It's Mother’s Day this Sunday and just because we’re restricted to our homes that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the most important woman in our lives.
Not being able to see my mom daily, even though she lives just 10 minutes away, hasn’t been easy but dankie tog for technology.
We have been staying in touch through video calls, phone calls and entertaining family group chats.
Mother’s Day 2020 won’t see us enjoying brunch at mom’s favourite restaurant, but you can still make the day special.
Sure, nothing beats your mom’s hugs and kisses and seeing her face light up when you present her with her gift, but there are many other ways to show her your love and appreciation.
Food is the solution to many things.
As a mother myself, sleeping late is a luxury that I don’t get to enjoy as often as I would like.
If the woman in your life is an early riser, then give her the gift of sleeping in on Sunday and surprise her with breakfast or brunch in bed with some of her favourites as treats.
If she enjoys the sweeter things in life, gather the laaities and bake her a cake.
Children love messing around in the kitchen and the little ones will have hours of fun decorating and licking out the empty bak, giving mom a well-deserved break.
And for the Muslim moms who are fasting, a special Mother’s Day boeka will certainly steal her heart.
If you still don’t have a gift but you also don’t have krag for the shops, then make her a homemade prezzie.
One gift I look forward to every year is the handmade cards from crèche - my fridge is vol geplak van hulle.
Since the start of the lockdown, mense have been doing drive-by baby showers and birthday parties, so why not extend it to Mother’s Day too?
For those of us who don’t live with mom, but still want to spoil her while keeping your social distance, do a drive-by and surprise her with a gift and a dish made with love.
Happy Mother Day to all our Daily Voice moms!
Recipes:
Classic South African Bobotie
Recipe: Zinaschke Steyn
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
1 piece of white bread
250 ml milk
2 tbsp olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tbsp garlic & ginger paste
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp medium strength curry powder
1 tbsp garam masala
500 g mince
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp apricot chutney
1 tbsp white vinegar
60 ml raisins (optional)
2 eggs
3 bay leaves
Rice and chutney to serve
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Soak the bread in the milk.
3. Fry the onions in a little bit of oil until translucent
4. Add the carrots, green pepper, garlic and ginger, salt, sugar and all of the spices and fry for a minute or two.
5. Add the mince and fry until browned. Take another sip of The Beautiful Lady.
6. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread (keep the left-over milk aside for later).
7. Break the bread apart and add to the mince along with the tomato paste, chutney, vinegar and raisins.
8. Simmer for 15 minutes.
9. Remove from the stove and transfer to a small oven-proof dish.
10. Stir together the remaining milk and eggs and pour over the mince. Empty your glass and pour another one.
11. Top with bay leaves and bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes, until the topping is set and just browned.
12. Serve with rice and chutney, and of course, The Beautiful Lady!
Classic South African Bobotie
Bean and beef casserole
Cooking from the heart
Serving Size
Serves 6
Ingredients
250 ml dried white beans
10 ml olive or canola oil
750 g stewing beef on the bone, cut into cubes, and excess fat removed
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks with the leaves, thinly sliced
4 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
15 ml grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
20 ml dried mixed herbs
4 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
½ tsp salt
1 l strong Rooibos tea
3 ripe tomatoes, cubed
300 g cauliflower, cut into florets
2 large spinach leaves, cut into strips
lemon juice and black pepper to taste
45 ml chopped fresh parsley
Method
1. Place beans in a large bowl and cover with 3 cups (750 ml) cold water. Soak overnight, drain and rinse.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot and fry meat until brown. Spoon out.
3. Fry onions, celery and carrots in the pot for a few minutes. Add ginger, garlic, dried herbs, cloves and bay leaves and fry for another few minutes.
4. Add the beans, meat, salt and tea and stir through. Simmer with a lid for 1½-2 hours or until the meat and beans are cooked.
5. Stir in the tomatoes, cauliflower and spinach and simmer with a lid for 15-20 minutes or until just cooked. Add more tea, if necessary. Season with lemon juice and pepper and stir in the parsley.
Serve with a green salad or lightly cooked green veggies, if preferred. The beans and veggies provide enough carbs and this casserole does not have to be served on another starch – perfect when you need to manage the carbs in your meals.
Tips:
1. If you are short on time, use tinned beans. Cook the meat and veggies as above, without the beans. Add 1 x 410 g tin butter beans, drained in step 5.
2. Make sure that you cut the meat into small cubes, so that it cooks in the same time as the beans.
3. Note that the carb key is close to the range of 'bowl 2'. See page 30 for more detail on the carb key.
* Allow for soaking time
Bean and beef casserole
Mushroom & Cheese Scones
Makes 12-15
Ingredients:
500g portabellini mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil, for frying
450g flour, plus extra for dusting
6 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp mustard powder
100g cold butter, grated
250g mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 bunch chives, finely sliced
125ml cold milk
125ml cold water
1 egg, beaten with a tiny splash of milk
Method:
Preheat oven to 220˚C.
Line a large baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry the mushrooms in batches until golden brown and they have released all their moisture. Season.
Remove mushrooms from heat and spread out in a single layer onto some paper towel. Cover with another layer of paper towel and gently squeeze any excess moisture out.
Place flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and mustard powder into a large mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined.
Rub the butter into the dry mixture using your fingertips until it resembles wet sand.
Add in the cooked mushrooms and toss well so that they are evenly coated with flour.
Add in most of the cheese, reserving a scant handful to top the scones. Add in the chives, and stir to combine. Pour in the milk and water and mix until the dough just comes away from the edge of the bowl. Tip on to a very lightly floured surface and bring the dough together into a rectangle pressing it gently together and never kneading or overmixing it.
Cut out scones with a fluted cutter. Press excess together gently, avoiding overmixing
BREKKIE IN BED: Mushroom & Cheese Scones
Double Mushroom Omelette
SA Mushroom's Association
Serves 4
Ingredients:
500g mixed mushrooms (e.g white button & portabellini), sliced
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, diced
½ cup fresh peas
8 XL free-range eggs
4 tsp butter
100g feta cheese
½ lemon
Micro herbs for serving
Salt and pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Method
:
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until golden brown. Remove a large spoonful of mushrooms and set these aside for mixing into the eggs.
To the remaining mushrooms- stir in shallot and garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add asparagus and cook for 1-2 minutes until tender crisp. Stir through peas until just cooked. Remove pan from heat, set filling aside and keep warm.
Whisk eggs in a large bowl, 2 at a time. Add some of the reserved cooked mushrooms.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil and 1 tsp butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour in the egg and mushroom mixture and swirl to coat base. Season the eggs. Cook omelette for 1-2 minutes or until just set.
Add a quarter of the warm filling to the one side. Crumble over a quarter of the feta and give everything a little squeeze of lemon juice. Close the omelette and carefully slide onto a plate.
Repeat with remaining eggs to make 4 omelettes.
BREKKIE IN BED: The double mushroom omelette is delicious
SASKO SPICED CINNAMON ROLLS
Ingredients
For the cinnamon rolls:
5 cups SASKO Self-raising Wheat Flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups milk
8 tbsp butter, melted, divided
¾ cup sugar, divided
1 tbsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ginger powder
1 tsp salt
For the glaze:
2 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Grease a rectangular oven proof dish with non-stick spray or butter and set aside.
3. To make the filling, mix ½ cup of the sugar and the cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
4. To make the dough, place SASKO Self-raising Wheat Flour and the remaining ¼ cup sugar in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the milk and 4 tbsp of the melted butter and mix with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
5. Transfer the dough onto a surface dusted with SASKO Self-raising Wheat Flour and knead until the dough is smooth.
6. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape with a dusted rolling pin until it is about 1 – 2 centimeters thick.
7. Brush 2 tbsp of the melted butter onto the dough and sprinkle the spiced sugar mixture evenly over the top, leaving a border of about 3 centimeters.
8. Roll the dough into a long log and pinch the seam together at the top.
9. Cut the dough into about 15 pieces.
10. Arrange the pieces with the cut-side up in the baking dish and brush the tops with the remaining 2 tbsp of melted butter.
11. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown and puffed up.
12. In the meantime, make the glaze by whisking together the icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a bowl. Set aside.
13. As soon as the cinnamon rolls are removed from the oven and it has cooled down, drizzle the glaze over the top.