sorry, world! i get so caught up in everything going on in this real world that i forget about the internet world. it’s been a really great spring thaw – there are mud puddles everywhere and cars splashing and i’m pretty effing excited for spring. can i just say: this has been one long winter. i’m glad i’ve had fun work and baking adventures to fill the time. winters in new england are pretty unreal in how unforgiving they can be.
remember that fabulous french bread that alea made? SO GOOD, right? i did something totally nuts and amazing, and tried to make it into a pizza dough – and it worked! i used 2 cups of brown rice flour instead of the white rice flour, and added about a 1/3 cup white rice flour because the consistency was weird without it. i baked it for about 20 minutes, added the toppings, and put it back in for about 10 minutes to melt the cheese – and it was SO GOOD. not crumbly, not dry – and it didn’t have that distinct “gluten free” after taste that some GF breads have. yknow what i’m talking about? it’s kind of like a bitter taste? i’m not into that bitter taste. i’m trying to bake gluten free things without using sugar to cover up that gluten-free taste. i made premade cookies (can’t remember the brand…it’s a purple and white box, with a little boy standing on a cookie…?) and they were good, but SO FULL OF SUGAR! do you notice that gluten free stuff is really high in sugar? it’s frustrating.
i’ve been spending lots of time with my cat this winter and have had lots of time to cook, which is fabulous. i’ve also spent a lot of time with al green…
he is magical.
i am going to attempt GF lasagna tonight. if it is a success, i’ll post it. 
something that i DID attempt was: blackened steak and cheese quesadillas! holy crap. seriously, you have to try these. i got the idea from the restaurant i work at, but wanted a GF/no flour recipe. please give this one a whirl. you won’t regret it. i call them “Blackened” because I don’t grill them, but I sort of… fake it…
“Blackened” Steak + Cheese Quesadillas
you need:
- a few shakes of Grill Mates montreal seasoning
- 1 Trader Joes rice tortilla per quesadilla (or any tortilla of your choice)
- beef, or a meat substitute – thinly sliced into strips (about a handful per quesadilla)
- CHEESE, shredded – whatever you love
- quarter of an onion, sliced into strips
- mushrooms, if you like them…
Cut up your veggies and meat into strips. First, throw a little oil in a medium sized frying pan and cook your onions and mushrooms with a dash of salt. The onions can be cooked to your liking – maybe you like them caramelized, maybe you like them a little raw – whatever you want! Once cooked to your liking, take them out of the pan and put them aside. Next, cook the meat in the frying pan on a medium/high heat. As the meat cooks, sprinkle on about a tsp or so of the montreal steak seasoning. This stuff is magic. It’s so good. Cook the meat to your liking and put it aside once it’s done. Heat up your tortillas in the microwave so they are soft – about 15 seconds. Rice tortillas kind of smell a little funky when they get microwaved – it’s normal. Once soft, take them out and put them on a plate or cutting board. Sprinkle cheese on half of the tortilla, then some meat and veggies, then more cheese. The cheese is the glue! Delicious glue. Fold over the tortilla, and lay it in a frying pan. Fry is on medium/high heat for two or three minutes – til it’s browned on the bottom and the cheese/glue is melting well. Flip the quesadilla carefully, and repeat. Take it out, throw it on a plate, cut it into four pieces, and DEVOUR IT! You’ll probably want to make another one. Or two…
Make sure you eat it while it’s hot! Cold quesadillas are not really as good as hot. Just sayin.
Magical, right?
Enjoy!
*jess
[...] been a staple in my baking adventures. A few months ago, I wrote briefly about how I tried to make pizza crust from it and sort of succeeded. Well, I’ve taken that success to a new level of [...]