At a Snail's Pace

They say that when you're a kid everything goes by so slowly, for the most part I think it is time that seems to drag on the most when you are young. Time, it’s every child’s adversary, especially when birthdays and Christmas only come along once a year and time just feels like it’s dragging along ever so slowly. Days upon days of waiting in eager anticipation for that hallowed day to come, where the prospect of a new bike or plaything awaits you.

But when you get older, it appears as though the opposite happens and it seems that time is just slipping away through our very fingers. It seems to get the better of us no matter what age we are, we can never seem to find the perfect pace for time to pass us by. In difficult times we wish time would make haste and be over with, and then with great moments we wish we could just let time pass unhurriedly, if at all.

Time, as the saying goes certainly flies by. So much so when you get older. But no matter how slowly or hurriedly time passess, it is the waiting that is the most painful thing; especially when it comes to this time of year, when the vestiges of winter are slowly coming away and the hope of spring is looming not to far around the corner. When you begin to impatiently anticipate in groaning expectation, the arrival of spring and it seems that every last bit off winter is trying its best to stay. Like an overstaying guest, these last winter days just seem to be slowly passing by. I don’t know if it is just me, or because I am so eager for spring to come, but these last few days have actually become colder, not warmer. As if Madame Winter were trying to spite me for urging her early departure.

How I wish to see the advent of spring, there is just something about it. Summer has its nostalgia, but spring has its expectation. I don’t know exactly what of, but the expectation of new things perhaps? I am being a little fussy; the weather here has actually been astoundingly genial even for this time of year, yet the arrival of spring still lies ahead. The thought of berries, cherries and asparagus is a cause for excitement. New season means new fruits and vegetables! For a foodie, the turning over of the seasons is like Christmas all over again. The expectation what new things await you at the growers market is enough to cause an aneurism in some people's heads, including mine.

Making these Cinnamon Snails yesterday somehow reminded me of spring; don't ask me why, they just did. The rhyme and reason for my postings, many times at best, have no clear correlations with each other. I will happily talk about shoes and cookies in the same post, or write about girlfriends and then post a recipe for scones. Or the time when I wrote about the consequences of blogging along with a recipe for strawberry friands. Who knows what occurs in this brain of mine, the cerebral gymnastics routine my mind goes through from cookies to shoes, or girlfriends to scones seems to match up somehow in my head. If I haven’t already lost you, here is the recipe for Iced Cinnamon Snails; may you enjoy them whatever season you are in.

Iced Cinnamon Snails
(makes 12)
from this cookbook

DOUGH
2x 7g sachets dried yeast
¼ cup lukewarm water
1 cup milk
125g unsalted butter, cubed
4 cups plain all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
¼ cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup sultanas
80g unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

ICING
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp warm water
½ tsp vanilla essence

For the dough,
Dissolve the yeast in warm water.
Place milk, cubed butter in a medium saucepan and heat until butter is melted.
Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Add sugar (caster) and stir to combine.
Make a well in the centre and add the eggs, and milk and yeast mixtures.
Stir until a smooth dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes, working in extra flour if dough is too sticky.
Add the currants and sultanas at the last two minutes of kneading.
Place the dough into a large lightly floured bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Keep the bowl in a warm area and allow to rise for 30 minutes to an hour. The dough should have doubled in size.
Punch the dough down and on a floured surface roll into a 23 x 60 cm (9 x24 in) rectangle.
Brush generously with melted butter, reserving some for later, and sprinkle some brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.
Roll the dough up, to make a log.
With the seam-side down, cut the roll into 2cm thick slices and place on baking trays 1.5 cam apart.
Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining butter.
Cover loosely and leave to rise until doubled again.
Preheat oven to 180˚C.
Bake rolls for 20-30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes then drizzle with icing.

For the icing,
Dissolve icing sugar in warm water and add vanilla essence in a mixing bowl.
Stir until smooth. Add extra water if the icing is too thick to drizzle.