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Recipes blog posts

Slowly cooked pork shoulder

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader, 

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. The blog is for people who live alone and are keen to cook meals for one. 

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe. 

Introduction 

I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine was great. My next week is going to be very busy with work. Doing it all from home will be challenging.

National Rugby League Grand Final 

Last Sunday evening, the Brisbane Broncos played against the Penrith Panthers in the 2023 NRL grand final. 

It was one of the most exciting games of rugby league I’ve watched. The lead changed a few times in dramatic ways. In the end — in a nail-biting finish — the Panthers scored a game-clinching try and are the premiers for 2023. 

I’m now excited for the games involving the Australian Kangaroos, who will be playing some Pacific Island Country national teams. If you’re interested in the draw, the fixture dates and times are available at the National Rugby League website. 

This has been a tremendous season for rugby league. My father won a tipping competition and remains happy in an afterglow of success. The Dolphins NRL team had a fabulous inaugural year in the NRL. Some of their players have made international sides for the Pacific Championships, including the Kangaroos. Of course, the icing was the mighty XXXX Queensland Maroons defeating the NSW Blues in the State of Origin series.

Next year looks good to be another phenomenal year of rugby league, and I hope to catch Dolphins games in person at Lang Park when visiting family in Brisbane.

Orthopædic surgeon review of my knee 

On Thursday afternoon, I visited my consultant surgeon so he could review the patella ORIF he was responsible for six weeks ago. 

Before I saw him, I had an x-ray of my knee. I asked to look at the images. The patella repair looked great to my untrained eye. 

Knee x-ray

The surgeon was impressed with the repair’s quality and my wound’s appearance. He was happy with my muscle tone and explained I should have full muscle strength again in about three to six months. He explained his registrar’s procedure in-depth when repairing and fixing the fracture and the ruptured retinaculum. This helped explain better what I was feeling and seeing.

I’m now also able to use a cane instead of crutches. Besides new shoes that won’t slip on tiles, I’m considering dressing like House when I return to work.

What have I been listening to? 

The Great Plant-based Con 

The Audible app artificial intelligence recommended this book written by Jayne Buxton. Like books I’ve been listening to recently on low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat eating, the author examines plant-based eating. She reviews much of the available literature and reminds readers that observational associative studies and meta-analyses can never prove causation. 

The introduction does an excellent job of pointing out the difference between relative and absolute risk and the problem of confounders in observational studies, which rely on participant memory for what they may have eaten. 

I have friends who are passionate about their plant-based diets, and I respect their choices. I know they have considered the risks and benefits and the ethical proposition. There is a lot of conflicting advice; everyone must consider the evidence and decide. I think it’s great that more and more catering companies and restaurants are accommodating diversity in dietary desires.

The book is neither anti-plant nor anti-vegan, and it reviews the facts about human diets and their effect on the environment. I like that Australians like Matthew Evans are featured. I met Matthew in 2015 at a Canberra blogging convention. He is a food critic who has become a farmer and restaurateur. (Evans, 2019)

It’s worth mentioning the book examines some distortions in pro-plant-based food science; however, it does not always apply the same rigour to its own biases. There are repeated references to the work of one animal-food researcher funded in part by the US livestock industry.

One fascinating feature is the exposition of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church’s role, the business relationship with Kellogg, and the fixation on masturbation amongst boys and young men. According to the SDA church founder Ellen G. White and Kellogg, meat causes impure thoughts in men and causes them to want to masturbate. I didn’t realise how much SDAs influence dietetic and nutrition societies and government guidance in countries where such involvement is possible. (Buxton, 2022)

What have I been reading? 

Low carbohydrate diet and Japanese men 

During the week, a reader sent me an e-mail mentioning a study from Nagoya University that reported Japanese men on a “low carbohydrate” diet had poor health outcomes. 

I searched for the study and found Dietary Carbohydrate and Fat Intakes and Risk of Mortality in the Japanese Population: the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study by Tamura, Takashi et al. (Tamura et al., 2023)

The study was observational, associative, and focused on relative risk. It contains no cause-and-effect evidence. This study cannot prove causation and strictly can’t confer anything about risk, given risk implies cause and effect. The study generated some questions for me: 

  • These studies often rely on the memory of participants to record their diet. 
  • These studies do not provide absolute “risk” information and rely on relative “risk”, which creates a perception bias. The relative risk often appears large when the absolute risk is tiny.
  • It’s not clear what is meant by high fat, e.g., what is the relationship between saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat in the diet eaten by the participants, and what is the source of the fats; it’s also not clear if trans fats and hydrogenated oils were part of the diet, there is a difference between high-fat and healthy-fat, how much of the fat came from processed seed oils vs cold pressed fruit oil or animal saturated fat? 
  • What other confounders exist besides the diet, e.g., smoking, exercise, pollutants, and what constitutes low carbohydrate intake? Note that <40% CHO (up to 40%) is not a low carbohydrate diet. Such a diet might contain confounding associated with insulin resistance in the participants. Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome could explain some of the adverse health effects reported. Given that the advocates of low-carbohydrate healthy-fat (LCHF) eating have CHO ratios <10% of their diet, up to 40% is a problem for this study and doesn’t constitute low carbohydrate.

Inferences from a study like this are problematic and don’t answer the clinical questions. 

Body mass index (BMI)

I have been thinking about BMI and how the interpretation differs from country to country. I found an answer to a question I’d had since January. 

The healthy weight range BMI for men in Australia of Asian descent is 18.5 to 22.9 kg/m2. This range is lower than the healthy weight range BMI for men of European descent, which is 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2.

People of Asian descent tend to have a higher body fat percentage and a lower muscle mass percentage than people of European descent at the same BMI. As a result, they are at increased risk of developing obesity-related chronic diseases, such as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and heart disease, at a lower BMI. 

The lesson for me is obvious. Keep low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat eating and lose more weight. I have much to live for in life. I love life at the moment. I eat to live and enjoy what I do and how I do it. 

Cholesterol, blood clotting, and cardiovascular risk

I’ve also spent some of my leisure time reading articles on cholesterol and the role of coagulation in cardiovascular risk. (Diamond et al., 2019, 2022; Diamond & Leaverton, 2023a, 2023b; Diamond & Ravnskov, 2015; Ravnskov, De Lorgeril, Diamond, et al., 2018; Ravnskov, De Lorgeril, Kendrick, et al., 2018; Ravnskov et al., 2016, 2019, 2020a, 2020b, 2022; Targher et al., 2019)

I also discovered a chemical pathologist friend has spoken at low carbohydrate healthy-fat conferences. He’s an expert in metabolic syndrome and the biochemistry of lipids, liver function, and iron balance. He has some very informative YouTube videos.

Recipe 

I feel like my weekly recipes here are getting boring and predictable. If you get bored, you’re always welcome to stop reading. I don’t mind.

While I don’t credit my recovery from my injury to my diet, I know my diet is healthful. I’m eating nutrient-dense complete proteins and avoiding highly- and ultra-processed foods. My consumption of sugar and other carbohydrates is low, and I’m avoiding seed oils and trans fats.

Equipment 

  • Slow cooker 
  • Oven 

Ingredients 

  • Pork 
  • Iodised salt 
  • Beef, chicken, lamb, and pork broth 

Instructions 

  1. Place the pork, salt, and broth into the slow cooker and turn it on. Cook the meat for eight hours on low heat. 
  2. Remove the pork carefully and allow it to drain. 
  3. Dry the surface of the pork and place it in an air fryer for 20 minutes at 190 °C (374 °F). 
  4. Pour the cooking liquor through a sieve and refrigerate the broth. 
  5. Slice the pork and set some aside for dinner while putting the rest of the meat into refrigerator containers.
  6. Serve with vegetables of choice. For those focussed on low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating, you could enjoy some leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, or an avocado cheek. Some potato or pumpkin mash would work well if you eat starchy plants. If you don’t fatten easily, you might want to eat this pork with stewed apple and some pickled and fermented cabbage.
  7. Give thanks to the Lord.
  8. Enjoy.

BLESS

I’m thinking of starting a trend to eat BLESS. I have been watching some YouTube influencers focusing on BBBE, viz., beef, butter, bacon, and eggs.

I don’t eat much bacon because most supermarket-delivered bacon is water-injected and processed with sugar and other carbohydrates.

BLESS represents beef, lamb, eggs, salmon, and sardines. I’m not sure if I’m the first to use this acronym. While eating pork tonight, my go-to foods are beef, lamb, eggs, salmon, and sardines.

Will I make any effort to propagate BLESS? No, this is just a random thought, and I probably won’t do anything with it. 🤣

I thought about this because I recently completed a bible study series on the beatitudes from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

Thoughts on the meal

The pork was tender. I have enough left over for a couple of meals later this week.

Slowly cooking a pork shoulder roll works well for my style of cooking and eating.

Photographs

Pork shoulder roast
Pork shoulder roast with gelled beef, chicken, lamb, and pork broth
Slowly cooked pork shoulder roll finished in the air fryer

Bibliography

Buxton, J. (2022). The great plant-based con: Why eating a plants-only diet won’t improve your health or save the planet. Piatkus.

Diamond, D. M., Bikman, B. T., & Mason, P. (2022). Statin therapy is not warranted for a person with high LDL-cholesterol on a low-carbohydrate diet. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity, 29(5), 497–511. https://doi.org/10.1097/MED.0000000000000764

Diamond, D. M., De Lorgeril, M., Kendrick, M., Ravnskov, U., & Rosch, P. J. (2019). Formal comment on “Systematic review of the predictors of statin adherence for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.” PLOS ONE, 14(1), e0205138. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205138

Diamond, D. M., & Leaverton, P. E. (2023a). Historical Review of the Use of Relative Risk Statistics in the Portrayal of the Purported Hazards of High LDL Cholesterol and the Benefits of Lipid-Lowering Therapy. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.38391

Diamond, D. M., & Leaverton, P. E. (2023b). Historical Review of the Use of Relative Risk Statistics in the Portrayal of the Purported Hazards of High LDL Cholesterol and the Benefits of Lipid-Lowering Therapy. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.c116

Diamond, D. M., & Ravnskov, U. (2015). How statistical deception created the appearance that statins are safe and effective in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 8(2), 201–210. https://doi.org/10.1586/17512433.2015.1012494

Evans, M. (2019). On eating meat: The truth about its production and the ethics of eating it. Murdoch Books.

Ravnskov, U., Alabdulgader, A., De Lorgeril, M., Diamond, D. M., Hama, R., Hamazaki, T., Hammarskjöld, B., Harcombe, Z., Kendrick, M., Langsjoen, P., McCully, K. S., Okuyama, H., Sultan, S., & Sundberg, R. (2020a). The new European guidelines for prevention of cardiovascular disease are misleading. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 13(12), 1289–1294. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2020.1841635

Ravnskov, U., Alabdulgader, A., De Lorgeril, M., Diamond, D. M., Hama, R., Hamazaki, T., Hammarskjöld, B., Harcombe, Z., Kendrick, M., Langsjoen, P., McCully, K. S., Okuyama, H., Sultan, S., & Sundberg, R. (2020b). The new European guidelines for prevention of cardiovascular disease are misleading. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 13(12), 1289–1294. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2020.1841635

Ravnskov, U., De Lorgeril, M., Diamond, D. M., Hama, R., Hamazaki, T., Hammarskjöld, B., Hynes, N., Kendrick, M., Langsjoen, P. H., Mascitelli, L., McCully, K. S., Okuyama, H., Rosch, P. J., Schersten, T., Sultan, S., & Sundberg, R. (2018). LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease: A comprehensive review of the current literature. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 11(10), 959–970. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2018.1519391

Ravnskov, U., De Lorgeril, M., Diamond, D. M., Hama, R., Hamazaki, T., Hammarskjöld, B., Hynes, N., Kendrick, M., Langsjoen, P. H., Mascitelli, L., McCully, K. S., Okuyama, H., Rosch, P. J., Schersten, T., Sultan, S., & Sundberg, R. (2019). Response letter to ‘does high LDL-cholesterol cause cardiovascular disease?’ Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 12(2), 93–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2019.1561102

Ravnskov, U., De Lorgeril, M., Kendrick, M., & Diamond, D. M. (2018). Inborn coagulation factors are more important cardiovascular risk factors than high LDL-cholesterol in familial hypercholesterolemia. Medical Hypotheses, 121, 60–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2018.09.019

Ravnskov, U., De Lorgeril, M., Kendrick, M., & Diamond, D. M. (2022). Importance of Coagulation Factors as Critical Components of Premature Cardiovascular Disease in Familial Hypercholesterolemia. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(16), 9146. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23169146

Ravnskov, U., Diamond, D. M., Hama, R., Hamazaki, T., Hammarskjöld, B., Hynes, N., Kendrick, M., Langsjoen, P. H., Malhotra, A., Mascitelli, L., McCully, K. S., Ogushi, Y., Okuyama, H., Rosch, P. J., Schersten, T., Sultan, S., & Sundberg, R. (2016). Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: A systematic review. BMJ Open, 6(6), e010401. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010401

Tamura, T., Wakai, K., Kato, Y., Tamada, Y., Kubo, Y., Okada, R., Nagayoshi, M., Hishida, A., Imaeda, N., Goto, C., Ikezaki, H., Otonari, J., Hara, M., Tanaka, K., Nakamura, Y., Kusakabe, M., Ibusuki, R., Koriyama, C., Oze, I., … Matsuo, K. (2023). Dietary Carbohydrate and Fat Intakes and Risk of Mortality in the Japanese Population: The Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study. The Journal of Nutrition, 153(8), 2352–2368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.05.027

Targher, G., Bonapace, S., & Byrne, C. D. (2019). Does high LDL-cholesterol cause cardiovascular disease? Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 12(2), 91–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2019.1561100

Multi-animal species master broth

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader, 

Welcome to Yummy Lummy, the food blog for people who live alone and want practical meal ideas. 

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

Introduction 

I hope you’ve had a good week. This weekend, five jurisdictions in Australia will change to daylight saving time. The result is five different time zones. It seems odd for South Australia to be 30 minutes ahead of Queensland. For readers not familiar with Australian geography, Adelaide is west of Brisbane. 

I’ve never been a fan of daylight saving time. I like waking early and being in bed early. 

What have I been watching this week 

I’ve been watching YouTube videos from medical practitioners, nutrition scientists, and physiologists advocating a low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat way of eating. Many of these people recommend a carnivore way of eating. 

Salt 

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information on salt. I don’t understand why anyone would want to use the heavy-metal-contaminated salts from the Himalayan mountains and other places. From a non-communicable disease public health perspective, iodised sodium chloride (NaCl) is recommended. Iodine supplementation during pregnancy prevents cretinism. Iodine supplementation for a population maintains the intelligence of the community. Community average intelligence quotient results can be affected by insufficient iodine in our diets.

If you have a spare hour, here’s a link to a podcast featuring one of my medical heroes. 

“The man who saved a million brains: Creswell Eastman’s pioneering work with iodine deficiency disorder.” 

I’m not keen on “pink” salts. A study conducted in Australia reported some products to have levels of contaminants that are not healthful and that the claims made by the vendors require the consumer to ingest more salt than is likely to be palatable (Fayet-Moore, Flavia, Cinthya Wibisono, Prudence Carr, Emily Duve, Peter Petocz, Graham Lancaster, Joanna McMillan, Skye Marshall, and Michelle Blumfield).1

MacOS Sonoma 

Last week, I updated my telephone and tablet operating systems.

I haven’t always been a user of Apple Mac products. Until I moved to Canberra, I was a dedicated Microsoft Windows user. I used to scoff at friends and workmates telling me to buy an Apple desktop or laptop. Part of my opposition was that Apple desktop computers looked very odd, and some laptop versions were also weird. 

When I moved to Canberra, two “events” coincided. The first was the amplification of computer viruses affecting MS Windows software, and the second was that Apple Mac laptops started looking good. 

I was getting tired of the problems associated with using expensive antiviral software. Back then, that software slowed the operating system’s speed. I knew computer viruses could still affect Apple Mac products, but it was an asymmetrical problem. 

I became a dedicated user with my first Apple MacBook. 

The new MacOS Sonoma was released this week (after the iOS and iPadOS releases last week). 

The new operating system has some nice enhancements which I’m enjoying. 

Recipe 

Equipment 

  • Slow cooker 
  • Oven 

Ingredients 

  • Beef short ribs 
  • Iodised salt 
  • Lamb, pork, and chicken broth — This broth combines cooking efforts over the last few weeks. I cooked the lamb and pork together and the chicken using the lamb and pork broth.
Speck
Lamb shoulder roast
Chicken wing nibbles
Chicken, lamb, and pork broth

Instructions

  1. Place the beef short ribs into the slow cooker. 
  2. Add the broth and some extra salt. 
  3. Cook the beef on low heat for 8 hours. 
  4. Gently lift the short ribs from the slow cooker and place them on an oven tray. 
  5. Pour most of the beef, chicken, lamb, and pork broth into a container and refrigerate it.
  6. Reduce the remaining broth and use it like it’s a jus over the meal.
  7. Air fry the ribs for 20 minutes at 160 °C (320 °F). 
  8. Serve the meat in any way you like. You can eat it alone and drink some broth on a carnivore diet. You could serve it with low-carbohydrate vegetables like leafy green vegetables or avocado if that’s your preference. If you want, it would also taste great with some gravy and potato mash. 
  9. Give thanks to the Lord. 

Multi-animal species master broth 

I wonder how far I can go with this broth. If I was able-bodied, I’d buy a duck and maybe some goat to add to this broth. I don’t think I’d add an oily fish, though.

Photographs

I didn’t photograph the final broth because it looks like the lamb, pork, and chicken broth. 😊

Beef short rib fingers
Beef short rib fingers with lamb, pork, and chicken broth (gelled)
Slow cooker beef short rib fingers with cauliflower and broccoli
Slow cooker beef short rib fingers for another meal
Slow cooker beef short rib fingers with cauliflower and broccoli
Slow cooker beef short rib fingers with cauliflower and broccoli with reduced beef, chicken, lamb, and pork broth
Slow cooker beef short rib fingers with cauliflower and broccoli with reduced beef, chicken, lamb, and pork broth
The cut surface reveals juicy, tender muscle fibres

Reference

  1. Fayet-Moore, Flavia, Cinthya Wibisono, Prudence Carr, Emily Duve, Peter Petocz, Graham Lancaster, Joanna McMillan, Skye Marshall, and Michelle Blumfield. “An Analysis of the Mineral Composition of Pink Salt Available in Australia.” Foods 9, no. 10 (October 19, 2020): 1490. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9101490. 

Slow cooker lamb shoulder

Posted by Gary

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe. 

Dear Reader, 

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. A food blog about cooking meals for one.

Introduction 

How has your week been? I enjoyed some warmer days early in the week with daily maximum temperatures around 28 °C (about 82 °F). It was nice to be able to walk around in shorts and also to get outside and expose my scar to some sunlight. Yes, I have ichthyosis. My skin is always dry and scaly.

Patella ORIF scar getting some “bennies“.

I’m looking forward to warmer weather, although all residents of Canberra know that we can expect frost any morning until at least the second Tuesday of November. 

What I’ve been watching this week 

The bearded butchers 

“The Bearded Butchers” is a YouTube channel featuring a butcher business from the USA. They specialise in sharing information on cattle, pig, and sheep butchery and meat processing for our tables. 

I have this desire to learn how to butcher cuts of meat properly. I want to break down and fabricate an entire pig and lamb. 

I also dream of having a decent workbench and freezer to cut and freeze my cuts. 

House 

Originally titled “House M.D.”, this is one of my all-time favourite shows on TV. Gregory House is an antisocial medical practitioner with specialist training in infectious diseases and nephrology. 

A muscle infarction in his right thigh left him with chronic severe pain, influencing his personality. The chronic pain has resulted in opioid dependence and the need to use a cane. 

He’s abrasive and contrary, but more often than not he’s correct. I don’t mind people who are obnoxious if they’re right; I do not like opinionated, obnoxious people who try to foist their views on me with poor-quality evidence. 

A big surprise 

I haven’t measured my mass since the morning of my injury. Because I cannot remove the brace, I didn’t see much point standing on the scales. I also don’t know the mass of the leg brace. 

During the week, curiosity got the better of me, and I stood naked on the scales after breakfast, coffee, and about a litre of water. With the brace on my mass, it was a huge surprise. I was more than a kilogram lighter than I’d been since high school. 

New Apple operating systems 

This week, Apple released iOS17 and iPadOS17. Updating the operating system on these devices feels more effortless these days. With Apple providing beta versions months in advance, release problems are fewer. 

Both devices feel faster to use, and I like some app enhancements. 

Given how expensive new Apple devices are, these major operating system updates are like getting a new smartphone and tablet without paying for them. 

Recipe 

I cooked this during the week and thought it was worth sharing on the blog. 

Equipment 

  • Slow cooker 
  • Oven 

Ingredients 

  • Lamb shoulder roast — boneless, rolled, and trussed with butcher’s twine 
  • Speck — I think of speck as fancy bacon. There will be readers who think cured meat is bad for our health. But there is no proof of causation of cured meat and malignancy. At best, there are association studies. The odds ratios, however, are fairly poor and close to 1. Unlike the epidemiological studies associating cigarette smoking and lung carcinoma which was later proven with mechanistic research.
  • Salt — I use iodised salt 
  • Black and white peppercorns 

Instructions 

  1. Place the lamb and pork into the slow cooker with a cup of water, a couple of teaspoons of salt, and a couple of teaspoons of whole peppercorns. 
  2. Cook on low heat for 10 hours. 
  3. Carefully remove the meat and strain the liquid to remove solid matter. 
  4. Place the meat into a baking tray and cook uncovered in an oven set at 180 °C (356 °F) for 30 minutes. The oven stage will dry the surface and create a thin crust over the lamb. 
  5. While the meat is in the oven, slowly boil the strained cooking liquor to evaporate the water and thicken the liquor. The reduced liquor will make a lovely lamb and pork broth. 
  6. Remove the meat from the oven and break it down with tongs. The lamb and pork will fall apart with little effort. 
  7. Transfer the pulled meat to a container for refrigeration. 
Lamb shoulder roast
Speck
Slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck
Slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck
Slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck pulled and ready for refrigeration.

Meal ideas 

Here are some photographs of how I used the lamb and pork in a few meals. I still have most of the lamb and pork in the refrigerator, and it will keep me going for a few more meals. 

Slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck served with cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, and broccoli.
Leftover slow cooker lamb and speck mixed with full “cream” coconut cream, olives, capers, and cherry tomatoes plus tasty and mozzarella cheeses. This was cooked in an oven at 180 °C (356 °F) for 30 minutes. It was served with an avocado cheek.
Leftover slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck, with coconut cream, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. I heated the lamb and pork in lamb fat before I added the coconut cream.

Final thoughts

  • How has your week been?
  • Do you update operating systems as soon as they’re released?
  • Have you watched “House”? Did you like it?

YouTube video

Low carbohydrate healthy fat minced meat

Posted by Gary

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

Dear Reader, 

Introduction 

How has your week been? I’m getting back into the swing of working from home. It’s like COVID-19 “lockdown”, only I feel more locked in. I’m halfway through the first six-week period of having a straight leg brace. 

After the first six weeks, I hope to have 30° of motion in my knee for the next six weeks. 

My routines are working as intended. The main problem I’m experiencing is the relatively sedentary existence. I’m walking down the road daily and back for a coffee. The walk, with the aid of crutches, is about 20 minutes. Before the injury, I used to do a 40-minute brisk walk after dinner every day. At my current rate, that walk would take me nearly three hours, I reckon. 🤣

While I do not subscribe to the “calories in, calories out” paradigm, I know caloric restriction is essential to maintaining my health for someone confined to quarters and with limited mobility. 

What have I been watching this week? 

Kim’s Convenience 

Kim’s Convenience is a situation comedy produced in Canada. It is about a husband and wife from the Republic of Korea who have emigrated and own and manage a convenience store. 

The show also features the couple’s son and daughter and the son’s workplace, a car rental business. 

The humour revolves around archetypal Asian stereotypes. I reckon it’s hilarious. 

Recipe 

This minced meat, cheese, and vegetable mixture will help me plan meals this week.  

A lot of recipes I’ve seen include fillers like breadcrumbs. I’ll use processed pork rinds, cauliflower, and broccoli to minimise the carbohydrate content to keep this a protein-rich dish. I’ll use beaten eggs to bind everything together. 

Equipment 

  • Food processor 
  • Box grater

Ingredients 

  • Beef that has been minced (in Australia, we use the word “minced” rather than “ground,” which is the word used in North America. I’d mince my meat in a perfect world, but I’m too lazy. Buying minced meat has risks, so if you’re concerned, you can pasteurise it at 60 °C for 2 hours. 
  • Iodised salt 
  • Black pepper 
  • Garlic powder 
  • Roughly diced broccoli and cauliflower stems and florets. 
  • Coarsely crumbed pork rinds 
  • Beaten eggs 
  • Grated Cheer™ tasty cheese 
  • Grated Cheer™ mozzarella cheese 
  • Diced black olives 

Instructions 

  1. Put the beef, condiments, vegetables, cheese, and olives into a bowl and gently mix everything with your fingers. 
  2. Add the beaten eggs and combine everything gently to avoid too much compression. 
  3. Fill a baking dish and add more grated cheese on top. Do not pack the mixture in; keep it loose so the cooked product will be tender and juicy.
  4. Bake in an oven for 60 minutes at 160 °C. 
  5. Aim for an internal temperature of at least 60 °C. The terminal temperature was 75 °C.
  6. Allow the meat to rest for 30 minutes before carving and eating with half an avocado. 
  7. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  8. Eat with a knife and fork. 

Thoughts on the meal 

This meat, cheese, and vegetable mix will feed me for a few more meals. Different flavourings like Worcestershire sauce, commercial barbecue sauce, and panko breadcrumbs would be acceptable for people who don’t avoid carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods. 

The meal was tasty and filling. I feel sated.

Photographs

Minced grass fed beef with crumbed pork rinds, broccoli, cauliflower, and grated CHEER™ Tasty and CHEER™ Mozzarella cheeses with avocado
Broccoli and cauliflower
Pork rinds
CHEER™ Tasty and CHEER™ Mozzarella cheeses
Grass fed minced beef
Minced grass fed beef with crumbed pork rinds, broccoli, cauliflower, and grated CHEER™ Tasty and CHEER™ Mozzarella cheeses
Minced grass fed beef with crumbed pork rinds, broccoli, cauliflower, and grated CHEER™ Tasty and CHEER™ Mozzarella cheeses
Minced grass fed beef with crumbed pork rinds, broccoli, cauliflower, and grated CHEER™ Tasty and CHEER™ Mozzarella cheeses
Minced grass fed beef with crumbed pork rinds, broccoli, cauliflower, and grated CHEER™ Tasty and CHEER™ Mozzarella cheeses
Minced grass fed beef with crumbed pork rinds, broccoli, cauliflower, and grated CHEER™ Tasty and CHEER™ Mozzarella cheeses with avocado

Butter Bounty from France and New Zealand

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader, 

Introduction 

Greetings. I hope you are well and have enjoyed a bountiful week. 

I returned to work after a fortnight of personal leave. It was good to be logged in officially and working albeit from my bed. 

I needed the short break for the acute recovery of the injury. I made sure I was horizontal and resting regularly. I can now manage a few stairs and a walk down the road with crutches.

This week, I attended the scheduled fracture clinic appointment and had the dressing removed. The surgical wound looked good. The orthopaedic registrar (a specialist in training) was satisfied with my progress and assured me I could bear weight on the leg. I also sought a physiotherapist’s review of the brace. Since the post-operative swelling continued to settle, the leg brace had become loose, and I needed help adjusting it. 

I left the clinic feeling pretty good. I’m feeling well enough for short walks on crutches to buy a proper coffee in the morning.

A mug of cappuccino from Stella’s by the Lake

Later in the week, I attended a scheduled radiology appointment for a radiograph (x-ray) of the knee. That same day, I started getting muscle pain in the distal medial thigh. There was some bruising, which I attributed to the leg brace, but on further palpation, I could feel a knotty vein. I was guessing I might have a superficial venous thrombosis. 

The patella repair looks good.

I attended outpatients again and saw the same registrar. He understood my concern, and we agreed to monitor the bruising and the pain. 

Uber 

Until a few months ago, I had resisted using Uber and used local taxicab services. My need for a taxicab is usually for rides to and from the Canberra airport. The car park charges at Canberra airport are extraordinary for a weekend away. It is cheaper to use a taxicab service. 

I was at a meeting with work colleagues, and we agreed to get to the meeting venue by Uber. I mentioned that I’d never used Uber, and my work colleagues looked at me with incredulity. They explained that the smartphone application was straightforward and more flexible than those available for taxicab services. They also explained that the application works anywhere Uber is available because I do some interstate and international travel. 

I tried it the last few times I travelled to Brisbane and back, and my colleagues were correct. Uber is also significantly cheaper than taxicab services, and the drivers rarely want to discuss controversial government policies. 

With my current situation, I have to visit the hospital and other healthcare providers more regularly. An Uber Comfort ride has been comfortable and cheaper than taxicabs. 

I know this because I thought I’d get a better-suited ride if I could call a taxicab company and make a special request. It turned out to be more expensive and less comfortable. That is the one deficiency of Uber: it’s not apparent how to communicate directly with the company and specify what I need. I’m grateful for the Uber Comfort option.

Butter bounty 

I’m still low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating while confined to quarters. I’m getting deliveries from Woolworths and Coles. 

I’ve been trying different brands of butter. 

PRÉSIDENT® butter
PRÉSIDENT® butter nutrition information

Kathleen has mentioned PRÉSIDENT® butter, which is a French product. The other night, while we were on FaceTime, I saw her placing cubes of PRÉSIDENT® butter in her mouth and letting it melt on her tongue. Yes, butter does melt in her mouth. 😉

Between Woolworths and Coles, only Woolworths stocks and sells the PRÉSIDENT® butter. 

I finally got some the other night. It is as luxurious as Kathleen described. It is smooth, creamy, and rich. It felt decadent as I let some melt on my tongue. 

MAINLAND™ butter
MAINLAND™ butter nutrition information

The other butter I tried recently is MAINLAND™ Pure, made from cream sourced in New Zealand. 

MAINLAND™ Pure is smooth and creamy, yet it tastes less luxurious. I’m struggling to describe the difference. Both are great tasting. I suggest you try them yourselves if you can source them. I think I’d try them on pork rinds.

While I have no allegiance with New Zealand, given that the All Blacks almost always defeat the Wallabies, the Rainbow Warrior episode remains a strong memory. With the Rugby World Cup tournament currently being held in France, it was surprising that France defeated New Zealand this morning. 

The other more expensive butter I buy regularly is Lurpak®. 

Recipe 

Tonight, I’m cooking a scotch fillet (also known as ribeye in North America) steak. I would typically cook a steak like this at 54 °C for two hours, but someone in a Facebook group for sous vide cooking suggested 57 °C for better fat rendering. 

Equipment 

  • Precision cooker 
  • Water bath 
  • Vacuum chamber 
  • Carbon steel frypan 

Ingredients 

  • Scotch fillet steak. I purchased this one from Woolworths for $10. 
  • Iodised salt. 
  • Black and white peppercorns. 
  • PRÉSIDENT® butter. 
  • Broccoli 
  • Cauliflower 
  • Coconut oil 
  • Extra virgin olive oil 

Instructions 

  1. Season the steak with salt and pepper and seal it in a food-safe bag with a vacuum chamber. 
  2. Cook the steak in the water bath for 3 hours at 57 °C. 
  3. Towards the end of the 3 hours, parboil the broccoli and cauliflower. 
  4. Remove the steak from the vacuum bag and dry the surface with kitchen paper. 
  5. Heat the carbon steel frypan and add a little coconut oil and a knob of butter. 
  6. When the butter ceases to sizzle, lay in the steak to sear. 
  7. Remove the steak, put the broccoli and cauliflower in the frypan, and quickly get these vegetables smothered in the healthy fats. 
  8. Arrange the steak, cauliflower, and broccoli on a dinner plate. Add a knob of butter to the steak. Drizzle the vegetables with extra virgin olive oil. 
  9. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  10. Eat with a steak knife and fork. 

Final thoughts 

  • Do you use Uber or other services other than traditional taxicabs? I’d welcome your opinion. 
  • Do you have a favourite butter? 
  • Do you ever eat butter on its own? 
  • Are you watching the Rugby World Cup 2023? Which team do you want to win? I don’t think the Wallabies have a chance, so I want the Republic of South Africa to win.

Photographs

Sous vide scotch fillet steak with cauliflower, broccoli, and PRÉSIDENT® butter