Dear Reader,
Today, Thursday, 20230126, is a gazetted public holiday in Australia. I’m on-call and doing some work, but I have time to post something here.
I didn’t post last weekend because I was in Brisbane to see my daughters and parents.
I ate well while in Brisbane and managed to bear in mind the principles of the CSIRO Total Wellness Diet.
Before I get to what I have cooked today, let’s run through what I enjoyed last weekend.
On the flight to Brisbane, Qantas served zucchini and corn fritters. These morsels were tasty.
On Saturday morning, I went with eggs Benedict. On the menu, it looked like bacon was an optional extra. I didn’t ask for it and didn’t pay for it. I did receive bacon, and I did eat it. I didn’t eat the bread.
I took my family to Sandgate for lunch at the Sandgate Fishmonger. While some asked for battered cod and others asked for crumbed cod, a few of us enjoyed grilled cod.
Dinner was a lovely event. Rather than a gift for Christmas, I asked my daughters to take me to dinner somewhere in January. They know their father, so they chose an “all-you-can-eat” joint. When I was morbidly obese, my favourite four words were “all you can eat”.
We went to Shabu House, which specialises in Japanese hotpot, sushi, and Japanese-style fried chicken.
While I was mindful of the principles of the CSIRO TWD, I did enjoy lots of vegetables plus lots of meat and fish. I think the octopus was the best element. The pork and beef were okay, and the white fish (whatever it was) was good, but the baby octopus was the best element for flavour and mouthfeel.
It was difficult to resist the fried chicken, and I succumbed to the temptation. Regarding the sushi, I ate a little raw fish but didn’t eat the rice.
After the meal, we walked south across the Brisbane River and enjoyed gelato at Messina on Melbourne Street.
Sunday breakfast was poached eggs, a little hollandaise sauce, plus wilted spinach leaves. I didn’t eat the bread.
By the time I weighed myself on Monday morning, I’d not gained weight when I had compared the number to what I had measured on Friday morning.
This week has gone well in terms of how I feel physically. The initial hunger associated with changing the ratios of carbohydrates, protein, and fat seems to have diminished. I’m in a steady rhythm of measuring and tracking the food I consume and the steps I walk.
The CSIRO TWD app works seamlessly across my smartphone, tablet, and desktop. It synchronises with my app for blood pressure, steps, and weight. The positive feedback from seeing the energy balance plus the values of various parameters at the end of each day provides psychological assurance, which is a significant part of this process.
Recipe
The recipes here will be simple and plain for the foreseeable future. They may not be that interesting. If you want to see large joints of meat and other recipes, scroll to earlier posts and find all manner of recipes.
Equipment
No special equipment is necessary
Ingredients
- Lamb rump steak. I saw these small fillets of lamb rump in the supermarket, which are about the right portion size.
- Mixed lettuce leaves
- Cherry tomatoes
- Baby cucumbers
- Lemon juice
- Lemon zest
- Olive oil
Instructions
- The night before cooking, I recommend dry brining the meat. Dry brining means drying the surface of the flesh and seasoning it with salt. Place it on a rack and refrigerate it uncovered overnight. It can remain like this for one or two days. As the meat dries, the salt penetrates. The flesh doesn’t dehydrate, but the surface remains dry to assist with searing on a hot pan.
- When it’s time to cook dinner, remove the meat from the refrigerator.
- Heat a pan until it’s hot.
- Add some neutral, high-vapour point oil. I like to use rice bran oil or peanut oil.
- Quickly cook the lamb rump steak.
- Set the meat aside to rest.
- Place some lettuce leaves, halved tomatoes and sliced cucumber in a bowl and dress with a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil.
- Put the salad on a dinner plate and garnish with lemon zest.
- Put the lamb next to the salad.
- Say thanks to the Lord.
- Eat with a fork.
Final thoughts
The lamb was rare to medium rare and perfect, in my opinion. I know some people don’t like the flavour of lamb, but I love it. This meal was an ideal light lunch for a public holiday.
Getting the fat off takes effort and self denial. Well done Gary. Keep it up.
Hi Katharine,
Thanks. The difficult bit is trimming the fat from the lamb. It tastes so good. At least I tell myself I’m not eating fatty lamb loin chops or cutlets.
So yummy.
Looks like you had a terrific weekend, Gaz. I’m glad your daughters took you out for such a nice meal. Your food photography always makes things look so enticing. That first picture of the eggs benedict…
Hi Emma,
Thanks. There’s a Korean BBQ place next to Shabu House we’re keen to try.
Thar looks delicious, Gary! I have only had lamb a few times. I would love to try yours. 🙂
Hi Jessica,
Thanks. Lamb is like a staple in Australia. I had assumed with all your travelling and working overseas you may have eaten lamb a bit more.
A pleasant Australia Day to you – methinks the weather is smiling on both of us 🙂 ! Ha ! I was ‘composing’ a post-lunch post myself when yours dropped in and I was too ‘weak’ not to look !! A slow clap from me – all positive ‘news’ from your side . . . methinks you had a lovely Brisbane sojourn and adapted the CSIRO diet very well . . . would have loved to be a bird on your shoulder in the Japanese restaurant ! And am jealous of your lamb purchase . . . three packets for $20 – yes, please ! Glad you are doing well . . . do it your way . . . you know better than ‘they’ what ‘has’ to be done – enjoy it and the results . . . . E
Hi Eha,
Thank you. The lamb was certainly a bargain. I have plenty now for more meals.