A Year at Awakino Station by Jaz Mathisen

In A Year at Awakino Station Jaz Mathisen tells fascinating stories about her life as a modern homesteading mama.

At their historic high country farm in North Otago, she leads a very busy life as the mother of three young girls, the station cook and the gardener.

Being the mum of Ava, Ida and Betsy brings her great joy. She has brought her girls up to be independent. They are resilient and able to amuse themselves for long stretches while they are out in the garden with her. And they love to sit on bales watching the wool handlers at work at shearing time. They are having a great childhood!

Her large garden is her happy place. It is a godsend to have a garden full of fresh produce at hand to provide smoko (morning tea) and lunches for the six full-time workers on Awakino Station who help tend to the fine wool sheep, cattle and deer that roam the 18,500 acres.

She tells how, as the seasons change around them, so too does the farming calendar, and that it is rare to find two days the same.

In spring, the heifers start calving, and then the ewes start lambing. Summer is the time for weaning the lambs, the fawns and the calves from their mothers. As November rolls around, it is time for lamb tailing and the Autumn muster. And in winter, feeding out the silage and baleage, pregnancy scanning and weaning, and shearing must be done. But there is one constant, the farmstead kitchen, the hub of the home. Every day, the shepherds, plus Dan, her husband, who is the station manager, discard their boots at the front door and saunter into the dining room ready to be fed.

Her gardening jobs also follow the rhythm of the seasons. Each season brings its own challenges and rewards, which she describes in great detail, as well as providing lots of practical gardening, harvesting, foraging, and preserving advice, which will be welcomed by anyone in town or country who would like to grow food to feed their families.

I had imagined that without neighbours nearby, she might well feel lonely and isolated at times. But Jaz takes an active part in the nearby Kurow community and always participates in the Kurow Flower and Produce Show. In 2025, she was deemed the champion for her marrow and jar of pickled cucumbers. And somehow this busy mum has also found the time to serve on the committee of her local kindy for eight years.

She shares more than thirty of her tried-and-true recipes for hearty, sustaining, healthy food and some favourite treats. Creating nutritious meals to sustain her family and farm staff is extremely important to her. The meals she creates with lamb, beef, pork, and venison frequently originate on her farm. Here are some which we have tried and love

Throw-It-All-In-Curry with Flatbreads: This is the most popular recipe she has ever shared, so it was a must-try. It is incredibly versatile, as many kinds of meat can be used, as well as chicken or fish. I chose to make it with beef. We all enjoyed the rich, mildly spiced flavour of this curry. A surprising addition to the sauce was a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter.

Marinated rump steak with fresh herb sauce: Rump steak can be tough, but this marinade made it beautifully tender, and the fresh herb sauce added a zesty burst of flavour.

Cheese scones: A good cheese scone recipe is always welcome, and her recipe is especially tasty. I will make it often.

Date loaf: It is the addition of cinnamon which made this easy date loaf deliciously spicy. It freezes well too so I took her advice, doubled the recipe, and froze one for later.

Fruit Sponge: This recipe brought back happy memories of my mother in law’s Sunday dinners. It has stood the test of time and will always be a family favourite.

Herb bombs: There is a profusion of basil in our garden right now, so I have used some of it to make these quick and easy herb bombs to put in the freezer ready to add to pasta sauces in the winter.

A Year at Awakino Station is a beautifully produced book, richly illustrated with mouthwatering photos of her dishes, of Jaz at work in her garden with her daughters helping or playing happily alongside her, and of adorable photos of feeding orphan lambs.

It opened a window for me into what life is like on this high country farm in North Otago, so different from my life in the suburbs. I am filled with admiration for all the hard mahi Jaz does throughout the year with so much passion and enthusiasm. I found it a fascinating and very enjoyable read.

Reviewer: Lyn Potter

Allen & Unwin