Author Archives: Gary

About Gary

I like to cook, photograph and eat food. I'm an occasional podcaster too. I have a weekly diary blog named My Thoughts and Stuff, this is where I share what's been happening in my life for the preceding week. When I'm not cooking I'm practising medicine. You can find more information at my about.me page. I'm based in Canberra, Australia, so the food and recipes I share will tend to be seasonal and regional to Australia, but I hope if you're from somewhere else you'll find these recipes adaptable to suit your needs. Feel free to send me an e-mail if you have any questions.

Weekend in Brisbane

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader, 

I am writing this from Brisbane. I’m here this weekend to share some time with my family. May is a month of many birthdays in my immediate and extended family, not to mention Mother’s Day. In years past, I’ve tried to make sure I get to Brisbane so we can do something special together. This year, for many reasons, it was more special than usual. We enjoyed a few different events to spend time together the way families do. 

One event I’m happy to share is that my daughters bought me tickets and took me to a football game (unfortunately, one of them was unwell and couldn’t come along). We went to Lang Park and watched the Dolphins play against the Melbourne Storm. 

The highlight came in the first half when Jamayne Isaako scored his first of two tries. We were seated a couple of rows back from the grass at the south end to the left of the goalposts. Seeing Jamayne Isaako in full flight and scoring right before us was amazing.

I was so happy to see the stands full, and there were so many fans of both teams, mostly in family groups. I was taken by a couple of young boys behind me. They were both less than ten, and I got all warm and fuzzy when I heard the older boy explain the rules to the younger boy, who was asking why the referee had made certain decisions. My daughters and I, plus one of my daughter’s partner, had the best time.

Football entrance tick Dolphins

Lang Park holds strong memories of me growing up. I spent my earliest years just up the road living with my maternal grandparents. While I do not imbibe alcohol, the other strong memory of that area is seeing the XXXX brewery neon sign at night from my window with Mr XXXX winking. For non-Australian readers, XXXX is a beer brand iconic for people from Queensland.

This weekend has been the indigenous round in the NRL, and being in Brisbane meant we could see the traditional Welcome to Country from local Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Island people. I particularly love how Torres Strait Island people perform their Welcome to Country.

Food reviews

I ate well, and while I don’t have many photographs, I did write two reviews for Google Maps. Both were my breakfast experiences.

Saturday Breakfast

“The Gunshop Cafe”, Chermside

Here is my Google Maps review.

Sunday Breakfast

“The Farm House”, Kedron

Here is my Google Maps review.

You may find this interesting.

In other news, the World Health Organization released guidance this week on non-sugar sweeteners. 

The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare also released some reports on obesity in Australia. 

Final thoughts

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Beef short rib stew

Posted by Gary

If you don’t want to read the introduction, click here for the recipe.

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed your week. Mine has been smooth going apart from a near miss last Sunday. The cold front mentioned in last week’s post resulted in hail, sleet, and snow in the region. I was driving on Sunday and had to go through a slurry of ice. As I slowed down, I watched a car in my rear vision mirror slide off the road. Fortunately, the occupants appeared to be okay.

I’m not used to driving on ice; I’m grateful for modern automotive technology, such as anti-lock brakes. 

On Tuesday evening, the Australian treasurer moved the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2023–24. I dare not comment on the appropriation bill; apart from knowing in its depths, some exciting work is ahead for my area. 

Recipe

Ingredients

  • Olive oil 
  • Bone-in beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat (0.8 kg at $23.50/kg) 
  • Salt – Iodised 
  • Black peppercorns 
  • Onion, chopped 
  • Carrot, chopped 
  • Celery, chopped 
  • Garlic, minced 
  • Tomatoes 
  • Cooking sherry 
  • Beef stock 
  • Black beans, rinsed and drained 
  • Lentils, rinsed and drained 
Beef short ribs

Instructions

Ribs

  1. Brown the ribs in a hot oven first. 
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. 
  3. Add the dripping juices from the oven tray. 
  4. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to the saucepan and cook until softened. 
  5. Add the sherry and cook until reduced by half. 
  6. Add the beef broth, peppercorns, black beans, and lentils, and bring the contents to a simmer. 
  7. Transfer the contents to a pressure cooker and add the ribs. 
  8. Cook under pressure for one hour. 
  9. Allow the pressure to equilibrate, and then remove the lid. 
  10. Remove the ribs and set aside. 
  11. Transfer the remaining contents of the pressure cooker to a saucepan. 
  12. Bring the saucepan to a simmer to reduce the fluid. 
  13. Pull the beef from the ribs and add it to the saucepan. 
Beef short ribs out of the pressure cooker

Pumpkin

  1. Cut a pumpkin into chunks. 
  2. Season with salt and rub the pumpkin with olive oil. 
  3. Cook the pumpkin in an oven at 180 °C (fan forced) for 45 minutes. 
  4. Mash the pumpkin (keeping the skin on) with a fork and flavour with sesame oil as the pumpkin is mashed. 

Plating up

  1. Place a smear of pumpkin mash on a warmed dinner plate. 
  2. Spoon some of the rib stew onto the mash. 
  3. Serve with some crispy Brussels sprouts. 
  4. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  5. Eat with a fork. 

Thoughts on the meal 

You may have noticed I’ve got into a groove with lentils and beans. I figure I can extend the value of the meat with the legumes. 

This stew will keep me going all week like the oyster blade and lentil stew did last week. 

Final thoughts 

Do you have much experience with driving on ice? 

Do you get excited by the passage of appropriation bills so you can undertake new work? 

I hope you fill the coming week with happiness and joy. 

Photographs 

Here is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and then scroll or swipe through them.

Beef short ribs
Beef short ribs
Beef short ribs
Celery Carrot Onion
Tomatoes
Black beans
Beef short ribs out of the pressure cooker
Black beans and lentils from the pressure cooker
Beef short rib stew with black beans and lentils, served with pumpkin mash and Brussels sprouts
Beef short rib stew with black beans and lentils, served with pumpkin mash and Brussels sprouts
Beef short rib stew with black beans and lentils, served with pumpkin mash and Brussels sprouts
Beef short rib stew with black beans and lentils, served with pumpkin mash and Brussels sprouts
Beef short rib stew with black beans and lentils, served with pumpkin mash and Brussels sprouts

A piece of ground full of lentils

Posted by Gary

If you don’t want to read the introduction, click here for the recipe. 

Dear Reader, 

Introduction 

Beef, beans, and lentil stew with brown rice

My inspiration for this week is last Sunday’s sermon from church. If a month has five Sundays, the church has a guest preacher with a missionary focus. Last week, we had a Royal Australian Navy chaplain preach. Although he’s not a visitor – a regular at our church – he dressed up in his uniform for the service. 

The passage he expounded on was 2 Samuel 23:8–39. As a warfighter in the ADF with deployments to combat zones, this is an excellent passage for him to preach. 

For me, a home cook, though, the relevant verse was 11. “And after him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.” 

Tonight, I’m using lentils. I also added some meat. Feel free to ignore the meat for a vegetable-only dish.  

Recipe

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker 
  • Saucepan 

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • Oyster blade steak – diced 
  • Flour
  • Garlic powder
  • Garlic clove
  • Salt
  • One stalk celery 
  • A diced carrot 
  • Swiss brown mushrooms
  • One small onion – chopped 
  • One clove of garlic – chopped 
  • 200 g canned Borlotti beans 
  • 200 g canned lentils 
  • 750 mL vegetable stock 
  • 100 g crushed canned tomatoes 
  • Fresh rosemary, to taste 
  • 2–3 teaspoons curry powder, to taste 
  • Salt to taste 

Instructions 

  1. Add the oil into a high-sided saucepan, then add the chopped celery, carrot, onion and garlic clove. 
  2. Sauté together over medium heat. Add the curry powder and rosemary leaves when the onion has become translucent. 
  3. Place some flour, garlic powder, and salt into a bag.
  4. Add the steak and shake the bag to coat the meat with the dry ingredients.
  5. Transfer the sautéd vegetables to the pressure cooker vessel, add more oil, and then add the steak. 
  6. Get the steak caramelised and transfer it to the pressure cooker vessel. 
  7. Fry off the mushrooms and then add them to the pressure cooker.
  8. Pour some stock into the saucepan to remove the fond and then decant to the pressure cooker. 
  9. Add all the legumes, tomatoes, and remaining stock, and mix with a wooden spoon. 
  10. To add a kick, grind some rock salt and whole peppercorns with a pestle in a mortar, and add to the pressure cooker before sealing the lid. 
  11. Cook under pressure for about 30 minutes. 
  12. Allow the pressure to equalise naturally, and open the cover. 
  13. Spoon into a bowl along with some rice.
  14. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  15. Eat with a spoon.  

Thoughts on the meal 

A cold front from the southern ocean has been moving north across the southern parts of Australia. Snow is falling in some areas, and we’ve already had subzero mornings this week. 

This meal with some rice helped warm me from the inside. 

I will have enough leftover for the week. 

Final thoughts 

Church life has changed a lot over the last few decades. Rather than turning up with old-fashioned bibles, we open an app on our smartphone or tablet. Smart devices are the appurtenances of church culture. I’ve already started using artificial intelligence to assist in gathering information for bible study. 

I ate this meal while watching the Dolphins play the Sharks. This weekend, all the NRL games are being played in Brisbane. It was a magnificent win (36–16) for the Dolphins and their coach, Mr Bennett who has now coached 900 NRL games.

Back to the top

Photographs 

A photograph of some diced onion, celery, and carrot
Onion, celery, and carrot
A photograph of some oyster blade steaks on a plate
Oyster blade steak
A photograph of some diced oyster blade steak in a bowl
Oyster blade steak – diced
A photograph of some diced oyster blade steak which has been coated in flour, garlic powder, and salt.
Oyster blade steak – diced and floured
A photograph of some diced oyster blade steak that has been coated in flour, garlic powder, and salt, and then caramelised in a fry pan.
Oyster blade steak – diced, floured, and fried
A photograph of Swiss brown mushrooms in a bowl
Swiss brown mushrooms
A photograph of lentils in a bowl
Lentils
A photograph of Borlotti beans in a bowl
Borlotti beans
A photograph of black beans in a bowl
Black beans
Beef, beans, and lentil stew with brown rice
Beef, beans, and lentil stew with brown rice
Beef, beans, and lentil stew with brown rice
Beef, beans, and lentil stew with brown rice
Beef, beans, and lentil stew with brown rice
Beef, beans, and lentil stew with brown rice
Beef, beans, and lentil stew with brown rice

What is oyster blade steak?

Oyster blade steak is a meat cut from an animal’s shoulder blade. It’s under the shoulder blade and has a tough line of connective tissue running through the middle. It is a tough and chewy muscle. 

Back to the top

Beans and rice

Posted by Gary

If you do not care to read the introductory guff, click here for the recipe.

Dear Reader, 

I hope you had a good week. I had a fabulous week. Everything went swimmingly well, and it ended peacefully. 

Tonight, I am adding beans to my congee. I got the idea from Rebecca Clyde, from the Facebook group “Cooking for One”. Rebecca is a US-based registered nutritionist who shares recipes on her blog. Her recipe for beans and rice cooked in a pressure cooker caught my attention because she separated the beans and the rice in the cooking vessel. I decided against the rice and bean schism and cleaved them in congee.

I’ll have enough leftover congee for many meals and for developing resistant starches to assist my gut microbiota[1–3]. 

What have I been listening to?

Jessica Cyphers blogs about writing, teaching, and travel, and she has been sharing in her weekly newsletter some snippets from a book she’s reading, titled, The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté and his son Daniel Maté and published in 2022. Daniel narrates the audio version of the book. The subtitle for the book is Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture. Gabor is a Canadian medical practitioner who clarifies the psychosomatic basis for disease. As a specialist pathologist, I find his thesis interesting. I think clinicopathological correlation should always include psychiatric input.

In contrast to the Armour of God sermon series (sixty-eight sermons) by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Ephesians 6:10–13, I’ve enjoyed; I am listening to 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene to understand better some behaviours I see around me. While Elon Musk does not enamour me as a person, I have more respect for the name Tesla having listened to the first seven chapters of this book.

Stuff on the screen

Did you hear about the incident with the Spanish MasterChef TV show? I imagine the contestants execrated the food managers on that occasion. I’ve not watched the Australian version of MasterChef or My Kitchen Rules for a few years because I can no longer access free-to-air TV. I don’t know if similar situations have occurred in Australia. 

One food-related program I did watch with interest is Hunger on Netflix. The actors are Thai, and the story revolves around a noodle cook invited to join the restaurant crew under a chef who attracts wealthy clientele. It is not a movie for the faint-hearted. 

Also, on Netflix, I watched Miriam Margoyles in her three-part documentary, “Almost Australian“. I watched it on Anzac Day. Coincidentally, Miriam visits Anzac Hill in Alice Springs in Episode Two. I attended a dawn service on Anzac Hill years ago during my Darwin years. Many of the crew from HMAS Arunta were present (the Arunta name and original motto, ‘Conquer or Die,’ recognise the ship’s history and ongoing relationship with the Arrernte people of Central Australia), with a RAN Chaplain officiating the service. I recommend watching Australia Unmasked.

Recipe 

Equipment 

  • Pressure cooker 
  • Air fryer 

Ingredients 

  • Brown rice – 1 cup
  • Black beans (or pinto beans) – ½ cup 
  • Vegetable stock – 2 litres 
  • Chicken thighs – 2 thighs 
  • Duck breast
  • Brussels sprouts 
  • Broccoli 
  • Salt 
  • Pepper 

Instructions 

  1. Wash the rice until the water is clear. 
  2. Wash the beans to remove grit and dirt. 
  3. Bisect the chicken thighs with a machete, cane knife, or humungous Chinese meat cleaver. 
  4. Boil the vegetable stock and add some dried porcini mushrooms until the mushrooms bloat and become tender. 
  5. Add the mushroom-enhanced stock to the pressure cooker with the rice, beans, duck, and chicken. 
  6. Cook everything for one hour. 
  7. Allow the pressure to equilibrate and open the lid. 
  8. Remove the bones from the meat, and then with a wooden spoon, mix everything so the rice, beans, and chicken are combined. 
  9. Season to taste. 
  10. Cook some halved Brussels sprouts and broccoli florets in the air fryer. 
  11. Spoon some congee into a bowl and add some soy sauce. 
  12. Serve the congee with Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and some spring onions. 
  13. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  14. Eat with a spoon. 

Thoughts on the meal

Congee aficionados might object to the addition of beans. The hue of the congee was darker than normal; however, the taste was amazing. I like to experiment and try new things.

The congee was enjoyable and comforting.

Photographs

Black beans
Brown rice
Porcini mushrooms
Black beans
Brown rice
Porcini mushrooms
Chicken Duck
Chicken Duck
Chicken Duck
Rice and bean congee with mushrooms, chicken, and duck; served with Brussels sprouts and broccoli
Rice and bean congee with mushrooms, chicken, and duck; served with Brussels sprouts and broccoli
Rice and bean congee with mushrooms, chicken, and duck; served with Brussels sprouts and broccoli

What else have I eaten this week?

References

  1. Wen, J.J., et al., Resistant starches and gut microbiota. Food Chem, 2022. 387: p. 132895.
  2. DeMartino, P. and D.W. Cockburn, Resistant starch: impact on the gut microbiome and health. Curr Opin Biotechnol, 2020. 61: p. 66-71.
  3. Raigond, P., R. Ezekiel, and B. Raigond, Resistant starch in food: a review. J Sci Food Agric, 2015. 95(10): p. 1968-78.

    Air fryer duck breast

    Posted by Gary

    Dear Reader,

    I recently replaced my toaster oven with an air fryer. I thought I’d try duck breast for my first meal in the appliance.

    Recipe

    Equipment

    • Air fryer
    • Microwave radiation oven

    Ingredients

    • Duck breast
    • Salt – iodised cooking salt.
    • Pepper – freshly ground.
    • Garlic powder
    • French onion soup Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
    • Brown rice
    • Leftover pressure cooker cooked carrot

    Instructions

    Duck

    1. The day before cooking the duck, dry brine the duck.
    2. Season the breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
    3. Place the breast on some paper towel on a plate and then refrigerate it uncovered overnight.
    4. The next day before cooking, cut some hash marks in through the skin and fat to help the fat render more evenly when cooking.
    5. Take some of the French onion soup Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce out of the refrigerator and heat it using microwave radiation.
    6. Cook at 200 °C (400 °F) for 10 minutes in the air fryer and then remove the rack.
    7. Brush some sauce onto the skin and cook at 200 °C for 5 minutes.
    8. Remove the duck from the oven and allow the oven to cool down. Cleaning cool metal is safer.
    9. Slice the duck with a sharp knife.

    Rice

    1. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packaging. Yes, I use microwave radiation rice because I’m a lazy man.
    2. Fluff the cooked rice in a bowl to remove clumps.

    Carrot

    1. Brush the carrot pieces with some of the sauce.
    2. Add the leftover carrot pieces to the rack with the duck when it returns for its final five minutes at 200 °C.

    Plating up

    1. Place the rice on the dinner plate and place the duck breast on it.
    2. Add the carrot and then spoon over the warmed sauce.
    3. Give thanks to the Lord.
    4. Eat with a fork or chopsticks.

    Thoughts on the meal

    I typically cook duck breast in a heated water bath and then sear the skin. The air fryer is a quick and easy method. I’ll cook as I see fit. One of the advantages of sous vide is that I can cook meals well in advance to accommodate my work schedule. Pulling out a cooked bag of meat and enjoying it without too much fuss is easy.

    For people who do not have a similar work schedule, I can see how the air fryer would be a great option.

    Photographs

    Dry brined duck breast
    Dry brined duck breast
    Dry brined duck breast
    Air fryer duck breast
    Air fryer duck breast
    Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
    Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
    Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
    Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
    Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
    Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce