Nikon

What I ate this week

Posted by Gary

Monday

I like the fact in Canberra we have taxpayer funded public art and street art all in the one place. I just wonder when what locals are calling the “Woden ghetto sans people” will undergo development.

Woden public art in a couple of forms Gary Lum
Woden public art in a couple of forms

Back to my usual routine of salmon on a Monday. In the new year, I bought myself a Tefal portable induction hob. It was fantastic. An induction hob is great for making crispy skin salmon.

Crispy skin salmon and salad Gary Lum
Crispy skin salmon and salad

Tuesday

It’s getting cool again in Canberra. I miss Summer. The Woden wind tunnel is very fresh in the morning as I go to get my mail.

Woden wind tunnel. It was quite fresh as I walked up to get my mail. Gary Lum
Woden wind tunnel. It was quite fresh as I walked up to get my mail.

I was involved in some group work and someone brought some TimTams. You’ve got to love coworkers who bring TimTams.

TimTams for the win Gary Lum
TimTams for the win

Lunch was a cordon bleu from Urban Bean. It was good. I like adding cheese and ham to most things 🤣

Chicken cordon bleu. Chicken breast wrapped with ham and Swiss cheese with garlic butter and served with mashed potato carrot and asparagus. Gary Lum
Chicken cordon bleu. Chicken breast wrapped with ham and Swiss cheese with garlic butter and served with mashed potato carrot and asparagus.

Dinner was again crispy skin salmon.

Crispy skin salmon on crispy cheesy noodles with broccoli Gary Lum
Crispy skin salmon on crispy cheesy noodles with broccoli

Wednesday

It’s hump day and I still wonder if this is the only “sign” of construction the Woden ghetto sans people will see in the foreseeable future.

This is the only 'sign' of construction I've seen for months Gary Lum
This is the only ‘sign’ of construction I’ve seen for months

Urban Bean did a special mushroom burger lunch. No bread, just these huge Portobello mushrooms instead of a bun. It was delicious, especially with the beetroot.

Hump day burger. Beef with cheese, tomato, lettuce, lettuce, chipotle aioli, tomato sauce with Portobello mushroom bun and UB chips. Gary Lum
Hump day burger. Beef with cheese, tomato, lettuce, lettuce, chipotle aioli, tomato sauce with Portobello mushroom bun and UB chips.
Hump day burger. Beef with cheese, tomato, lettuce, lettuce, chipotle aioli, tomato sauce with Portobello mushroom bun and UB chips. Gary Lum
Hump day burger. Beef with cheese, tomato, lettuce, lettuce, chipotle aioli, tomato sauce with Portobello mushroom bun and UB chips.

Dinner was Wednesday chicken, namely, broccoli and spicy cheesy chicken wings on oven fried bread.

Broccoli and spicy cheesy chicken wings on oven fried bread Gary Lum
Broccoli and spicy cheesy chicken wings on oven fried bread

Thursday

Payday, you’ve got to love payday. I love payday. I often buy the lunch special from Urban Bean on pay day. The special was Beef Wellington with truffle mash, broccolini and mushroom jus.

Payday special from Urban Bean Beef Wellington with truffle mash, broccolini and mushroom jus. Gary Lum
Payday special from Urban Bean
Beef Wellington with truffle mash, broccolini and mushroom jus.

Dinner was a simple meat-free quinoa rice and vegetables because I’d eaten so much during the day.

Meat-free Thursday dinner. Oven 'fried' quinoa rice with vegetables and Coon cheese. Gary Lum
Meat-free Thursday dinner. Oven ‘fried’ quinoa rice with vegetables and Coon cheese.

I also decided it was time to change the profile photograph I was using on my non-food related social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I’m so grateful I can connect my camera with my iPhone. Yes, it’s been edited to smooth out my skin a little.

Gary Lum

Friday

For a bit of a change, rather than going to the staff tuck shop, I went to the Zouki café with a colleague for lunch. I had a chicken schnitzel wrap. It was quite filling.

Chicken schnitzel wrap Gary Lum
Chicken schnitzel wrap

On Friday afternoon, I looked up the salmonellosis rates for the ACT given recent outbreaks and was surprised.

Salmonellosis rates in Australia PER 100,000 for each state and territory Gary Lum
Salmonellosis rates in Australia PER 100,000 for each state and territory

Friday saw round two of the NRL with the highlight being Friday night’s game between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys.

I decided to make a bowl of cheerios and cheesy potato gems with ETA barbeque sauce. As much as I enjoyed the meal, my team, the Brisbane Broncos lost in golden point extra time. It was just like a finals game. It was so exciting. 

Friday night footy food. Spicy cheesy potato gems with cheerios and barbecue sauce. Gary Lum
Friday night footy food. Spicy cheesy potato gems with cheerios and barbeque sauce.

Final words

I ate well on the weekend too, but I’ve put enough photographs in this post. Have a good weekend. Catch you later.

What did you eat last week?

How do you make crispy skin salmon?

Posted by Gary

Crispy skin salmon is a real pleasure in terms of mouthfeel

There’s nothing like crispy skin salmon, the crunch through the skin and then the feel as your teeth penetrate the soft flaky flesh of the salmon and the spread of flavour over your tongue.

Please do me a favour

I think I’ve managed to work out how to use e-mail lists for sending post notifications and newsletters. I’d love it if you would sign up using the ‘form’ in the side bar (if you’re using a laptop or desktop) or at the bottom of the post (if you’re using a mobile device).

By subscribing you’ll receive a personalised e-mail from me and from time to time, apart from the blog post I’ll share something new, like my ideas for a cook book sometime this year.

I thought I’d make a video of how I make the skin on my salmon crispy without a lot of fat flare

 

What you need to do this quickly and easily

A small piece of salmon, either a tailpiece or middle piece

A plastic bag

Some flour

Any other flavourings that are dry or powdery like chilli flakes or dried mixed herbs

High burning temperature oil like avocado oil

A small nonstick frying pan

A source of heat that rapidly gets to a high temperature and over which you have reasonable control (I use a portable induction hob)

Here’s how to do it

Put the salmon into a plastic bag and then add some flour and other flavourings. Shake the bag carefully so the salmon is coated evenly and being careful not to let the bag break. You don’t want to have flour all over yourself and the kitchen floor.

Heat up the oil quickly and put the salmon in the frying pan skin side down.

Cook the salmon until the skin is brown and then turn it over and cook the other side.

When the salmon is cooked to your liking, take it off the heat and allow it to rest for a few minutes.

Serve with salad or whatever you like/

How does it taste?

Fantastic. I like baked salmon but crispy skin pan fried salmon is always my favourite.

If you live alone and just want something you can cook for yourself, here’s a good one.  

Crispy skin salmon and salad Gary Lum
Crispy skin salmon and salad
Crispy skin salmon on crispy cheesy noodles with broccoli Gary Lum
Crispy skin salmon on crispy cheesy noodles with broccoli

Final thoughts

If you try this please let me know how you go.

Can you do me another favour please

I’m sort of transitioning my blogging to balance between food blogging and light hearted ‘medical’ podcasting. Please check out the podcast at drgarylum.com/blog

You can also subscribe via iTunes and Stitcher

Pork red curry

Posted by Gary
Yummy Lummy
Yummy Lummy
Pork red curry
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OMG my taste buds came alive with this pork red curry

I have no idea what the traditional way to make a pork red curry. I made this meal for one, the way I thought it would taste best. The best way I know how to cook pork rashers is to put them into a hot oven for an hour and render out as much fat as possible.

 

Please do me a favour

I think I’ve managed to work out how to use e-mail lists for sending post notifications and newsletters. I’d love it if you would sign up using the ‘form’ in the side bar (if you’re using a laptop or desktop) or at the bottom of the post (if you’re using a mobile device).

By subscribing you’ll receive a personalised e-mail from me and from time to time, apart from the blog post I’ll share something new, like my ideas for a cook book sometime this year.

Here’s what you need to make this pork red curry

  • One small tray of pork rashers
  • Three tablespoons of Thai red curry paste
  • One teaspoon of chopped jalapeño peppers
  • Two teaspoons of chopped red chillies
  • The zest from one lemon
  • Juice from half a lemon
  • A small tin of coconut cream
  • About a handful of sugar snap peas
  • Half a red onion
  • Six cherry tomatoes
  • Enough Udon noodles for one person (this means you can choose to eat big or small)

Here’s how to put it altogether

  1. Put the pork rashers into a small nonstick frying pan and put that into a hot (200 °C/400 °F) for one hour. When the hour is up place the cooked rashers onto absorbent paper and allow them to cool to room temperature. Cut the rashers across the grain into one centimetre width strips and place these into a bowl.
  2. Cook the noodles in boiling water. Halve the time recommended, you only want them soft, not cooked through. Drain them thoroughly. Toss them so they do not stick.
  3. Heat up a wok and add some high boiling point cooking oil. I used avocado oil.
  4. When the wok starts to smoke add the sliced onion, the sugar snap peas and tomatoes. Once these vegetables begin to soften add the drained noodles.
  5. Move everything around the wok quickly and add the Thai red curry paste. I don’t think it matters what sort of paste you use. I just buy the cheapest I can find. Of course, you could make your own but life’s too short for that. I then add the pork. 
  6. Once the curry paste has coated everything add a dash of water and stir while it boils away. At this stage, throw in the chillies and jalapeño peppers.
  7. Squeeze in the juice from half a lemon.
  8. Add the tin of coconut cream and simmer until it reduces to a thick liquid.
  9. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with lemon zest.

How did it taste?

Roast belly pork red curry with noodles, tomatoes, sugar snap peas and lemon zest Gary Lum
Roast belly pork red curry with noodles, tomatoes, sugar snap peas and lemon zest

OMG, this was really nice. I’m sure I could have made it better with some authentic herbs and other ingredients, but I really liked this.

If you live alone and just want something you can cook for yourself, here’s a good one.  

Final thoughts

If you try this please let me know how you go.

Can you do me another favour please

I’m sort of transitioning my blogging to balance between food blogging and light hearted ‘medical’ podcasting. Please check out the podcast at drgarylum.com/blog

You can also subscribe via iTunes and Stitcher

What happened to my routine?

Posted by Gary

A topsy-turvy week means no routine and no salmon

So, last week I posted about how I had finished February in my usual eating routine. This week has been a little unusual. A day in Sydney, a dinner out I didn’t end up getting to, and senate estimates put my week out of whack.

Monday Maccas

Rather than the usual Salmon Monday, I went with Maccas Monday after flying back from Sydney.

Two Big Macs Gary Lum routine
Two Big Macs

Please do me a favour

I think I’ve managed to work out how to use e-mail lists for sending post notifications and newsletters. I’d love it if you would sign up using the ‘form’ in the side bar (if you’re using a laptop or desktop) or at the bottom of the post (if you’re using a mobile device).

By subscribing you’ll receive a personalised e-mail from me and from time to time, apart from the blog post I’ll share something new, like my ideas for a cook book sometime this year.

Tuesday dinner out turned into dinner in

I was meant to go out to dinner on Tuesday night with friends from work (hospital) but I ended up having to do something work related.

I ended up buying a roast chicken from Coles and making a roast chicken sandwich.

Roast chicken roll with aioli and spring onion cream cheese Gary Lum routine
Roast chicken roll with aioli and spring onion cream cheese

Wednesday Senate estimates

Three times a year public servants appear before senators to answer questions about their program areas. In days gone by I’d eat a steak at the Hellenic Club, however, lately, my boss has been taking a few of us out to dinner which has been a very pleasant change.

I have no photographs of dinner, just the large coffee I had in the morning.

Happy #humpday I need a large one for today. Thanks Urban Bean Gary Lum routine
Happy #humpday I need a large one for today. Thanks Urban Bean

I also have a shot of an abandoned building near where I work.

Canberra, our national capital. Home of fine public art with #abandoned buildings left for years surrounded by fencing suggesting activity but #noactivity Gary Lum routine
Canberra, our national capital. Home of fine public art with #abandoned buildings left for years surrounded by fencing suggesting activity but #noactivity

Thursday saw some normality

Lunch was crispy squid from Urban Bean Espresso Bar.

Crispy squid salad from Urban Bean Gary Lum routine
Crispy squid salad from Urban Bean

Dinner was leftover chicken on a piece of bread that was smothered in oil and heated in the oven to give it a fried bread effect. I laid the skin over the top to help stop the stringy breast meat from drying out too much. I’m not a fan of breasts, I much prefer thighs.

Leftover roast chicken on a fried cream cheese bread roll with peas and corn Gary Lum routine
Leftover roast chicken on a fried cream cheese bread roll with peas and corn

The best thing about Thursday was that even though it wasn’t pay day, it was the start of the NRL season and the Brisbane Broncos defeated the Cronulla Sharks.

The 2017 #NRL season kicks off tonight. Let's GO Brisbane Broncos. Coffee with Urban Bean almond and white chocolate muffin. Gary Lum routine
The 2017 #NRL season kicks off tonight. Let’s GO Brisbane Broncos.
Coffee with Urban Bean almond and white chocolate muffin.

Friday means a day at the hospital, and…

Lunch in the staff tuck shop. I went with roast vegetables. They were very salty.

Meat-free Friday roast vegetables Gary Lum routine
Meat-free Friday roast vegetables

Dinner was a concoction that included a Chicken Maryland, two mushrooms, lots of Coon cheese, peas, corn and a piece of bread.

Cheesy Chicken Maryland on oven fried Colby cheesy bread with mushrooms, peas and corn Gary Lum routine
Cheesy Chicken Maryland on oven fried Colby cheesy bread with mushrooms, peas and corn
Triple chocolate ice cream Gary Lum routine
Triple chocolate ice cream

How did I cope?

I really prefer routine.

Final thoughts

I hope you had a good week. Did you eat well?

Can you do me another favour please

I’m sort of transitioning my blogging to balance between food blogging and light hearted ‘medical’ podcasting. Please check out the podcast at drgarylum.com/blog

You can also subscribe via iTunes and Stitcher

Sweet sweet tomatoes

Posted by Gary

Fresh sweet tomatoes are so much better than store bought

So, I come back from Delhi and a work friend gives me a bag of her fresh sweet tomatoes.

It’s so true that fresh is always best. These little tomatoes were so sweet and crisp and tasty. Last night I cooked them with my salmon and leftover prawn curry.

Salmon with curry prawns with pearl barley couscous and brown rice with white quinoa Sweet tomatoes Gary Lum
Salmon with curry prawns with pearl barley couscous and brown rice with white quinoa [click for a better view]
Tonight, I had them with crispy skin curry chilli salmon and a chilli jalapeño salad with fried shallots and lime zest. 

Crispy skin curry chilli salmon with fresh tomatoes, and a chilli jalapeño salad with fried shallots and lime zest. sweet tomatoes Gary Lum
Crispy skin curry chilli salmon with fresh tomatoes, and a chilli jalapeño salad with fried shallots and lime zest. [click on the photo for a better view]

Please do me a favour

I think I’ve managed to work out how to use e-mail lists for sending post notifications and newsletters. I’d love it if you would sign up using the ‘form’ in the sidebar (if you’re using a laptop or desktop) or at the bottom of the post (if you’re using a mobile device).

Preparing tonight’s dinner

I got home from work and immediately started on the salad. In a metal bowl, I added some chopped iceberg lettuce, fried shallots, sliced spring onions, sliced red onion, red chillies, jalapeño peppers, the halved tomatoes, lime zest and some chunks of cream cheese.  

With the salad done I tossed some flour, curry powder and chilli flakes into the plastic bag with the salmon and shook it up to coat the salmon.

I heated up a small iron-based frying pan in my portable induction hob and sprayed it will a little olive oil. The salmon was tossed skin side down into the frying pan. The hot pan and the flour/curry coating got it nice and crispy. The salmon was flipped over when it was ready and a little butter was added. Don’t overcook the fish!

Juice from the lime, the hot butter and oil plus a little salt and maple syrup was used to dress the salad.

How did it taste?

My experience in India has convinced me that I need to add more spices to my food. Tonight, there were chilli flakes, curry powder, red chillies and jalapeño peppers.

The stand out component were the sweet tomatoes. They just popped. The salmon was very good too. Because avocado is so expensive now, I didn’t have any, so that’s where the cream cheese came into play. It worked well to give that smooth mouth feel.

Final thoughts

If you can get your hands on or your mouth around some fresh sweet tomatoes, do it. It’s well worth the effort.

Parting words

I regularly post photographs of food to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Please feel free to connect with me on any social media platform.
I also have a podcast. It’s not food related but each show is short and it’s named Medical Fun Facts. You can find it in the iTunes podcast store as well as Stitcher. A show drops every Monday and Tuesday. It has a little cynicism, a little scepticism and occasionally some sarcasm.