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Kangaroo Island

Posted by Gary

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Dear Reader,

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week. I’m now back in Canberra after spending nine nights in South Australia visiting Kathleen. Last week, it was Kathleen’s birthday. It was her daughter’s birthday this week and we went out for dinner. We also visited Kangaroo Island and spent three nights there.

How is the foot?

What’s happened this week?

The good news is that being away in South Australia did me good and my foot and knee while weak and limited feel good.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager

One of the amazing things about Kathleen is that she understands my enjoyment of Star Trek. There were times when we watched some Star Trek together and times when I watched while Kathleen was doing something else.

Restaurant reviews

The Meat and Wine Co

We went with Kathleen’s daughter out to dinner at the Meat and Wine Co. in Adelaide’s central business district.

It is a restaurant which features a lot of beef. The restaurant also does two different types of dry-aged steak. One is done the traditional way, and the other is butter dry-aged.

I went with a bone-in scotch fillet steak, which was traditionally dry-aged. It was a very nice piece of steak.

Kathleen decided to have chicken breast for dinner.

Dry-aged beef at The Meat & Wine Co.
I gnawed the rib
Chicken breast at The Meat & Wine Co.

Penneshaw Pub

View from Penneshaw Pub

We arrived on Kangaroo Island on Tuesday and on arrival enjoyed lunch at the Penneshaw Pub.

We shared six oysters. Kathleen enjoyed some rare tuna and I had some lovely lamb cutlets.

Tuna at Penneshaw Pub
Lamb cutlets at Penneshaw Pub
Oysters at Penneshaw Pub

For dinner, we called around a few places and couldn’t get a table so we returned to the pub for our evening meal.

Kathleen had crispy skin salmon while I had a T-bone steak. We shared another six oysters too.

I decided to make my meal a reef and beef.

Oysters at Penneshaw Pub
Salmon at Penneshaw Pub
T-bone steak at Penneshaw Pub
T-bone steak and oysters at Penneshaw Pub

The house we stayed in had a fully equipped kitchen with both a wood stove and oven plus a gas stove and oven.

This meant I could scramble eggs in butter each morning for breakfast.

Kangaroo Island Fresh Seafoods

We spent the morning in Kingscote and decided to try some fish at Kangaroo Island Fresh Seafoods. This place it collocated with a servo (that’s Australian slang for petrol station). We both asked for flathead fillets. Mainly, because we knew that flathead being a cartilaginous fish like a shark or a ray wouldn’t have bones.

The flat head was okay. I had mine grilled while Kathleen’s was crumbed. Unfortunately, the fryer the restaurant uses for battered fish wasn’t working.

Crumbed Flathead fillets grilled from Kangaroo Island Fish and seafood
Flathead fillets grilled from Kangaroo Island Fish and seafood

Drakes steaks

For dinner we bought some scotch fillet steaks from Drakes. Drakes is a local independent supermarket in South Australia. The steaks looked great in the packaging and cooked nicely that evening. We also bought some blue cheese and goat cheese and enjoyed it with the steak.

Scotch fillet steak

The Oyster Farm Shop

On Thursday lunch was a seafood platter (also known as the Aquaplatter) from the oyster farm shop in American River.

The term aquaplatter niggled my brain because aqua normally refers to fresh water while marine normally refers to sea water.

The platter had oysters, prawns from Port Lincoln, King George whiting, smoked salmon wings, pippis in butter and garlic, plus some condiments.

The platter was okay to good. It was the first time Kathleen and I have eaten pippis. I’m not convinced I’d have them again.

We were told the oyster season finished that Thursday, so we were pleased to enjoy the last of the oysters.

Aquaplatter at the Oyster Farm Shop American River

Reflections Mecure Kangaroo Island Lodge

There was a Mecure Hotel near where we were staying and we decided to have dinner that the hotel’s restaurant on Thursday night.

This was partly because at dusk, kangaroos were likely to be out and about. On the Tuesday night we’d seen a large roo hop across the road in front of us as we were driving to Penneshaw.

Kathleen is an experienced and expert driver in regional and remote areas. Experience and expertise also mean, don’t put yourself at increased risk if you can avoid it.

Kathleen enjoyed the Lamb Rogan Josh, while I thought the rump steak was okay.

Lamb Rogan Josh at Reflections Mecure Kangaroo Island Lodge
Rump steak at Reflections Mecure Kangaroo Island Lodge

Fat Beagle Coffee Shop

On Friday morning, Kathleen enjoyed brunch at the Fat Beagle Coffee Shop. She enjoyed the breakfast hot dog which featured sriracha sauce and jalapeño peppers. Kathleen also had the vanilla slice which she said was possibly the best she’s ever had.

One of the best things about Kathleen is her love for a vanilla slice which equals my love for them too.

View of Port of Pelicans
View from Penneshaw Pub
Baudin Beach Kangaroo Island

Kathleen’s Kitchen

On Friday, we took the ferry home to Cape Jervis and drove back to Adelaide. Kathleen had purchased tickets for a show at the Adelaide Fringe. Prior to the show, we needed to eat, so Kathleen put some beef short rib fingers into her pressure cooker, and we enjoyed a plate of beef rib meat, cheese, cream cheese, pâté, and avocado, plus some butter.

Beef short rib

The show that Kathleen took me to was very funny.

Final thoughts

  • It was a fabulous holiday. The best ever.
  • I even slept better than I have in years. I was able to get between five and six hours most nights while I was away.
  • Holidaying with Kathleen is awesome.
  • If you don’t have someone Kathleen, it’s still worth visiting Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.
  • While the food was mostly good, I think Kangaroo Island is less food destination and more for the flora, fauna, and environment.
Kangaroos on Kangaroo Island

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

Baudin Beach Kangaroo Island

Pulled pork and leek pie with four cheeses sauce

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I was chatting with a friend last night and mentioned I was thinking of making a pulled pork sausage roll tonight. As the idea developed, the cylinder of joy grew into a pie to accommodate all the extra ingredients I wanted to add.

I’m using the pork leftover from a slab of belly pork I cooked last weekend. I’m also using the adjective “pulled” euphemistically. The pork is so soft and friable, all I need to do to separate the muscle bundles is gently heat the pork in a skillet and, with a wooden spoon, poke and jab at my meat to break it up.

Ordinarily, to “pull” your meat, you’d use your fingers to prise apart the muscle bundles gently. While it’s fun to finger pull your pork, it can get tedious.

Pork belly
Female pork belly naked and ready for heat

Ingredients

  • Cooked pork belly (“pulled”) and cooked black peppercorns
  • Udder delight blue cheese (crumbled)
  • Gruyèye cheese (grated)
  • Gouda cheese (grated)
  • Swiss cheese (grated)
  • Plain flour
  • Butter
  • Full cream milk
  • Leek (sliced)
  • Fennel (diced)
  • Red onion (finely sliced)
  • Celery (thick-cut slices)
  • Puff pastry (bought and not homemade because I’m too lazy)

Instructions

  1. Remove the pork belly and peppercorns from the refrigerator. You may remember this was cooked in a pressure cooker for an hour with master stock. The peppercorns will give every mouthful a bit of a kick.
  2. Place the pork into a skillet and gently heat the meat on low heat. Wait until the pork softens to the consistency of an overripe banana.
  3. With a wooden spoon, gently poke and prod the pork to break up the muscle bundles and, with a twisting motion, flatten out the meat in the skillet.
  4. Set aside the “pulled” pork and keep it warm.
  5. Make a roux with equal parts (by weight) of flour and butter. The easiest way is to gently melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook for three minutes. Add in the milk slowly until you have a smooth slurry consistency.
  6. While the white sauce is on a gentle heat, begin to add in the cheeses and stir until you have a thick gooey sauce.
  7. Turn off the heat and mix in the meat, celery, leeks, red onion, and fennel. I like adding the raw vegetables at this stage, so in the finished pie, I can feel the texture of the vegetables rather than the vegetables being cooked mush.
  8. Take some butter and wipe it over the inside surface of an oven-proof dish. I like to use the tips of my fingers for this because it’s nice feeling the slipperiness of the butter on my fingers, and then I can lick the butter off. 
  9. Layer a sheet of the thawed puff pastry into the pie dish and then gently spoon in the pie mixture. Add some spinach leaves for some extra vegetation and iron.
  10. With another sheet of puff pastry, make a lid to the pie.
  11. Melt a little butter with microwave radiation and brush over the surface of the pie.
  12. Cook the pie in a moderately hot oven until the pie crust is golden and flaky.
  13. Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool a little to avoid palatial blistering. The last thing I want is my buccal mucosa being scalded and lifting off the basement membrane.
  14. Slice through the pastry with a large metal spoon, penetrate the pie, scoop out a large portion, and put it in a shallow bowl.
  15. Next to the pie, add a large spoonful of steamed baby green peas and corn.
  16. Drown the peas and corn with some instant gravy.
  17. There is no need for a knife when eating this meal. I think the best utensil might be a splade. 
  18. Give thanks to God for His blessings, and then tuck in.

This week in review

It’s been a fabulous week. Work has been crazy busy, and we achieved some extraordinary things. Apart from work, though, I feel thrilled with life. 

This morning my friends from bible study had a brunch. I brought some vanilla slices from Dobinsons, and when I left, look what I received? A gift of some lovely Three Mills Bakery mince pies, luscious strawberries, and fresh cherries. 

  • Dobinsons Vanilla Slice
  • Dobinsons Vanilla Slice
  • Strawberries and cCherries, and a Three Mills Bakery mince pie

Final thoughts

  1. How do you usually pull your meat?
  2. How many cheeses are too many for a pie?
  3. Is mouthfeel necessary for your oral enjoyment?
  4. Do you lick your fingers?
  • Pork belly
    Female pork belly naked and ready for heat
  • Celery, leek, fennel, and red onion
  • Gruyère, Gouda, Swiss, and Udder Delight Blue cheeses
  • Pulled pork pie filling
  • Pulled pork pie filling and puff pastry
  • Pulled pork pie with cheese sauce out of the oven
  • Pulled pork and cheese sauce pie with peas and corn drowned in gravy
  • Pulled pork and cheese sauce pie with peas and corn drowned in gravy
  • Strawberries and cCherries, and a Three Mills Bakery mince pie
  • Dobinsons Vanilla Slice
  • Dobinsons Vanilla Slice

Holiday in Adelaide

Posted by Gary

Hello reader,

I recently enjoyed a brief holiday with Kathleen—a few days in Adelaide (also known as the city of churches). We have been exploring unfamiliar eateries in our respective cities, along with the usual tried and tested favourites.

I’m not going to go through every meal we enjoyed because there were so many bites to eat and because while each moment was special, I doubt you’ll find them all interesting to read. 

These are the highlights.

Veneziano Coffee Adelaide

While this is a coffee-focused shop, it was two of the pastry treats which grabbed my attention. The first was an apple and custard Danish, which was delectably light and airy, yet rich and buttery with plush custard and delicately spiced apple. The pastry was firm yet biteable. It was delicious. The second was a cinnamon scroll that wasn’t like those awful oversweet franchise creations. The scroll was delicate and flaky, with a nice balance of cinnamon and sugar. 

The River Torrens café

From the Winter Feast menu, we enjoyed:

House-made focaccia with hummus 

A tapas board with 1. Lamb shank croquette with minted peas; 2. Salt and pepper squid; and 3. crostini, mushroom pâté, and ricotta.

For main meals, we selected the free-range chicken with chermoula rub, fennel and yoghurt, and the crab linguini with a rosé sauce, tomato, and mild chilli.

House-made Petit Four cinnamon rolled ricotta doughnut with Davidson plum jelly.

Upon arrival we were promptly attended and shown to a window table overlooking the Torrens River and Adelaide city. Soon after ordering drinks the charred light and soft focaccia arrived, finishing the scene for a lovely meal. The tapas board was a good appetite stimulant for the main courses. I also enjoyed the pasta and some of the chicken, especially the skin from the chicken thigh. Kathleen said the chicken was perfectly cooked. We didn’t need to ask for dessert because the doughnut and Davidson plum rounded out the meal perfectly. We both enjoyed a cup of tea to help with our digestion.

Vietnam House – Pho and Bread Rolls

This place was so good we ate there twice over two days. Over the two meals, we enjoyed:

  • Chilli lemongrass chicken Bánh mì
  • Pork crackling Bánh mì
  • Vietnamese coffee
  • Tofu and vegetables vermicelli noodle salad
  • Young coconut juice

The Bánh mì were very good. The bread roll crust was crunchy outside, and the bread was pillowy soft. The vegetables were crispy. The chilli was hot, but the heat lasted only about five minutes after savouring the last bite. While the chicken was probably the better sandwich, I’ll always choose pork over chicken if given a choice.

Vietnamese coffee is sublime. Should all my coffee be made with condensed milk?

Lemongrass chicken and chilli Bánh mì from Vietnam House
Pork crackling and chilli Bánh mì from Vietnam House

MEATER™ made lamb shoulder roll

One of the treats was cooking a small roast. We used a MEATER™ wireless meat thermometer to cook the lamb roast, accompanied by baby green peas, potato mash and gravy.

It was a simple, relatively cheap meal and most enjoyable.

Bakery on O’Connell

This place is an institution in Adelaide. It trades all day, apart from a couple of weeks around Christmas and New Year.

We bought an apricot turnover and a vanilla slice. Both were delicious, and I’m happy to recommend their coffee.

Apricot Turnover from Bakery on O’Connell

Last supper in Adelaide

Our last dinner was phenomenal. We’d been grocery shopping and bought some cheeses, lavosh bread, rye sourdough, quince paste, and an apple. The highlight was a La Vera pancetta wrapped camembert. This product which I’ve never seen in Canberra, also includes some thyme and garlic. The wrapped cheese is prepared in an oven for about 15 minutes until the pancetta is brown and the cheese starts to ooze.

We also had a few slices of the leftover lamb shoulder which we cut and ate with the various elements.

The blue cheese was a La Vera product called Adel-Blue. This has a compelling creamy funkiness. 

Pancetta wrapped camembert cheese and rye sourdough roll
Pancetta wrapped camembert cheese and rye sourdough roll
Pancetta wrapped camembert cheese
Pancetta wrapped camembert cheese and rye sourdough roll with Adel-Blue cheese, lamb, olives, quince paste, apple, and lavosh

Final thoughts

It was a marvellous holiday, and I enjoyed seeing more of Adelaide. I’ll be back as soon as I can.

Eating in Adelaide

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

There wasn’t a post last weekend. I was with my girlfriend in Adelaide. I did a little cooking, but nothing I want to post about. Instead, I’ll share some thoughts on what we ate when we went out.

Adelaide Zoo Pelicans

Adelaide Central Markets

On Saturday, we went looking around the central markets at lunchtime. The Central Markets in Adelaide are a must-see. There is a good diversity of outlets with something to suit everyone, including those who have specific dietary needs.

I suggested laksa, but I should have gone with the suggestion to enjoy an Italian meal. The laksa was okay, but it could have been spicier. Why is it that I seem to be wearing a white shirt when I feel like eating laksa? Yes, I soiled my shirt while slurping noodles from my chopsticks. You can’t take me anywhere! We went for a combination laksa with chicken, pork, beef, seafood surprise, and prawns. We decided to eat our bowls of coconut creamy noodles and meat outside a vegan laksa outlet. It wasn’t until after we sat down that I noticed how wrong my choice of seating was. Sorry vegans 🫤

We both have a fondness for cheese, and the cheese shop in the markets didn’t disappoint when we asked for suggestions for a hard, soft, and blue cheese. The blue was a Roquefort, the hard was a cheddar, and the soft was a creamy brie. We enjoyed eating some cheese late that afternoon with some lavosh bread. We also had some Beerenberg fig and pomegranate, perfect with blue cheese.

Locavore

On Sunday, we enjoyed lunch at Locavore in Stirling in the Adelaide Hills. The restaurant is known for using produce sourced locally.

While the menu online (Summer menu when accessed on Wednesday, 20 April 2022) differs from what we read on Sunday, the online menu is a good reckoning of what we had to choose from. We started with a dozen oysters (natural), which came with a south-east Asian inspired sauce and wedges of lime. The oysters were plump and fresh. It’s been ages since either of us has enjoyed oysters, so this was a treat.

We shared a piece of pork belly with sweet potato mash, bok choi, and a delicious relish for one of the main course dishes. The second main we shared was fresh gnocchi with a lamb ragout. We also enjoyed a side of rocket leaves, blue cheese, pear, and red onion.

We were seated in the middle of the ground floor dining area. The restaurant also has a mezzanine, or maybe it’s better to call it an upper floor. The restrooms are located up there, and when I went to use the toilet, I noticed the upstairs area was quieter and set for slightly larger tables. There are also outdoor tables too if you prefer that.

The service was quick, friendly, and attentive. We didn’t have to wait too long for our meals to arrive. As we scanned around the room, some patrons looked like regular customers. I’m guessing some of them lived in the area. The conversations with the waitstaff were chatty and friendly.

The drive into the Adelaide Hills is delightful, with some nicely curved roads and terrific scenery. I kept my eyes on the trees, looking for koalas.

If you’re going to be in the Adelaide Hills and need a place for lunch, check out Locavore. I don’t think you’d be disappointed.

Bakery on O’Connell

On Monday afternoon, I was treated to a delicious vanilla slice. Regular readers will know my fondness for this classic Australian pastry.

The walk-in traffic of this place is high. This is an excellent sign for high-quality pastries and coffee. I wasn’t disappointed. We also tried a Nutella heart which was good. Next time, I want to try the apple turnover. I have it on good authority; it’s incredible. I’m also keen to try a genuine Adelaide pie floater.

The company, coffee, and cake, aka the 3Cs, were perfect, in my opinion.

This place is open all the time, every day and all day (and night), including public holidays. Suppose I had completed my training and resident years in Adelaide. This would be the perfect hangout for after late shift dinner and breakfast after night shifts. I can also see myself turning up at 6 am for coffee and a cake before a day shift. The only time Bakery on O’Connell is closed: Christmas eve to just after new year’s day. Perhaps this is when it’s best not to be in Adelaide! 😆

Prezzo Italian Ristorante and Wood Fired Pizza

After some sightseeing, including the museum and art gallery, we felt like eating pizza, so we headed to Hutt Street and stopped at Prezzo.

Check out the review I wrote on Google Maps; it describes how we enjoyed a good pizza and hot chips. I’d eat at Prezzo again.

Muratti Cakes and Gateaux

On Tuesday morning, we went to another patisserie for morning tea. Along with a delicious coffee, we enjoyed a subtle tasting pistachio slice (Three layers of flourless almond and chocolate brownie, layers of pistachio mousse and milk chocolate mousse dusted with pistachio) and a delightfully tart, passion framboise tart (passionfruit mousse and raspberry jam in a butter pastry shell garnished with fresh raspberries). The savoury offerings also look good. I want to go back and try these.

Where are the food photos?

No food photos for this post. I didn’t shoot many pictures at all. We went to the Adelaide Zöological Gardens and saw the pandas and many other animals. The two species I did capture were some pelicans and a lovely cassowary. When we saw the feet on the cassowary, we did wonder what they might taste like as a yum cha meal. 😉

Final thoughts

I loved the time I spent in Adelaide. I’ll be back.

Adelaide Zoo Cassowary

My first pizza dough

Posted by Gary
The Yummy Lummy Cooking for one podcast
The Yummy Lummy Cooking for one podcast
My first pizza dough
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This post describes my first pizza 🍕 dough. I can’t tell you how many pizzas I’ve eaten in 55 years. I’ve never made one though. I remember as a young man I could eat whole large pizzas with ease. I loved eating a pizza on my own or with friends. I happily ate pizzas with all sorts of toppings so long as there was cheese.

My first pizza crusts. Do you eat the crusts of your pizza? 🍕
My first pizza crusts. Do you eat the crusts of your pizza? 🍕

Dedicated to GC who tempts me out of my comfort zone. I even bought a rolling pin today.

🇮🇹 🇮🇹. 🇮🇹
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