From left: Leeann Stephanie, Shelley, Jo (me), Estelle, Gemma, Ariane (host mama), and Judith
1. How long have you been MamaBaking?
Thursday this week will be our fourth week.
2. How many of you and where?
Eight of us meet over in Whiteman’s Valley, north of Wellington, New Zealand at Ariane’s Café called ‘The Short Straw’.
3. What’s the common bond you all share?
We were all bored with cooking and now we all look forward to MamaBake night just to make something awesome for each of us to enjoy!
4. How does MamaBake improve motherhood for you?
It has got me into a group of wonderful people and it’s got me excited about preparing a meal for not just me! I now offer food to the kids I wouldn’t normally try; sausages & chips was all my cherubs would eat!
5. What are your favourite big batch meals?
So far, the Winter Greens & Cheesy Triangles (available in our Big Batch Basics eCookBook), the Chicken and Vegetable Hand Pies filling is yummo! Couscous Roast Veg Salad with my feta & lemon with olive oil dressing along side the honey glazed chicken drumstics and Pizza Muffins (this recipe can be found in your eKick Off guide when you first joined the MamaBake movement).
6. Why do you MamaBake?
Because it is fun & it’s my ‘me time’.
7. One tip for others thinking about starting or joining a MamaBake group?
Don’t worry if your hubby says no in the beginning because after week one he will be escorting you to the car & waiting up for you when you get home!
8. How did the group get initiated and by who?
By Ariane on Facebook, just posting a status inviting her likers to email her if they were interested in joining a MamaBake group each week for 12 weeks with the choice of a Monday morning or Thursday evening.
9. What did you cook for your first MamaBake?
10. One thing you found challenging?
Sourcing some of the ingredients of the MamaBake big batch recipes like Millet! I contemplated buying the pet treats & harvesting the seeds after trawling through three supermarkets!
11. One thing you were surprised at after your first MamaBake session?
The amount of food we made was incredible for only two hours cooking
12. Anything else you’d like to let the world know about your MamaBake group?
Hello!
I’m one of 8 mamas who meet up at Ariane’s Kitchen, which is a cafe in the countryside. We meet up on a Thursday from 7pm til 9.30pm or later as we have a catch up drink & nibbles. Ariane decided to give MamaBake a go after a friend of hers had noticed MamaBake on Facebook.
We are all from Wellington (Upper & Lower Hutt area), all with kids! We have a mama bus as three of us commute about 15kms along the same road, and meet another mama at the bottom of the Blue Mountains hill before heading over the winding country road to the cafe with no phone or internet coverage!
Ariane’s wisdom organised the MamaBake eCookBook into four stations: salads, stove top, oven based, and baking. It works well & we all help each other finish off or put together. The bonus of a cafe kitchen is that we can use massive stock pots, plenty of sharp knives, the dishwasher takes 30 seconds per wash, there are always plenty of spare ingredients, and fresh coffee!
After three weeks I have honestly never felt more like I was meant to be doing this night! The first week I donated all my big dinners (quiche, lasagne & vege muffins) to a friend who had just got home from hospital. The second week we were so broke and so busy it was great to pull a cooked meal from the fridge or freezer. Last week a friend had no kitchen due to renovations so last night I delivered pumpkin soup, vege scrolls & potato salad to her fridge plus some to another friend with a new broken leg!
