Roast pumpkin

Sous vide ribeye steak with pumpkin and kale salad.

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I hope you’re doing well tonight. 

This week, there have been warnings that meat, fresh fruit, and vegetables will be in short supply because of supply chain problems. 

I stocked up on some beef to hopefully get me through the next couple of weeks. I saw a piece of steak that caught my eye and decided I’d have it with a pumpkin salad.

As an example of the shortages, I’d generally make a pumpkin salad with rocket (arugula for friends east of the North Pacific Ocean. I couldn’t get any, nor spinach, for my breakfast 😱 so I went with kale!

I hope wherever you live; the situation isn’t drastic. The spread of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-COV-2 Omicron Variant has rapidly swept through some areas. There are personnel shortages in critical areas with public health measures requiring isolation and quarantine for the infected and contacts.

I now know people, friends in fact, who have COVID-19. To keep my mind off this, I’ve been grateful for the fellowship of those close to me. I’ll always be thankful to those who I love for keeping me in good spirits.

Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.

Ingredients

  • Ribeye steak
  • Mushrooms
  • Green peppercorns
  • Iodised salt
  • Black peppercorns
  • Kent pumpkin
  • Marmalade (homemade by my friend Claire)
  • Rice bran oil
  • Kale
  • Walnuts
  • Red onion
  • Butter
  • Plain flour
  • Beef stock
  • Sherry

Instructions

  1. Carefully handle your meat. I’ve never liked seeing people on cooking shows slapping their meat around. Meat is delicate and precious. Handle it with care.
  2. Unwrap the steak and dry the surface with kitchen paper (noting it too seems to be the new toilet paper concerning scarcity in shops).
  3. Season your meat with some iodised salt and freshly ground black peppercorns.
  4. Place the steak on a rack and refrigerate overnight. This process is called dry brining.
  5. Before cooking, slice some mushrooms and place the steak, mushrooms, and green peppercorns into a vacuum bag.
  6. Seal the bag and put it into a water bath set at 54 °C for 2 hours and 10 minutes.
  7. At the end of the cooking time, remove the bag and open it. Remove the steak, mushrooms, and peppercorns. Dry the surface of the steak and in a bowl, add the mushrooms, peppercorns, and meat juices. Those juices are precious. Savour them like any juices formed with loving-kindness. 
  8. Heat a cast-iron skillet and sear steak until it forms a crust knowing this will taste amazing and add texture to the mouthfeel.
  9. Allow your meat to rest after so much fun and excitement. It will taste better for it.
  10. Make a roux with the flour and butter by gently melting the butter in a saucier pan and adding the flour. Whisk the flour and butter for three minutes to remove the taste of the flour.
  11. Slowly add the beef stock and some sherry to form a sauce.
  12. Add your meat’s juices, cooked mushrooms, and green peppercorns and finish the sauce with a bit of butter.
  13. Cut some kent pumpkin into bite-sized pieces, and with your hands, massage in some oil and then some marmalade.
  14. Gently cook in an oven set to low to moderate heat.
  15. Properly cooked pumpkin is when you can penetrate it with a smooth probe. You can move it in and out, and when you withdraw, the shaft is clean. 
  16. Remove the pumpkin and allow it cool.
  17. It’s worth cleaning the kale. I think we should all clean our veggies. While fomite transmission is not efficient for COVID-19, you never know when a wad of snot full of SARS-COV-2 might have landed on your otherwise healthy kale.
  18. Crush your nuts with something heavy. I use a stainless steel coffee tamper.
  19. I make the salad with pumpkin, kale, walnuts, sliced red onion, salt, and oil.
  20. With your fingers, pick up the steak and find the muscle plane between the deskle meat and the lean fillet. The steak will be tender enough so you can use the tip of your index finger and gently prise apart the muscle bundles and separate them. The meat is warm and moist and slippery and the bundles separate easily with a little gentle pressure.
  21. Keep the deckle meat for dinner and put the lean fillet into a container and refrigerate it.
  22. Take a sharp knife and slice the deckle meat with long slow strokes when your meat has rested. I like to draw my knife towards me, so my blade glides through my meat.
  23. Put the salad in a shallow bowl, stack some steak slices on the side, and then spoon some of the sauce on the sliced meat.
  24. This meat was moist, tender, and pungent in the aroma. I just wanted to dive in and get my lips and tongue into it and savour it slowly.

Final thoughts

  1. How has your week been?
  2. Are there supply problems for you at the moment?
  3. Are you worried about being infected with SARS-COV-2 Omicron Variant.
  • Ribeye Fillet Steak Raw meat
  • Ribeye Fillet Steak seasoned
  • Green peppercorns, Mushrooms, Ribeye fillet steak Vacuum packed for the water bath
  • I like how the marmalade has formed glistening globs on the pumpkin. The marmalade and salt give the pumpkin a lovely salty-sweet contrasting flavour. It will be delicious.
  • Coffee tamper to crush walnuts
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak. Seared in a cast-iron skillet.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.

How about some non-food photos!

I went for a walk this afternoon.

  • The Belconnen Owl Statue taken from behind is some of Canberra’s finest public art. There are some who call this pubic art 😉
  • Lake Ginninderra blue skies and cloud porn

Pressure cooker rolled roast with gravy, roast pumpkin, and baby green peas.

Posted by Gary

Pressure cooker rolled roast with gravy, roast pumpkin, and baby green peas.

Dear Reader,

I hope you’ve had a good week.

My week has been okay. Lockdown continues in Canberra while the situation in New South Wales improves as the infection burns out and the situation in Victoria worsens as peak infection numbers are yet to be realised.

We should be ending lockdown in Canberra at the end of this week. I hope the restrictions remain flexible to ensure maximum safety. I know workmates who desperately want their children back in school because homeschooling is doing their heads in. Other friends are more concerned for the health and welfare of their children and their community and don’t mind the burden of homeschooling.

My preference is for community safety and health, not just physical health but also mental health.

I know my mental health is improved by cooking because I find it relaxing.

One thing which is playing on my mind though is the high likelihood the premier of Queensland will close the border to Canberrans at Christmas. I would like to see my daughters and parents. I haven’t seen them since early December last year.

Sorry vegans and vegetarians, tonight is very meaty. Saturday lockdown dinner. Pressure cooker rolled roast with gravy, roast pumpkin, and baby green peas.

Ingredients

  • Rolled roast
  • Iodised salt
  • Master stock
  • Red wine
  • Leek
  • Brown onion
  • Celery
  • Red royale potato
  • Fennel
  • Kent pumpkin
  • Baby green peas
  • Instant gravy

Instructions

  1. Remove the rolled roast from the plastic wrapping.
  2. Dry the surface of the beef with an absorbent paper towel.
  3. Season the meat with a liberal amount of iodised salt.
  4. Slice the leek, onion, celery, potato, and fennel.
  5. Place the sliced vegetables into the bottom of the cooking vessel.
  6. Add the master stock and wine.
  7. Place the meat on top and close the pressure cooker by sealing the lid.
  8. Cook under pressure for one hour.
  9. Roast the pumpkin in the oven.
  10. Use microwave radiation for cooking the peas.
  11. Make the instant gravy according to the instructions for use.
  12. When everything is ready, plate it up.
  13. Give thanks to our Heavenly Father for this food.

Final thoughts

  • How are you coping with the pandemic where you live?
  • Do you like cooking roast beef in your pressure cooker?
  • What are your plans for Christmas?
  • Rolled roast
  • Rolled roast Salted
  • Sliced celery, fennel, brown onion, red royale potato, and leek
  • Rolled roast cooked
  • Sorry vegans and vegetarians, tonight is very meaty. Saturday lockdown dinner. Pressure cooker rolled roast with gravy, roast pumpkin, and baby green peas.
  • Sorry vegans and vegetarians, tonight is very meaty. Saturday lockdown dinner. Pressure cooker rolled roast with gravy, roast pumpkin, and baby green peas.
  • Sorry vegans and vegetarians, tonight is very meaty. Saturday lockdown dinner. Pressure cooker rolled roast with gravy, roast pumpkin, and baby green peas.
  • Sorry vegans and vegetarians, tonight is very meaty. Saturday lockdown dinner. Pressure cooker rolled roast with gravy, roast pumpkin, and baby green peas.

Pressure Cooker Brisket

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I’ve never cooked brisket in a pressure cooker before. I’ve only ever done it in a slow cooker. 

If I can cook something in the slow cooker, why can’t I do something in the pressure cooker?

At first, I thought I might be my usual lazy self and dump the entire lump of meat into the autoclave and just let it rip. Then, I thought, since I’m in lockdown, why not be a little more creative.

So using a Japanese meat cleaver, because that’s how I roll, I cut the brisket into large bite-sized (if you’re greyhound) chunks and roll the beef in flour and then ‘brown’ the floured meat off.

To keep it authentically unhealthy, I used beef dripping in the skillet to brown the floured brisket.

During the next week, I will eat the leftover chunks of brisket for lockdown dinners.

Pressure cooker brisket with potato, pumpkin, and cauliflower.

Ingredients

  • Beef brisket (1 kilogram)
  • Flour
  • Beef dripping
  • Red wine (1 cup)
  • Beef stock (1 cup)
  • Potato (1)
  • Brown onion (1)
  • Barbecue sauce (½ cup)
  • Worcestershire sauce (¼ cup)
  • Pumpkin
  • Cauliflower

Instructions

  1. Sharpen the meat cleaver and think about Proverbs 27:17 (Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another). A sharp knife is a beautiful thing.
  2. Slice the brisket and dice the meat into large chunks.
  3. Put some flour into a bowl and coat the pieces of beef one at a time.
  4. Place the floured meat into a tray.
  5. Heat a skillet and add some beef dripping until it’s hot.
  6. Add the floured chunks of meat and brown the surfaces. Be careful not to overcrowd the skillet. You want the surface of the meat to fry and not steam.
  7. In the pressure cooker, add the beef, brown onion, spud, and all the flavouring ingredients from the list apart from the pumpkin and cauliflower. 
  8. Seal the pressure cooker and cook for 45 minutes.
  9. Rub some oil over the pumpkin and cauliflower and put them into a hot oven until you can penetrate each of them with a sharp paring knife and not feel any resistance.
  10. After the pressure cooker finishes, allow the pressure to equalise and open the lid.
  11. Remove the meat and place all of it into a container apart from a few chunks for dinner.
  12. Serve the brisket with cauliflower, pumpkin, and spud.
  13. Give thanks to the Lord and enjoy the meal while listening to a sermon podcast from a good preacher.

Final thoughts

The brisket tasted pretty good. It had a good mouthfeel and flavour. Cooking the meat in a pressure cooker was pretty easy. I think setting and forgetting in a slow cooker would be just as good.

What’s happened this week?

The biggest news is that Canberra went into COVID-19 lockdown. We have cases linked with the outbreak in Sydney, which has now spread across many regions in New South Wales.

The saddest news was reading about the death of my favourite teacher at school. If you have Facebook, you can read what I wrote here. I am pretty sad about the death of Mr Stephenson; he was a fantastic teacher. Good teachers are what we need for our young people.

If you want to connect with me on Facebook, feel free to send me a friend request. 

The best things this week included dinner with friends from church and reconnecting with an old friend. 

Stay safe, friends.

  • Beef brisket
  • Brisket sliced with a meat cleaver
  • Brisket sliced and cubed with a meat cleaver
  • Floured cubes of brisket
  • Beef dripping
  • Beef brisket frying in beef dripping
  • Beef brisket frying in beef dripping
  • Browned beef brisket
  • Roast Pumpkin
  • Pressure cooker brisket with potato, pumpkin, and cauliflower.
  • Pressure cooker brisket with potato, pumpkin, and cauliflower.

Lamb rack roast and roast pumpkin

Posted by Gary
Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.

Ingredients

  • Lamb rack
  • Kent pumpkin
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Sesame oil
  • Olive oil
  • Chilean spice rub

Instructions

  1. Dice a kent pumpkin and, in a mixing bowl, rub the pumpkin with some olive oil, salt, sugar, sesame oil, and Chilean spice rub.
  2. Spread the pumpkin on a baking sheet and put it into a moderate oven for about 45 to 50 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle salt, sugar, and Chilean spice rub onto the fat of the lamb rack roast.
  4. Cook in a moderate oven until the internal temperature reaches 55 °C.
  5. Allow the lamb rack roast to rest for about 10 minutes.
  6. Carve the roast and plate up with the pumpkin.
  • Lamb rack roast
  • Chilean Spice Blend Mapuche Spice
  • Lamb Rack Roast—Uncooked
  • Lamb Rack Roast—Cooked
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Meatermade Lamb Rack Roast Graph

Roast pumpkin, spiced pecans and duck breast

Posted by Gary

Introduction

During the week, I was reading Karen’s Back Road Journal, and she had a post about a harvest salad with roasted butternut squash and red onion.

Part of the recipe included spiced pecans. This post piqued my interest because I like the idea of spiced pecans with pumpkin.

Last week I made a roast pumpkin and caramelised onion dish courtesy of Not Quite Nigella (Lorraine Elliott). That recipe used toasted pecans. I thought spiced pecans might add a bit of extra oomph to the recipe.

Back Road Journal

I think Karen was one of the first bloggers I followed when I started blogging a little over ten years ago.

Karen and her husband live in the USA and travel extensively, especially throughout Europe with an emphasis on Italy judging by the number of posts about that beautiful country.

If you like to travel and eat good food, I recommend following Karen and the adventures she and her husband enjoy.

Roast pumpkin, spiced pecans and duck breast

Recipe

Ingredients

Spiced pecans

  • 50 g butter
  • 25 g dark brown sugar
  • 5 mL of water
  • 5 g five-spice powder
  • 1 g cumin
  • 1 g white pepper
  • 1 g cayenne pepper
  • ½ cup pecan halves
  • salt to taste
Butter, pecan nuts, brown sugar, and spices

Roast pumpkin and caramelised onion

  • Butternut pumpkin diced
  • Brown onion sliced
  • Brown sugar
  • Olive oil
  • Five-spice powder
  • Baby rocket

Duck breast

  • Duck breast
  • Iodised salt
  • Black pepper
  • Queensland nut oil

Instructions

Spiced pecans

  1. Heat the oven to 200 °C.
  2. Melt the butter in a small pan.
  3. Add the brown sugar and water and mix in with the melted butter.
  4. Add in the spices and mix through as the butter and sugar bubble.
  5. Thoroughly coat the pecans in the sweet, spicy, sticky, gooey and hot buttery goodness.
  6. Make sure each piece is covered.
  7. Spread the coated pecan pieces onto a lined baking tray.
  8. Toast for five minutes.
  9. Allow the spiced pecans to cool.
Spiced pecans before the oven
Spiced pecans ready for the oven
Spiced pecans out of the oven

Roast pumpkin and caramelised onion

  1. Heat the oven to 200 °C.
  2. Dice the pumpkin and slice the onion.
  3. Put the pumpkin and onion in a mixing bowl and rub with the brown sugar and olive oil.
  4. Layout the pumpkin and onion onto a lined baking tray and sprinkle over some five-spice powder.
  5. Cook the pumpkin and onion for at least 35 minutes or until the onion and pumpkin have taken on good caramelisation. Some people may suggest the black bits represent burnt food. I beg to differ unless it tastes acrid, it’s all good.
  6. Remove the cooked pumpkin and onion from the oven and place the baking tray on a bench so the pumpkin and onion can cool.
  7. When the pumpkin and onion are tepid, put them into a mixing bowl and toss in some rocket leaves and toss the salad.
  8. Just before serving the meal, add in the spiced pecans and toss the salad.

Duck breast

  1. Season the duck breast with iodised salt and black pepper.
  2. Seal the breast in a vacuum bag.
  3. Cook for 1 hour at 55 °C in a water bath.
  4. After the hour, remove the bag and place it on a plate and refrigerate for about 15 minutes. This step ensures the temperature of the breast meat dips below 55 °C so you can sear the skin in a hot skillet until it is golden brown.
  5. Remove the duck breast from the refrigerator and open the bag.
  6. Pat the breast dry with kitchen paper and with a sharp knife, score the skin.
  7. Heat a cast-iron skillet until it is smoking hot.
  8. Rub some Queensland nut oil on the surface of the duck breast and sear the skin hard like there’s no tomorrow!
  9. Allow the breast to relax and rest for a few minutes before slicing.
Roast pumpkin, spiced pecans and duck breast

Plating options

You could add the sliced breast to the pumpkin and onion salad and make a big bowl of goodness which only needs a fork for eating.

The alternative is to serve the duck next to the pumpkin and onion salad.

Roast pumpkin, spiced pecans and duck breast

How did the spiced pecans taste in the meal?

I was pretty impressed. Pecans added a nice kick of flavour. I think next time I’d use more cayenne pepper and maybe more five-spice. I was surprised the pecans weren’t too sweet and not too sticky.

What else has been happening?

Blogging

I haven’t been feeling the need to blog as much lately. I haven’t written in my diary blog for months, and I think I might retire it. I’ll probably focus blogging here at Yummy Lummy.

I still read a few blogs every day, and I pretty much always photograph my meals and share the images.

We’ll see how I go for now.

Life is pretty good at the moment. My days are busy, and I’ve been spending time contemplating some changes.

It’s been a harrowing year for so many people, yet for me, I’ve enjoyed working. Praise God; I’ve been blessed this year in so many ways. I’ve made new friends, got to know myself better, and I’ve worked with brilliant people. I think we all see on TV the big named people, but I’m thinking of the quiet achievers behind the scenes. The public servants whose thoughtful and intelligent advice has ensured we have the policy settings to respond with vigorously and with agility. These are the people who have assured Australia is in a good place right now.

Bodyweight maintenance

I’m pretty keen to avoid getting too heavy again. I don’t want to deprive myself of good food, but I’m conscious that to reach a so-called normal BMI, I need to get down below 72 kilograms. But, that’s the upper limit of normal. It means I need to aim for about 70 kilograms. I don’t know if I can do that.

You’ll see in this year’s weight chart; I recently had a sudden dip. I had a few days of feeling out of sorts and didn’t have much appetite. Since then, I’ve reduced my portion sizes a little without feeling deprived.

2020-11-21 Weight chart

We’ll see how this goes. With Christmas coming up, it’ll be a little more challenging to keep losing weight so mentally I’m not going to get too focussed on numbers.

What’s next?

See you when I see you next.