Recipe: Orange & Beetroot Salad

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Sarah

Summary: This is a lovely winter salad that we just love so much. We have been known to eat the whole thing from a mixing bowl with forks! If you are into a quick fix, you can buy fresh cooked beetroot from the produce department in Coles. This is a great recipe if you are participating in Live Well Go Orange, don’t forget to check out my Orange, Cranberry & Parmesan Risotto too.

Ingredients

700g roasted beetroot, chopped
1 large red onion, sliced in half moons
1 tblsp garlic olive oil m
200g Danish fetta, cubed
2 oranges, in segments
2 tblsp garlic olive oil, divided

Instructions

If you need to roast your beetroots, you can follow these instructions.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the onion to a saucepan and slowly cook the onions until they are caramelised and soft. Allow to cool.
Stir the beetroot chunks, orange segments, fetta cubes and onions in a salad bowl and drizzle with remaining oil.

So, You May Notice Some Changes….

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Sarah

I know talking money is a little gauche but we need to have a little chat. I’ve had offers of advertising $$$ but I’ve passed. I’m no sell out, I’m an Independent operator, no one can buy my opinion. But Ask Sarah is getting big and expensive, just like a teenage kid.

It costs quite a chunk of change to keep this website rolling. More posts, more dosh, more visitors (which I always want and welcome) more dosh on server space. Now that spend is fine, I’ve spent that on other hobbies. There are so many other costs that come up. I own so much kitchenalia (glasswares, baking tins & dishes, moulds, forms and cutters) and have spend Lord knows on ingredients. Plus those projects I chase down, like face powder, I would have made it for myself anyway but kept it in a scungy container and not bought in pretty ones. Let’s not even mention the cost of the giveaways I pay for from my own pocket…

Anyway, it’s not all those things that I wanted to talk about, it’s about Ask Sarah’s corporateness. I want to keep Ask Sarah free to you, no subscription cost, not even a donate to me PayPal button. So, the time has come when I may start to accept actual advertising. I have already added a commission deal with Gift It Now but I will have more on that later. In the past I have received free product in exchange for a review and some giveaway posts have been at the clients cost but the opinions are always my own. If I cannot say nice things, I do not post the review. These sorts of post will keep happening but I will let you know if I’ve received product or payment in exchange for the post. Transparency is good.

I just wanted to let you know that Ask Sarah is growing up and you may see these little changes soon. After all, we are a happy little community and how you feel about the choices I make for Ask Sarah matter to me. As always I welcome your thoughts, so please share in comments or on Facebook. And do tell me what you think of my ‘cash cow’ image! xxxx

Recipe: Orange, Cranberry & Parmesan Risotto

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Sarah

Summary: As you may recall, I am participating in Live Well Go Orange. I really wanted to make some interesting and perhaps unexpected recipes with oranges. This sounds so odd but it is an amazing mix of salty, tart, sweet and cheesy. Think of how nice fruit or fruit pastes are with a nice ripe cheese. I think the key is to season this well, use a good stock and perhaps add a little stock powder if needed and also give it a good grind of pepper. Mr Ask ate two bowls (very rare), Mummy Ask swooned over it and I was feeling pretty smug about this unusual but fantastic risotto. I dare you to give it a try and tell me what you think!

Ingredients

1 large onion, finely chopped
1 cup arborio rice
2 cloves garlic, minced
70g butter, divided
1/2 cup dried cranberries/crasins
1 orange, juiced
2 tblsp orange zest
2 oranges, peeled and segmented
4-6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
100g Parmesan, finely grated
Pepper

Instructions

Add 50g of butter, garlic and onion to a large, high sided frypan. Fry until onion is translucent but not coloured. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute to coat each grain in butter.
Add the orange juice and zest. Then stir continuously, until the juice is almost totally absorbed. Continue by adding stock, 1/2 cup at a time and stirring often until rice is well cooked but has a little ‘bite’ in the middle.
Add the the cranberries, orange segments and remaining 20g butter. Season with pepper and add Parmesan to taste (be generous). Stir through, turn off the heat and allow to sit for 5 mins before serving.

Tip: Live Well. #Go Orange!

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Sarah

If you saw last Fridays cocktail, you will know that I am participating in Live Well Go Orange, which means I have pledged to eat one whole orange every day for ten days. Now, that’s going to be very easy for me, I just love and adore oranges! And to get me started I got this beautiful crate of oranges from Citrus Australia. I really hope that you guys will join me and Go Orange too. I am going to have some amazing and maybe unexpected orange recipes for you next week to get you started. Now let me tell you all the wonderful benefits of oranges, they really are the original superfruit!!

Just one delicous orange will give you:
A hit of owerful antioxidants good for keeping those colds & flu away
64mg of Vitamin C (nearly 1.5times your daily rec)
Naturally high water content
More than 3g dietary fibre
High in potassium and Low in sodium
Baby friendly folate
More than a gram of protein
Immune-friendly nutrients
Potent heart-healthy nutrients

All of that in one tasty, naturally wrapped package! And speaking of that natural package, have you tried this amazing way to peel an orange? It’s perfect for throwing in the lunch box and it’s easy for little fingers. So, will YOU join me and Go Orange?

Recipe: Stupidly Simple Apple Cake

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Sarah

Summary: It’s 7.30pm, I’ve been flicking through Pinterest and I think I will die without cake!! I mean, I really want cake but I can barely be bothered making it. A flick through my ‘recipes in development’ file and I found the answer! This is so unbelievably simple, it took 5mins to get this in the oven. In fact it seemed like the oven would never get to 180! Just dump everything in a bowl and stir. I had a packet of Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips that I bought on impulse over the Internet and I decided to chuck those in but normal, ground cinnamon will do just fine. I had the evil idea of adding chopped up jersey caramels too but I didn’t have any on hand. You could easily use fresh or tinned peach, pear or apricot slices instead or even frozen berries.

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
125g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon OR 2/3 cup cinnamon chips
1 apple, thinly sliced
Extra sugar for the top

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.
Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon (or chips) to a bowl and mix to combine.
Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and smooth out the top. Place the apple slices on top of batter and sprinkle with the extra sugar.
Bake for 50 minutes until a cake tester inserted comes out clean. Eat while warm and delicious or cool on a rack, if you can bear to wait that long!

Recipe: Magic One Pot Pasta & Sauce

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Sarah

Summary: This is one of those life saver recipes. You know those nights when everyone’s hungry, it’s already getting late and the last thing you want to do is cook….and then clean up afterwards. This is the dish for those nights. The pasta and the sauce cook at the same time in the same pot! It’s revolutionary concept that works wonderfully and tastes phenomenal. The starch from the pasta gives the sauce a velvety texture and the pasta has a chance to absorb the flavours of the sauce. There are so many variations you could try but this is a sort of pantry version that you could use as base and add cooked chicken, tinned tuna or add bacon piece or sausage crumbles at the beginning with the onion.

Ingredients

3 tblsp garlic olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 zucchinis, halved lengthways and cut into 1cm slices
1 head broccoli, in small florets
½ tsp dried oregano
3 cups boiling water
1 (420g) can chopped tomatoes
2 tblsp tomato paste
2 tsp baby capers
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lemon, zested
250g short pasta like penne, spirals, shells or macaroni
Finely chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
Parmesan cheese, to serve

Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and zucchini and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Add the water, tomatoes, tomato paste, broccoli, capers, oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, lemon zest and pasta, and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium, cook for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent the pasta sticking.
Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the parsley and serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Adapted from mediterrasian

Recipe: Screwdriver

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Sarah

Summary: I am participating in Live Well Go Orange, promoting the amazing benefits of oranges, the original super fruit. The challenge is to eat one whole orange a day for 10 days & I hope you all participate with me! I am going to have some more info about Live Well Go Orange and some orange recipes for you soon. But look at this super cute crate of oranges Citrus Australia sent me – I just had to use one straight away in this classic cocktail, even though I’m meant to be eating them, not juicing them. I couldn’t resist! And at least you’ll be offsetting the vodka with all those antioxidants…

Ingredients

30 ml vodka
Juice of 1 delicious, nutritious orange
Ice

Instructions

Add the ice and vodka to a glass.
Pour in the fresh, tangy orange juice and ENJOY the weekend!!!!!!

Tip: A Sandwich Press Is Not Just For Sandwiches!

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Sarah

If you are only using your sandwich press for sandwiches, then you are missing out on all the fun! There are so many things that you can cook in a sandwich press, Mummy Ask uses the one at work to create all kinds of different gourmet meals for the team and I bought mine specifically for cooking haloumi. Sometimes the sandwich press is quicker, because it cooks on two sides at once but it’s also easy to clean, not so hot in summer and an indoor BBQ in winter. I find it much easier to cook eggplant in the sandwich press than in a fry pan or the oven. Plus there are times when all you have is a sandwich press – think students, caravanning or the work lunch room. So, what can you cook in a sandwich press?

Heavenly Haloumi: This is bacon for vegetarians and such a weakness for me. I mean I bought a sandwich press just to cook haloumi! Haloumi makes a wonderful addition to antipasto or works in a great array of meals.

A world of Veggies: Asparagus grills wonderfully, eggplant gains the nicest caramel flavours, capsicums, mushrooms, zucchini and cherry tomatoes or tomato slices can be ‘roasted’. Even cook sweet potato slices or ‘smash’ some boiled potatoes. Before throwing them in the press, brush or toss the vegetables with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Meaty Treats: Thin, boneless cuts of meat can be cooked quickly without the need for a lot of fat. Think burgers, lamb, beef or ham steaks, chicken fillets & of course bacon!

Terrific Tofu: Marinate slices of tofu and then throw it in the press for an easy dinner.

Perfect Polenta: Grill cooked polenta slices in the sandwich press and use them as a base for a veggie dinner

Fancy Fruit: Sprinkle sliced pineapple, stone fruits, pears, or figs with a little sugar and grill it in the sandwich press for an excellent dessert on its own or with homemade ice cream. Or grill a banana split lengthwise and drizzle with honey, caramel or chocolate sauce or sprinkle with milo!

Decadent Desserts: Brush both sides of sliced pound cake with butter before pressing until they are toasty. Pancakes and crepes are easily made in the sandwich press, even French toast. I haven’t tried it but I hear you can even cook a mini cake in a sandwich press!

Have you found other great uses for a sandwich press? Do you think you would use these ideas?

The Very First Ask Sarah Voice Post

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Sarah

I have been trying to mix things up lately with things like yesterdays video post. I guess it keeps things interesting! I’ve also been talking alot about body image and fashion. I also finally posted some photos that show my face – I had heaps of requests for it so I got brave and did it! Knitting all of those things together, I have something new. I have created a voice recording of Mummy Ask and I chatting on fashion and body image. Sadly, I am learning to do the techy parts of this blog for myself, so the sound quality it is a bit crap but now I’ve worked out the best way to do it, I promise it will be better next time.

So, if you are ready to hear Mummy Ask and I waffle on, click this link below:

Please tell me what you think!!!!!

Why I’m an old young person

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Sarah

I know vintage is in and all but I seem to have vintage behavior to go with. It’s 9.45pm on a Saturday night and I’m laying in bed with Mr Ask, I’m unpicking the stitches in a seam. There is Doris (the cat) asleep on my feet and Mr Pyjamas (also a cat) is ‘helping’ me with my sewing. We are watching a BBC doco. I’ve just made us a pot of tea. I’m perfectly happy but it seems more like the night a 60yr old would plan than a 30yr old!

It made me think about the many ways I don’t act my age. I thought of the things I do. Just for fun I made them into a little video.