Pumpkin soup with Asian flavours

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Hi there, I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been massive. While I don’t write too much here about what I do, I’ll use the words; COVID-19, winter infection planning, Japanese encephalitis, floods, and Ukraine. One of the blessings of my job is diversity. I love my job and the people with whom I work. While there is always some work on weekends, I hope the people I work with won’t be overwhelmed with the volume of work they need to manage.

A few people who read the blog have mentioned from time to time a desire to see if I can write about a meal that doesn’t have meat (including bacon or speck).

I’m not the most imaginative cook. I like routine because it’s easy to live a life that way. Living alone also means there is no need for sophistication in my cooking. I think of myself as an elementary cook. My gadgets make cooking more manageable and exciting, but I’m a simple soul with simple tastes.

I was chatting with my girlfriend, who also suggested I consider some meat-free options on the blog. In my mind, the most leisurely and most delicious meal to make with enough to keep me going for a few meals is soup. I mentioned bacon a couple of paragraphs above because I often add some bacon to what may essentially be a vegetable soup. So the challenge for me this weekend is not to add meat to any meal.

Pestle and coffee tamper

Ingredients

  • Kent pumpkin
  • Crème gold washed potato
  • White onion
  • Root ginger (noun not verb)
  • Vegetable oil
  • Iodised salt
  • Vegetable stock
  • Coconut cream
  • Laksa paste
  • Lemongrass stalks
  • Coriander
  • Jalapeño sourdough bread
  • Lime juice
  • Olive oil based butter substitute to spread on the bread with plant sterols to allegedly lower serum cholesterol

Instructions

  1. Turn on the oven and set the temperature to 180 °C (fan forced).
  2. With a large Chinese meat cleaver, cut the pumpkin and potato into rough chunks. If your meat cleaver isn’t sharp, sharpen it first. There’s nothing like the feel of a cleaver in hand. If you don’t have one and can afford one, a Chinese meat cleaver also makes a fantastic pizza cutter, especially if it has a curved blade.
  3. Pour a little vegetable oil into the palm of your non-dominant hand and then rub your hands a little so you can rib some oil over the surfaces of the pumpkin and spud chunks, including the skin.
  4. Season the spuds and pumpkin with some salt, rubbing the salt over the surfaces.
  5. Put the pumpkin and potato onto a lubricated baking sheet and cook in the oven until the flesh is soft and if you poke the skin it breaks apart.
  6. Pour some vegetable oil into a large saucepan and turn on the heat.
  7. Cut an onion into quarters and put them into the saucepan and begin the long patient process of caramelising the onions.
  8. Keep gently sautéing the onions until the have turned the colour you lust after. Keep moving them to avoid the onions from sticking to the base of the saucepan.
  9. When the roasted and caramelised pumpkin and potato are ready add them to the saucepan over the onions and then add some vegetable stock. Use your favourite spatula to rub out the fond which has formed on the stainless steel base of the saucepan.
  10. Add a generous tablespoon of laksa paste and a couple of bruised lemongrass stalks. Add the root ginger too. If you’re at a loss for how to bruise the lemongrass, I’d suggest using a heavy stone pestle or a heavy stainless steel coffee tamper. I’ve included a photo for you to see. I basically give the lemongrass stalks a good whack up and down the shaft.
  11. Simmer the soup so the watery stock reduces.
  12. Pour in a tin of coconut cream and chopped roots, stalks, and leaves of a bunch of coriander.
  13. When everything looks like it’s been incorporated and well mixed and thickening like the consistency of thicken cream turn off the heat, remove the lemongrass stalks, and use a stick blender to process the soup. Towards the end squeeze in some lime juice for a little sourness.
  14. With a bread knife, cut a thick slice of jalapeño sourdough bread and spread some of the “fake butter” on it.
  15. Ladle some soup in a bowl and serve with the bread.
  16. Give thanks to the LORD for the food as well as all the great things in life like friends, work, and family.
  17. Enjoy the soup with a spoon and soaked up in that bread.

How was the meal?

The soup and the bread were good. I’m a happy camper. I’m also excited because my youngest child turns 21 this week.

Final thoughts

  • Do you like soup? Do you ever add Asian flavours to ingredients which traditionally aren’t Asian?
  • How has your week been? I hope it’s been fulsome and full of joy.
  • Do you like coriander? I heard a YouTube cook call coriander “Satan’s lettuce”. My Mum doesn’t like it and I have a few friends who also thinks it tastes soapy.
  • What are you planning to make next week? I’m thinking of nude wonton soup.
Pumpkin soup with jalapeño bread
Pumpkin soup with jalapeño bread
Pumpkin soup with jalapeño bread

Standing ribeye roast and roast vegetables.

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

How are you this week? I hope all is well with you and yours.

It’s a funny thing; I enter the supermarket with a notion of less meat and lots of healthful vegetables. My health concerns me because my GP recently referred me to a pathologist for some pathology tests, and it turns out, I’m still a typical middle-aged Australian bloke! 😉 If you’re interested, search for “metabolic syndrome” in any search engine.

Then, as I wander the aisles in the meat section, I see something which lures me toward it. I even turned away, averted my eyes, and tried to look at skinless chicken pieces, but this ribeye roast seemed to be calling out to me. I could hear it calling me. “Gary” “Gary, come here to me.” “Gary, pick me up, feel me, touch me, feel my weight.” “Gary, buy me and then eat me.”

Who am I to say no?

It’s been a while since I’ve used my wireless meat thermometer to cook a piece of beef.

As I was applying some salt for an overnight dry brine, I was drooling at the thought of chewing the meat from the bones.

Salted ribeye roast ready for overnight dry brining

Ingredients

  • Ribeye roast
  • Iodised salt
  • Mustard (choose what you lust after)
  • Vegetable oil
  • Cauliflower
  • Curry powder
  • Pumpkin
  • Brown sugar
  • White onion
  • Instant gravy
Coles Finest. Australian Angus Beef. Ribeye roast.

Instructions

  1. Remove the meat from the packaging.
  2. Dry off the raw meat juices with absorbent paper towel.
  3. Generously season all surfaces of the beef with salt.
  4. Place the roast on a rack over a tray and place in the refrigerator overnight.
  5. Around the middle of the afternoon, cut an onion and gently saute the onion in some oil until the onion is caramelised.
  6. About an hour before you plan to start cooking, remove the meat from the refrigerator. The surface of the meat should look dry and the colour should be darker.
  7. Heat the oven to 230 °C (fan forced).
  8. Pour a little neutral oil into your hand and rub the lubricant into your palms and them massage your pumpkin and cauliflower.
  9. Season the pumpkin with some brown sugar and salt. Season the cauliflower with some curry powder and salt.
  10. Put the pumpkin and cauliflower on a tray and put them into the oven for 15 minutes (prior to inserting the meat).
  11. Insert the thermometer into the meat, and penetrate the eye fillet until only the root end of your probe is visible.
  12. Open the app and set up the cook for rare knowing that from past experience the app tends to overshoot a little.
  13. With bare hands or after donning some cooking-safe gloves, dip two fingers into a pot of mustard and liberally apply the mustard to the dry surface of the meat. Gently massage this flavour-filled lube all over your meat and even the bare bones.
  14. Cook the meat according to the app.
  15. When the app indicates it’s time to remove the meat, withdraw it from the warmth of the oven and cover it with an aluminium foil tent while it rests. American friends, that’s aluminium!!!
  16. The app should indicate the resting time too.
  17. Check the pumpkin and cauliflower. They should be soft enough to permit the easy insertion of a skewer so it easily slides in and out.
  18. While the meat is resting, make the instant gravy according to the manufacturer’s instructions for use. Mix the caramelised onion with the gravy.
  19. Sharpen your carving knife and ponder “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27:17‬ ‭NLT
  20. Cleave the meat between the ribs and place one piece into a container for refrigeration. With the other piece, take a boning knife, and running the blade along the bone dissect the meat from the bone.
  21. Place the meat on the dinner plate and lay the rib over it. Place the roast vegetables next to the meat and then spoon gravy over the meat, rib, and vegetables.
  22. This is meal when you want to use your best steak knife.
  23. Give thanks to the LORD for every good thing you have in life, especially friends and family, as well as this meal of meaty goodness.‬‬
  24. Gnaw the meat from the rib and feel free to add more gravy so you can suck off the bone and enjoy the salty goodness.

How did the meal taste?

The meat was juicy and tender. The crust which had formed in the oven had a fantastic flavour with the mustard and salt. Adding a little mustard to the bare rib bones added a little flavour bonus when sucking on the bones.

This week’s audio entertainment

I’ve been listening to “Killing Floor” by Lee Child. The protagonist is Jack Reacher. You may be aware of two Jack Reacher movies starring Tom Cruise. I remember there was controversy because, in the books, Jack Reacher is a giant of man, while Tom Cruise is my height. That is, he’s a short arse.

If you like a bit of action, intrigue, and crime, I can highly recommend the books and the TV show, which is now streaming.

I’ve also been listening to a new podcast, viz., What’s the History? The hosts are Claire and Fi, and they’re from Ireland. I’ve known Claire for more than a decade. She’s a blogger and a Tweep, and I also connect with her on Instagram. Claire and Fi are school teachers with skills in English and History. They’re both hilarious, very entertaining, and having listened to them, I reckon they’d be ace school teachers. Search for “What’s the History?” in your favourite podcatcher, and you will enjoy this weekly show, I’m sure.

Final thoughts

  • How has your week been?
  • Are you a fan of the Jack Reacher books? What did you think of the movies with Tom Cruise as Reacher?
  • Do you like history podcasts? Do you get sucked into hosts with Irish accents?

I’d love it if you left a comment or a reply in the comment box.

Coles Angus beef Rib eye roast Dry brining
Coles Angus beef Rib eye roast
Coles Angus beef Rib eye roast Dry brining
Coles Angus beef Rib eye roast Dry brining
Dry brine Ribeye roast
Dry brine Ribeye roast
Caramelised onions
Dry brine ribeye roast rubbed with mustard with the MEATER™ probe inserted
Dry brine ribeye roast rubbed with mustard with the MEATER™ probe inserted
MEATER™ ribeye roast
Carved ribeye roast
Carved ribeye roast
Standing ribeye roast and roast vegetables
Standing ribeye roast and roast vegetables
Standing ribeye roast and roast vegetables

Ribeye Roast

Image Source: Traeger Grills.

Sous vide eye fillet and duxelles wrapped in puff pastry—Beef Wellington

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

How has your week been? I’ve had a fabulous one. Work has been busy with some unexpected challenges. Such challenges, however; accentuate the amazing skills and nature of the marvellous group of people I have the honour of working with.

Personally, life has been pretty good too. Feeling joy and happiness is wonderful.

Angas Park Australian Pitted Prunes. Great for constipation 😉

Ingredients

  • Eye fillet steak (beef)
  • Dijon mustard
  • Brown mushrooms (chopped)
  • White onion (chopped)
  • Parsley (chopped)
  • Sage (chopped)
  • Pitted prunes (chopped)
  • Pâté
  • Puff pastry (store bought)
  • Instant gravy
  • Broccolini

Instructions

  1. Truss a piece of eye fillet steak with butcher’s twine.
  2. Season the beef liberally with salt.
  3. Put the meat into a plastic vacuum bag and seal it.
  4. Refrigerate the meat for a few hours and let the salt penetrate the meat.
  5. Cook the beef in a water bath at 54 °C for about 2 hours.
  6. Refrigerate the meat in the bag overnight (this isn’t necessary but I cooked the meat on Saturday and cooked this meal today [Sunday]).
  7. Remove the meat from the bag and dry the surface of the steak with kitchen paper and snip the butcher’s twine and remove the string.
  8. Rub some Dijon mustard over the beef.
  9. Sauté the onions in a little rice bran oil or vegetable oil.
  10. Once the onions have become translucent, add the mushrooms and sauté until the schroom juices exude freely.
  11. Once the bulk of the water has become vapour, add in the prunes, sage, and parsley. Mix everything well and turn off the heat.
  12. Transfer the duxelles to the bowl to cool down. Have some absorbent paper in the bottom of the bowl to tamponade any free juices. I don’t want the duxelles bone dry, I want it to start off moist and once it gets hot again, it’ll get wet.
  13. One a sheet of puff pastry trowel a thin layer of pâté and then a thin layer of the duxelles.
  14. Place the meat on this and trowel some more pâté on the beef plus a layer of duxelles.
  15. Brush some melted butter on the exposed surface of the puff pastry.
  16. Add a sheet of puff pastry on top and press around the edges so the two sheets bind.
  17. Cut away the excess pastry with a blade and if you feel up to it, use the excess pastry to make some weird looking shapes to add on top of the pastry casing.
  18. Brush the pastry with some beaten egg and add a little flaky salt.
  19. Place the meat and pastry creation into a moderate oven and cook until the pastry is a golden brown.
  20. While the Beef Wellington is cooking, steam some broccolini and make the instant gravy.
  21. When the pastry looks good, remove the Beef Wellington from the oven and allow it to rest for about ten minutes.
  22. Slice the Beef Wellington in half and place one half on a dinner plate. Keep the other half in the refrigerator for a meal the next day.
  23. Put the broccolini on the plate next to the meat and then spoon over some gravy.
  24. Give thanks to the Lord for the meal and tuck in.

Spoilers | Have you watched any good movies lately? | Spoilers

Last night a friend and I watched Pig. It stars Nicolas Cage and a pig. It was released in 2021 we really enjoyed it.

The pig is a truffle pig, and Nicolas Cage plays a former chef with a dark personality.

When I say the movie stars the pig, it’s not like the movie, Babe. The pig is only seen in the first few minutes of the movie, but the pig forms a large part of the movie without being seen.

Final Thoughts

  • Do you like Beef Wellington?
  • How was your week?
  • Have you seen Pig?
White onion Brown mushrooms Pitted prunes Parsley Sage
White onion Brown mushrooms Pitted prunes Parsley Sage
Beef Wellington
Sous vide eye fillet and duxelles wrapped in puff pastry. Beef wellington.
Sous vide eye fillet and duxelles wrapped in puff pastry. Beef wellington.

Fried rice with Spam and Chinese sausage

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

How are you? I hope the past week has been good for you. I’ve had a good one. Work has been good and life in general is on track. It’s wonderful to feel happy.

On Thursday night, I got back to bible study which had been in hiatus over the school holidays. I attend a fellowship in a parish with three fellowships and a large number of bible study groups. It was good to meet a couple of new people to the group.

Another high point was returning to my honorary VMO role at the local hospital on Friday. It was good to think a little differently and to spend time with other medical practitioners and medical laboratory scientists. I met a new trainee and spent time with another trainee discussing last week’s tutorial topic.

Because of COVID-19 and because we work in close quarters, we wear particulate filter respirators (P2/N95 respirators) and face shields when we’re near others. It’s a relatively light inconvenience to be able to work.

Me wearing a PFR and face shield

Do you get inspired to cook things when chatting with friends? I do. Earlier in the week, I was chatting with dear friend who has a love of Spam probably greater than my own fondness for the salty porcine treat. She’s amazing, she eats it straight out of the tin. I always cook mine first. It turns out, she’s not familiar with Chinese sausage, so I described how I like eating Chinese sausage.

Tonight’s meal is quick and easy and tasty.

Ingredients

  • Brown rice (microwave radiation variety)
  • Spam
  • Chinese sausage
  • Spring onion
  • Fennel
  • Red onion
  • Capsicum
  • Red cabbage
  • Soy sauce
  • Cooking sherry
  • Fried shallots
  • Fried noodles

Instructions

  1. Pull back the tab on a tin of Spam and give it a shake to get the block of processed and cured pork onto a plate. You will hopefully enjoy the satisfying thud when it lands. You should also hear a gentle whoosh as the slippery meat slides out of the tin and pressure of forced gravity exceeds the force of the vacuum holding the meat in its cosy vault. It sounds like a gentle fart.
  2. Cut the prism of meat into a thirds and then cut one third into one centimetre cubes.
  3. Take your Chinese sausage in hand and with a sharp knife, slice it on an angle for a fancy look and feel. Doing this also gets more surface area on the cooking surface to more easily render out all the fatty juices from your sausage.
  4. Place the Spam and sausage into a cold skillet and gently heat with the lid on. Gently agitate the skillet to keep the meat moving and as the fat renders out the meat will brown and caramelise.
  5. While the meat is frying off, cook the rice with microwave radiation according to the packet instructions.
  6. Add the cooked rice to the pan which should now be meat swimming in fat.
  7. The rice will soak up the tasty fatty goodness. Nothing like a nice fatty sausage.
  8. Add a splash of soy sauce for more saltiness and for the colour to the rice.
  9. Cook until the rice starts to dry and stick a little.
  10. Add a slug of cooking sherry and deglaze the surface of the skillet.
  11. Turn the heat off and add the sliced spring onions, fennel, red onion, and red cabbage.
  12. Stir everything through and transfer to a bowl.
  13. Garnish with some fried noodles and fried shallots for some crunch.
  14. Give thanks to the Lord and enjoy.

How was it?

The meal was a little more salty than I should have eaten. My hypertension probably didn’t appreciate it.

I split the meal in half so I can eat the rest tomorrow.

Final thoughts

  1. Do you eat Spam straight from the tin?
  2. How do you stop your glasses and face shield from fogging up? I can’t seem to find a way to prevent it.
  3. Do you enjoy Chinese sausage? How do you like your Chinese sausage?
Spam and Chinese sausage
Fried rice with Spam and Chinese sausage
Fried rice with Spam and Chinese sausage

Lamb shanks and laksa noodles

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Hi there friends. I hope you’re well. Well, what a week it’s been. 

My week has been humming, with some challenges. Work, as usual, is busy, the pandemic continues to keep me, and my workmates occupied.

I’ve seen my general practitioner a couple of times in the last week. It had been more than a year since my last check-up. 

It turns out that despite losing some weight and exercising more, my blood chemistry suggests I need to make some changes to my diet. I’d be better off if I minimised mammal and bird fat, as well as having less cream and butter in my life.

For tonight’s meal, however, I’ve been inspired by a dear friend who has been enjoying lamb shanks. It’s been an age since I cooked lamb shanks. 

As I was shopping today, I thought of lamb shanks and pumpkin mash! However, as I walked down the Asian food aisle, I spied all the noodles. 

Raw lamb shanks
Udon noodles

Ingredients

  • Lamb shanks
  • Laksa paste
  • Udon noodles
  • Coriander
  • Red onion
  • Fennel
  • Spring onion

Instructions

  1. Place the lamb shanks into the pressure cooker.
  2. Cover the meat with some water and add a tablespoon of the laksa paste.
  3. Cook the lamb for one hour.
  4. When the lamb is ready, remove the bone that will likely slide out of its meat sheath and place it all into a bowl.
  5. Drain the liquor from the pressure cooker into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
  6. Add in the noodles and simmer until the noodles are ready.
  7. Chop the coriander, and slice the spring onion, fennel, and red onion.
  8. Drain the noodles and mix through the coriander, spring onion, red onion, and fennel.
  9. Transfer the noodles to a shallow bowl and place the lamb meat on top.
  10. Spoon some of the meat juices over the lamb and noodles.
  11. Give thanks to the Lord for the food and for friends.

How was the meal?

Okay, I confess, this is a peculiar combination of ingredients. I wrote in a file note at work yesterday an opinion on a form of words. I acknowledged I’m a peculiar person with strong views. A workmate thought it was hilarious and agreed that I am peculiar.

The meat was tender, fall off the bone tender. 

I’m not quite sure lamb shank and noodles would sell in a restaurant. That said, it was a tasty meal, and if you try it, let me know what you think.

Final thoughts

  1. Have you ever had lamb with noodles and laksa flavours?
  2. Do you think lamb is suited to Asian cuisine?
  3. Do you like lamb shanks?
  4. How has your week been?

Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Udon noodles
Cooked lamb shanks
Pressure cooker lamb shanks with laksa flavoured Udon noodles, fennel, spring onion, radish, and coriander
Pressure cooker lamb shanks with laksa flavoured Udon noodles, fennel, spring onion, radish, and coriander
Pressure cooker lamb shanks with laksa flavoured Udon noodles, fennel, spring onion, radish, and coriander