Sony

Finishing February in Food

Finishing February with much the same routine

Regular readers will know my routine. I’m one of those people who handles life better if I don’t have to think too much about things that shouldn’t require a lot of thought. So I like routines and finishing February was no different.

Before I get to the food, though, it was an odd week where I mentioned a dream about my maternal grandfather and then I shared a little about my family history

Monday and Tuesday evenings mean what for Yummy Lummy?

I hope you answered salmon!

Crispy skin pan-fried salmon with Hass avocado and beetroot coleslaw dressed with aioli Gary Lum
Crispy skin pan-fried salmon with Hass avocado and beetroot coleslaw dressed with aioli
Crispy skin pan-fried salmon with aioli and smoked cheddar cheese Gary Lum
Crispy skin pan-fried salmon with aioli and smoked cheddar cheese

Please do me a favour

I think I’ve managed to work out how to use e-mail lists for sending post notifications and newsletters. I’d love it if you would sign up using the ‘form’ in the side bar (if you’re using a laptop or desktop) or at the bottom of the post (if you’re using a mobile device).

By subscribing you’ll receive a personalised e-mail from me and from time to time, apart from the blog post I’ll share something new, like my ideas for a cook book sometime this year.

Wednesday means chicken

Before I get to the chicken, Wednesday lunch meant Burger Wednesday at Urban Bean Espresso Bar and I enjoyed the Korean barbecue beef bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) burger with chips and aioli. 

#Humpday burger. Korean BBQ beef bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) with Asian slaw, aioli and UB chips Gary Lum
#Humpday burger. Korean BBQ beef bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) with Asian slaw, aioli and UB chips

I posted a status update on Wednesday afternoon that Wednesday meant chicken tonight and of course, I received comments that included references to the jar of stuff called “chicken tonight” which I’ve never used.

Hump day roast chicken wings on Coon cheesy bread with avocado, vegetables and lime zest Gary Lum
Hump day roast chicken wings on Coon cheesy bread with avocado, vegetables and lime zest
Vanilla ice cream with mint flake Gary Lum
Vanilla ice cream with mint flake

Thursday was all about hot and spicy Spam

Before I get to the Spam, for lunch because it was pay day I enjoyed the SHISH special from Urban Bean Espresso Bar. It was delicious.

#payday S H I S H - P L A T E TIME Braised lamb, Greek pitta bread, Greek salad with a garlic tahini sauce on the lamb Gary Lum
#payday S H I S H – P L A T E TIME
Braised lamb, Greek pitta bread, Greek salad with a garlic tahini sauce on the lamb

I had half a tin of hot and spicy Spam left in the refrigerator and it needed to be eaten because I was going to spend the weekend in Brisbane. Some people would say unkindly that it wouldn’t matter because Spam can’t go off, but I’d like to remind the haters that Spam is food, it contains meat from the porcine shoulder as well as ham.

Hot and spicy pay day Spam with Coon cheese noodles and vegetables Gary Lum
Hot and spicy pay day Spam with Coon cheese noodles and vegetables

Friday was a cooking-free night

I was spending the weekend in Brisbane with my parents and daughters so Friday night’s dinner was on QF1554. It was a chicken and rice dish.

Chicken salad and rice Gary Lum
Chicken salad and rice

Of course, I spent Friday at the Canberra Hospital and for lunch, I had this dish which I think maybe a quiche but it could be called something else. It contained asparagus, mushroom, rice, cheese and egg. You could carve it.

Rice, egg, asparagus, mushroom, and cheese slice Gary Lum
Rice, egg, asparagus, mushroom, and cheese slice

Saturday lunch and dinner

I had a big day in food on Saturday. I took my youngest two daughters to Sandgate for fish and chips.

Larissa and Nicola with fish and chips at Sandgate Gary Lum Gary with fish and chips at Sandgate Gary Lum

I took everyone out to dinner on Saturday night to Hog’s Breath Café at Aspley to celebrate my youngest daughter turning sixteen.

Pork ribs with prime rib and mashed potato and pepper sauce at Hog’s Breath Café, Aspley
Coconut birthday cake Gary Lum
Coconut birthday cake

Sunday breakfast meant that I completed all the food groups in a weekend

So, if we count Friday night, I’ve eaten chicken, fish, calamari, beef (steak) and pork (ribs) so far.

For breakfast, Mum and Dad cooked a bacon (pork again) omelet and some lamb chops plus some scones. So that’s all five food groups in a weekend.

Lamb chops with bacon eggs and scones

How did I cope?

I think I need to fast for a while.

Final thoughts

This coming week will break my routine so strictly speaking I won’t be finishing February with my routine. I’m interstate on Monday, going out on Tuesday night and Wednesday is senate additional estimates hearings. Who knows what I’ll be eating on Wednesday.

Hopefully, I’ll be back to normal next week.

Bacon, tomato, avocado and cheese sandwich Gary Lum
Bacon, tomato, avocado and cheese sandwich

Can you do me another favour please

I’m sort of transitioning my blogging to balance between food blogging and light hearted ‘medical’ podcasting. Please check out the podcast at drgarylum.com/blog

You can also subscribe via iTunes and Stitcher

 

Chicken wings and duck fat roast sweet potato

Chicken wings and duck fat roast sweet potato made quickly and easily. Just check out the video. 

If you’re interested in something different, check out my podcast at my other blog, if you listen to podcasts via iTunes you can get Medical Fun Facts there. 

Making a simple salmon and avocado sandwich

Making a simple salmon and avocado sandwich is so easy.  Just check out the video.  

If you’re interested in something different, check out my podcast at my other blog, if you listen to podcasts via iTunes you can get Medical Fun Facts there. 

Fun food on the Sandgate mudflats at low tide

It’s been a quiet week. Last weekend I was down with a head cold, you know, ManFlu. I ended up working from home on Monday because I was really congested and coughing badly. I’m still coughing but at least I feel okay in my head.

Work was busy with a heap of small or medium sized tasks that just had to be done. Wednesday though was a bad one. Wednesday morning, I woke up at 1 am with something on my mind and I just couldn’t get back to sleep. Coupled with the head cold it meant I felt like a zombie while I was at work. I suppose it doesn’t matter in the scheme of things because Wednesday’s productivity across the globe was probably down slightly because it coincided with the US presidential election. Yummy Lummy isn’t a place for political commentary so all I’ll say is that I made sure I had a nice meal while I was watching the television reporting of the results including the victory and concession speeches.


I’d like to put in a plug for my new podcasting venture. Please check out Medical Fun Facts at https://drgarylum.com/blog/


The highlight for me this week was flying to Brisbane on Friday night and spending the weekend with my daughters and my parents.

The flight from Canberra to Brisbane started well. I got a seat in the exit row and had a meal of meatballs and mashed potato.

2016-11-11_19-00-51_015_gary_lum 2016-11-11_19-17-27_014_gary_lum

Meatballs with mashed potato
Meatballs with mashed potato

On landing the doors opened and a wave of humidity travelled backwards and hugged me like a child runs up to greet you at an airport and grabs you around your legs. Best feeling in the world!

Ms19 was working Friday night so after arriving at my parents’ place I suggested to Miss15 that we go see Ms19 and get ice cream. Ms21 couldn’t join us, so it was just me and Miss15.

I had a nice caramel condensed milk ice cream with a Ferrero Rocher crushed into it.

Caramel condensed milk with Ferrero Rocher
Caramel condensed milk with Ferrero Rocher

After a pretty crappy sleep (I don’t travel with my CPAP machine) we went and had breakfast at The Groove Train in Chermside.

I had a nice granola which I think did something to really stimulate my gastrocolic reflex because my irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) went crazy. It’s a good thing I was close to a clean toilet.

2016-11-12_09-27-40_010_gary_lum

Now that Ms19 has retired from gymnastics we’re not totally bound to a sports schedule. Miss15 had a gymnastics evaluation from 2.30 to 5.30 pm and Ms21 was working so what to do between 11 and 1.30? We ended up taking a short drive to Sandgate and walking from the swimming pool to the big jetty and back. All up it’s about a 5 km walk. It was really warm and overcast and it was low tide. The sea breeze was really nice. The smell from the mudflats though wasn’t that good. In fact, it was pretty rank. That part of Sandgate with a view of the water and the sea breeze is really nice. The low tide smell though would make me think twice about living there unless I could keep the house fresh.

2016-11-12_11-27-14_009_gary_lum

After a pretty good walk, we went to the Sandgate fishmonger and bought some potato scallops with crumbed squid. Like most good shops, especially in Queensland, when you ask for some potato scallops you inevitably get n+1 with n being the number of scallops you ask for. These potato scallops were really nice. The crumbed squid was also really good. If you’re visiting Sandgate and want a nice takeaway deep fried meal, I can recommend the Sandgate Fishmonger.

Potato scallops and crumbed calamari
Potato scallops and crumbed calamari
Sandgate fishmonger
Sandgate fishmonger
Potato scallops and crumbed calamari
Potato scallops and crumbed calamari

After taking Miss15 to gymnastics, Ms19 and I had been thinking about going out for a milkshake somewhere. As it turned out we were pretty full from lunch and the weather put on a show which made driving less than ideal. Brisbane was treated to a really nice thunderstorm. The rain was heavy, the thunder was loud and the sky almost went black. I love this sort of weather. The rain lasted about 45 minutes and afterwards the air freshened and the heat was gone. Perfect subtropical weather. You can’t ask for better.

For dinner, we went to Thr3e Restaurant in the Kedron-Wavell RSL club. This is a cheap and cheerful buffet affair with upgrades. I had a nice seafood platter and Mum and Dad had a bucket of prawns.

Seafood platter
Seafood platter
Seafood platter
Seafood platter
Buffet plate
Buffet plate

We all went to bed feeling fairly sated.

Sunday broke with a brilliant warm and moist morning. Mum and Dad had planned a big breakfast. We had bacon, sausages, pikelets, fried eggs and cooked tomatoes. It’s always good having breakfast with my daughters and parents.

Bacon, sausage, tomato, egg and pikelet at Wheller on the Park #breakfast #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #iphone #bne #brisbane
Bacon, sausage, tomato, egg and pikelet at Wheller on the Park
#breakfast #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #iphone #bne #brisbane
Maply syrup and bacon on a pikelet
Maply syrup and bacon on a pikelet
These plates are older than me
These plates are older than me

I’m now back in Canberra where it is cold, windy and wet. I wish I was back with my daughters in Brisbane.

A shout out to friends with Facebook pages

A shout out to friends with Facebook pages

It’s been a little while since I last posted anything here. I wanted this post to be a shout out to some friends’ Facebook pages and a roundup of what has happened for me in the last week. If you have Facebook pages please feel free to leave a link to them in the comments below.

I’d like to mention a couple of European blogging friends.


Ana Calin

The first is Ana Calin. Ana is an author of suspense fiction and she has a passion for psychology. Ana regularly shares psychological profile questionnaires which are fun to take and learn from. For example, Ana will share a photograph or painting and ask her readers to look at a short selection of possible captions. You need to make your choice quickly without spending too much time ‘thinking’ it through. Down the page is a list of possible interpretations.

Ana is an active responder to comments so if you want an interactive blogger Ana is great. She also has a Facebook page.



Medical Fun Facts Podcast

Okay so here is a little bit of self-promotion. A friend at work inspired me to start a podcast on medical fun facts. This started when my friend, let’s call her KMV, was working in a short-term task force and I’d visit from time to time in my role as a medical adviser. Because I like to tell stories, KMV asked for a medical fun fact each time I visited. That was a while back and now KMV is in another area and we’re working together on one or two pieces of policy work.

low-res-copy-cropped

So MFF started as a podcast on my ‘professional’ webpage and KMV suggested putting it up on iTunes. It turns out it is dead easy if you’re using a Squarespace site to load a podcast and have it submitted to the iTunes podcast store.

If you want to listen and read each show head on over to https://drgarylum.com/blog/ and check it out. Now remember the emphasis is on fun which can also mean frivolous but facts are facts. These are short snippets of information with a little jargon, some strine and hopefully a laugh every now and then. So far I have ten shows on the blog.

Do you like listening to podcasts on your iOS device? Head over to the iTunes store and subscribe. The link is https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/blog-gary-lum/id1170771102

I’d love it if you subscribed if you like what you hear. Please also rate (5 stars would be great) and review in the iTunes store. If you do, it helps iTunes rank the podcast higher so others can find it. Thank you.

You can also get the shows at the Facebook Page. Please like it and you’ll receive a notification with each new episode.


Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates

My dear friends Peter and Li Peng are going gang busters with their handmade chocolate business, Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates.

I’m in a very fortunate position to see them every so often and I get to sample chocolate. If you live in or near Canberra you’ll be able to find Peter and Li Peng at various markets. You’ll also find their products in various outlets around Canberra. If you don’t live near Canberra, you can still try their award winning chocolate by putting an order in through their website.

Award winning Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates Gary Lum
Award winning Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates | The “Silk Road” Rocky road is to die for. It’s amazing. 

They have a Facebook page and you should read the reviews.

If you like chocolate, you need to get onto this straight away!

Both Peter and Li Peng are talented in the kitchen too. Last night we had a meal which started with salt and pepper squid, then a massive steam boat (no photographs, I was too busy talking and eating), then a gorgeous tiramisu which was followed by homemade baklava.

Peter's delicious salt and pepper squid Gary Lum
Peter’s delicious salt and pepper squid
Peter's Tiramisu Gary Lum
Peter’s Tiramisu. It was delicious.

My weekly roundup

I had a really big week. It started with a publication in the Medical Journal of Australia. I also gave evidence at a Senate hearing in Sydney. On Friday I started experiencing the symptoms of man flu.

Here’s what I ate and some other stuff too!

Almond crusted custard filled croissant from Ricardo's cafe and patisserie, Jamison #afternoontea #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon
Almond crusted custard filled croissant from Ricardo’s cafe and patisserie, Jamison
#afternoontea #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon
Best way to start Monday morning. Urban Bean Espresso Bar #coffee #canberra #cbr #woden #iphone
Best way to start Monday morning. Urban Bean Espresso Bar #coffee
#canberra #cbr #woden #iphone
Cheesy streaky bacon wrapped Chicken Maryland on quinoa rice with baby broccoli and avocado
Cheesy streaky bacon wrapped Chicken Maryland on quinoa rice with baby broccoli and avocado
Chicken, bacon and avocado sandwich from Urban Bean Espresso Bar #lunch #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #iphone
Chicken, bacon and avocado sandwich from Urban Bean Espresso Bar
#lunch #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #iphone
Public art at Canberra Airport
Public art at Canberra Airport
Coffee at Canberra Airport
Coffee at Canberra Airport
Yoghurt at Canberra Airport
Yoghurt at Canberra Airport
Payday #coffee from Urban Bean Espresso Bar and reading George Korch one of my favourite people. #lovemyjob #canberra #cbr #woden #iphone
Payday #coffee from Urban Bean Espresso Bar and reading George Korch one of my favourite people.
#lovemyjob #canberra #cbr #woden #iphone
#PayDay potato scallops for the win #lovemyjob #iphone #lunch #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood Gary Lum
#PayDay potato scallops for the win
#lovemyjob #iphone #lunch #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood
Slowly cooked oyster blade steak with potato chips and avocado #dinner #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon Gary Lum
Slowly cooked oyster blade steak with potato chips and avocado
#dinner #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon
Seafood basket with chips and gravy from The Canberra Hospital tuck shop Gary Lum
Seafood basket with chips and gravy from The Canberra Hospital tuck shop
Apple and walnut scroll
Apple and walnut scroll
Steak and cheese sandwich for #nationalsandwichday #TGIF #dinner #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon Gary Lum
Steak and cheese sandwich for #nationalsandwichday #TGIF
#dinner #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon
#ManFlu Cheesy scrambled eggs with streaky bacon Saturday morning edition #breakfast #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon Gary Lum
#ManFlu Cheesy scrambled eggs with streaky bacon Saturday morning edition
#breakfast #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon
Christmas tree at Westfield Belconnen. It seems way too early for this. Gary Lum
Christmas tree at Westfield Belconnen. It seems way too early for this.
Perfect Saturday morning coffee from Everbean Espresso Bar Gary Lum
Perfect Saturday morning coffee from Everbean Espresso Bar
Crispy streaky bacon and fried eggs Gary Lum
Crispy streaky bacon and fried eggs
#ManFlu Drinking #Coffee and working at Everbean Espresso Bar #morningtea #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #iphone Gary Lum
#ManFlu Drinking #Coffee and working at Everbean Espresso Bar
#morningtea #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #iphone
Award winning Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates Gary Lum
Award winning Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates
I'm standing on Beissel Street looking towards Lake Ginninderra and there is a car park in between despite the sign. Gary Lum
I’m standing on Beissel Street looking towards Lake Ginninderra and there is a car park in between despite the sign.