Posted on by Gary

The pelican is back

Cloud porn over Lake Ginninderra

The pelican is back

I went for a walk around Lake Ginninderra yesterday and was so happy to see a pelican at John Knight Memorial Park.

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It’s been more than a year I think since I last saw a pelican here.

I really like pelicans. I love their eyes. See if you can zoom in on the photographs and look at this pelican’s eye.

I shot this pelican with a 55 mm lens. I wish I had my 24–240 mm f3.5–f/6.3 zoom lens with me. It’s not the sharpest or fastest lens, but it would have helped me get tighter shots. These two photographs have been cropped to improve the composition. I had to stand on a small wobbly rock in the lake to get this close. A longer lens would have been handy.

Pelican on Lake Ginninderra
Pelican on Lake Ginninderra

Cheeseburgers

Yea, I know, I’m trying to lose weight. I had a bit of a blow out though on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday I went to the hospital tuck shop for lunch and saw a piece of salmon on mashed potato. It looked good in the display cabinet. It was a little disappointing to eat though. The mashed potato was fine. The sauce was a little too sweet. The salmon though was overcooked and it had a ‘fishy’ smell to it.

Friday lunch. Salmon and mashed potato.

When a fish smells fishy, especially a cooked fish, you know it won’t be an optimal experience.

Fresh fish should have no odour and cooked fish shouldn’t smell apart from any flavours you may have added like butter and lemon juice.

Anyway, on Friday evening, I had a desire for a cheeseburger. When I had coffee with Sarah the previous weekend she mentioned the Macca’s triple cheeseburger. I thought about getting one but I had some minced (ground) beef in the refrigerator and all I needed to buy were some buns. I knew the ones I wanted were the Coles brioche burger buns. I stopped off at Westfield Belconnen and found the buns at Coles.

I like a cheeseburger with a nice juicy beef patty, some nice melted cheese, mustard, tomato sauce (ketchup), lettuce, tomato, and raw onion. I don’t mind pickles, but I don’t need them on a cheeseburger.

I made the beef patty with just the minced beef which I moulded in my hands and coated with olive oil. I seasoned it with iodised salt and freshly cracked black peppercorns. I made the beef patty about 25 mm high and 9 cm in diameter.

I cooked the beef patty in a hot frypan without any added oil or butter for a total of about six minutes. At that point, I topped it with three slices of Coon® cheese. I put a lid on the frypan, turned off the heat, and let the cheese melt.

I cut the brioche bun in half and toasted the cut surfaces. After toasting, I buttered the heel with real butter and then added some mustard and tomato sauce. I placed the rested cheese covered beef patty on the saucy heel and decorated the cheese with shredded iceberg lettuce, slices of tomato, and some raw red onion. I crowned the top and speared it with a wooden toothpick.

Before I shot a short video and still photographs, I added some Red Rock Deli Lime and Black Pepper chips.

Friday dinner. Homemade cheeseburger with lime and black pepper chips. I made a beef patty with minced beef and cooked it in a frypan. I melted cheddar cheese on it and then using a toasted brioche bun layered mustard, tomato sauce, beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato.
Friday dinner. Homemade cheeseburger with lime and black pepper chips. I made a beef patty with minced beef and cooked it in a frypan. I melted cheddar cheese on it and then using a toasted brioche bun layered mustard, tomato sauce, beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato.

On Saturday, after my walk around Lake Ginninderra, I felt quite hungry so I stopped my Maccas and had a triple cheeseburger and chips. Sarah was correct. The triple cheeseburger is good and quite satisfying.

I know my blogging friend, Mabel is also partial to cheeseburgers given our previous conversations about cheeseburger pringles.

Saturday lunch. Maccas triple cheeseburger 🍔🍔🍔 and chips.
Saturday lunch. Maccas triple cheeseburger 🍔🍔🍔 and chips.

What else did I get up to this week?

I attended an all-day meeting in a Canberra hotel on Thursday and enjoyed a really nice savoury scone with whipped butter. The combination was delightful together.

Savoury scone and whipped butter
Savoury scone and whipped butter

Mangoes are back

Can you believe there are Kensington Pride mangoes back on the shelves of Coles? It’s not even mid-August. Winter hasn’t finished yet and we have these golden orbs of juicy deliciousness back on the shelves.

Kensington Pride Mangoes in mid-August
Kensington Pride Mangoes in mid-August

This week in food

Sunday breakfast. Chicken maryland and cheese.
Saturday dinner. Meat-free pumpkin and cream of coconut soup. Roasted pumpkin, dark roasted crunchy peanut paste and coconut cream with cumin, coriander and curry powder.
Saturday dinner. Meat-free pumpkin and cream of coconut soup. Roasted pumpkin, dark roasted crunchy peanut paste and coconut cream with cumin, coriander and curry powder.
Saturday lunch. Maccas triple cheeseburger 🍔🍔🍔 and chips.
Saturday lunch. Maccas triple cheeseburger 🍔🍔🍔 and chips.
Kensington Pride Mangoes in mid-August
Kensington Pride Mangoes in mid-August
Friday dinner. Homemade cheeseburger with lime and black pepper chips. I made a beef patty with minced beef and cooked it in a frypan. I melted cheddar cheese on it and then using a toasted brioche bun layered mustard, tomato sauce, beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato.
Friday dinner. Homemade cheeseburger with lime and black pepper chips. I made a beef patty with minced beef and cooked it in a frypan. I melted cheddar cheese on it and then using a toasted brioche bun layered mustard, tomato sauce, beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato.
Friday dinner. Homemade cheeseburger with lime and black pepper chips. I made a beef patty with minced beef and cooked it in a frypan. I melted cheddar cheese on it and then using a toasted brioche bun layered mustard, tomato sauce, beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato.
Friday lunch. Salmon and mashed potato.
Thursday dinner. Baked minced beef with Vegemite, Coon® cheese, Worcestershire sauce, Blue cheese, Avocado, Blue cheese, Spring onion, Fennel, Capsicum, Green pepper corns, and Sichuan seasoning. I cooked the spicy cheesy good stuff for 45 minutes at 250 °C/480 °F. Served with smashed avocado and coriander.
Thursday dinner. Baked minced beef with Vegemite, Coon® cheese, Worcestershire sauce, Blue cheese, Avocado, Blue cheese, Spring onion, Fennel, Capsicum, Green pepper corns, and Sichuan seasoning. I cooked the spicy cheesy good stuff for 45 minutes at 250 °C/480 °F. Served with smashed avocado and coriander.
Savoury scone and whipped butter
Savoury scone and whipped butter
Wednesday dinner. Roast chicken maryland and sweet potato stack. I cut some sweet potato into thin slices and tossed with some olive oil, iodised salt, black pepper, Sichuan seasoning and sesame oil. I placed some cheese and spring onion between the slices and stacked it next to the chicken maryland. I cooked this for 45 minutes at 200 °C/400 °F.
Wednesday dinner. Roast chicken maryland and sweet potato stack. I cut some sweet potato into thin slices and tossed with some olive oil, iodised salt, black pepper, Sichuan seasoning and sesame oil. I placed some cheese and spring onion between the slices and stacked it next to the chicken maryland. I cooked this for 45 minutes at 200 °C/400 °F.
Tuesday lunch. Leftover KFC cream of mushroom casserole with cauliflower and broccoli.
Tuesday dinner. Creamy minced/ground beef with vegetables. Melt some butter and add a small portion of minced/ground beef and chopped fennel. Fry this off until the fennel is soft. Add a small volume of water to break up the beef while it is frying. Add a slug of red wine to deglase the pan. Add a couple of dollops of sour cream and stir through. Then add the capsicum, red onion, spring onion and cherry tomatoes. Serve with sliced avocado.
Tuesday dinner. Creamy minced/ground beef with vegetables. Melt some butter and add a small portion of minced/ground beef and chopped fennel. Fry this off until the fennel is soft. Add a small volume of water to break up the beef while it is frying. Add a slug of red wine to deglase the pan. Add a couple of dollops of sour cream and stir through. Then add the capsicum, red onion, spring onion and cherry tomatoes. Serve with sliced avocado.
Monday dinner. Baked salmon with curry coconut quinoa. I baked the salmon for 15 minutes at 250 °C/480 °F. I pan-fried the quinoa and fennel, added some curry powder and then simmered in coconut cream. Once thickened I added spring onions, chopped onions, tomatoes, lime zest, lime juice, coriander and parsley. Served with cherry tomatoes, slices of lime and avocado. 💚🌶🥑💯
Monday dinner. Baked salmon with curry coconut quinoa. I baked the salmon for 15 minutes at 250 °C/480 °F. I pan-fried the quinoa and fennel, added some curry powder and then simmered in coconut cream. Once thickened I added spring onions, chopped onions, tomatoes, lime zest, lime juice, coriander and parsley. Served with cherry tomatoes, slices of lime and avocado. 💚🌶🥑💯
Monday lunch. Leftover KFC cream of mushroom casserole with cauliflower and broccoli.
Sunday dinner. Sous vide scotch fillet steak with baked quinoa, cauliflower, broccoli, and beetroot with burnt butter. I cooked the steak for 100 minutes at 52 °C/125 °F. The vegetables were baked for 1 hour at 180 °C/356 °F.
Sunday dinner. Sous vide scotch fillet steak with baked quinoa, cauliflower, broccoli, and beetroot with burnt butter. I cooked the steak for 100 minutes at 52 °C/125 °F. The vegetables were baked for 1 hour at 180 °C/356 °F.

Other photographs of interest

Pelican on Lake Ginninderra
Pelican on Lake Ginninderra
Cloud porn over Lake Ginninderra
My view of Friday morning fog in Garran
My lucky elephant
The USS Enterprise 1701A

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Final thoughts

Do you get excited when you see a pelican?

If you’re a WordPress blogger, have you started using Gutenberg? I’ve started using it and it’s taking some effort to get a hang of it.

Do you like cheeseburgers? What’s your favourite cheeseburger? Homemade or from a fast food joint? What do you like on your cheeseburger?

Why would someone put me on PETA’s mailing list?

15 Replies to “The pelican is back”

  1. I love making cheeseburgers. There are so many different kinds! The Cheeseburger Dog was one of the most unusual shapes I’ve made.
    I think birds are some of the most interesting creatures alive. My favorite is probably a vulture. They are so ungainly and yet soar effortlessly.

    1. Thanks, Kris. If it wasn’t for the low carb living, I’d be all over more cheeseburgers for dinners.
      I’m not sure if we have vultures in Australia.

    1. Thanks Sue, and it tasted better with the lettuce, tomato and onion too. On Saturday I noticed vegetable burger patties in Coles. I might have to try those one day.

  3. Whenever I see a bunch of birds that look remotely entertaining and I have my camera, it could turn into a half hour photo shooting session.

    The homemade cheeseburger looks very good, especially that melted cheese over the patty. Never too much cheese. I actually made naked burgers this weekend… Like you, I love cheeseburgers. Think I need to give the triple cheeseburger at Maccas a go. Usually I don’t like tomatoes in my burgers and eat the tomato on its own. I don’t mind burgers in general from fast food joints or the ones I make at home. Don’t even mind the ones at Grill’d or pricier establishments with a reputation. The places that are just-another-shop or an okay plcae to eat I generally avoid their burgers because they can be tasteless.

    Been a while since I had those cheeseburger Pringles. Thanks for the shout out.

    1. Thanks Mabel. I went looking for the cheeseburger pringles on Friday night when I bought the brioche buns but I couldn’t find any so that’s why I ended up with the Red Rock Deli Lime and Black pepper chips.
      The Maccas triple cheeseburger was good. Especially with some chips. Even though it’s got three pieces of meat, the burger itself isn’t huge.
      I have three brioche buns in the freezer. They’ll have to be used soon.

    2. It would have been amazing to have cheeseburger with cheeseburger Pringles 😀 I looked up the triple cheeseburger. Wow, it comes with three slices of cheese 😀😀😀

      Sounds like you could make another round of burgers.

    3. More burgers are definitely on the cards 😃 especially cheeseburgers 🍔🍔🍔

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