Hi there, I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been massive. While I don’t write too much here about what I do, I’ll use the words; COVID-19, winter infection planning, Japanese encephalitis, floods, and Ukraine. One of the blessings of my job is diversity. I love my job and the people with whom I work. While there is always some work on weekends, I hope the people I work with won’t be overwhelmed with the volume of work they need to manage.
A few people who read the blog have mentioned from time to time a desire to see if I can write about a meal that doesn’t have meat (including bacon or speck).
I’m not the most imaginative cook. I like routine because it’s easy to live a life that way. Living alone also means there is no need for sophistication in my cooking. I think of myself as an elementary cook. My gadgets make cooking more manageable and exciting, but I’m a simple soul with simple tastes.
I was chatting with my girlfriend, who also suggested I consider some meat-free options on the blog. In my mind, the most leisurely and most delicious meal to make with enough to keep me going for a few meals is soup. I mentioned bacon a couple of paragraphs above because I often add some bacon to what may essentially be a vegetable soup. So the challenge for me this weekend is not to add meat to any meal.
Pestle and coffee tamper
Ingredients
Kent pumpkin
Crème gold washed potato
White onion
Root ginger (noun not verb)
Vegetable oil
Iodised salt
Vegetable stock
Coconut cream
Laksa paste
Lemongrass stalks
Coriander
Jalapeño sourdough bread
Lime juice
Olive oil based butter substitute to spread on the bread with plant sterols to allegedly lower serum cholesterol
Instructions
Turn on the oven and set the temperature to 180 °C (fan forced).
With a large Chinese meat cleaver, cut the pumpkin and potato into rough chunks. If your meat cleaver isn’t sharp, sharpen it first. There’s nothing like the feel of a cleaver in hand. If you don’t have one and can afford one, a Chinese meat cleaver also makes a fantastic pizza cutter, especially if it has a curved blade.
Pour a little vegetable oil into the palm of your non-dominant hand and then rub your hands a little so you can rib some oil over the surfaces of the pumpkin and spud chunks, including the skin.
Season the spuds and pumpkin with some salt, rubbing the salt over the surfaces.
Put the pumpkin and potato onto a lubricated baking sheet and cook in the oven until the flesh is soft and if you poke the skin it breaks apart.
Pour some vegetable oil into a large saucepan and turn on the heat.
Cut an onion into quarters and put them into the saucepan and begin the long patient process of caramelising the onions.
Keep gently sautéing the onions until the have turned the colour you lust after. Keep moving them to avoid the onions from sticking to the base of the saucepan.
When the roasted and caramelised pumpkin and potato are ready add them to the saucepan over the onions and then add some vegetable stock. Use your favourite spatula to rub out the fond which has formed on the stainless steel base of the saucepan.
Add a generous tablespoon of laksa paste and a couple of bruised lemongrass stalks. Add the root ginger too. If you’re at a loss for how to bruise the lemongrass, I’d suggest using a heavy stone pestle or a heavy stainless steel coffee tamper. I’ve included a photo for you to see. I basically give the lemongrass stalks a good whack up and down the shaft.
Simmer the soup so the watery stock reduces.
Pour in a tin of coconut cream and chopped roots, stalks, and leaves of a bunch of coriander.
When everything looks like it’s been incorporated and well mixed and thickening like the consistency of thicken cream turn off the heat, remove the lemongrass stalks, and use a stick blender to process the soup. Towards the end squeeze in some lime juice for a little sourness.
With a bread knife, cut a thick slice of jalapeño sourdough bread and spread some of the “fake butter” on it.
Ladle some soup in a bowl and serve with the bread.
Give thanks to the LORD for the food as well as all the great things in life like friends, work, and family.
Enjoy the soup with a spoon and soaked up in that bread.
How was the meal?
The soup and the bread were good. I’m a happy camper. I’m also excited because my youngest child turns 21 this week.
Final thoughts
Do you like soup? Do you ever add Asian flavours to ingredients which traditionally aren’t Asian?
How has your week been? I hope it’s been fulsome and full of joy.
Do you like coriander? I heard a YouTube cook call coriander “Satan’s lettuce”. My Mum doesn’t like it and I have a few friends who also thinks it tastes soapy.
What are you planning to make next week? I’m thinking of nude wonton soup.
Pumpkin soup with jalapeño breadPumpkin soup with jalapeño breadPumpkin soup with jalapeño bread
Prawn scallop and speck fried cauliflower rice after a relaxing Saturday at home
Prawn scallop and speck fried cauliflower rice
Today was the first day since the long weekend that I’ve been able to work from home and not go into the office. I did dial into a teleconference but I got stuff done. The grocery shopping was relaxing. A walk to the shops for a coffee was relaxing. Watching some TV was relaxing.
Dedicated to a friend who gave me moments of light hearted joy during the week.
Frying cauliflower rice, mushroom, prawns, scallops, speck, and spring onions.Continue reading →
I spent the weekend in Brisbane to visit my family. It was lovely to be somewhere where the weather was warm and moist. This week, on Thursday, Canberra experienced a maximum daytime temperature of 38 °C (100.4 °F). I don’t like hot weather. I like warm weather. It was also dry. I don’t like dry weather, I like moist, humid, sultry, muggy weather. I like to sweat while not doing anything. I like sitting down and have beads of sweat form on my forehead and other parts of my body and move with gravity to a pool of sweat somewhere on the floor. When I got home after work, I closed all the windows and doors and turned on a humidifier.
Flying from Canberra to Brisbane
My flight from Canberra (CBR) to Brisbane (BNE) was delayed at both ends. With all the bush fires, the east coast had been affected by thick smoke haze and Sydney was also being affected by storms. That meant Sydney airport (SYD) was closed for parts of Friday so flights had been diverted to CBR and BNE. The departure from CBR was only slightly delayed; about 20 minutes. The arrival into BNE was okay but because of all the diversions, no aerobridges were available for docking so the aircraft I was in sat on the tarmac in BNE for close to half an hour.
Cafe 63 Westfield Chermside
After arriving in Brisbane on Friday evening, I went out and enjoyed a light meal at Cafe 63 at Westfield Chermside. I had a plate of pulled lamb shank meat with some sweet potato chips, mushrooms, and gravy. It was a pretty good meal.
It was good to catch up with Mum and Dad and my daughters this weekend. It’s always good to see them and hear what is happening in their lives in a bit more depth. I mean, we tend to send each other text messages each day, we chat on the telephone each week, and I can video call my daughters too. It’s not as good as being in person and hearing what has been happening.
Ivy & Lark Westfield Chermside
On Saturday morning I ate breakfast at Ivy & Lark in Westfield Chermside. I had the “Ivy & Lark Breakfast Bowl” which was a whole heap of spinach leaves with lean thick cut bacon, two poached eggs, about a tablespoon of smashed avocado, and lots of halved cherry tomatoes. It also came with a couple of slices of sourdough bread which had been toasted. Everything tasted great but it was awkward cutting bacon in a bowl. The toasted sourdough bread was also tough. I really needed a serrated steak knife for the bread.
After breakfast, I sat down with Dad and watched some of the test match (cricket for those not familiar with sport of the former British Empire) between Australia and Pakistan which was being played at The Gabba. I’ve lost interest in watching cricket, the players no longer hold any fascination for me. When Michael Clarke became captain and cricket became more about the dramas of his personal life rather than the sport I lost interest. I mean, Ricky Ponting was also a bit dramatic off field too but not as much as Clarke. The players of that era to the present day have been more about drama and less about cricket so my reason for sitting down with Dad was enjoying his enjoyment of watching cricket on TV.
Sandgate Fishmonger
Lunch was at the Sandgate Fishmonger and there were six of us so we got the family pack (four pieces of fish, four potato scallops, a serve of crumbed calamari, and a serve of chips) plus some extra battered fish, more potato scallops, and I got myself a pineapple fritter. The fish wasn’t as good as it usually is, and the chips could have been cooked a bit longer. That said, the potato scallops were nice and the pineapple fritter was delicious.
Battered fish, Potato scallop, and a Pineapple fritter from Sandgate fishmonger
Battered fish, Potato scallop, and a Pineapple fritter from Sandgate fishmonger
Battered fish, Potato scallop, and a Pineapple fritter from Sandgate fishmonger
Battered fish, Potato scallop, and a Pineapple fritter from Sandgate fishmonger
Check out the comments on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
I posted photographs of what I ate on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and got some great interaction from people mostly on Facebook and Twitter. There was lots of confirmation from Queenslanders on Twitter that the correct term is “potato scallop” and not “potato cake”. There were also questions about the pineapple fritter which is a pineapple ring covered in doughnut batter, deep fried, and covered in sugar. I mean, what could be better. It’s even vegetarian.
I spent Saturday afternoon chatting with Mum, Dad, and one of my daughters while we sat with the cricket on TV.
Dad’s pickled daikon radish
I also got to try some of Dad’s pickled daikon radish. There’s a story to this…
A few months ago, I’d mentioned to Mum and Dad I was enjoying daikon radish (Chinese white radish) in salads. Dad thought I might like pickled daikon so he made some for me. At about 9.30 am on Saturday without any warning he went to the refrigerator, pulled out a jar, went to the top drawer and got a fork and then headed them to me and said, “Here Gary, I made you some pickled daikon radish. Try it.”
I was taken aback. I’d just finished eating the Ivy & Lark Breakfast Bowl and I normally don’t eat pickles in the morning. I think I may have hurt Dad’s feelings. I made sure mid-afternoon I went to the refrigerator and got the jar of pickles and tried the pickled daikon. Dad could see what I was up to and before I opened the jar both he and Mum warned me that it has a pungent odour. Geez, they weren’t wrong. Not only did it smell like someone had farted in my mouth it was also really spicy. Dad had used a few Birdseye chillies to make the pickles. I also learnt on Sunday that Dad hadn’t pasteurised the bottle. If this is my last post, you’ll know why.
The pickled daikon did taste good. The after taste did linger though.
On Saturday evening we went to Little Singapore in Westfield Chermside. It’s a relatively new restaurant in the newish food precinct in Westfield Chermside. It’s popular. We had a reservation for 6 pm and there was a queue to get a table when we arrived. I was pretty relieved to have a reservation as we were shown to a nice booth which had one side opened to the outside so we could people-watch the queuing crowd trying to get a table.
For an entrée we had chicken satay sticks, some prawn wontons, and some pot sticker dumplings. For a main meal, I had Marmite Pork Ribs. I think it would have worked with Vegemite too.
Chicken satay at Little Singapore Westfield Chermside
Prawn wonton at Little Singapore Westfield Chermside
Pot sticker dumplings at Little Singapore Westfield Chermside
Chicken Satay, Pot sticker dumpling, and Prawn wonton
Marmite pork ribs at Little Singapore Westfield Chermside
After dinner, we had a gelato. I had a chocolate mint brownie gelato in a small cup.
Choc Mint Brownie gelato
Saturday evening was spent watching The Lion King on TV.
Sleeping in Brisbane is always a double edged sword. The weather was really pleasant. I could just sleep uncovered in the ambient temperature. However, the lack of a CPAP mask meant there was snoring. That meant waking up with a sore throat and a feeling that sleep could have been better.
Farm House Kedron
Sunday morning was an early start at the Farm House, Kedron. I had a Farm House Breakfast which was sourdough toasted bread, some fatty bacon, poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce, and tomato relish.
Farm House Kedron Farm House Breakfast with bacon, poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce, relish, and sourdough bread
The rest of the morning, consisted of chatting and watching more cricket and actually enjoying the notion that Pakistan may be defeated by Australia. Australia seems to fair badly to teams from the Indian, Pakistan, and Sri Lankan region. I miss the glory days of Jeff Thompson and Denis Lillie bowling, Marsh keeping wicket, and Doug Walters being the larrikin we could all admire.
The flight back to Canberra was uneventful. The flight was packed. I’m guessing parliament is sitting this week. It’s usually the reason why my BNE to CBR flight on a Sunday is packed like a can of sardines.
What else happened this week?
Mezzalira Ristorante Canberra
I went to Mezzalira Ristorante in Canberra on Wednesday night. A friend from Darwin was in town so we went to dinner. I had the suckling pork.
Suckling Pig Mezzalira Restaurant
Why Darwin is better than Canberra
It was good to catch up with a friend from Darwin and get the latest news of what is happening. I really miss living in Darwin. There are lots of similarities between Darwin and Canberra. Both have really very friendly people. Both exist in territories and not states. Both are unicameral with only a single house of government and no house of review. Both are small with low population density. Both are reasonably cosmopolitan with a significantly diverse population. Both have a focus on Indigenous Australians. Both have no traffic. Both have a public hospital of the same Canadian design because the Whitlam government seemingly had no idea. The difference that makes all the difference to me is that Darwin is subequatorial and is positioned on the beach. The surf is only decent during a tropical cyclone, but at least it does have surf. Darwin’s position means it is humid even in the dry season. Whenever I visit Darwin, my heart is filled with joy. Darwin will always be special to me. Two of my daughters were born there. It really is heaven on earth. If I didn’t love my job, I’d happily move back.
Okay, so not the usual post this week. I’ll probably be back to normal programming next week.
So, if you’ve been following on in My Thoughts and Stuff I’ve been making efforts to lose weight. I’ve stopped eating bread, pasta and rice. Mum and Dad told me they recently made wonton for a dinner party and it gave me a real hunger for wonton. The problem is the wrapping. So I thought my best compromise would be to make nude wonton. Just to be clear, making nude wonton doesn’t require me to be unclothed while making it!
This is basically wonton soup without the wrapping. I also cooked some hairy melon in some chicken stock. I know Mum makes her stock from scratch but life's too short for all that mucking around.
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Australian, Chinese
Servings: 1
Calories: 500kcal
Author: Gary
Ingredients
500gPork mince
30mLBlack bean sauce
500gRaw banana prawns
30mLSoy sauce
10mLSesame oil
2teaspoonsSugar
2teaspoonsSalt
1teaspoonWhite Pepper
1teaspoonBlack pepper
⅓cupScotch whisky
2tablespoonsCornflour
2Eggsbeated
1Spring onionsliced finely
1canWater chestnutschopped roughly
Instructions
Remove the skin from the pork rashers, cut into pieces and then mince in my Tupperware® FusionMaster mincer
You can use a food processor or an old-fashioned mincer if you have one
Peel the raw banana prawns and mince some with the pork and cut into small pieces the rest
Keep the prawn heads and shells for stock or put them in a communal rubbish bin so all your neighbours can share the joy of prawn waste in the warm weather for days on end
Wash and peel your hairy melon and then slice
Handle your hairy melon gently
Slap the pork into a bowl a few times (my Mum reckons this makes a difference)
If you're not used to slapping your pork, ask someone who does it regularly
Combine everything (including the whisky) and slap around again (again Mum reckons this is helpful)
Yep, keep slapping your pork
Shape into balls
Make the balls the size you like
Prepare a stock, preferably with pork bones, e.g., ribs and green Asian vegetables, preferably nice hairy melons
Cook for about five minutes per batch
Serve with some of the stock in a bowl
Serve with Chilli sauce and soy
Shoot lots of photographs
Eat with a big smile on your face
Do the dishes
Write a blog post
Recipe Notes
This is a delicious meal and you'll have enough leftover for steamed pork loaf the following day.
[social_warfare]
Photographs
The finished meal in a bowl
Nude wonton and hairy melon
Photo gallery
This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one of the thumbnails and then scroll through and view each photograph so you can see the steps I took to cook this meal.
Hairy melon
Hairy melon peeled
Hairy melon sliced
Hairy melon slices
Pork rashers
Raw banana prawns
Peeled raw banana prawns
Tupperware® FusionMaster Mincer
Tupperware® FusionMaster Mincer and minced pork and prawns
Tupperware® FusionMaster Mincer and minced pork and prawns
Minced pork and prawns
Sliced water chestnuts
Chopped water chestnuts
Nude wonton ready for mixing
Cooking nude wonton and hairy melon
Cooking nude wonton and hairy melon
Nude wonton and hairy melon
[social_warfare]
Questions and answers
How is the weight loss going?
So far I’ve lost nearly 2 kilograms. It’s been okay so far. I need to continue along this path. I know I tend to eat more on weekends, I just need to be careful.
Is nude wonton as good as clothed wonton?
Well, in my opinion, yes it is. As much as it’s nice to slurp noodles and wrapped wontons, this way I can eat as many as normal but without feeling bloated and full afterwards.
What else can you do with the leftover wonton filling?
You can steam it which is what I will do tomorrow night. Ordinarily, I would eat it with rice but I’ll wrap it in lettuce leaves and enjoy it that way.
How do you prepare hairy melons?
I peeled a nice handful sized hairy melon and cut it into 1 cm thick slices. I simply added the hairy melon slices to the boiling stock. If you’ve never savoured a nice hairy melon I suggest you try one or two.
Could you cook nude wonton while being nude?
Yes, but you need to be careful. There’s a lot of knife work and a lot of boiling water. You don’t want to injure your delicate bits.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
Cookie Policy
