Cooking

Banana Boogie Bakery Vanilla Slice.

Posted by Gary

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care for my rambling palaver.

If you’re not seeing new posts each week, I suggest refreshing your browser and clearing your browser’s browser cache regularly.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Click the link here if you want to read about the Banana Boogie Bakery vanilla slice.

Dear Reader,

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

My week was busy. Thursday was Anzac Day. Kathleen and I went for a drive. We took a look at Windy Point Lookout.

Windy Point Lookout
Windy Point Lookout

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space 9

I’ve now finished watching Star Trek: Voyager (VOY). It’s been an enjoyable rewatch. I will finish Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (DS9) soon. I will start watching Enterprise (ENT).

I’ve also started watching Bosch and there are Star Trek connections. Jeri Ryan from VOY and Linda Park from ENT.

I’ll share more on Bosch in another post.

National Rugby League

This has been a ripper season for footy. The Dolphins and Brisbane Broncos are in the top 8, and I’m happy. I enjoy having a decent TV with free-to-air access to watch live NRL footy.

I am looking forward to the State of Origin series to begin this year. The Queensland Maroons have a depleted side this season with many players injured. The “away” game this year is in Melbourne.

Four corners

Uncovering the Ozempic and Mounjaro black market

If you have the time, I recommend watching this. The drugs were designed to help patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The drugs have gained favour with people who are clinically obese. The mechanism of action slows the stomach (the organ and not the vague description some people use to describe their abdomen).

The drugs have serious adverse reactions, such as gastroparesis. It is not surprising that medical practitioners who advocate for low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat eating prefer a lifestyle change to bring T2DM into remission and to remedy clinical obesity.

Banana Boogie Bakery Vanilla Slice

Vanilla slice from Banana Boogie Bakery Belair

Did I eat a Banana Boogie Bakery vanilla slice?

Yes, I did.

Aren’t I low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating?

Yes, I am.

Is the vanilla slice low in carbohydrates and healthy fat?

No, it isn’t.

Why did you eat the vanilla slice?

It was Anzac Day, and Kathleen and I went for a drive. I wanted to do something special with Kathleen. When I cook, it’s usually biased toward my way of eating. I wanted to do something together with Kathleen.

What was the vanilla slice like?

It was good. It reminded me of the vanilla slice from the Gumnut Patisserie in Bowral. The custard pastry interface had notes of caramel, and the vanilla flavour was well balanced with the sweetness. The mouthfeel of the custard and pastry combined well. The icing was not excessively sweet.

Would you eat another one?

Maybe. If I want to do something special with Kathleen again, I might go for one of the other vanilla slice options.

Were there any after-effects worth noting?

A couple of hours after eating the vanilla slice, we drove into the city, and I started getting an anterior compartment cramp in my right leg. Not long after, my left leg had a similar cramp. The pain was moderate, and the cramping persisted for about an hour. It made walking uncomfortable. When I weighed myself the following morning, I was 2.0 kg heavier. I assumed it was retained water.

Vanilla slice from Banana Boogie Bakery Belair

What have I been eating?

An animal-based diet means great leftover meals. Because my local supermarket doesn’t have a great meat selection, I’ve been buying beef short ribs from Baa Moo Oink.

Leftover rib meat is on par with leftover cold lamb shoulder. The protein and fat content of the rib meat is perfect.

The method I use for heating the rib meat is simple. I cut the cold meat into one cubic centimetre pieces and put them into a frypan. I then add about 100 mL of water and turn on the heat. As the water simmers, the meat softens, and the muscle fibres separate. The fat is released as the meat breaks down, and the water evaporates. I’m left with a soft, tender, and moist bowl of meat. I often finish with butter and pure cream to improve the mouthfeel.

The leftover cooking liquor is an added benefit of cooking with a pressure cooker or slow cooker. I keep it in the refrigerator, and when it’s cold, I lift the solid fat off and put it into a container for later use. I then use a tablespoon or two of the jellied meat broth and make a hot drink with boiling water.

Bone in ribeye steak from Baa Moo Oink. Cooked in a water bath for 3 hours at 57 °C and seared on a Weber Q+.
Bone in ribeye steak from Baa Moo Oink. Cooked in a water bath for 3 hours at 57 °C and seared on a Weber Q+.
Scotch fillet steak. Pan-fried in butter.
Bone in ribeye steak from Baa Moo Oink. Cooked in a water bath for 3 hours at 57 °C and seared on a Weber Q+.
Bone in ribeye steak from Baa Moo Oink. Cooked in a water bath for 3 hours at 57 °C and seared on a Weber Q+.
Leftover beef short rib meat.
Scotch fillet steak. Pan-fried in butter.
Leftover beef short rib meat and coffee
Leftover beef short rib meat and coffee
Scotch fillet steak. Pan-fried in butter.
Leftover beef short rib meat and hot beef broth
Chucke steak and speck
Bone in ribeye steak from Baa Moo Oink. Cooked in a water bath for 3 hours at 57 °C and seared on a Weber Q+.
Chucke steak and speck

Recipe

I had some beef chuck and speck cooked in the pressure cooker tonight.

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker.
  • Carbon steel frypan.

Ingredients

  • Chuck steak.
  • Speck
  • Meat broth.
Chuck steak and speck

Instructions

  1. Dice the beef and pork and put the meat into the pressure cooker.
  2. Add the meat broth.
  3. Cook under pressure for 1 hour.
  4. Open the lid and remove the mixed meat with a slotted spoon when the pressure equilibrates with atmospheric pressure.
  5. Sieve the cooking liquor and refrigerate the broth.
  6. Transfer the meat to a frypan and turn on the heat.
  7. Gently cook with a little butter and cream.
  8. Transfer the meat to a dinner plate.
  9. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger.
  10. If you’re eating a low-carbohydrate diet, meat and plant-based foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination.
  11. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, fill your boots.
  12. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this meat won’t be suitable.
  13. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  14. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. I used a spoon.
Chucke steak and speck
Chucke steak and speck
Chucke steak and speck

Thoughts on the meal

The more I eat meat, the more I like it and the more I’m enjoying this way of eating. The speck was a good addition to the chuck. It gave the dish a nice smoky flavour.

There are sufficient leftovers for a few meals this week.

Final thoughts

  • Do you occasionally deviate from routines like a diet?
  • Have you watched the TV show “Bosch”? What did you think?

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

Slow chuck steak

Posted by Gary

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care for my rambling palaver.

If you’re not seeing new posts each week, I suggest refreshing your browser and clearing your browser’s browser cache regularly.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Flowers from Kathleen

Dear Reader,

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

It’s taking me some effort to get used to Australian central time. With daylight saving, Adelaide is 30 minutes ahead of Brisbane and 30 minutes behind with standard time. It feels weird when I speak or send messages with family in Brisbane.

When I lived in Darwin, I could ignore the change in daylight saving because it was not adopted by Queensland (the greatest state in the federation) nor the Northern Territory (the greatest territory in the federation).

Carbon Steel

I haven’t been cooking much of interest lately. When I’ve been home, I’ve been cooking beef steaks (various cuts), lamb chops, beef mince, and beef short ribs. Breakfasts have been eggs. Mostly scrambled and sometimes fried.

For anything pan-fried, I’ve been using my carbon steel frypan. It’s a Matfer 30 cm diameter frypan.

Before moving to Adelaide, I had seasoned it in preparation for the move and accidentally left it on a hot electric ring for about 45 minutes. I’d been outside and hadn’t noticed the smoke. When the frypan cooled, I noted the surface had a peculiar feel. It wasn’t sticky, nor was it smooth. It felt like I was dragging my finger across emery paper. I wondered what the surface composition was. I speculated what may have happened to the steel surface under prolonged heat. I knew the feel of the surface was unlikely to be problematic because the oven methods for seasoning have the frypan smoking for more than an hour. The difference, however, is that the metal would never exceed 250 °C. On an electric ring, the surface temperature would be higher. I wondered if the heat may have caused a reaction to the pan’s surface. I packed it and hoped the pan would not rust while I was in packing and moving mode.

When I arrived in Adelaide and unpacked the frypan, I was happy to see it had not rusted. I put it away and used a small stainless-steel frypan for the first few weeks while getting used to my kitchen and gas cooker.

Last week, I scrubbed the carbon steel frypan with steel wool and seasoned it again.

When I bought the frypan a couple of years ago, I followed the instructions when I initially seasoned it with vegetable oil, potato peels, and coarse salt. Before adopting a low-carbohydrate healthy fat diet, I continued to use vegetable oil to maintain the frypan’s surface. I needed to try something else because I now avoid vegetable and seed oils.

When viewing YouTube videos on the subject, most people warned that using animal fats was a problem because the fat would spoil. The thought of rancid fat puts a lot of people off. Seed oils like canola and rice bran oil are popular. The problem is that physical and chemical alteration is necessary to extend seed oils’ expiration times and preserve the fat from spoiling. This processing can involve solvents and other chemical treatments.

Because I’m using this pan daily, I used beef fat to season the pan. When cooking eggs in butter, I’ll wipe out the frypan with a cloth, and the butter residue will remain.

So far, I’ve not had any problems with the frypan. I don’t sense that the non-stick layer from seasoning with animal-based fats spoils. I only use butter or fat from beef, lamb, pork, or chicken.

When I’ve finished cooking, I use a cloth or kitchen paper to wipe off all the excess fat, and I wait for the frypan to cool before heating to a smoking temperature.

The frypan is looking nicely seasoned.

This is a photograph of my Matfer carbon steel frypan. It's been seasoned using animal products rather than plant products.
Seasoned Matfer carbon steel frypan

A jingle for Yummy Lummy

I was listening to a technology podcast during the week, and the host used artificial intelligence (a large language model) to create a jingle for his podcast.

I used Microsoft Copilot to create this jingle.

(Verse 1)

Come on over to Yummy Lummy, where the flavours bloom,

Home-cooked meals and tasty treats, served in every room.

From the heart of our kitchen, to your dining delight,

Yummy Lummy’s got the recipes, to make your day so bright!

(Chorus)

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy Lummy, a feast for your tummy,

Savour the flavour, feel the love; oh, isn’t it so yummy?

From breakfast to dinner, and every snack in between,

Yummy Lummy’s the food blog, that’s the best you’ve ever seen!

(Verse 2)

Discover new dishes, or classic ones renewed,

With Yummy Lummy’s guidance, you’ll become a master food dude!

So come join the journey, let’s explore the culinary scene,

With Yummy Lummy’s food blog, you’ll see what we mean!

(Chorus)

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy Lummy, a feast for your tummy,

Savour the flavour, feel the love; oh, isn’t it so yummy?

From breakfast to dinner, and every snack in between,

Yummy Lummy’s the food blog, that’s the best you’ve ever seen!

(Outro)

So here’s to good eating, and here’s to good cheer,

With Yummy Lummy’s food blog, the best food is right here!

Recipe

Tonight, I slowly cooked a 600-gram piece of beef chuck. I bought it at $AUD21/kilogram. Used the pressure cooker a couple of weeks ago.

Equipment

  • Slow cooker.
  • Carbon steel frypan.

Ingredients

  • Beef chuck steak.
  • Meat broth from previous meals (it contains beef, lamb, pork, chicken juices and beef, lamb, pork, chicken fat).
  • Salt

Instructions

  1. Remove the meat from the packaging.
  2. Place the meat and broth into a slow cooker.
  3. Cook the meat for eight hours.
  4. Remove the meat and sear it in a carbon steel frypan.
  5. Pour the remaining meat broth into the pressure cooker.
  6. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes to effectively kill any microorganisms.
  7. Keep the disinfected cooking liquor in the refrigerator.
  8. Serve the steak on a plate.
  9. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the steak will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. You can pick up the steak and bite into it. This minimises washing.
  10. If you’re eating a low-carbohydrate diet, steak and plant-based foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination.
  11. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, fill your boots.
  12. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this steak won’t be suitable.
  13. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  14. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. I used a fork.
Slowly cooked beef chuck steak (grass-fed Australian beef)

Kathleen’s meal

Kathleen asked me to make her something with laksa flavours.

I cooked a laksa-flavoured pumpkin soup with coconut cream. I added some sprouts, coriander (cilantro for North Americans), and spring onions (scallions for North Americans).

Pumpkin soup with laksa flavours

Thoughts on the meal

The steak was tender and flavoursome. I have no complaints.

Final thoughts

  • Do you cook with carbon steel cookware?
  • Do you like the Yummy Lummy jingle?
  • Would you prefer my steak or Kathleen’s soup?

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

Fast chuck steak

Posted by Gary

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care for my rambling palaver.

If you’re not seeing new posts each week, I suggest refreshing your browser and clearing your browser’s browser cache regularly.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Henley Beach at sunset. Walking on the sand with my injured foot went well.

Dear Reader,

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

I started work again this week. I worked from home most days. My employer’s office is in the central business district. I went into the office during the week and was impressed by the accommodations.

Kathleen likes the Adelaide CBD, so working in the city will give me the occasional opportunity to explore a little when there is time.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space 9

I’m now in the seventh and final season of both shows. It is about an order of magnitude better watching these shows in high definition on a larger and newer TV monitor.

National Rugby League

Having a new TV monitor with an antenna that works also means I can watch the games featuring the Dolphins and Brisbane Broncos while sitting back in a comfortable lounge.

On Friday evening, I watched the Brisbane Broncos defeat the North Queensland Cowboys in a thrilling game. On Saturday evening, I watched the Dolphins defeat the Gold Coast Titans. It has been a good weekend for footy. My four favourite teams are the Dolphins, Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys, and the Gold Coast Titans (in that order).

The game on Friday evening was broadcast on free-to-air TV. I like that in Adelaide, in peak viewing time for children, gambling advertising is restricted. I didn’t mind my screen being static with a notification, and the program was being censored while the offending material was being broadcast. On Saturday night, the game was broadcast via Kayo, which had no restrictions.

On Friday night, the NRL telecast a fitting tribute to Carl Webb, who died last year after a recent diagnosis of motor neurone disease. Webb played for both the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys. He was also a Former Origin Great (FOG) for the Mighty XXXX Maroons. He was also selected for the Australian Kangaroos team in 2008 but did not play in the Indigenous All Stars. From 2024 on, the Carl Webb Medal will be awarded to the best player in the first game of every season that the Broncos and Cowboys play. The Broncos’ Pat Carrigan won this year’s medal.

The Weber Q+

I cooked chicken maryland pieces on Sunday night in the Weber Q+. The chicken turned out well. The skin was crispy, and the flesh was moist and tender. Usually about $AUD8/kg.

Chicken maryland pieces cooked in the Weber Q+
Chicken maryland with avocado and olives
Kathleen added tabouli. Thanks Kathleen for sharing your photograph.

Recipe

I’ve seen a resurgence in people eating chuck steak in my Facebook groups. Many people cook the steak for between 48 and 72 hours in a water bath, while others cook the meat in a slow cooker for between 6 and 8 hours.

Chuck beef at about $AUD17/kg is cheaper than scotch fillet steak, which ranges from $AUD40 to $AUD60/kg. For comparison, regular minced beef is usually sold for about $AUD11/kg. When stocked in my local supermarket, beef short rib sells for about $AUD24/kg.

I think an animal-based diet would be too expensive for anyone without an income.

I thought I’d try my trusty pressure cooker tonight. I may experiment over the next few weeks and try a slowly cooked chuck and a long water bath version.

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker.
  • Gas torch.

Ingredients

  • Chuck steaks.
  • Meat broth (leftover from earlier meals).
  • Salt
Chuck steak

Instructions

  1. Season the meat with salt and put it into the pressure cooker.
  2. Add about a cup of meat stock.
  3. Seal the pressure cooker and cook the meat for 45 minutes.
  4. Remove the meat and pat the surface dry.
  5. Sear the surface with a gas torch.
  6. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the steak will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. You can pick up the steak and just bite into it. This minimises washing.
  7. If you’re low-carbohydrate eating, the steak and plant-based foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination.
  8. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, fill your boots.
  9. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this steak won’t be suitable.
  10. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  11. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. I used a fork.
Chuck steak

Thoughts on the meal

As a relatively cheap cut of meat, this was fine. The meat is reduced in size because most of the fat is rendered into the broth. The small portion was sufficient to satisfy me.

I enjoyed my steak with a small piece of King Island blue cheese and butter. Kathleen also had some tabouli with her steak.

Final thoughts

  • How do you feel about gambling advertising during televised sports?
  • Are you eating cheaper cuts of meat as the cost of living increases?

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

Henley Beach

Goodbye, Number 69

Posted by Gary

If you’re not seeing new posts each week, I suggest refreshing your browser and clearing your browser’s browser cache regularly.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Dear Reader,

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

Benjamin Way near the Belconnen Police Station
The Big Belconnen Owl
Lake Ginninderra at dusk
Lake Ginninderra at dusk
Lake Ginninderra after dawn
Lake Ginninderra at dusk

Guess what? I’ve moved to Adelaide. I wanted to live closer to Kathleen. I now live a few minutes from her place.

Coffee at Stella’s by the Lake
Poached eggs with hollandaise sauce at Stella’s by the Lake
Poached eggs with hollandaise sauce at Stella’s by the Lake

I’m still working the same (main) job and will be doing the same work. I’m also likely to work as an Honorary Visiting Medical Officer like I did in Canberra.

I’ll soon have a gas cooker installed, so I can cook with gas. I also have a Weber Q+ barbecue that uses gas for fuel.

Weber Q+

Once I connect to the NBN, I can watch the new TV, too. This will occur later this week. The previous tenants didn’t connect to the NBN, so I require a formal installation service. That said, my new place has an aerial for TV reception, so my new TV is delivering some entertainment. Unfortunately, I can’t watch the footy live in Adelaide on free-to-air TV. Once the NBN is connected, my streaming services will see me as a happy dolphin.

Do you like my Dolphins NRL cap?

Adelaide is the fourth city I’ve lived in, and it’s the first time I’ve lived in a bicameral jurisdiction.

How is the foot?

What’s happened this week?

The foot and knee are continuing to heal. While I can walk without a cane, some stiffness and pain remain in the knee, ankle, and toes.

The move

The removalists arrived, lifted my things from the flat (number 69), and then packed the things I had in long-term storage. They arrived in Adelaide about 48 hours later.

Kathleen did the amazing thing of driving from Canberra to Adelaide with me. We shared the driving. Kathleen has a lot of experience driving between both cities.

The drive from Canberra to Adelaide was great. Kathleen is a terrific driving partner. To break up the drive, we stayed overnight in Narrandera.

Charlie’s on East Charles Sturt Hotel Scotch fillet steak
Boonka’s brekkie Bacon and eggs with sausage, garlic mushrooms, onion, fried tomatoes, hash browns, caramelised onion, and capsicum.
Four fried eggs with bacon at Tangles Cafe from the Boonka’s Brekkie. Kathleen ate the rest.
Tooleybuc NSW 2736 public toilet. Look! 👀 it is air conditioned.

The roads were pretty good. On the first day, the ambient temperature got as high as 38 °C, while the second day was much cooler at 25 °C. My car is over 15 years old and seems to manage the drive well.

What have I been eating?

Tinned corned beef and coconut cream
Eggs and cheese scrambled in butter
Tinned corned beef and cheese
Tinned corned beef and coconut cream
My last meal in Canberra. Tinned corned beef with eggs scrambled in cream, butter, and cheese.
My last meal in Canberra. Tinned corned beef with eggs scrambled in cream, butter, and cheese.
Half chicken at Georges on Waymouth
Scotch fillet steak at Georges on Waymouth
Eggs scrambled in butter. My first cooked meal in my unit
Minced beef and cheese
Lamb offcuts from the pressure cooker

Equipment

  • Weber Q+

Ingredients

  • Scotch fillet steak.

Instructions

  1. Dry brine the steaks overnight.
  2. Heat the barbecue and then clean the grates with a wire brush.
  3. Cook the steaks on the barbecue and flip the steaks every 30 seconds until the meat is nicely caramelised.
  4. Rest the meat for 5 to 7 minutes (minimum).
  5. Slice the meat.
  6. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the steak will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. You can pick up the steak and just bite into it. This minimises washing.
  7. If you’re low-carbohydrate eating, steak and some plant-based foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination.
  8. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, fill your boots.
  9. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this steak won’t be suitable.
  10. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  11. Eat with whatever implements you prefer.
Weber Q+
Weber Q+
Scotch fillet steak on the Weber Q+
Scotch fillet steak on the Weber Q+
Scotch fillet steak cooked on the Weber Q+
Scotch fillet steak cooked on the Weber Q+

Thoughts on the meal

This was my first time using the Weber Q+ (which I’d bought second-hand). I was happy with the outcome. I will need to use it more often to get a good feel for it.

It was great cooking a meal and sharing it with Kathleen in my own place.

Final thoughts

  • Do you like moving?
  • Do you like having a driving partner to share the load?
  • Do you like cooking on a barbecue?

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

Kangaroo Island

Posted by Gary

If you’re not seeing new posts each week, I suggest refreshing your browser and clearing your browser’s browser cache regularly.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Dear Reader,

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week. I’m now back in Canberra after spending nine nights in South Australia visiting Kathleen. Last week, it was Kathleen’s birthday. It was her daughter’s birthday this week and we went out for dinner. We also visited Kangaroo Island and spent three nights there.

How is the foot?

What’s happened this week?

The good news is that being away in South Australia did me good and my foot and knee while weak and limited feel good.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager

One of the amazing things about Kathleen is that she understands my enjoyment of Star Trek. There were times when we watched some Star Trek together and times when I watched while Kathleen was doing something else.

Restaurant reviews

The Meat and Wine Co

We went with Kathleen’s daughter out to dinner at the Meat and Wine Co. in Adelaide’s central business district.

It is a restaurant which features a lot of beef. The restaurant also does two different types of dry-aged steak. One is done the traditional way, and the other is butter dry-aged.

I went with a bone-in scotch fillet steak, which was traditionally dry-aged. It was a very nice piece of steak.

Kathleen decided to have chicken breast for dinner.

Dry-aged beef at The Meat & Wine Co.
I gnawed the rib
Chicken breast at The Meat & Wine Co.

Penneshaw Pub

View from Penneshaw Pub

We arrived on Kangaroo Island on Tuesday and on arrival enjoyed lunch at the Penneshaw Pub.

We shared six oysters. Kathleen enjoyed some rare tuna and I had some lovely lamb cutlets.

Tuna at Penneshaw Pub
Lamb cutlets at Penneshaw Pub
Oysters at Penneshaw Pub

For dinner, we called around a few places and couldn’t get a table so we returned to the pub for our evening meal.

Kathleen had crispy skin salmon while I had a T-bone steak. We shared another six oysters too.

I decided to make my meal a reef and beef.

Oysters at Penneshaw Pub
Salmon at Penneshaw Pub
T-bone steak at Penneshaw Pub
T-bone steak and oysters at Penneshaw Pub

The house we stayed in had a fully equipped kitchen with both a wood stove and oven plus a gas stove and oven.

This meant I could scramble eggs in butter each morning for breakfast.

Kangaroo Island Fresh Seafoods

We spent the morning in Kingscote and decided to try some fish at Kangaroo Island Fresh Seafoods. This place it collocated with a servo (that’s Australian slang for petrol station). We both asked for flathead fillets. Mainly, because we knew that flathead being a cartilaginous fish like a shark or a ray wouldn’t have bones.

The flat head was okay. I had mine grilled while Kathleen’s was crumbed. Unfortunately, the fryer the restaurant uses for battered fish wasn’t working.

Crumbed Flathead fillets grilled from Kangaroo Island Fish and seafood
Flathead fillets grilled from Kangaroo Island Fish and seafood

Drakes steaks

For dinner we bought some scotch fillet steaks from Drakes. Drakes is a local independent supermarket in South Australia. The steaks looked great in the packaging and cooked nicely that evening. We also bought some blue cheese and goat cheese and enjoyed it with the steak.

Scotch fillet steak

The Oyster Farm Shop

On Thursday lunch was a seafood platter (also known as the Aquaplatter) from the oyster farm shop in American River.

The term aquaplatter niggled my brain because aqua normally refers to fresh water while marine normally refers to sea water.

The platter had oysters, prawns from Port Lincoln, King George whiting, smoked salmon wings, pippis in butter and garlic, plus some condiments.

The platter was okay to good. It was the first time Kathleen and I have eaten pippis. I’m not convinced I’d have them again.

We were told the oyster season finished that Thursday, so we were pleased to enjoy the last of the oysters.

Aquaplatter at the Oyster Farm Shop American River

Reflections Mecure Kangaroo Island Lodge

There was a Mecure Hotel near where we were staying and we decided to have dinner that the hotel’s restaurant on Thursday night.

This was partly because at dusk, kangaroos were likely to be out and about. On the Tuesday night we’d seen a large roo hop across the road in front of us as we were driving to Penneshaw.

Kathleen is an experienced and expert driver in regional and remote areas. Experience and expertise also mean, don’t put yourself at increased risk if you can avoid it.

Kathleen enjoyed the Lamb Rogan Josh, while I thought the rump steak was okay.

Lamb Rogan Josh at Reflections Mecure Kangaroo Island Lodge
Rump steak at Reflections Mecure Kangaroo Island Lodge

Fat Beagle Coffee Shop

On Friday morning, Kathleen enjoyed brunch at the Fat Beagle Coffee Shop. She enjoyed the breakfast hot dog which featured sriracha sauce and jalapeño peppers. Kathleen also had the vanilla slice which she said was possibly the best she’s ever had.

One of the best things about Kathleen is her love for a vanilla slice which equals my love for them too.

View of Port of Pelicans
View from Penneshaw Pub
Baudin Beach Kangaroo Island

Kathleen’s Kitchen

On Friday, we took the ferry home to Cape Jervis and drove back to Adelaide. Kathleen had purchased tickets for a show at the Adelaide Fringe. Prior to the show, we needed to eat, so Kathleen put some beef short rib fingers into her pressure cooker, and we enjoyed a plate of beef rib meat, cheese, cream cheese, pâté, and avocado, plus some butter.

Beef short rib

The show that Kathleen took me to was very funny.

Final thoughts

  • It was a fabulous holiday. The best ever.
  • I even slept better than I have in years. I was able to get between five and six hours most nights while I was away.
  • Holidaying with Kathleen is awesome.
  • If you don’t have someone Kathleen, it’s still worth visiting Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.
  • While the food was mostly good, I think Kangaroo Island is less food destination and more for the flora, fauna, and environment.
Kangaroos on Kangaroo Island

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

Baudin Beach Kangaroo Island