Yummy Lummy

A blog about food and me

Tag: Butter

  • Pumpkin soup

    Pumpkin soup


    Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Spam and Rye Sourdough Croutons

    Spam on special. Thirty per cent off. $4.75 instead of $6.80.

    This pumpkin soup has a savoury surprise: golden, crispy cubes of Spam folded through the bowl like salty little treasures. Roasted pumpkin brings sweetness and body, cream and cream cheese make it rich and silky, and rye sourdough croutons add a crunchy finish.

    Ingredients

    • One small pumpkin or about 500 g pumpkin pieces, peeled and chopped.
    • One half of a tin of Spam, diced.
    • One tablespoon of coconut oil or beef dripping
    • 250 mL beef, lamb, and pork stock
    • 75 mL pure pouring cream (no thickeners)
    • One tablespoon of cream cheese
    • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
    • Some rye sourdough bread, preferably frozen overnight, then thawed slightly and diced.

    Method

    1. Heat the oven or barbecue to 200 °C. Spread the pumpkin pieces and diced Spam on a tray, drizzle with a little coconut oil (or beef dripping), and roast until the pumpkin is soft, caramelised at the edges, and easy to mash.
    2. The diced Spam should become crisp and browned. Set aside a small amount for “garnish.”
    3. Add the roasted pumpkin and cooking liquor to a saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes so the flavours come together.
    4. Blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the cream and sour cream, then season with salt and pepper. Keep the heat gentle so the soup stays silky.
    5. Fry the diced rye sourdough in some beef dripping, letting it absorb the savoury pan flavours from the Spam. Cook until crisp.
    6. Ladle the soup into a bowl. Scatter over the crispy Spam and rye sourdough croutons.

    Serving idea

    Serve this as a lunch or easy evening meal. The Spam gives the soup a savoury, meaty edge without announcing itself too loudly, while the rye sourdough croutons bring crunch.

    Cook’s note

    Freezing the rye sourdough roll overnight, then using it for croutons, is a handy way to work resistant starch into the meal while also reducing waste. For a smoother soup, blend thoroughly before adding the crispy Spam pieces.

    Today’s food diary

    Morning tea

    I posted this on the Facebook group The Best Vanilla Slices in Australia

    It is a private group with >124,000 members.

    Vanilla slice from Providore in the Adelaide Central Market.

    Price: $5.00, which is relatively cheap for a vanilla slice these days. 8/10

    Dimensions: Very high, too high for me to bite holding vertically. It would need to be approached sideways. There’s a reason why the majority of vanilla slices aren’t high, and (in my opinion) anyone who thinks this is a good selling point is fooling themselves. 3/10

    Custard: Vanilla flavour, firm but not too gelatinous. A fork slices through the custard without the custard becoming sloppy. 9/10

    Icing: Too sweet and goopy. Unpleasant. 2/10

    Pastry: Thick and soggy. The pastry also dehisced from the custard too easily. 1/10

    Overall score: 4.6/10

    Vanilla slice from Providore in the Adelaide Central Market. Price: $5.00, which is relatively cheap for a vanilla slice these days. 8/10 Dimensions: Very high, too high for me to bite holding vertically. It would need to be approached sideways. There’s a reason why the majority of vanilla slices aren’t high, and (in my opinion) anyone who thinks this is a good selling point is fooling themselves. 3/10 Custard: Vanilla flavour, firm but not too gelatinous. A fork slices through the custard without the custard becoming sloppy. 9/10 Icing: Too sweet and goopy. Unpleasant. 2/10 Pastry: Thick and soggy. The pastry also dehisced from the custard too easily. 1/10 Overall score: 4.6/10

    Lunch

    The last of the bolar roast

    Leftover slow-cooked bolar roast

    Tea

    Pumpkin soup with Spam, rye sourdough croutons, and a slice of rye sourdough with cultured butter

    Diced Spam and pumpkin in a cast-iron pan.
    Diced Spam and pumpkin in a cast-iron pan
    Diced Spam and pumpkin in a cast-iron pan
    Cooked pumpkin
    Cooked pumpkin and cooking liquor
    Cooked Spam
    Pumpkin soup with Spam, rye sourdough croutons, and slice of rye sourdough with cultured butter
    Pumpkin soup with Spam, rye sourdough croutons, and slice of rye sourdough with cultured butter
    Pumpkin soup with Spam, rye sourdough croutons, and slice of rye sourdough with cultured butter
    Pumpkin soup with Spam, rye sourdough croutons, and slice of rye sourdough with cultured butter
    Pumpkin soup with Spam, rye sourdough croutons, and slice of rye sourdough with cultured butter
    Pumpkin soup with Spam, rye sourdough croutons, and slice of rye sourdough with cultured butter
    My smiling face on a pumpkin

    The soup was delicious and had amazing mouthfeel. The combination of the Spam and crusty, crispy croutons was fantastic.

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  • Salted cultured butter

    Salted cultured butter


    During the week, a workmate, B.C., asked me about butter. She wanted to know my preferences. I mentioned that over Christmas, supermarkets often have short runs of French butter. And sometimes the French butter on sale is also cultured. I haven’t seen any imported French butter or cultured butter in the local supermarkets for many months.

    I mentioned a local Australian brand of salted cultured butter, i.e., Pepe Saya. I wasn’t sure about local stockists, though.

    B.C. came back and mentioned that the Smelly Cheese Co. in the local markets is a stockist.

    I went to the markets this morning. I bought some butter, some rye sourdough, and some pheasant pâté. After spending some time at work, I came home and made myself a light lunch.

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  • Another standing rib roast

    Another standing rib roast


    Oh, the pain, the Dolphins lost their game to Manly last night. They were beaten badly, and it was hard to watch. The Dolphins have a bye in round 6. I hope the coach and players can sort themselves out for round 7 when we face Penrith, who sit at the top of the ladder.

    A stick of butter

    I like a sourdough Hot Cross Bun with my stick of grass-fed butter.

    I bought half a dozen sourdough Hot Cross Buns from a bakery about a month ago. I like a Hot Cross Bun with fruit, especially citrus peel. I have no objection to creations like vanilla custard-filled Hot Cross Buns and Nutella® Hot Cross Buns. However, to enjoy the butter, a toasted Hot Cross Bun is my preference.

    The Dolphins lost (badly) to Manly last night. Grass-fed butter makes everything better, so I enjoyed therapeutic butter with a little sourdough Hot Cross Bun and a mug of coffee. I now feel better.

    @DolphinsNRL #PhinsUp

    Grass-fed butter with a Hot Cross Bun and coffee. Rather than enjoying a stick of grass-fed butter neat, Ihad a Hot Cross Bun and coffee witht!

    Standing Rib Roast

    For lunch, I cooked a 2.450 kg standing rib roast. The meat had been frozen for about a month. After thawing the meat, I’d dry-brined it for a couple of days, and cooked it in a bench-top oven, which had been set at 120 °C. It took 2 hours and 20 minutes to cook to my desired doneness.

    I ate a couple of slices, the fat cap, some Vegemite® blue vein cheese sauce, and a Brussels sprout.

    Hot Cross Bun Dessert

    A warm sourdough Hot Cross Bun with whipped vanilla cream and ginger marmalade.

    It was delicious.

    Hot Cross Bun with vanilla whipped cream and ginger marmalade
    Hot Cross Bun with vanilla whipped cream and ginger marmalade
    Hot Cross Bun with vanilla whipped cream and ginger marmalade
    Hot Cross Bun with vanilla whipped cream and ginger marmalade
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  • Whipped Vegemite butter

    Whipped Vegemite butter


    Last week on the Lunchbox Envy podcast, the theme was spreads. The hosts made disparaging comments about an Australian food product.

    It inspired me to make whipped Vegemite[i] butter using products from Australia and New Zealand.

    Grass-fed scotch fillet steak, red cabbage, whipped Vegemite butter, and pomegranate arils

    It was easy to make; it just took a few hours for the butter to soften enough to whip into a light, fluffy butter cream. I was surprised by how little Vegemite was needed to alter the colour and turn the whipped butter into a mousse-like, sweet, chocolate-coloured dessert. Instead, I had a light and fluffy bowl of umami goodness. In my mind, I thought it would be perfect to spread on steak.

    Perryman’s Bakery sourdough hot cross bun with Fleurieu Pouring Cream and Buderim Ginger Marmalade. Combining the excellence of Queensland with some South Australian fare.
    Perryman’s Bakery sourdough hot cross bun with Fleurieu Pouring Cream and Buderim Ginger Marmalade. Combining the excellence of Queensland with some South Australian fare.
    This is NOT whipped Vegemite butter. It is whipped pure pouring cream sitting atop some ginger marmalade on a sourdough Hot Cross Bun.

    Recipe

    Whipped Vegemite butter

    Ingredients

    • Butter — 200 g
    • Vegemite — 1 teaspoon

    Equipment

    • Hand-held mixer

    Instructions

    1. Allow the butter to get to room temperature.
    2. Place the butter in a bowl and, with a hand-held mixer, whip it until light, fluffy, and well aerated.
    3. Add the teaspoon of Vegemite and continue whipping the Vegemite butter.

    Steak

    Ingredients

    • Grass-fed scotch fillet steak
    • Red cabbage

    Equipment

    • Water bath
    • Precision cooker
    • Hooded barbecue grill
    • Gas torch

    Instructions

    • Cook the steak in the water bath for 2 hours at 57 °C.
    • Heat the hooded barbecue and plate the cabbage on the cast-iron flat-top.
    • Sear the steak on the cast-iron flat-top on the barbecue.
    • Serve the steak with the whipped Vegemite butter.

    Dessert — A scone alternative

    A sourdough hot cross bun with fruit is a great alternative to a scone. The cream was whipped pure-pouring Cream (300 mL), and the “jam” was Ginger Marmalade (365 g). Marmalade also featured on the “spreads” episode of the Lunchbox Envy podcast.

    This is my version of a “Devonshire tea,” only it is a dessert.

    Photographs

    including previous meals with the whipped Vegemite butter.

    Grass-fed scotch fillet steak, red cabbage, whipped Vegemite butter, and pomegranate arils
    Westgold unsalted grass-fed butter from New Zealand
    Kraft Vegemite
    Westgold unsalted grass-fed butter from New Zealand with Kraft Vegemite
    Whipped Vegemite butter (grass-fed butter)
    Whipped Vegemite butter (grass-fed butter)
    Whipped Vegemite butter (grass-fed butter)
    Grass-fed scotch fillet steak, red cabbage, whipped Vegemite butter, and pomegranate arils
    Grass-fed scotch fillet steak, red cabbage, whipped Vegemite butter, and pomegranate arils
    Leftover scotch fillet steak
    Grass-fed scotch fillet steak with whipped Vegemite butter, a couple of Queensland nuts, and some pomegranate arils.
    Leftover standing rib roast. I carved it into slices and vacuum-bagged each slice so I could reheat a single slice in a water bath when I wanted to eat a steak. I finished off the steak on a hot barbecue cast-iron flat-top. Served with whipped Vegemite butter and pomegranate arils.
    Leftover standing rib roast. I carved it into slices and vacuum-bagged each slice so I could reheat a single slice in a water bath when I wanted to eat a steak. I finished off the steak on a hot barbecue cast-iron flat-top. Served with whipped Vegemite butter and pomegranate arils.

    Vegemite love

    When I was in primary school, I used to eat Vegemite sandwiches every day for a year, and the following year I’d alternate with peanut paste sandwiches.

    [i] Vegemite is one of Australia’s most iconic flavours, born in the early 1920s when chemist Cyril Callister set out to create a local alternative to British Marmite. Developed in 1922 and first sold in 1923, it was originally called Pure Vegetable Extract before a naming competition produced the now‑famous “Vegemite.” Although it took time to win over Australian households, wartime shortages of imported goods helped it become a national staple, and it has remained deeply woven into Australian food culture ever since.

    At its core, Vegemite is made from leftover brewer’s yeast extract—a by‑product of beer production—combined with vegetable extracts, salt, and malt extract. The yeast undergoes autolysis, a process that breaks down the cells and concentrates the savoury, umami‑rich liquid that gives Vegemite its signature flavour. This mixture is then blended into a thick, dark brown paste with a consistency similar to firm jelly. The exact vegetable extract blend remains a closely guarded secret, but the result is unmistakable: salty, slightly bitter, deeply savoury, and intensely aromatic.

    Nutritionally, Vegemite is surprisingly dense for such a small serving. A teaspoon delivers around 1.3 grams of protein with minimal fat and carbohydrates, making it extremely low in calories. Its standout feature is its B‑vitamin content—thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and folate (B9) are all present in significant amounts, with some versions also fortified with vitamins B6 and B12. These micronutrients support energy metabolism and overall wellbeing, which is part of why Vegemite was historically marketed as a health food. The only caution is its naturally high sodium content, though reduced‑salt varieties are now available.