Comfort food

Slow cooked beef, speck and hot and spicy spam

Posted by Gary
Slow cooked beef, speck and spam with carrot, celery, onion, sugar snap peas, peas, and broccoli
Slow cooked beef, speck and spam with carrot, celery, onion, sugar snap peas, peas, and broccoli

Slow cooked beef, speck and hot and spicy spam is not something you will find in a lot of cook books. As far as I can see it’s not in my Spam cookbook.

Hawaii Spam Cookbook
Hawaii Spam Cookbook

This weekend I got the slow cooker out and loaded it with some ‘casserole’ beef, speck and some leftover hot and spicy spam along with with celery, carrot and onion. I did this video to practice some video editing in Adobe Photoshop.

Slow cooked beef, speck and hot and spicy spam
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: [url href=”http://garylum.me” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”]Gary Lum[/url]
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Casserole beef from Coles
  • Speck from Coles delicatessen
  • Spam (hot and spicy)
  • Celery (3 stalks) finely chopped
  • Carrot (1) diced
  • Onion (½) diced
  • Red wine (1 cup)
  • Beef stock (1 litre)
  • Sugar snap peas
  • Frozen peas
  • Broccoli
  • Dried mixed herbs
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Ginger marmalade (1 tablespoon)
  • Plain flour
Instructions
  1. Dice the vegetables (onions, carrot and celery) and meat
  2. Coat the meat in flour
  3. Brown off the meat in some olive oil in a frying pan and then soften the vegetables (onions, carrot and celery) in the frying pan.
  4. Add everything that has been browned or softened to the slow cooker
  5. Deglase the frying pan with a cup of red wine and pour the wine into the slow cooker
  6. Add the stock, ginger marmalade, some salt and pepper plus the dried herbs.
  7. Turn on the slow cooker and cook for 6 hours
  8. Drain the solids and keep the liquid for reducing to a sauce
  9. Aliquot into microwave safe containers for lunch at work
  10. Steam some sugar snap peas, peas and broccoli
  11. Plate up the meal
  12. Shoot a photograph
  13. Eat the meal
  14. Wash the dishes
  15. Write the recipe
  16. Blog (Verb)

I’m trying to teach myself some Adobe Photoshop skills. I video recorded some of my preparation and edited it in Photoshop. You can watch it here. It’s not very interesting and displays that I need to improve my knife skills. I also need to learn more about transitions and making a logo and adding in audio. Oh well, I will try to get better.

Monday link love

These links are from today’s shared posts on the Canberra Food Blogger’s Facebook Group.

I hope you’ve had a great Monday

This is a photograph I shot yesterday. I thought I’d share it because I like it.

Lake Ginninderra reflections
Lake Ginninderra reflections

How to make slow cooker chicken congee

Posted by Gary

Updated photographs of leftover congee

The weather in Canberra today has been hideous. South east Australia is apparently experiencing a cold snap with winds from the Antarctic forcing cold air along with rain and wind to most of the southern part of Australia. The glorious north remains heavenly while the south is chilled to the bone.

The best way to handle cold weather is with comfort food and when I think of comfort food I immediately think of congee (we used to call it jook as kids but the name most people know is congee).

Given I’m trying to reduce fat in my diet I decided against a whole chicken with all the fatty skin. Instead I bought four skinless chicken thighs along with about a kilogram of chicken necks for flavour.

In addition to arborio rice I also used some quinoa to give it a modern nutty flavour.

How to make slow cooker chicken congee
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: [url href=”https://about.me/garydlum” target=”_blank”]Gary Lum[/url]
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
The perfect comfort food
Ingredients
  • Chicken necks
  • Chicken thighs
  • Arborio rice
  • Quinoa
  • Chicken stock
  • Curry powder
  • Star anise
  • Lettuce
  • Soy sauce
Instructions
  1. Get out the slow cooker
  2. In the bowl add a cup of rice and a handful of quinoa
  3. Add two cups of chicken stock and a tablespoon of curry powder
  4. Add two star anise
  5. Add the chicken thighs and necks and mix everything around
  6. Turn on the slow cooker and cook for six hours
  7. Once cooked pull out the star anise and chicken necks
  8. Stir everything through shredding the chicken thigh meat at the same time
  9. The thigh meat will just fall apart and mix in with the rice and quinoa
  10. Put most of the congee aside in a bowl in the refrigerator for another day
  11. Put some congee into a bowl
  12. Shred some lettuce and put on the congee
  13. Add a splash of soy sauce
  14. Shoot a photograph
  15. Eat the congee
  16. Get warm from the congee
  17. Wash the dishes
  18. Write the recipe
  19. Blog (verb)

 

I reckon chicken necks are as good as a carcass for flavour. They are more expensive than they should be.

Chicken necks from Coles
Chicken necks from Coles

Check out the fat, I was hoping for less fat on the chicken. I hope there’s less fat than if I cooked a whole chook with the skin on.

Chicken necks and thighs
Chicken necks and thighs
Chicken necks and thighs on arborio rice
Chicken necks and thighs on arborio rice
Chicken congee for Saturday night dinner made with chicken thighs and necks plus quinoa
Chicken congee for Saturday night dinner made with chicken thighs and necks plus quinoa

For breakfast I had an egg fried in a nonstick pan along with some smoked salmon and avocado.

Egg and salmon on English muffin with avocado plus marmalade
Egg and salmon on English muffin with avocado plus marmalade

For lunch I had some soy and linseed toast with salmon and avocado.

Smoked salmon and avocado
Smoked salmon and avocado

My Mum makes the best congee. She uses a pressure cooker. I have fond memories of winter in Brisbane and eating multiple of bowls of Mum’s chicken congee.

This slow cooker version worked fine. I think next time I’ll make it 3.5 cups of stock to 1 cup of rice. Mum’s congee usually has more water content.

Do you like chicken congee? How do you make it?

The other good thing about today is that the owner of the apartment I rent installed a new clothes dryer. I’m so happy.

Updated photos of leftover congee

So today (Sunday 2015-07-12) I heated up some leftover congee and put it on a toasted English muffin. A east meets west fusion lunch.

Sunday lunch. Leftover congee on an English muffin with avocado.
Sunday lunch. Leftover congee on an English muffin with avocado.

Slow roasted shoulder of lamb

Posted by Gary

I think I have a new Sunday ritual*. I’m becoming addicted to slowly roasting a shoulder of lamb each Sunday. The roasting meat fills my apartment with a gorgeous rich meaty aroma and my hunger builds with the smells.

Shoulder of lamb and vegetables
Shoulder of lamb and vegetables
Slow roasted shoulder of lamb
Recipe Type: Roast dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: [url href=”https://about.me/garydlum” target=”_blank”]Gary Lum[/url]
A [b]deliciously easy[/b] way to get the most succulent meat you’ll ever experience.
Ingredients
  • Shoulder of lamb (this one was 0.8 kg)
  • Pumpkin
  • Cabbage
  • Brussels sprouts[cap id=”attachment_12304″ align=”alignnone” width=”980″][img src=”https://yummylummy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-06-12_16.56.20_001_GARY_LUM_FB-1024×683.jpg” width=”980″ height=”654″ class=” size-large” title=”Brussels sprouts” alt=”A close up of Brussels sprouts”]Brussels sprouts close up[/cap]
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 150 °C
  2. In a casserole suspend the meat on a [url href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivet” target=”_blank”]trivet[/url]
  3. Put into the oven for 2 hours
  4. At the 2 hour mark add a slice of pumpkin and the Brussels sprouts
  5. At the 3 hour mark remove the casserole from the oven and allow the meat to rest for 20 minutes
  6. Carve enough meat for a meal and keep the rest for lunches
  7. Plate up and shoot a photograph
  8. Eat the meal
  9. Wash the dishes
  10. Write the recipe
  11. Blog (verb)
Shoulder of lamb (uncooked)
Shoulder of lamb (uncooked)
Shoulder of lamb (cooked)
Shoulder of lamb (cooked)
Shoulder of lamb and vegetables
Shoulder of lamb and vegetables

Earlier in the day I went for a walk around Lake Ginninderra and shot a few photographs. I like how the wikipedia entry makes mention that water rats form part of the lake’s rich wildlife.

An abandoned bicycle by Lake Ginninderra shot at about 8.15 am
An abandoned bicycle by Lake Ginninderra shot at about 8.15 am
Cows by Lake Ginninderra. I'm experimenting with black and white photography
Cows by Lake Ginninderra. I’m experimenting with black and white photography
A high dynamic range photograph of Lake Ginninderra
A high dynamic range (HDR) photograph of Lake Ginninderra

For lunch I made a salmon and avocado lettuce wrap which I spiced up with a jalapeño pepper.

Ingredients for a salmon and avocado lettuce wrap
Ingredients for a salmon and avocado lettuce wrap
Salmon and avocado lettuce wrap
Salmon and avocado lettuce wrap

How do you like to cook shoulder of lamb?

*The current Sunday ritual is ironing my shirts and watching an episode of Star Trek.

Chicken Maryland and cauliflower cheese

Posted by Gary

I had to cook my Chicken Maryland and cauliflower cheese in a hurry tonight

I had a work teleconference tonight so I had to step things up to get dinner ready in time so that everything was cooked, eaten and cleaned up in time. 

Tuesday night dinner. Chicken and cauliflower cheese.
Tuesday night dinner. Chicken and cauliflower cheese.
Chicken Maryland and cauliflower cheese
 
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Gary’s grub (Australian)
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Comfort food in a rush
Ingredients
  • Chicken Maryland piece
  • Cauliflower (three florets)
  • Tasty Coon cheese slices
  • Pouring cream
  • Mushrooms (button mushrooms, 2)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Dried mixed herbs
  • Curry powder
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 200 °C
  2. Cut the cauliflower florets into small pieces
  3. Cut the mushrooms into slices
  4. Put the chicken into a roasting tray and into the oven
  5. Put the cauliflower into a small pyrex dish
  6. Add the mushrooms and some cream
  7. Add some salt and pepper along with the curry powder and mixed dried herbs
  8. Have enough cream to keep it moist and then add the cheese slices on top
  9. Put the cauliflower cheese into the oven
  10. Cook everything for 45 minutes and keep the oven at 200 °C
  11. Plate up
  12. Shoot a photograph (I used my Nikon D7100 and Tamron 90 mm MACRO at 1/200 seconds, f/5.6 and ISO 400)
  13. Eat the food
  14. Clean the dishes
  15. Participate in the work teleconference
  16. Write the recipe
  17. Blog about the meal
 
Notes
This cauliflower cheese is just so yummy

Chicken and cauliflower cheese

 
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.

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Tuesday morning breakfast. Spam and fried eggs.
Tuesday morning breakfast. Spam and fried eggs.

Pumpkin soup with caramelised onion and bacon

Posted by Gary

Cold nights in Canberra require comforting pumpkin soup

Yes, I like cooking pumpkin soup and I like eating (or is it drinking) pumpkin soup. I suppose I also like shooting photographs of pumpkin soup but the lack of contrast makes it a challenge to get an interesting shot. I suppose if I wasn’t so hungry for getting it into my belly I’d set up better with props and maybe do an overhead shot with a soup spoon and stuff like that 😉 

I often add onion and bacon to my soups but this is the first time I’ve gone to the trouble of caramelising the onions first.

2014-08-13_18.14.52_001_GARY_LUM

Pumpkin soup with caramelised onion and bacon
 
Recipe Type: Dinner or lunch
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
An easy comforting soup for a winter’s night or day. Anyone can make this.
Ingredients
  • One quarter of a small Kent pumpkin
  • One large brown onion
  • One rasher of streaky bacon
  • One cup of white wine
  • One cup of boiling water or one cup of vegetable stock
  • Chopped parsley
  • Chopped spring onion
  • One tablespoon of brown sugar
  • Two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
  • Two tablespoons of vegetable oil
Instructions
  1. Get everything prepared in advance
  2. Have a stainless steel saucepan out with a lid
  3. Cut the pumpkin into large chunks and remove the skin and seeds
  4. Slice the onion
  5. Slice the bacon
  6. Pour two tablespoons of vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil) into a hot stainless steel saucepan
  7. Add the sliced onion and turn down the heat and stir periodically (that means every four to five minutes) for about 30 minutes when you should see the onion is a nice brown translucent colour
  8. Your apartment will smell of onions now and it will hang around all night for you to wake up to it
  9. You should probably close the door to your bedroom, I always forget
  10. Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and stir until the vinegar has reduced and the onions are sticky
  11. Remove the onions and add the bacon and stir around until it starts to stick to the bottom of the saucepan
  12. Deglase the pan with the wine and add back the onions and pumpkin chunks
  13. Add the water or stock and bring to a slow simmer
  14. Put the lid on the saucepan and cook until the pumpkin is soft, that should take about 20 to 30 minutes
  15. Turn off the heat and with a stick blender blend until smooth
  16. At this stage you might add a dash of pouring cream, it’s up to you
  17. Add some parsley and spring onion
  18. Stir
  19. Aliquot into a tupperware freezer soup mug for work and pour the rest into a bowl trying not to splash the sides
  20. Shoot a photograph (I used a Nikon D7100 with a Tamron 90 mm MACRO lens at 1/250 seconds, f/4 and ISO 400)
  21. Eat (or is it drink) the soup
  22. Clean your dishes
  23. Write the recipe
  24. Blog about it and hope people read it
 
Notes
I hope you enjoy this recipe and go ahead and make it.

 
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.

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This morning’s breakfast was bacon and scrambled eggs

Bacon and scrambled eggs