A brief dip below 80 what? Below eighty degrees? Eighty degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit? Nope, a dip below 80 kilograms.
A brief dip below 80 what?
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This isn’t anything new but it is something to be recorded. I’ve been here before. I had a brief dip below 80 kilograms a couple of years ago but then I fell off the wagon, started eating bread, noodles, and rice, and found myself peaking above 86 kilograms.
I wonder if I’ll be able to get below 80 kilograms next week and start that slow trend down into the weight territory I am aiming for. The losing weight isn’t the really difficult part, the really difficult part is maintaining a goal weight.
Concerted effort or no effort?
A concerted effort is just that, a concerted effort. What is required isn’t even a sustained effort. The aim is to have no effort. To change my mindset from seeing food and wanting it all, to seeing food, and picking and choosing a small portion and being satisfied with that without giving such an approach a second thought.
I’ve had at least one person suggest that I give up food photography and food blogging because surely the desire to shoot food and share it on social media sets up a psychological motivation to always be thinking about food and thinking about eating food.
I don’t want just a brief dip below 80 kilograms, I want a life below 80 kilograms.
What have I watched this week?
The Black Adder
The Black Adder is the first series in the Black Adder franchise. I can’t imagine anyone not finding Rowan Atkinson funny. Did you know he read electrical engineering at university?
As much as this series is funny, I think subsequent series when Rowan Atkinson handed over much of the writing to Ben Elton along with Richard Curtis makes a huge difference. That and the change in the sets to being mostly indoors and quite intimate without the outdoor settings.
The first episode features Peter Cook (as King Richard III) who died far too young.
Stargate SG-1
“Politics”
LTC Samuels is a jerk. Why oh why do they use the term alternate when the word alternative is better grammar. The Stargate is Area 52. This is like Senate Estimates in a whole different light.
Farscape
“Jeremiah Crichton”
John behaves childishly and gets stuck and is separated from Moya and his “crewmates” for three months…
Master Chef Australia
We’re coming to an end. It’s the final week of the show for this year. Queenslanders, Tessa and Nicole are still there and hopefully, they’ll make it to the final. Watching them cook doesn’t help me get a brief dip below 80 😂
This week we saw the top contestants cooking for the last session at The Press Club which was owned by George Calombaris. George is one of the three Masterchef Australia judges and he has made the news headlines over the last few years. His name has been mentioned for poor behaviour at a football match and for financial irregularities with his businesses. Notably, the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman has ordered his companies pay millions of Australian dollars to past and present employees who have not been paid properly.
I like following the live Twitter action by following the Octatherp (aka hashtag) MasterChefAU
You should have seen the tweets from tweeps asking if using contestants was another way to (allegedly) underpay staff.
There are calls for George to remove himself from the Masterchef franchise. Of the three Australian judges I tend to prefer Gary and Matt, but that’s mainly because when George eats he looks like no one has taught him table manners. This is in contrast to his using tweezers when sharing food between the judges. If George was gone it wouldn’t really trouble me. The three Australian Masterchef judges are not like Clarkson, Hammond, and May from the Grand Tour (and formerly, Top Gear). In that threesome, losing one would be a disaster.
Star Trek: The Original Series
“The Galileo Seven”
The Commissioner looks like he’s wearing a uniform like the coveralls seen in Enterprise and Discovery. If it was possible, I wish I was Vulcan 🖖 The planet’s inhabitants look like Hagrid from Harry Potter.
Star Trek: The Animated Series
“Mudd’s Passion”
“The probability of his presence on Motherlode is eight-one percent, plus or minus .53.””Why can’t you just say, ‘Mudd’s probably there?'””I just did, Doctor.”
Spock and McCoy
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Behind Enemy Lines
“Behind enemy lines“ sees LTC Jadzia Dax take command of the USS Defiant. In many ways, I’d prefer to see Dax in command rather than Captain Sisko, but then most people know that Sisko is not my favourite Star Trek captain.
The B story sees Colonel Kira upset because Odo is spending intimate time with another changeling. Odo ‘links’ with the other changeling twice. After the second linkage, Odo’s demeanour towards Kira changes and we also see Rom held by the Cardassians after he attempts to sabotage the station’s deflector array.
National Rugby League
The Brisbane Broncos won a game. Hallelujah.
LAW & ORDER
Acid
Revenge is a powerful motivation.
Anita Van Buren: I want you to find the son of a bitch who did this.
Joe Fontana: I was hoping you’d say that.
What have I listened to this week?
The Fry Chronicles
I finished Stephen Fry’s autobiography. I have mixed feelings about Stephen Fry. He’s clever and funny. I can imagine being kept amused by him if I had to work with him. He’d be high maintenance though with all the self-loathing and self-doubt.
The more fun person to get to know would be his long-time friend and work companion, viz., Hugh Laurie.
What have I eaten and photographed this week?
Videos clips of my meals
I’ve been trying to add more information in the video clips I do of the main meals I’ve been cooking during the week. There is now an audio track for most of them as well as an informative “thumbnail”.
I try to post the videos to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Photographs
This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and scroll through the rest of them. It’s remarkable this food got me to a brief dip below 80 kilograms.
The Owl Statue on Sunday morning 
Sunday breakfast. Steamed egg on wilted spinach with melted Red Leicester. 
Sunday lunch. Pan-fried kale sprouts, tomato, and Red Leicester cheese with avocado #yummylummy #foodphotography #lowcarb 
The Owl Statue on Thursday morning 
Thursday lunch. Celery, carrot, Coon cheese, and dates. 
Thursday tea. Curry corned beef with kale and cabbage. #yummylummy #foodphotography #lowcarb #curry Corned beef, Cabbage, Kale, Curry powder, Celery, Carrot, Coconut cream, Lemon juice, Coriander, Tomatoes G’day food lovers. I hope you had a great day. In a hot frypan toss in some corned beef. Add in slices of celery and carrot and let the fat from the corned beef render out and help soften the celery and carrot. Toss in some curry powder and make sure everything gets coated in the curry powder. Then toss in shredded red cabbage and red kale and allow that to wilt down and soften. Once the kale and cabbage are soft, add in some cherry tomatoes and half a tin of coconut cream and let that simmer away until it’s reduced to a thick sauce. Turn off the heat and stir through some lemon juice and coriander roots, stems, and leaves. Serve it in a bowl and enjoy. Catch you later. Bye. 
Frozen berries and yoghurt 
The Owl Statue on Friday morning 
The Owl Statue on Saturday morning 
Combination rice noodle soup from Garran Kitchen 
Coffee and work 
Wilted spinach, Parmesan, and a steamed egg for Saturday breakfast 
Chocolate and caramel mousse cake from Dobinsons Bakery 
Pan-fried speck, kale sprouts, and Coon cheese 
Mince grinder 
Mince grinder 
Mince grinder 
Beef steak and pork belly strip 
Beef steak and pork belly strip 
Mincing beef (muscle) and pork (fat) 
Mincing beef (muscle) and pork (fat) 
Minced beef and pork 
Minced beef and pork burgers 
Pickled red onion 
Bamix stick blender 
Bamix stick blender and Hollandaise sauce 
Bamix stick blender and Hollandaise sauce 
Savoy cabbage 
Savoy cabbage Hollandaise sauce salad 
Beef and pork burger with Red Leicester cheese 
Beef and pork burger with Red Leicester cheese and Hollandaise sauce salad 
Beef and pork burger with Red Leicester cheese and Hollandaise sauce salad 
Beef and pork burger with Red Leicester cheese and Hollandaise sauce salad 
Beef and pork burger with pickled onion and Hollandaise sauce salad 
The Owl Statue on Wednesday morning 
Celery, carrot, cheese, and dates. 
Wednesday tea. Leftover MEATER™ made rump with a kale and cabbage vegetable broth. #yummylummy #foodphotography #lowcarb #noaddedsugar #MasterChefAU #rump #meatermade Beef, Kale, Cabbage, Vegetable stock, Spring onion, Coriander, Sesame oil, Fish sauce G’day food lovers, Happy Hump Day! For tea tonight I had some leftover roast rump and served it with a kale and red cabbage broth made with vegetable stock. I sliced the roast rump into thin slices with a sharp knife. I boiled a saucepan of water and added a vegetable stock cube and stirred it until the cube had dissolved. I shredded the red cabbage and kale and tossed it in to par boil along with some drops of sesame oil and a glut of fish sauce. When the cabbage had softened, I added in the slices of meat and stirred them through. I transferred everything to a bowl and garnished the dish with chopped spring onion, coriander roots, stems, and leaves. This was a very simple and easy dish. Have a good night. Bye. 
Woden 
Leftover roast rump salad with feta and dates 
Tuesday tea. Leftover sous vide duck breast with red cabbage, kale, cherry tomatoes, and avocado. #yummylummy #foodphotography #lowcarb #MasterChefAU #sousvide #duckbreast #breasts #redcabbage #cherrytomatoes Duck, Red cabbage, Kale, Tomatoes, Cream, Horseradish cream, Spring onion, Coriander G’day food lovers, How are you tonight? For tea tonight I had some leftover sous vide duck breast and served it with a warm salad of kale, red cabbage, cherry tomatoes, and avocado. I removed the breast from a bag and sliced it thinly. I shredded the red cabbage with a sharp knife and tossed it into a hot frypan with a liberal squirt of rice bran oil. I then tossed in some kale and cherry tomatoes. I turned the heat down and put a lid on the frypan. When I could see the leaves of the kale glistening after being coated with the vapourised oil and cellular water, I took off the lid and added a small knob of butter and after the buttery goodness coated everything I added a splash of cream and a dollop of horseradish cream and stirred that through with the slices of breast. I garnished the dish with chopped spring onion, coriander roots, stems, and leaves, plus some avocado. It was delicious. Have a good night. Bye. 
The Owl Statue on Wednesday morning 
Blueberries and unsweetened yoghurt 
Leftover roast rump salad with feta and dates 
Monday tea. Pan-fried salmon with a warm salad of kale sprouts, red cabbage, and cherry tomatoes. #yummylummy #foodphotography #lowcarb #MasterChefAU #salmon #kalesprouts #redcabbage #cherrytomatoes #horseradish Salmon, Kale sprouts, Red cabbage, Tomatoes, Butter, Cream, Horseradish cream G’day food lovers, How are you tonight? For tea tonight I pan-fried some salmon and served it with a warm salad of kale sprouts, red cabbage, and cherry tomatoes. In a cold frypan I placed a piece of oiled up and salted salmon skin side down. I then turned the heat up to high and cooked the salmon for five minutes. After I checked the skin was crispy, I turned the salmon over for one minute, turned the heat off, and transferred the salmon to a plate to rest. I shredded the red cabbage with a sharp knife and tossed it into a hot frypan with a liberal squirt of rice bran oil. I then tossed in some kale sprouts and cherry tomatoes. I turned the heat down and put a lid on the frypan. When I could see the leaves of the kale sprouts glistening after being coated with the vapourised oil and cellular water, I took off the lid and added a small knob of butter and after the buttery goodness coated everything I added a splash of cream and a dollop of horseradish cream and stirred that through. It was delicious. Have a good night. Bye. 
Blueberries and Chinese gooseberry in unsweetened yoghurt 
Woden 
Blueberries and mandarin in unsweetened yoghurt 
Sunday breakfast. Steamed egg with homemade Hollandaise sauce on wilted spinach with melted Coon cheese. 
Leftover roast rump salad with feta 
Vacuum sealed duck breast seasoned with iodised salt, Old Bay seasoning, and garlic powder. 
Sous vide duck breast seasoned with iodised salt, Old Bay seasoning, and garlic powder served on creamy buttery curry Brussels sprouts, peas, and corn. 
Sous vide duck breast seasoned with iodised salt, Old Bay seasoning, and garlic powder served on creamy buttery curry Brussels sprouts, peas, and corn. 
The Owl statue on Saturday morning 
Happy Saturday lunch. Warm chicken salad #YummyLummy #FoodPhotography #LowCarb #NoAddedSugar Warm chicken salad with roquette, spinach, lettuce, Coon cheese, and Worcestershire sauce Chicken, Roquette, Spinach leaves, Lettuce, Coon cheese, Worcestershire sauce 
Happy Saturday breakfast. Bacon and eggs. Fried speck, wilted spinach, steamed egg and Coon cheese. #yummylummy #foodphotography #lowcarb #baconandeggs 
Lake Ginninderra cloud porn
Yummy Lummy this week
Low carb cheeseburger
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Final thoughts
- Do you measure your mass daily?
- Do you have a target mass you wish to sustain? I hope I can do more than a brief dip below 80 kilograms.
- Have you watched Black Adder? Did you enjoy it?
Keep photographing your food Gary; I enjoy looking at your photos. And well done on under 80kgs….I think if you eat too many slices of that mousse cake you will be at 86 again…ha ha
Thanks, Sue. I reckon if that mousse cake was about two-thirds the size it would have been perfect. It got a little too sweet towards the end.
I will keep photographing my food. I cannot imagine stopping.
I wonder if the person telling you to give up food blogging was serious 😓 Fact of life is our mass goes up and goes down. Black Adder is hilarious.
Rowan Atkinson is such a talented entertainer and comedian.
I can’t imagine not photographing my food and sharing the photographs.
Photographing and sharing your food is so you, Gaz. It is a part of you and you do it very well 🙂
Thanks, Mabel, you are very kind. I do like my food photography and sharing.
Keep playing with your food and one day you will publish your food book 😃
Guess what Mabel? I’ve started planning the book. I have started with an outline of how I want to start.
Soon your book will be out there 😀
I’ll be taking my time.