Posted on by Gary

Thinking about a holiday

Remembrance Day

On Monday I was in a meeting with members of the Australian Defence Force as well as officials from the Australian Government Department of Defence. At 11:00 AEDT, a Brigadier read from a prepared sheaf and read from a letter written by a corporal of the AIF 6th battalion. The corporal was describing how gas masks saved lives and yet cost lives. The technology of the day meant that gas masks were cumbersome and unwieldy. The glass fogged during an attack making vision difficult and therefore dangerous.

Thinking about a holiday

Lake Ginninderra South
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Driving holiday in Australia, Tasmania and driving to Perth across the Nullarbor Plain

I’ve got a significant birthday next year. It doesn’t end in a zero, it ends in a five.

I’m pondering taking a few weeks off and going for a long drive. For many years I’ve wanted to drive across the Nullarbor Plan. More recently, some family members have driven around parts of Tasmania and that has sparked some interest although Tasmania has never been a place I’ve felt drawn to.

I could combine a trip around Tasmania and then drive to Perth. It wouldn’t be a cheap holiday because the way I’d want to do it is by flying to Melbourne, spend a night or two so I can eat well, and then hire a car and catch the boat across Bass Strait (so I can say I’ve done it), spend a week or so driving around Tasmania eating and shooting photographs, then flying from Hobart to Adelaide, hire another car and drive to Perth. Spend a night or two in Perth and then fly home.

If I could afford it, I’d be interested in hiring a car I’d like to drive like a Ford Mustang or a BMW sedan. It seems extravagant and what I’ll probably end up doing is hiring a compact 4-cylinder Toyota or Hyundai or Kia.

Travelling alone doesn’t require anything flash or high performance, so long as there is room for a bag for clothes and my backpack with my camera and a tablet device.

Given my antisocial tendencies, I’m also contemplating disengaging from social media for the period of the holiday. While in some ways it would be nice to meet people I only know as an avatar on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram, I’m the most awkward human in social situations. I usually cannot hear what is being said, and invariably I can’t pick up on social cues and have no idea if I’m annoying someone or not.

What have I watched this week?

Stargate SG-1

I’ve really been bingeing on Stargate SG-1. I’m liking it more and more.

What have I listened to this week?

Just the routine podcasts about technology, Apple Mac stuff, comedy, and medicine.

What have I eaten and photographed this week?

It’s been a big week in food. On Friday night I enjoyed an Halal Snack Pack and last night I had a magnificent roast rolled pork shoulder. More on those meals below.

Videos

Photographs

This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and scroll through the rest of them.

  • The Owl Statue on Sunday morning
  • The Owl Statue on Sunday morning
  • Lake Ginninderra South
  • The Owl Statue on Sunday morning
  • The Owl Statue on Sunday morning
  • Roast rolled pork shoulder with mango and nectarine salad
  • Lake Ginninderra South
  • The Owl Statue on Saturday morning
  • The Owl Statue on Saturday morning
  • The Owl Statue on Saturday morning
  • Halal Snack Pack Lamb Chips Cheese Garlic Yoghurt sauce from Belco Halal Kebabs and Pizzeria
  • Halal Snack Pack Lamb Chips Cheese Garlic Yoghurt sauce from Belco Halal Kebabs and Pizzeria
  • Garran Kitchen
  • Friday Lunch. Chef’s special pork chops in the chef’s special sauce from Garran Kitchen.
  • The Owl Statue on Friday morning
  • Thursday tea. Roast chicken with peas, corn, capsicum, black beans and tomatoes. I put a dry brined chicken thigh on a rack which was suspended on a baking tray. I insert a wireless meat thermometer deep into the large muscle bundle and then put the chicken into a toaster oven. I cooked the chook according to the app associated with the meat thermometer. In a hot frypan I tossed in some peas, corn, capsicum, and black beans along with some cherry tomatoes. I added some butter and cooked the vegetables. I turned the heat down, added some cream and a handful of cheese and stirred it through.
  • The Owl Statue on Thursday morning
  • Wednesday tea. Roast chicken thigh with a mango and avocado salad. I put the chicken on a rack which sat on a baking tray. I seasoned it with iodised salt and inserted my wireless meat thermometer deep into the large muscle mass. I had set the toaster oven to high and cooked the chook according to the app on my smart device. Check out the progress in the graph. The salad was just salad leaves with diced mango and diced avocado. I dressed the salad with lemon zest, lemon juice, and Tabasco infused olive oil. Served with homemade aioli. Cooking for one can be easy and delicious.
  • Brie, Carrot, Celery, Dates, and Coffee
  • Tuesday tea. Leftover steak and butter, sour cream, and cheese served with frozen vegetables. On Saturday night I cooked a mayonnaise seared sous vide rib steak. Tonight, I sliced the leftover steak and mixed it with some frozen corn, capsicum, black beans, and peas. I added a truck-load of butter, sour cream, and cheese and baked it for 25 minutes. If you want to know how I cooked the steak send me a message and I can share the recipe.
  • Monday tea. Pan-fried salmon, homemade aioli, and salad. I coated a piece of salmon with some Queensland nut oil and then seasoned it with iodised salt. I put the salmon skin side down on a cold frypan. I then turned the heat on all the way up and cooked the salmon by titrations the heat with the amount of smoke being produced over five minutes. I then turned the salmon over for one minute on a low heat. I let the salmon rest for a few minutes on a plate. I put some salad leaves in a bowl along with some diced mango and diced avocado. I dressed the salad with lemon juice and Tabasco-flavoured olive oil. I served the salmon and salad with some homemade aioli I made on Saturday night.
  • Brie Carrot Celery Dates
  • Sunday tea. Pan-fried salmon and salad. I coated the salmon fillet with Queensland nut oil and then seasoned it with iodised salt. I put the salmon skin side down on a cold frypan and turned the heat up all the way and titrated the heat with the smoke production over five minutes. I turned the salmon over for one minute. The salad was salad leaves with a nectarine and dressed with lemon juice, lemon zest, and Tabasco-flavoured olive oil. For extra conch I added toasted almond flakes and crushed peanuts.

Yummy Lummy this week

I posted twice this week. The first was about the Halal Snack Pack from Belco Halal Kebabs and Pizzeria.

Halal Snack Pack Lamb Chips Cheese Garlic Yoghurt sauce Thumbnail

The second post was about a roast rolled pork shoulder I cooked on Saturday night.

Rolled pork shoulder thumbnail

The cookbook

Nut. Nothing happened this week.

Final thoughts

  • Did you have a special experience on Remembrance Day?
  • Do you like driving holidays?
  • Does the notion of driving around Tasmania captivate you?

12 Replies to “Thinking about a holiday”

  1. I love driving holidays, my father was big on them when I was a kid. I’ve been to Tassie, also with Dad. We flew there from Sydney but hired a car once there. Drove up Mt.Wellington in January and was snowing!

    2. And it’s a good way to see things, and you can stop where and when you want. You’re in the driver’s seat!

  2. What a lovely photo of Lake Ginninderra Gary and how interesting you say you are awkward in social situations; I would not have guessed – we are all so different aren’t we.

  3. That sounds like a great holiday! My sister lives in Tassie so usually when I go visit her I am mostly around Hobart. Last time we went, we hired a car and drove over to Port Arthur and to Launceston. There is still a lot of the state I would like to explore as it really is beautiful and easy to get around. I’m not sure when your birthday is but I would avoid going there in winter unless, being from Canberra, you feel like experiencing more of the cold. My in-laws are in Perth but we’ve never driven across. It would be nice to do one day.

    1. Thanks for the ideas. I am keen to avoid winter. It’ll probably be late April or early May 😃

  4. As far as I know, we don’t celebrate Remembrance Day in Europe.
    Yes, I like to drive at vacations. Then it is possible to go at adventure and see much more than expected.
    I have never visited either Australia or Tasmania, but I would like to.

    1. Thanks, Irene. Remembrance Day, commemorates the end of World War I. I think it’s known as Armistice Day in other countries.

    2. That is possible, Gary. I think, that we are only celebrating the end of World War II in Europe as a day of getting the freedom back.

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