Inspired by pioneer life

This week Jaz Mathisen opens the door on life as a farmer, mother and station cook on the historic North Otago homestead Awakino Station. She talks to Rebecca Fox about the release of her book A Year at Awakino Station.

It has been eight years since Jaz Mathisen first donned the station cook hat.

Her first child Ava had just been born and she found herself struggling to assist on the North Otago farm Awakino Station she lives on with partner Dan Devine.

Mathisen had always wanted to be a farmer. She grew up on farms in the Wairarapa and Hanmer Springs and studied agriculture at Telford Polytechnic. After graduating she worked on a dairy farm before getting a job on Cleardale, a station in the Rakaia Gorge, where she met her partner-to-be Dan, the stock manager, and developed an interest in stud breeding and genetics, becoming stud manager, something she continued doing when she moved to Awakino.

But becoming a mum changed things, so becoming the station cook on the 7486ha Awakino Station, which is home to fine wool sheep, cattle and deer, allowed her to be at home for her children while also still contributing to farm life.

"It was a huge adjustment from a full-time farmer to a first-time mum, swapping work boots for slippers and a drench gun for a potato peeler."

She still gets out on the farm when she can and rears the orphan lambs and calves as it is something she can do with the children. She now has two more daughters, Ida and Betsy.

"It still gives me that little piece of the life that I did once live, with the constant stock work and that side of things. I love being a mother. I find that a real privilege to be able to be a stay-at-home mum. And it’s about finding ways that you can include the children in the farm life. So when we’re weighing lambs in the sheep yards or something, we might be able to go over and help for an hour or so."

Now her children are older, with two at school, it has produced other challenges as they try to settle into a new routine and juggle after-school activities and sport.

"My main focus is the girls and cooking for the shepherds and then any extras we get to do on the farm is just a bonus really."

Her job as station cook requires her to cook a midday meal for four shepherds plus Dan, a third-generation Awakino farmer, herself and the children. During busier times on the farm, like during lamb-weaning, the number of farm workers can increase to eight. She also fills the cake tins for smoko and delivers that to the workers on the farm.

Mathisen, whose recipes and homesteading tips have a big following on social media, describes her cooking as simple, using seasonal produce, most of it sourced from her own vegetable garden and meat from the farm stashed away in the freezer. The recipes she has included in her book A Year at Awakino Station are some of her tried and true favourites.

Her favourite recipe changes depending on when she is asked.

"Today I put a roast lamb in the oven at 6.30 this morning. And when we came back in after a morning out of the house, that was very, very tasty. And I followed the roast mutton with pan dripping gravy recipe. So today that's my favourite recipe. And it was roast potatoes and all the goodies."

While they work hard on the farm, it is not all work and no play, she says. "We live quite a social life with school, with sports and everything. You’re always out socialising and catching up. And then we’ve got kindy as well on a Tuesday morning. So I think the mums do kindy just as much as the children. We all socialise for the morning and catch up on everyone’s news."

This year they will have two girls playing rugby.

"There might be a bit of washing involved."

Writing the book was squeezed in between all those different tasks, mostly at nights, for a year.

"Every night, I would curl up into my bed with my laptop and just drain my brain of the day’s thoughts. Just type it all down. And some nights, there would be like five lone words typed across the screen. And then other nights, there would be five paragraphs. And I guess every little bit added up."

She was offered the opportunity to write the book after appearing on an episode of the Shepherdess television series and even though she had a 1-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old at the time, decided she could not turn it down.

Writing the book was the enjoyable part; she found but the proof editing, selecting photographs, design and layout to deadlines was a bit more stressful as she juggled the girls and cooking as well.

"Dan was away doing his helicopter licence at that point, too. So I was solo parenting. So that got quite stressful, that part."

She was lucky that photographer Chloe Lodge was living in Kurow.

"It was perfect because I could just ring her up and she could dash up at very short notice to capture all those special moments throughout the farming calendar."

Mathisen’s favourite part of the process was learning about the station’s history. She met Anna Coull (nee Chapman) who grew up on the farm with her five sisters. Now 97 years old and living in Christchurch, Coull told Mathisen stories of growing up on the farm.

"Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era. I love that pioneering lifestyle, even though it’s romanticised. I just loved the history."

It felt special, she says, to put together the family history before the stories disappear with the passing of generations and to be able to provide that for her girls. Dan refused to read the manuscript until the finished book arrived.

"Ava, our eldest, she’s already claimed her copy. It’ll be pretty special to be able to give each of the girls a book about their childhood."

She also hopes the book will inspire other mums with young children and share how she incorporates everything into her life as well as still being involved in farming life, just in a different way than being out on the hills mustering all day.

By taking readers through a year in the life of the farm, she also wanted to show people who may not have experienced farming life to get a sense of what it is like.

"So that they can open the book and it sort of pulls them into Awakino Station."

The Book

A Year at Awakino Station by Jaz Mathisen, photography by Chlöe Lodge, published by Allen & Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand, RRP $45.

Sausage rolls

Sausage rolls have always been one of my favourite morning-smoko options. These can be made ahead and popped in the fridge, or frozen for a later date. If cooking from frozen, add an additional 10min to the cook time.

Prep time 20min

Cook time 30min

Makes 40 small sausage rolls or 12 large

Flaky Pastry

200g plain flour

½ tsp salt

150g cold butter

4-6 Tbsp cold water

Filling

500g pork or beef mince

500g sausage meat, or squeeze the meat out of 6 sausages

1 small onion, grated

1 small apple, grated

1 cup cheese, grated (optional)

½ cup breadcrumbs

¼ cup finely chopped parsley, or 1 Tbsp dried mixed herbs

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp milk

1 egg

sesame seeds or fresh thyme to garnish

Method

For the pastry, weigh the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Grate over the butter and use a knife to quickly mix the butter into the flour. Sprinkle the water over and continue to bring it together. Use clean hands to form the pastry into a ball. You will need to be firm with your hands here and try to not add extra water as this will toughen the pastry. Place the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.

Preheat the oven to 180°C .

Divide the pastry into two even pieces and roll each piece out into a long rectangle, roughly 40cm x 20cm.

In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the mince, sausage meat, onion, apple, cheese if using, breadcrumbs, herbs and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and egg together.

Spoon half of the sausage-roll filling on to each piece of rolled-out pastry, shaping it into an even log shape. Brush the furthest edge of pastry with the egg and milk mixture and, using clean hands, roll up the pastry firmly to create a long sausage roll. Make sure the joined seam is facing down.

Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into even pieces and transfer them to a greased baking tray.

Brush the tops with the remaining egg and milk mixture and sprinkle with the sesame seeds or fresh thyme. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and the pastry is golden brown.

Cooked sausage rolls will last in the fridge for up to 3 days and the freezer for up to 3 months.

Pea and ham soup

With the days shortening and the morning temperatures dropping, a yearning always sets in for a bowl of hearty soup. The old stock pot is pulled out and this deliciously comforting pea and ham soup slowly simmers away all morning.

Prep time 20min

Cook time 3-4hr

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 smoked bacon hock, or a leftover ham bone

3 litres water

2 dried bay leaves

3 cups split green peas, or 2 x 250g packets King Pea and Ham Flavoured Traditional Soup

Mix

1 large onion or leek, diced

2 carrots, diced

4 stalks celery, finely sliced

3 chicken or vegetable Oxo stock cubes (not needed if you are using the dried King Pea and Ham Flavoured Traditional Soup Mix)

Good pinch dried thyme or oregano

½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, plus more to serve

Salt and pepper

Method

Place the hock or ham bone into a large stock pot with the water and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, skimming off and discarding any scum that rises to the surface. Cover and simmer over a low heat for 2 hours, or until the meat is starting to fall of the bone. Remove the bone and meat and set aside on a plate until cool enough to handle.

Discard the skin, fat and bones from the hock (my chickens love pecking at these) and shred the meat. Return the meat back to the pot along with all the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for another 1-2 hours, or until the peas have fully broken down and the vegetables are tender.

Taste and season with salt and pepper and stir through the finely chopped fresh parsley. Serve in bowls with more parsley sprinkled on top.

Notes

• This pea and ham soup freezes well too. Simply allow to cool completely before storing in a sealed container in the freezer for several months.

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Date and walnut loaf

This loaf is packed with tasty dates and crunchy walnuts. It is soft, lightly spiced and utterly irresistible, the perfect accompaniment to a steaming cup of tea or coffee.

Prep time 10min plus cooling time

Cook time 1hr

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

1½ cups dried dates

1 cup water

25g butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups self-raising flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ cup chopped walnuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a loaf pan with baking paper.

In a medium pot add the dates, water and butter. Bring to the boil on the stove top, then turn off the heat. Stir in the baking soda. The mixture will froth up rapidly. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, add the brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract, stirring with a wooden spoon until well combined. Fold in the flour, cinnamon, ginger and walnuts.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour in the centre of the oven, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack.