Slow cooker pork and potato quinoa congee with potatoes
Today I made slow cooker pork quinoa congee. It’s getting closer to ANZAC day, which means for Canberra residents it’s time to turn on our heaters. With the horrible cold Canberra weather coming it’s time for more comfort food. Over the last few weeks I’ve made tinned corned beef and chicken giblets congee in my pressure cooker.
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This slow cooker pork quinoa congee was made with pork spare ribs and made succulent with the fat from some speck.
I’m writing this from my parent’s dining table in Brisbane.
It’s Friday 25 December 2015. It’s Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas 😃🎁🎅🎄⭐🌟🖖
My flight from Canberra to Brisbane departed shortly after 9 am. I enjoyed meeting some friends at the airport before boarding which was great.
My flight was uneventful and smooth. I was surprised how full the flight was. I managed to get an aisle seat with no one next to me so that was a plus.
The Brisbane roads were pretty barren so the journey to my parent’s place was very quick.
It was good to see Mum and Dad. It’s been a few months since I last visited. I’ve been busy with work and trying to save a little money.
As soon as I arrived mum had me preparing coleslaw. I made it with a special surprise. I added some fried shallots and crushed Queensland nuts (Macadamia). Mum had two chickens (chooks) in the oven full of her stuffing which I love. Mum made a green salad with hard boiled eggs, mango and avocado. We also had smashed potatoes (spuds). Dr48 (my middle brother) was due to arrive with roast pork and crackling, chicken wings, Moreton Bay bugs, Endeavour prawns and a lobster. Mum made a seafood sauce to go with all the seafood. Dr48’s wife (SIL) brought along a pavlova (you know that Australian invention that people from New Zealand claim they invented).
I feel so full. I had three plates of lunch followed by a big slice of pavlova with ice cream.
It’s been a good day. It was good seeing my brothers. It was good seeing Mum and Dad.
I feel so full. I’m not having any dinner. I think if I tried eating more I’d make myself feel sick.
It’s a Friday night after a big week and Bron and I enjoy a meal at Les Bistronomes in Braddon. Les Bistronomes is a relatively new French restaurant in Canberra. From what I’ve seen in blogs and Instagram it’s pretty popular. It’s sitting in a group of new places like Blackfire and Bent Spoke.
We need to step back a bit though. We’ve seen Canberra bloggers post stories and images and we both would like to try the Beef Wellington. To get the Beef Wellington you need to pre-order so that’s what I did
It’s a warm afternoon so we elect to eat outside. However, the ambient temperature drops quickly and by the end of the evening there’s gooseflesh on show.
The service is very friendly and after we mention we’ve pre-ordered the Beef Wellington we see the menu and choose some entrées and a side for the Beef Wellington.
This bread came out warm and the butter was subtle. It was good.
Warm bread and tomato butter | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/280sec, ISO 32
I love snails. The combination of the snails with the pork loin is great. The parsley cream though, while delicious gives me a green smile (sorry no selfie)
Escargots Et Fillet De Porc en Persillade (Garlic Snails and Pork Loin with Parsley Cream) | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/120sec, ISO 32
This bread was delicious. The caramelised onion and anchovies were really tasty.
Pissaladière (Caramelised Onion and Anchovy Bread) | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/60sec, ISO 32Escargots Et Fillet De Porc en Persillade (Garlic Snails and Pork Loin with Parsley Cream) Pissaladière (Caramelised Onion and Anchovy Bread) | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/120sec, ISO 40
Here’s the Beef Wellington. We think, but we don’t know, the beef is cooked sous vide and then finished in the pastry with the Duxelles. Happy to be corrected by anyone who does know.
Filet De Boeuf en croute Au Foie Gras Et Duxelle De Champignon (Beef Wellington, Mushroom Duxelles, Foie Gras and Red Wine Jus) | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/60sec, ISO 32
The foie gras and horseradish go well in the Duxelles. The foie gras is quite subtle while the horseradish at least in one piece I ate was prominent. The French peas with the bacon lardons were nice and went well in the pastry shell after the meat had been eaten
Filet De Boeuf en croute Au Foie Gras Et Duxelle De Champignon (Beef Wellington, Mushroom Duxelles, Foie Gras and Red Wine Jus) and Petit Pois A La Française (French Peas) | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/40sec, ISO 32
The Flambé Crème brûlée was very nice. Nothing like seeing some flames coming out to the table.
Flambé Crème brûlée A La Vanille (Vanilla Crème Brulée) | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/15sec, ISO 125
Bron asked for the chocolate and avocado mousse which she was was very good.
Mousse Au Chocolat et Avocat (Chocolate Mousse and Avocado) | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/4sec, ISO 100
Overall the evening was very enjoyable. The meal was great and the atmosphere on a summer night in Canberra was very pleasant albeit towards the end quite cold. Next time I think we’ll eat inside. I’d happily recommend Les Bistronomes for a meal.
So I’m up in Brisbane a little earlier than usual. I’m here to help Mum and Dad for a few days while Mum continues her recovery from spinal surgery. She’s doing well and maintaining her exercises. I’m pleased to see her getting around and moving better than I imagined. I’m still trying to convince her though that things like ironing and perfect hospital corners on her bed are not essential to living and enjoying life.
Given that I’m in Brisbane earlier than usual I was so happy that Miss13, Miss17 and Miss19 came for a visit yesterday for Christmas dinner
I started the day knowing I had a lot of cooking and food ahead of me.
Vegemite on toast bathed in butter SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/10sec, ISO 800
Vegemite on toast, also known as the breakfast of champions.
For lunch I made a simple smoked salmon and sour cream on toasted wholemeal bread plate for Mum and Dad. They both enjoy smoked salmon and sour cream. I should have bought bagels.
Smoked salmon and sour cream SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/13sec, ISO 400Smoked salmon and sour cream on toasted wholemeal bread SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/20sec, ISO 400
In the afternoon as I was thinking about preparing for dinner I got some cheese out for Dad. Dad loves cheese and this was a treat for him. What I also love about my daughters is they will try anything, even smelly cheeses. Miss13 said it wasn’t something she’d actively go looking for again but understood when I explained our palates change over years and as she gets older she may appreciate cheeses like this more. I love the spirit of Miss17, from an early age she’d try things, like oysters. I remember the first time she wasn’t that impressed but she made a conscious decision at a young age to try one every time we went out and now she loves oysters.
For afternoon tea we had Roquefort, Castella white and a Tlba cheddar SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 1250
Christmas dinner is usually quite large in the Lum household. I tried to explain to Mum we could do something simple and still enjoy it. So I suggested we limit ourselves to two meats and just a salad plus some spuds (potatoes for refined readers).
So here we have a series of photographs that I shot as dinner was being prepared. I’m grateful to Miss17 for help with the salad and of course Mum who supervised and made the apple sauce even though I was meant to be looking after her.
So I apologise in advance for the number of photographs in this post but what you won’t see is the number of photographs I shot and are still in my Adobe Lightroom library.
Rolled pork shoulder prior to being rubbed SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 1250Rolled pork shoulder after a rub of Chinese five spice and pepper with some star anise plugged in and bathing in sherry and whisky SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 2000Our chicken before roasting. I love this angle. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 2500
Rolled pork shoulder out of the oven SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 3200Roast chicken out of the oven SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 2500Roast chicken out of the oven SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 5000Roast pork and roast chicken after carving SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 1250Roast pork and roast chicken after carving. More of the chicken in this view. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 2000This salad had carrot, cos lettuce, Lebanese cucumber, tomatoes, mangos, avocados, and nectarines SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 6400Smashed potatoes with mayonnaise SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 2500Our simple dinner setting SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 5000Our simple dinner setting SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 4000Our simple dinner setting SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 4000
My plate SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 6400
And then we had dessert
Dessert was red and green jelly with peach slice embedded and three types of ice cream SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 3200
It was a good day with my parents and daughters. The weather in Brisbane was warm and it was moist. My skin was happy and I was happy.
I bought Mum flowers for her birthday next week. The Lotus pod reminded me of Canberra’s Skywhale because it looks like a carbuncle. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/60sec, ISO 3200I bought Mum flowers for her birthday next week. The Lotus pod reminded me of Canberra’s Skywhale because it looks like a carbuncle. SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 12800
So if you’ve made it this far thanks for reading.
Please feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you have planned for your Christmas dinner.
There was one requirement, at Wild Duck we needed to eat duck
It’s been a busy week and Bron and I had a reservation at Wild Duck on a Thursday night. The reservation process was dead easy with Dimmi (electronic reservation). What I like about Dimmi is the reservation gets locked in and confirmation/reminder e-mails are sent which gives me reassurance.
We had agreed beforehand like we did at Olive at Mawson, that since it’s Wild Duck we need to eat duck (at Olive at Mawson we agreed someone had to eat an olive dish).
Wild Duck describes itself as fine Asian cuisine. The menu however is not your typical Chinese restaurant. It’s more of an abstract of traditional dishes cooked beautifully with flavour as a priority.
We decided on mains before we settled on entrées. We chose the pork belly and lamb ribs for mains after thinking about the ocean trout and spatchcock. To begin dinner we agreed on duck in rice wrappers and king prawns.
Roast duck rice paper rolls. Chinese roast duck, cucumber, spring onion in Vietnamese style rice paper roll served with Hoi Sin sauce.
These wraps were served on a cute duck plate
King prawns and green pawpaw. Pan fried King Prawns with Cajun spice, served with a Thai style Green Pawpaw and Granny Smith apple salad.
The duck rolls were pretty good. The sauce that came with it was superb. I found the pieces of duck meat were quite large and rather than being a negative, I loved having a nice big piece of tender duck meat with skin on it. The prawns were nicely cooked. They were coated in a lovely spicy mix which was complemented nicely with the refreshing shredded green pawpaw and green apple.
Pork belly in lotus leaf. Slowly cooked pork belly with 3 kinds of soy sauce, rock sugar and mixed spices, wrapped in Lotus leaves with sticky rice.Manhan lamb ribs. Slow cooked Lamb Ribs in ‘One Hundred’ spices, finished on the grill, served with aged Chinese vinegar caramelised Banana chillies and soy caramelised leeks.
Both these dishes were fantastic. The pork belly was tender and sweet and accompanied with some lovely sticky rice that had soaked up all the lovely pork juices. The lamb ribs had the most tender meat ever. A spoon would have separated the meat from the bones. The flavour was amazing. The fat had been rendered out and gave the meat a lovely unctuous texture. The nice thing about sharing the meal was that we could eat a small amount from each dish and go back for more. I started with the pork then had some lamb and then pork and finished with lamb. I commented that I wish I had finished on the pork because the sweetness would have been perfect for me. Bron loved the lamb and said she was happy to finish with the lamb because it was a dish she wasn’t expecting in that she’d eaten pork belly many times before but this was the first time she’d eaten lamb ribs. Both dishes were fabulous and I’d happily go back and eat them again.
Black sticky rice. Cinnamon infused black sticky rice with salted coconut custard on top. Vanilla meringue and Persian candy floss. Thanks Bron for shooting this photograph.Banana split with a twist. Bitter chocolate glaze, lotus seeds on rum and almond crumble, served with coconut ice cream.
Bron chose the sticky rice and I said I’d probably go with the five texture mousse and summer berries. As our requests were being taken I quickly changed my mind and asked for the banana split. Bron just stared at me (death stare). She had (been hoping) hoped to check out some of the mousse and berries. There was a bit of face palming lol
All in all it was a good night. The setting is very pleasant and not too noisy. The service was great, it was friendly and attentive but not too in your face. We both commented on the timing of the dishes. We were not left waiting long between courses and if I had one reservation it would be to leave a few more minutes between courses.
I’m happy to recommend Wild Duck to anyone living in or visiting Canberra.
So now for a rating. 4.5 out of 5 colonies 🙂 Fantastic. I’ll be back.
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