Food

The Ekka 2023

Posted by Gary

Introduction

Dear Reader, 

I hope you had a good week. Mine was reasonably busy.

I don’t have a recipe this week. I spent the weekend in Brisbane for my annual visit to “The Ekka” or “The Show” as we knew it as kids.

The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland hosts the Royal Queensland Show.

Mmm… Dog Sushi at The Ekka. This is a joke, I’m joking. Sushi Hub sponsors the dog and cat pavilions.

I took my daughters plus my eldest daughter’s partner and his nephew. It was the young fella’s first Ekka experience. We all wanted to make it special for him.

It was a glorious day. The sky was clear for most for the day, the sunshine was bright and brilliant, and there was little to no wind. It reached a maximum of 28 °C and it was a perfect day to convert cholesterol to vitamin D.

The Ekka main arena. Mmm… beef 🤤

One of my favourite things about The Ekka is the wood chopping competitions. We sat and watched a few events including some amazing axe men and women at the standing cut, underhand, and team sawing. The sawing event was mind blowing. Those saws are so sharp.

What have I been reading?

I elected not to tackle any new books this week. I caught up on some podcasts and read work-related journal articles.

A couple nutrition-related pieces caught my eye.

Obesity may get a new name. It’s not clear at this stage what name might be chosen because there is debate about obesity as a disease. It could simply be clinical obesity rather than obesity. Many people object to obesity being classified as a disease rather than a symptom of other diseases. The article is a simple read.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has a new name. I don’t know that I’ll remember metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). It doesn’t roll off my tongue like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I understand the words “alcoholic” and “fatty” cause stigma for some people. The new name does convey an accurate physiological process.

What did I eat?

I declined food on the flight between Canberra and Brisbane. I noticed the other passengers were eating hot pies. Everyone had smiles on their faces. I drank mineral water.

On Saturday morning, I ventured to the local mall and sat down to beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and fungi in the form of a steak, bacon, liver, eggs, and mushrooms. There were also four packets of Lurpak® butter too.

While I was at The Ekka we did the usual visits to all the food stalls, especially in the Food Pavilion where there are often samples available to taste and try.

I enjoyed a couple of yummy olives. One had a Sichuan chilli flavour and was delicious.

I elected not to eat lunch, I wasn’t hungry, so I waited until later in the afternoon when everyone was keen to enjoy a strawberry sundae. The Ekka’s strawberry sundaes are a tradition and worth a momentary departure from my low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating lifestyle.

I savoured every lick as I moved my tongue and lips across the rich creamy ice cream and whipped cream. I slowly allowed the sweetness of the strawberries and ice cream to coat my tongue and buccal cavity. I explored the cone with the tip of my tongue making the most of every new exposure to the ice cream and strawberries. It was worth it.

I know some readers are critical of foods like ice cream, I understand why. The amount of sugar and processed chemicals is obscene. The delight it gave my daughters to sit with me and for us to each enjoy an Ekka strawberry sundae in the sunshine next to the main arena of the RNA Showgrounds while some magnificent cattle were on show was worth every gram of sucrose.

At about five o’clock we made our way to Machinery Hill to find a piece of concrete to establish a position for EkkaNITES. We took it in turns to mind our spot and bags while we foraged for something to eat for dinner. I found some roast beef while my daughters found dumplings, baos, and toasties. The young fella had his first Dagwood dog experience, and he almost inhaled it. I think we’ve turned on a love for deep fried battered pork sausage.

On Sunday morning, I found a place and enjoyed poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, bacon, and pork belly.

Poached eggs with hollandaise on bacon and pork belly. I left the muffin behind.

EkkaNITES

I love EkkaNITES which is the evening entertainment program at The Ekka. This one was pretty special. The Queensland Governor and her husband, both of whom I know personally opened the Royal Queensland Show because it was the first night of The Ekka. The Governor’s husband was my boss for three years when I was a pathology trainee. It was a little weird standing to attention in honour of Her Excellency and her husband as she inspected the Royal Queensland Show guard which comprised ninety-nine ADF members from all three services. Her personal guard consists of mounted Queensland Police. I didn’t know this, but QPOL buys former thoroughbred racehorses for the mounted police.

The other interesting aspect of the opening was praying with an Anglican Priest as he blessed the plough. This is part of Ekka tradition and is a good demonstration of the RNA’s roots in agriculture and primary production. I was surprised by the priest’s prayer, because, as a diocese, Brisbane is not regarded as evangelical which is code for the priests don’t believe the bible is the inspired Word of God. The prayer however had words I could really get behind and it made the day even better as we communed with God. Maybe the Brisbane-based priest understood that rural Queenslanders are a bit different.

The entertainment consists of a wide variety of parts, and it culminates in fireworks. The horse-work this year involved Texas Longhorn steers and a small herd of bison being mustered by stockpersons. There were some other parts which involved singing, dancing, and circus performers. This is all good stuff for those that like that sort of thing. I loved the V8 utes doing circle-work and racing around the arena. The freestyle motocross part was fantastic. Each time one of the young riders was in the air pulling and twisting his motorcycle around in what seemed to be impossible situations I was praying God would keep the rider safe on landing. It’s hard to beat the noise of V8 and motorcycle engines and the smell of ignited petrol. Give me internal combustion engines any day. They bring so much joy.

You may wonder why the horse-work involved North American bovines. The show featured a competition between an Australian stockman and an American cowboy.

EkkaNITES ends with fireworks. Each year the show seems to get better. I love fireworks and The Ekka never disappoints. The whole arena is used and the choreographed work with fire dancers, motorcyclists, scooter riders all trailing sparks and flames from back packs as they speed around and across the arena is fantastic. The music is loud. The engine noise is loud. The smell of smoke and exploding fireworks along with ICE exhaust fills the nostrils. It’s a fitting climax to what was a fantastic day. I was spent afterwards and slept well.

Airport drama

I’m posting this from Brisbane airport. My flight home has been cancelled so I’m waiting to see what might be available later tonight.

Flying this weekend hasn’t been good. My flight from Canberra to Brisbane was delayed by three hours.

I don’t know what time I’ll be home tonight.

 

Have a good week.

Lamb rack and spinach

Posted by Gary

If you want to jump to the recipe, skip the introduction. 

Introduction 

Dear Reader, 

I hope you had a good week. Mine was busy with lots of stakeholder meetings.

What have I been listening to this week? 

I listened to a book by neurologist David Perlmutter titled “Grain brain: the surprising truth about wheat, carbs, and sugar – your brain’s silent killers” (Perlmutter, 2019). The author focuses mainly on the role of gluten in neurological disease; he also advocates for a low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating lifestyle. He is a proponent of the concept that gluten sensitivity is a spectrum rather than a binary abnormality. By that, many will say that proper gluten sensitivity is coeliac disease. If a diagnosis of coeliac disease cannot be achieved using conventional criteria, then the patient doesn’t have gluten sensitivity. Perlmutter proclaims that gluten sensitivity and coeliac disease should not be bound solely as gastrointestinal diseases but also neurological ones. He cites many examples from his own clinical practice and helpfully also shares citations from the observations of other neurologists (Cherbuin et al., 2012; Li et al., 2023).

I’ve also been listening to “Kitchen Confidential” (Bourdain, 2000) by Anthony Bourdain (1956 – 2018). I had picked up a bit about Bourdain based on his TV shows and what I’d read in the news. Listening to him read his book authenticates the stories he’s telling. I never realised how many illicit drugs he was snorting, smoking, ingesting, and injecting.

What’s on the menu tonight?

I was scrolling through low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating groups on Facebook. I noticed some were enjoying a rack of lamb. It got me drooling.

Recipe 

Equipment 

  • Oven
  • Meat thermometer
  • Frypan

Ingredients 

  • Lamb rack
  • Iodised salt
  • Spinach
  • Cream
  • Olives
  • Cherry tomatoes

Instructions 

  1. Turn the oven on and set the heat to 160 °C.
  2. Season the lamb with salt.
  3. Insert the thermometer.
  4. Put the lamb on a rack and into the oven and cook until the internal temperature is about 54 °C.
  5. Slice the rack into cutlets.
  6. Wilt some spinach in rendered lamb fat and then add some cream.
  7. Add the other bits of vegetation.
  8. Put the food and the vegetation on a dinner plate.
  9. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  10. Eat with a steak knife and fork. 

Thoughts on the meal 

I love lamb, and I love a rack of lamb. I chose a frame with lots of fat. It was delicious. I’ll have plenty of lamb cutlets left for lunches during the week.  

Final thoughts 

  • Do you have gluten sensitivity? Do you think it’s affected how you think?
  • Do you like watching Anthony Bourdain’s TV shows?
  • Are you a fan of lamb? Do you like lamb fat?

Photographs 

Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes
Rack of lamb
Rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes
Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes
Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes
Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes

References 

Bourdain, A. (2000). Kitchen confidential: Adventures in the culinary underbelly (1st US ed). Bloomsbury.

Cherbuin, N., Sachdev, P., & Anstey, K. J. (2012). Higher normal fasting plasma glucose is associated with hippocampal atrophy: The PATH Study. Neurology, 79(10), 1019–1026. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e31826846de

Li, C., Guo, J., Zhao, Y., Sun, K., Abdelrahman, Z., Cao, X., Zhang, J., Zheng, Z., Yuan, C., Huang, H., Chen, Y., Liu, Z., & Chen, Z. (2023). Visit-to-visit HbA1c variability, dementia, and hippocampal atrophy among adults without diabetes. Experimental Gerontology, 178, 112225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2023.112225

Perlmutter, D. (2019). Grain brain: The surprising truth about wheat, carbs, and sugar – your brain’s silent killers. Hodder & Stoughton.

Picanha and oysters with hollandaise and crispy kale

Posted by Gary

Jump to the recipe and skip the introduction. 

Introduction 

Dear Reader, 

I hope you enjoyed good health and eating last week. 

What have I been reading?

I’m close to the end of Gary Taubes’ Good Calories, Bad Calories Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health(1). It is a very long book at 640 pages or 25 hours and 35 minutes of listening time. The basic summary is that calories are not all created equally. As a unit of energy, a calorie is consistent; however, the form of the calorie is critical. A calorie of fat will not stimulate the elaboration of insulin like a calorie of sucrose will. Gary advises we must not agree to the thermodynamic equation for weight loss and obesity management. The message is that simply reducing the calories in and increasing the calories out will not always work. The biological effect of that calorie must be considered. Moreover, calorie restriction without restricting carbohydrates will result in constant hunger and craving. Having listened to CASE FOR KETO: the truth about low-carb, high-fat eating(2), Taubes advocates for low-carbohydrate, healthy fat eating.

I’ve also started reading a new 426-page textbook. I am reading this book rather than listening because it’s unavailable as an audiobook. Ketogenic: the science of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction in human health(3) is for health practitioners, including medical practitioners, nutritionists, and professionals in related fields. I wouldn’t ordinarily read a textbook cover to cover (Apart from Pathologic Basis of Disease(4)), but this is a book I’ll likely read comprehensively.

A new low for me 

One of the unintended consequences of transitioning from the CSIRO TWD to a low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating way of living is a new minimal mass. I do not intend to lose more weight, but this week of low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating has had that effect. This meal will hopefully add some weight.

I know the body mass index (BMI) is an imperfect tool, but in my opinion, while crude, it is useful. I currently sit in the healthy weight range but at the upper limit. When I looked at the numbers, I could remain in a healthy weight range and lose another five kilograms. If I keep losing weight, seeing how it makes me feel will be interesting.

Weight Chart 20230729 This spans 2022 and 2023. The horizontal lines are 1 kg increments.

Glucose monitoring

I’m toying with getting a glucometer and measuring my blood glucose after each meal. I’m curious to compare such measurements with a specimen collected on getting out of bed.

Picanha steak

For the first time, I’ve seen Picanha in the supermarket. Picanha is a cut of beef that is popular in Brazil.

Beef cuts Brazil.svg
From wikipedia

The most well-known proponent of picanha on the internet is probably Guga from Guga Foods and his other channel, Sous Vide Everything.

Here is an old video of Guga discussing what he describes as the Queen of Steak.

Recipe 

Equipment 

  • Air fryer
  • Microwave radiation oven
  • Stick blender

Ingredients 

  • Oysters 
  • Picanha steak
  • Lime juice
  • Iodised salt (flaky)
  • Kale
  • Egg yolks – 3
  • Curry powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Apple cider vinegar – 1 tablespoon
  • 100 mL of melted butter

Instructions 

  1. Dry the surface of the meat with a paper towel and lightly season with salt.
  2. Wash the kale leaves.
  3. Put some wet kale leaves into the base of a baking dish and then place a trivet for the steak over it.
  4. Cook the steak (and kale) in an air fryer for five minutes on each side (of the steak) at 180 °C.
  5. Make a hollandaise sauce with the stick blender.
  6. Lay the crispy kale onto a plate and place the steak on it. Add some oysters in shells.
  7. Season the oysters with lime juice and flaky iodised salt.
  8. Pour the hollandaise sauce into a ramekin and use it as a dipping sauce or spoon some over the steak, oysters, and kale.
  9. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  10. Eat with a steak knife and fork. 

Thoughts on the meal 

I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I could have had more vegetables.

The steak was good, and the oysters were plump, firm, and fresh. It all worked well together.

I have no complaints.

Final thoughts 

  • Would you acquire a glucometer to measure your blood glucose?
  • Have you tried picanha steak? What did you think?
  • Do you like oysters?

Photographs 

Air fryer picanha with oysters and hollandaise sauce on a bed of crispy kale
Picanha (I discarded the chimichurri sauce).
Picanha and kale
Pacific Ocean oysters and hollandaise sauce
Pacific Ocean oysters and hollandaise sauce
Air fryer picanha with oysters and hollandaise sauce on a bed of crispy kale

Bibliography 

  1. Taubes G. 2008. Good calories, bad calories: fats, carbs, and the controversial science of diet and health. Anchor, New York.
  2. TAUBES G. 2022. CASE FOR KETO: the truth about low-carb, high-fat eating. GRANTA BOOKS, S.l.
  3. Noakes T. 2023. Ketogenic: the science of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction in human health. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier, London.
  4. 2021. Robbins & Cotran pathologic basis of disease Tenth edition. Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA.

LCHF Crumbed steak

Posted by Gary

If you want to jump to the recipe, skip the introduction. 

Introduction 

Dear Reader, 

I hope you have enjoyed a good week. 

I’m continuing to listen to books when I’m not working. 

I’ve finished “The Case for Keto” and am in the middle of “Good Calories, Bad Calories“. The science and health journalist Gary Taubes wrote both books. 

These books are consolidating my understanding of lipid metabolism and the interplay with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and other aspects of metabolic syndrome. 

I remember in medical school not being fond of eucaryotic biochemistry as opposed to procaryotic biochemistry. Reading these books, plus books by Timothy Noakes and Nina Teicholz, have at least got my attention. 

I can see the arguments for low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating to inhibit insulin resistance and stave off diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. 

I wanted to see if I could make crumbed steak with pork rinds tonight.

Recipe 

Equipment 

  • Air fryer 
  • Blender 

Ingredients 

  • Porterhouse steak (thinly sliced) 
  • Pork rinds (commercially bought)[1] 
  • Egg (beaten) 
  • Olives 
  • Avocado 
  • Cherry tomatoes 
  • Olive oil 
  • Apple cider vinegar 

Instructions 

  1. Convert the pork rinds to a crumb using a blender. 
  2. Beat an egg. 
  3. Dry the surface of the steak with a paper towel. 
  4. Dip the steak into the egg. 
  5. Dredge the steak through the pork rind crumb. 
  6. Cook the crumbed steak in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 180 °C. 
  7. Make a salad with olives, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. Dress the salad with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. 
  8. Serve the steak and salad with some Dijon mustard and sour cream. 
  9. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  10. Eat with a steak knife and fork. 

Thoughts on the meal 

I liked it. The pork rinds aren’t as crunchy as panko breadcrumbs, but they did the trick. Air frying the steak was also quick, easy, and free of lots of smoke and mess.

I’ll be doing this more regularly.

Photographs 

Pork rinds
Pork rinds
Pork rinds (crumbed)
Thinly sliced porterhouse steak
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives.
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives.
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives.
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives.

Footnotes 

  1. The only problem with these is the rice bran oil ingredient. Its nutrient characteristics are 38% monounsaturated, 37% polyunsaturated, and 25% saturated fatty acids. I’m not sure if rice bran oil is hydrogenated or not. 

Standing rib roast

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

This weekend you’re getting a double bunger. Last night, I cooked a Scotch fillet steak. Tonight, I’m cooking a standing rib roast with a difference.

I found a two rib brace1 at the supermarket and thought about cooking it in the pressure cooker. The plan is to then split them and air fry them. I wanted to see if I could get an extraordinary tender steak with a great crust.

Lake Ginninderra. This is near where I live. Today was gloriously sunny. Cold, but sunny.
Pork crackle rinds with blue vein cheese makes for a perfect post-walk snack.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker
  • Air fryer

Ingredients

  • Standing rib roast
  • Bone broth
  • Beef dripping
  • Butter
  • Avocado
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Olives
  • Sour cream

Instructions

  1. Put the beef and broth into the pressure cooker and cook for 45 minutes.
  2. Allow the pressure to equilibrate naturally.
  3. Remove the beef and carve between the ribs.
  4. Put one rib into a vacuum bag and seal it. Place it in the freezer for a meal at a later date.
  5. Dry the surface of the remaining rib and rub some beef dripping over the surfaces.
  6. Air fry for 5 minutes a side at 200 °C.
  7. Place a small knob of butter on the steak and let it melt.
  8. Make a salad with the avocado, olives, and cherry tomatoes.
  9. Add a dollop of sour cream.
  10. Plate it up.
  11. Give thanks to the Lord.
  12. Eat with a steak knife and fork.

Thoughts on the meal

The steak was tender and moist. The crust was okay.

The longissimus dorsi muscle was chewy but not tough. It was very beefy in flavour. The spinalis dorsi muscle (fat cap) was gorgeously tender and had that lovely fatty meaty mouthfeel. Gnawing the fatty meat from the bone was a bonus.

This is a guaranteed way of getting a tender piece of steak. This is important for people with poor dentition.

Photographs

Brace of beef ribs. Not cheap.
Pressure cooker air fryer beef ribeye with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives with a dollop of sour cream.

Footnotes

  1. Brace. One meaning for the word brace, is a pair of similar things. So a brace of ribs, is two ribs.