jalapeño peppers

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]

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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.

 

Oven baked mince…sure it’s a thing 😂

Posted by Gary

So for dinner tonight I had 250 grams of regular beef mince. I was going to make a curry with coconut milk, some greens and serve it with red quinoa and brown rice. 
But then I changed my mind and had a hankering for some fried bread. 
I got a big handful of regular beef mince and mixed in some olive oil, a beaten egg, grated Coon cheese, chopped pickled jalapeño peppers, chilli flakes and Worcestershire sauce. I flattened out the meat on a piece of bread in a frying pan and then put it into a hot oven (200 °C) for 45 minutes. I served it with some broccoli. 

Mince on toast. It will become a big burger on fried toast. Gary Lum
Mince on toast. It will become a big burger on fried toast.

Do you like my pathology tea towel? It’s great, isn’t it? 

Happy new year. Oven baked mince on fried toast with broccoli. Gary Lum
Happy new year. Oven baked mince on fried toast with broccoli.

Sorry, the broccoli is a bit fuzzy. I was focussing on the corner of the meat and bread closest to the camera. 

Heart shaped chicken schnitzel burger with lime avocado butter

Posted by Gary

For Sunday lunch I enjoyed a chicken schnitzel burger with a lime avocado “butter”. When I say butter, I didn’t use any real butter but mainly avocado, some lime zest, lime juice and a little olive oil. 

Purchasing a heart-shaped chicken schnitzel

After a morning walk around Lake Ginninderra, I stopped off at Coles and bought a piece of chicken schnitzel, a bread roll and an avocado. I am always amused when I see the chicken schnitzel pieces in the display case of the delicatessen section. The crumbed pieces of chicken are shaped into a ‘romantic’ heart shape rather than a real heart shape. I think a real heart is so much more attractive. Especially if it’s beating. It would have been great if I could by a piece of crumbed chicken in the shape of a beating heart 😂

One of the nice things about Brazilian cuisine is their love of chicken hearts. I don’t like eating a lot of them, one or two is enough, but they make for a great addition to a barbecue lunch or dinner. 

'Heart' shaped chicken schnitzel Gary Lum
‘Heart’ shaped chicken schnitzel

Avocado preparation

I chose a just ripe avocado. I prepared the avocado by dicing it, smashing it with a fork and then adding some lime zest, lime juice and olive oil. This makes for a very tangy and smooth “butter”.

Making the chicken schnitzel burger

I cooked the chicken by pan frying one side, flipping it over and then placing the frying pan with the chicken into a hot oven for 10 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, I let it rest for five minutes. 

The bread roll can be spread with the avocado and then the chicken laid on top. To the chicken, add some aioli and a couple of slices of pickled jalapeño pepper. 

Portion control. Chicken schnitzel with limey avocado and jalapeño peppers. #lunch #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon Gary Lum
Portion control. Chicken schnitzel with limey avocado and jalapeño peppers.
#lunch #yummylummy #foodporn #yummy #delicious #instafood #nikon

I really enjoyed this burger. If you don’t have a nearby Coles you may not be able to get a “heart”-shaped chicken schnitzel but so long as you can get some crumbed chook you’ll be okay. 

If you’re interested in something to listen to that isn’t food related please check out my new podcast, Medical Fun Facts. I hope you enjoy it. 

Delicious Chicken Maryland with crispy rice recipe

Posted by Gary

Here we go again with another delicious Chicken Maryland with crispy rice recipe. Apart from salmon, Chicken Maryland is a favourite here on Yummy Lummy.

Thanks for visiting. Please check out the rest of Yummy Lummy. I’d love it if you shared this site with your friends.

So what is in tonight’s dinner?

  • one piece of chicken Maryland
  • one packet of quinoa rice cooked in the microwave oven according to the manufacturer’s instructions
  • a handful of grated cheese, I prefer Coon cheese but tonight I went with some generic tasty cheese
  • some sliced capsicum pieces
  • sliced jalapeño peppers
  • sliced red chillies and spring onions
  • freshly cracked black pepper

How did I put it all together?

  1. I cooked the quinoa rice in the microwave oven for 90 seconds and put it into the bottom of a nonstick frying pan
  2. I laid over some capsicum pieces and then some grated cheese
  3. The piece of Chicken Maryland went on next followed by some cracked pepper and then a little more cheese
  4. That went into an oven which had been heated to 200 °C for 20 minutes and then the oven was turned down to 150 °C for 40 minutes
  5. After an hour I removed the frying pan being careful to use an oven mitt
  6. I let everything rest for 10 minutes
  7. I prepared a plate and garnished with some spring onions, jalapeño peppers and red chillies

Preparing for the photograph

  1. I shot a photograph
  2. Ate the meal
  3. Washed the dishes
  4. Wrote the recipe
  5. Made a nice picture in Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop
  6. Blogged and vlogged (verbs)
Baked cheesy Chicken Maryland with crispy quinoa rice, capsicum, jalapeños, chillis and spring onions
Baked cheesy Chicken Maryland with crispy quinoa rice, capsicum, jalapeños, chillis and spring onions

How did it taste?

It was pretty good. The cheesy chicken skin was crisp, the muscle bundles were tender and moist. The quinoa rice was crispy and the cheese added a nice taste and texture to the dish. The jalapeño peppers and chillies also helped me just how deadened my sense of taste and smell is while I am unwell.

Final words

If you do this please let me know how it turns out. Send me a photograph and a comment.

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Thanks for visiting. Please check out the rest of Yummy Lummy. I’d love it if you shared this site with your friends.

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Panko crumbed chicken thigh with avocado jalapeño quinoa rice and peas and corn

Posted by Gary

My friend Diane tagged me in a Facebook photograph about chicken thigh and coincidentally I was having chicken thigh tonight.

Chicken thigh with avocado quinoa rice and peas and corn
Chicken thigh with avocado quinoa rice and peas and corn

This is the chicken thigh sitting on top of the frozen peas and corn just before putting it into the oven.

Chicken thigh with avocado quinoa rice and peas and corn
Chicken thigh with avocado quinoa rice and peas and corn

This is the finished dish with the delightfully crunchy panko crumbed chicken thigh with amazing tender succulent and juicy dark meat.

Panko crumbed chicken thigh with avocado jalapeño quinoa rice and peas and corn
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Chicken thigh
  • Panko crumbs
  • Grape seed oil
  • Chicken salt
  • Avocado
  • Jalapeño pepper
  • Lime juice
  • Olive oil
  • Leftover quinoa rice
  • Frozen peas and corn
Instructions
  1. In the plastic bag the chicken was sold in add some grape seed oil, the panko crumbs and chicken salt and rub it all together
  2. Put some frozen peas and corn into a small metal oven proof bowl
  3. Put the chicken thigh on top of the peas and corn to allow the chicken juices to drip into the peas and corn
  4. Put the chicken and vegetables into a benchtop oven at 200 °C for 1 hour or a fan forced full sized oven at 150 °C for 1 hour
  5. In a microblender process the avocado, jalapeño, olive oil and lime juice
  6. Add the avocado to the leftover quinoa rice to make avocado jalapeño quinoa rice
  7. When the chicken is cooked make sure you allow the chicken to rest for at least 20 minutes
  8. I cannot stress to much the value of letting the chicken rest
  9. It will be juicy and succulent if you let the chicken rest
  10. Plate up by putting the chicken on a plate first followed by the peas and corn and then fill the gaps with the avocado jalapeño quinoa rice
  11. Shoot a photograph
  12. Eat the meal
  13. Wash the dishes
  14. Write the recipe
  15. Blog (verb)
Smoked salmon breakfast burger
Smoked salmon breakfast burger

This is what I had for breakfast. A smoked salmon breakfast burger with a toasted bread roll.

Do you like chicken thigh or do you prefer breast?