The Birds of Siesta Key Beach, Florida

The USA's #1 beach in 2015 definitely lived up to it title. A beautiful beach with sand made from Quartz meant that it was white and powdery. Quartz also has low heat conductivity allowing for the sand to keep cool, even in the hottest of Florida's weather - it's lovely that your bare feet never have to experience that pain of having to hop along the beach! Despite the practicality, sunsets and all round beauty of the beach, the thing that I've decided to post is the birds.

There are pelicans that frequently dive into the sea as well as countless seagulls and sandpipers. I took many a photo of the animals - here are a few of them:

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Peanut Butter Choux Buns

Choux pastry is famous for being hard to get right but don't let this put you off trying. The key to success is weighing out all your ingredients in advance and make sure they are all ready before you start, because timing is crucial (this includes sifting the flour before you start). Once you've made your pastry you're not restricted to buns you can use a piping bag to make éclairs or profiteroles. Although I personally think that buns are the easiest to make. If peanuts aren't your thing or you want a more traditional choux bun, you can whip double cream until it forms peaks or is at a thick consistency and fill your buns with it. Makes 10-12 buns. Ingredients: For the choux pastry: 25g butter or margarine 125ml milk or water 1/4 tsp sugar 1/8 tsp salt 75g strong plain white flour (sifted before you start) A few drops of vanilla essence 2 eggs (beaten) For the peanut butter cream: 140ml double cream 2 tbsp peanut butter 2 tbsp brown sug...

Raspberry and Passion Fruit Cake

A sweet crowd-pleaser, this cake goes down well - and doesn't even need fresh raspberries. I've adapted a recipe by Lorraine Elliot which looks amazing - I've converted it into a metric recipe. Ingredients For the cakes 215g caster sugar 100g brown sugar 340g butter, at room temp 5 eggs, at room temp 250 ml single cream (I used 1/2 lemon, juiced 400g self raising flour Pinch of salt 2 passion fruits 2 tbsp raspberry jam pink food colouring For the buttercream 250g unsalted butter (soft) 500g icing sugar 2 tbsp milk (or substitute) 2 passion fruits 3 tbsp raspberry jam Extra decor Fresh raspberries Method 1. Preheat the oven to 130 ° C (not a typo). Grease two 20cm/8" round baking tins and line the bases. 2. Cream together the butter and sugars until very pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined each time. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the cream and lemon juice until slightly thicker. 3. Fold ha...

Sunset at Totland Bay

Next to Totland, a village on the Isle of Wight, is the beautiful beach: Totland Bay. I visited in August and stayed in the youth hostel in Totland. I witnessed a couple of breathtaking sunsets and those coupled with a crumbling pier lead to some excellent views:

A Travelling Lens

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