An isolated mother’s day

Words – Salma Shah

Usually on Mother’s Day, I visit my mum and take her out for an extra special lunch.  But this year there will be no visits, no outings, no excuse for that fancy, posh lunch.  The way we interact has drastically changed for now.  

I’m lucky, my children are still young enough to live with me (they have no choice but to put up with my moodiness (I can be nice sometimes!).  

So, we’ll spend the day together, we may cook and bake together, sit around the table and eat together, hey, they may even make me breakfast in bed (hint) and share the pictures that they’ve drawn for me (that I won’t eventually shred (shush)).  

However, as fortunate as I am, I can’t but help but feel uneasy about our elderly mums and grandmums  or even our unwell mums.  They look forward to days like Mother’s Day as our busy lives more often than not include these ‘events’.  

However, it’s ok, there are other ways to connect, let’s make the most of these! We can always do doorstep drop offs, arrange a take out from our favourite restaurants, as many will be functioning as takeaways now and we can eat together over facetime, skype or even a phone call.  We can still share the same stories and enjoy each others company.  Let’s embrace these neoteric methods for now.  

As surreal as it all is, we are living in peace, we have technology and all of this will be over soon. Next year we’ll be back to our old-fashioned ways with a renewed appreciation for ordinariness.  

Recipe featured is ‘Savoury spiced cheese and leek scones’

• – 225g self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of chilli powder (why not throw in some coriander powder and a pinch of turmeric too?! Do it)
• 55g butter
• 80g cheddar
• 1 leek chopped
• About 100ml milk (plus extra for glazing)

Method

• Sift flour and spices and salt in a bowl, rub in butter, then add your cheese and leek
• Pour most of the milk in and work to form a dough, add more milk if required.
• Knead dough then roll out into 2cm thickness
• Cut into rounds
• Place on a floured oven tray, glaze with remaining milk
• Bake for 15 minutes until golden

ENJOY x

Follow Salma @thebillingkitchen