Saturday, March 17, 2018

Recipe: Quinoa Fritters with Garlic Lemon Aoili



Quinoa Fritters with Garlic Lemon Aoili 


This recipe is an adaptation of a zucchini fritter I made last year, but never posted a recipe. It's fairly basic and easily customizable. Adding dry ingredients will mean you can use less flour, and wet ingredients will need more flour for the  mixture to hold together while being cooked. 

Quinoa is a great product to use for people with sensitive tummies, it's gluten free and as grains go - gentle on the digestive system. The Quinoa I am using for this recipe is a boil-in-bag from Success, which is one of the products given in the #momlife VoxBox from Influenster. 

Success Boil-in-Bag Quinoa!

If you have never cooked Quinoa before, the boil-in-bag option from Success is a great way to cook it without worry of over/under cooking, and less mess! The raw/dry form of Quinoa are very small, and light (airy) - so the potential for  mess is eliminated when they are sealed up in bags!

Coooked, in bags. 
Cooked quinoa.
   
After the bags boil in water for just 10 minutes remove and let drain for about 5 minutes. For my recipe you can leave them to drain and cool longer, if you'd like; and even refrigerate for later (or use leftovers!). 
  

Recipe


Fritters

2c       cooked quinoa
2/3c    shredded cheese (I used pepper jack)
2-3tbs  flour
1         green onion (sliced thin)
1         egg (beaten)
1tsp    black pepper
1tsp    garlic salt
1tsp    salt
1/4c    oil (any kind, for frying)


Aoili

1/2c   prepared mayo
2-3     cloves garlic (roasted or fried, and chopped finely)
1        juice and zest of one lemon
1tsp    hot sauce (optional)

*Note: In the photos I have doubled the recipe for the fritters.

Directions

Simply mix all fritter ingredients in medium bowl thoroughly. 


Pro Tip 1: The amount of flour used depends on the moisture level of the mix, I used an ice cream scoop (because the quinoa sticks to hands), and pressed the mix into the scoop fairly firmly. If the mix comes out easily and stays in the scoop shape - it's ready to cook. If it falls apart - add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it keeps it shape. 


Add half of the oil to frying pan, and heat to medium-high (should only take a minute or two to get the oil hot). As you cook, you may need to add more oil to the pan because the fritters do absorb the oil a bit. 


Cook until light brown (or a bit darker brown if you prefer), about 2-4 minutes on each side. 
Pro Tip 2: Cooking time depends on fritter size, the number of fritters in the pan and temperature you cook them at. Since all ingredients are cooked except for the egg, you are simply frying them until the egg is cooked and forms the patty. 


Once they are brown enough, remove from pan and allow to drain on a rack. I do not recommend using paper towels, as the fritters hold a bit of moisture inside and the bottom would get soggy. 

Serve these warm, with the garlic lemon aoili (recipe below)!


 Lemon Garlic Aoili Recipe is at the top, the directions are simple - mix it all up! 

Pro Tip 3: Roasting or frying garlic simply brings out a nice mellow flavor. I fried mine in the pan with the fritters (see below) until golden brown - DO NOT OVER-COOK! Burned garlic is very bitter and does not taste good! 

Frying garlic
  
Raw garlic at the top, fried at the bottom
Once the garlic is cooled a bit, slice it up and smoosh it with the flat part of a knife, then chop it into tiny bits before adding to the mixture. 

Mix it all up!

Serve the aoili with your fritters for a nice refreshing sauce, as the fritters can be "heavy". 







 #EasySuccessQuinoa  #gotitfree  #contest

I recieved Success Quinoa free to try from Influenster for testing purposes. 


Monday, March 5, 2018

Review: Hair Wax!




Product Review: Mofajang Hair Wax

Direct Link: HERE

Unboxing and Review Video:  HERE


This "wax" is not really a wax, it's more of a cream that goes on very smooth and is not greasy or waxy at all. 

I have used various coloring products on my hair and my kids hair, and this one is a fairly nice product. This wax is a temporary colorant, but it does not dye the hair. The cream is a lovely shade of metallic blue! There are other colors available, check out their website HERE.

Lovely metallic blue!

The wax is applied to the hair directly, it's a non-damaging cream that washes out with water. The more wax applied to the hair, the longer it will take to dry. I tried this on a human hair extension (as seen in my video), as well as my sons hair (the before/after photo below). I applied too much product to the extension and it took over 3 hours to dry. So, when I applied it to my sons hair - I used much less and applied it to the ends. 

Human hair extension, with dried 'wax'

Once brushed out, a majority of the wax falls out of the hair - so it is better to gently comb it with your fingers. The color is transferable, but once it is dry it is more of a powder transfer. 

Before and After
The color stays until you rinse it off (simple water rinsed the amount in the extension and in my sons hair). The removal process is very fast and since it didn't need soap - could be done with just a bottle of water (in theory). 

Overall this product is great for kids and teens, but I am not sure I would use it for myself. Drying time and the fact that it can flake/dust off onto clothes means I wouldn't use it very often. However, this is great for kids --who want to change their hair ten times a day! 

I also recommend this for those who want to try more than one color - or a rainbow effect. This product adds color without bleaching or damaging the hair, so several colors can be applied at once. 

Don't forget to watch the video!!






https://feriwola.com/products/color-hair-wax-hair-dye-wax

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Product Review: Essential Oil Diffuser Locket Bracelet





Product Review: Essential Oil Locket Bracelet

Amazon Link: HERE

Review Video: HERE



Once again...we have an essential oil related item, because essential oils are awesome. This essential oil bracelet is sold on Amazon from Shopping Story. 

For this review I received the Lovely Tree design in Rose Gold. The bracelet does come in other colors and designs (Cute Heart and Sunflower designs; both in Rose Gold are also available on Amazon).  

   

Included in the gift box is the bracelet and eight different colored circular felt pads. You can see them in the various pictures I took on this page or in the video; colors are Orange, Blue, Red, Purple, Pink, Black, White and Green. 


Use of this bracelet is very simple, unscrew the cover (the tree cut-out) add the felt pad (circle cut felt pieces) and replace the cover. See the above picture!



Add one or two drops of essential oil or fragrance oil to one of the felt pads for all day fragrance. I recommend using a small amount at first, until you can gauge how much you need. If too much oil is used it may leak out and stain clothing or other items. You can use a different scent for each pad, and change them as you like. 


Of course...you CAN wear it without any felt pads...it's very pretty on its own!





Here's the unboxing/show-off video I made, showing the bracelet in use:



This is a great gift idea, especially for women who can't pick just one perfume -- or for a woman who can't use perfume for allergy reasons. 

Amazon Link: HERE

Review Video: HERE



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078VD1WTR