wee Warkworth Market was on, so I rummaged around and made some cool purchases; some home made Grannies' pickle, what is it about Grannie's cooking we all love and miss anyway? I remember going to Granny and Grandads every Sunday for our dinner, what smells, what tastes, I can actually recreated those yummy smells in my mind.

I also bought a butter dish (it was on my list and I actually found one) and a big clip storage jar for flour because we have mice, Finn hears them and tries in vain to squeeze behind the fridge to catch them. The trap does a good job, although I still struggle with killing things.

Remember those cinnamon swirls I was telling you about? well they were yummy yummy yummy... so yummy in fact I'm sharing the recipe and pics with you:

Ingredients

1. 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
2. 2 cups milk
3. 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
4. 6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5. 1 3/4 cups sugar
6. 1 teaspoon salt
7. 1 tablespoon cinnamon
8. 1/4 cup water

1. In a small saucepan, melt 1 stick of the butter in 1 cup of the milk over moderate heat. Remove from the heat and add the remaining 1 cup of milk. Pour this mixture into the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Add the yeast and beat until dissolved. Add the 6 1/4 cups of flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the salt and beat at medium speed until a dough forms.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 1 minute. Lightly oil a large bowl, add the dough and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until the dough has almost doubled in bulk, 40 minutes.
3. Line the bottoms of two 10-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and lightly butter the paper. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll 1 piece into a 12-by-6-inch rectangle
   
   about 1/3 inch thick, with a long edge facing you. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon. Spread 2 tablespoons of the butter on the dough and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch border at one long edge. Roll up the dough jelly roll-style and pinch to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough and cinnamon sugar.
4. Cut each roll into 8 slices. Arrange the slices in the cake pans, cut side up and about 1/2 inch apart. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until the rolls rise slightly, about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the rolls for 30 minutes, or until golden. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar with the water. Simmer over moderately high heat until the sugar dissolves, 2 minutes. Remove the rolls from the oven and generously brush the tops with the hot sugar syrup. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes and serve warm.