Something local to make Mum's day
Eat, drink and make it local this Mother’s Day.
1
Mum can taste her way through Wanaka, Bannockburn, Cromwell Basin, Bendigo and Gibston Valley with The Central Bunch, a collection of six Central Otago Pinot Noirs all in the same box.
The Central Bunch backstory is that of six friends from different wineries - Burn Cottage, Valli, Prophet’s Rock, Akitu, Quartz Reef and Akarua - getting together (virtually) to chat about the importance of staying connected during this time of Covid-19 and resulting in this simple concept that they hope might contribute to a sense of togetherness and community and to remind one another that we’re all in this together.
The Central Bunch will donate 10 per cent of the sale price of each six-pack purchased to the Otago Community Hospice. Order from the participating wineries’ websites. $363.
2
New season Mons Olympus 3.0 leggings in blackberry/avocado. The warmest of base layers, but they’re so pretty we say wear them out too. $150 from nz.monsroyale.com
3
After the level four hiatus, Bluff oysters are back but they’re in demand. To ensure a Mother’s Day supply you might want to think about ordering through Harbourfish or Fowler Oysters
4
Dinner from Kika at home. Their Just Feed Me box is a four-course meal all prepped, packaged and delivered (if you’re in the Wanaka area, it can also be collected from Kika) for you to heat and serve - wowing her with your plating-up skills, for mum’s dinner. $45 per person. Phone 03 443 6536 to pre order.
If you’re Queenstown-side, wow her with a takeaway dinner from Amisfield or Akarua. In Bannockburn you find something suitably special on the takeaway menus at Carrick and The Bannockburn Hotel Wine Country Restaurant and Bar.
5
Bake her a cake, incorporating the last of the Central Otago stonefruit (or raid the freezer) in this recipe from Morsel (who have parked the food truck up at Rhyme & Reason for level three takeways).
Lemon and almond apricot cake
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus
extra for greasing
190g caster sugar
2 lemons (finely grate the zest to get 2 tsp. then
juice to get 2 Tbsp
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, beaten
90g self-raising flour, sifted (gluten-free flour
works great too)
Pinch salt
110g ground almonds
200g fresh, frozen, preserved or tinned fruit, such
as apricots blueberries, peaches,
blackcurrants, quinces, feijoas or pineapple
70g icing sugar
1 Heat the oven to 180C (fan forced). Grease an 11 x 21cm loaf tin and line with baking paper.
2 Place the butter, sugar, lemon zest, 1 tbsp of the lemon juice and vanilla in the bowl of a free-standing food mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes until light, then lower the speed to medium.
3 Add the eggs in small additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl. The mix may split a little, but don’t worry it’ll come back together.
4 Add the flour, salt and almonds in three additions.
5 Fold in 150g of your chosen fruit by hand and pour into the prepared loaf tin.
6 Bake for 15 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining 50g fruit over the top of the cake. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes until the cake is golden-brown but still uncooked.
7 Cover loosely with foil and continue to bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and cooked. Test by inserting a knife into the middle. It’s ready if it comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside in its tin to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
8 For the icing, put the remaining 1 Tbsp lemon juice into a bowl with the icing sugar and whisk until smooth. Pour over the cake and gently spread out. The fruit on the top of the cake will bleed into the icing a little but don’t worry, this will add to the look.