March 2014 – Season Simply

How good do THESE look?!

Until today, I had not had Funfetti cake in more than four years. That’s depressing for a few reasons: 1. Before I was diagnosed with celiac, I was in love with Funfetti cake. Any birthday, any reason to make cake, it was always Funfetti. 2. Why have I not found a reason to make gluten-free funfetti at any point in the last four years?! 3. What is more happy-making than rainbow-speckled cake? Nothing. The answer is nothing.

So when I accepted a new job last week (yayy!!) and was thinking of ways to celebrate, funfetti was obviously top of mind. I had a plan: I would use these adorable blue and white striped cupcake papers I found at Home Goods (aka heaven) and would make homemade frosting and it would be glorious and beautiful and perfect!

But we all know nothing works out as well in real life as it does in our heads. Case in point:

I think you need a closer look:

Somehow — I have no idea why — my glorious gluten-free funfetti cupcakes erupted from the middle like a cake volcano. The good news? They still tasted great, and the texture wasn’t bad either. In my book, a delicious item that looks awful is WAY better than one that looks great but tastes like crap.

And if you want a look inside these babies:

Here’s the bad news: Because they didn’t work out perfectly, I’m not sharing the recipe today. You deserve the best, not Cupcakes that explode from the inside out! However, the next time I have something to celebrate, I will dutifully attempt the gluten-free funfetti cupcake again, and once I master it, I will share the recipe. Instead, I give you photos. Why? Because even though these don’t look great un-frosted, a good swirl of buttercream speckled with sprinkles covers all that up. And also because I wasn’t going to let one baking catastrophe ruin a chance at improving my camera skills.

If you want to give these a shot yourself, here is the recipe I was roughly working with: Homemade Gluten Free Funfetti Cupcakes from Gluten Free on a Shoestring. If you give these a try, just follow her recipe instead of trying to mess with it like I did!

If you just want a bunch of mediocre gluten-free cupcake porn to look at. Here:

P.S. That is most definitely not homemade buttercream. After the cake part exploded, I decided to cut my losses and go for the canned stuff. Don’t judge me — they are still delicious!

It’s embarrassing how many of my meals include one of these tortillas. Especially lunches, and especially in the 9-ish months I’ve been working from home. Quesadillas? Yeah, at least once a week. And I will put just about anything in them. Pizza? That usually happens at least once a week, too.

It’s true: rice tortillas lack the flexibility of “normal” flour tortillas, so they’re not so great for sandwich wraps (or anything that involves a lot of bending). However, crisped up in a pan or the oven, they make a great vehicle for healthy toppings and fillings, and that’s why I love them. Plus, once cooked, they’re easy to wrap up and bring on-the-go — I always make a sandwich-quesadilla hybrid with one of these and wrap it up when I travel!

I’ve made a ton of different quesadilla and pizza combos, but one of my absolute favorites is the recipe below with zucchini, roasted red pepper, and chicken. If those fillings don’t float your boat, try a mix of other veggies or proteins. Here are some of my favorite combos:

Black beans, spinach, and cheese
Chicken, broccoli, and cheese
Spinach, chicken, pesto
Avocado, black beans, spinach

Zucchini, Roasted Red Pepper, and Chicken Quesadilla

Serves 1

What You’ll Need:

1 brown rice tortilla
1.5-inch section zucchini, thinly sliced
1 piece roasted red pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cooked shredded chicken
1/8 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt, to taste
Optional: Salsa, greek yogurt, pesto, hummus (for dipping)

What to Do:

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.

Once the tortilla is defrosted (i.e. it’s somewhat pliable), spread half of the cheese on one half of the tortilla surface. Then, layer on the zucchini slices, red pepper, chicken, and rest of the cheese.

Fold the tortilla in half, and press down. Let the quesadilla cook for 2-3 minutes more, or until the cheese is melty and the bottom of the tortilla is turning golden brown.

Flip, and continue cooking or another 1-2 minutes, or until the tortilla is golden brown.

Remove from pan, slice, and serve! I served mine with 1 tablespoon greek yogurt + 1 tablespoon pesto, but you can really use whatever you like!

Season Simply

Month: March 2014

A Reason to Celebrate (…with Funfetti)

In My Kitchen: Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas [RECIPE]

Zucchini, Roasted Red Pepper, and Chicken Quesadilla