Hope everyone is doing well! This week has been super hot and humid where I live and I know people on the West Coast of Canada/USA have been experiencing crazy heat waves. I hope you’re finding ways to stay cool.

In a previous post, I mentioned one strategy to dealing with hot temperatures is by making food that doesn’t really require any cooking. Avoiding the use of your oven/stove – because that really heats up a house – is super helpful. I have been posting several no-heat recipes so definitely try them out!

Today’s post is another no-cook recipe. These are tortilla pinwheels which are super cute and versatile. This is such a simple snack or light lunch. You could also make a variety of them and serve at a picnic. They are a great finger food and everyone can choose the variety they like.

The one I made today has cream cheese, a few seasonings, spinach and cucumber. Those are just the items I had on hand. If you didn’t want cream cheese/want a DF or vegan option, you could use hummus or another bean dip. And instead of cucumber, you can use carrot, bell pepper – just ensure you cut them into thin and long sticks for easy rolling.

Regarding the seasonings, I used garlic powder, black pepper, oregano and chili flakes. You can use any combination of those if you didn’t want to use them all. You could also skip the seasoning and use a flavoured cream cheese – jalapeno or everything bagel would be good options.

I really like how these resemble maki sushi but these are way easier to make! Like I said, there is no cooking involved and it is a lot less messy to assemble. I’m sure you have all the ingredients in your fridge/pantry right now so you might as well make some pinwheels this weekend!

Ingredients:

• 1 large flour tortilla (GF: use GF tortilla, just make sure it rolls up easily)
• 3 tbsp cream cheese (DF/vegan: use DF cream cheese or hummus)
• Choice of seasoning: garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, chili flakes – small pinch, to taste
• Baby spinach, ~10 leaves
• Cucumber, cut into thin and long sticks, ~3 sticks

Directions:

1. Place tortilla on flat surface. Spread thin layer of cream cheese (or hummus) on the tortilla, going all the way to the edges.
2. Lightly sprinkle seasonings (if using) then lay spinach leaves in single layer, fully covering the cream cheese.
3. Place cucumber sticks in a straight line near the bottom edge of the tortilla (like you would do if you were making sushi). Pick up the edge of the tortilla and roll into a tight log. Slice into 1 1/2″ pieces.
4. Serve immediately or chill in fridge for up to 4 hours.