Portobello Fajitas

Any time we go to our neighborhood Mexican restaurant, someone at another table inevitably orders fajitas. You can mistake that sizzling sound as it passes by your table.

I've made fajitas before using Portobello mushrooms (check out that recipe here), but they are so versatile and lend themselves so well to meaty Mexican dishes.

Portobello Fajitas

3-4 large Portobello mushroom caps, sliced into strips
One onion, sliced
One green bell pepper, sliced thin
One jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced thin

Saute the mushrooms, onion, bell pepper and jalapeno in olive oil until softened. Spoon into whole wheat flour tortillas and top with vegan sour cream and vegan shredded cheese. Roll up. Serve. Enjoy!

I served ours with Spanish rice and black beans. You can also top your fajitas with guacamole or avocado slices and salsa, if you like.

Juicy Portobello Steaks

I live in cattle country. You can find steakhouses and barbecue places everywhere. Seriously, they are darn near spaced about a mile apart. And if not those, burger joints. I swear, I can hear the mooing as I pass. Makes me sad, makes me angry. When you are surrounded by all that death, the very least I can do is come home and make my dinner cruelty free.

Juicy Portobello Steaks

1/2 c. almonds
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. Braggs Aminos
1/2 c. water
2 T. balsamic vinegar
3 cloves, garlic, chopped
1 t. dried rosemary
1 t. dried oregano
4 large Portobello mushrooms, stems removed
1 onion, sliced

In a food processor, whir the almonds until powdered. Add oil, Braggs, water, vinegar, garlic, rosemary and oregano and blend until well mixed. In a baking dish, lay the mushrooms upside down. Pour the sauce over the top, lay some onion slices on each mushroom. Bake at 250 for 25 minutes.

OMG, these are so juicy and delicious! It makes a wonderful gravy that you can pour over rice or mashed potatoes.

Since hubby had grilled some potatoes recently, I took a few of those and scooped out most of it, leaving the skin intact to form a shell. I mixed in some green onions, Daiya cheese, vegan butter and some herbs until it was all mixed well, scooped the mixture back into the potato skins and baked them alongside the mushrooms.

This was very elegant and would be perfect for dinner guests. Throw together a salad or cook some greens of your choice, and you truly have a winner here.

Veggie Fajitas

I think if I had to pick, Mexican food would top the list of favorites. My favorite, of course, is Tex Mex, but I'll try almost any Mexican food restaurant. My favorite is my neighborhood restaurant, Los Caporales. The owner knows us, is always friendly and they have the BEST salsa EVER.

The biggest problem with any Mexican restaurant, though, is finding something vegan. Oh, vegetarian is easy, but vegan? Not so much? Just about everything has cheese on it or in it. And some serve cheese enchiladas with a meat gravy! Yuck and double yuck!

We like to cook Mexican often at home. There is always something different - tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, fajitas. I swear, I never get tired of it.

Veggie Fajitas

Olive oil
One onion, sliced
1 T. chili powder
1 T. paprika
1/4 t. salt
Black pepper to taste
2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise and into half moons
1 green pepper, sliced
4 Portobello mushroom caps, sliced
1 t. tamari
1 can black beans, drained
Whole wheat flour tortillas
Daiya mozzarella style shreds

Saute onions, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper in olive oil, until onions are soft. Add zucchini, green pepper, mushrooms and tamari, cook until veggies are heated but not soft. Stir in the beans and heat through. Spoon some in a line down a flour tortilla, sprinkle on some Daiya, roll up and enjoy!

Feel free to add sliced avocados or salsa or anything to your liking!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

I decided some nice comfort food were on the menu tonight. Not for any reason in particular, just was in the mood. Inspired by my friend, Courtney, and her recipe, I made chicken fried portabellas with white creamy gravy, garlic mashed potatoes and oven fried okra.

Chicken Fried Portabellas

Portabella mushrooms, as many as you need
Soy milk, plain
Flour
Seasonings (I used salt, pepper and Bragg Sprinkle)
Olive Oil

For the gravy:
Earth Balance butter
Olive oil
Not Beef Bouillon cube
Soy milk, plain
Salt and pepper to taste

To make the gravy, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add some olive oil and the bouillon cube and mix well. Start adding flour, stir, add, stir, add, until you get kind of a crumbly consistency. Start pouring in and whisking the milk. Add until you get the creaminess consistency you want. Salt and pepper to taste.

To make the portabellas, dip them first in soy milk, then in the flour with seasonings added. Fry up nicely in hot olive oil until nicely browned on both sides.

Oven Fried Okra

Whole okra, frozen and thawed
Soy milk, plain
2 c. cornmeal
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/2 t. paprika

Dip okra in milk, then in the cornmeal mixed with seasoning. Lay on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray (I like using olive oil in a spray bottle). Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to keep them from sticking.

Play around with the chicken fried recipe, adding or substituting spices as you like. I think I might add some garlic and/or onion powder next time.

As for the okra, I had made this previously, thinking I could cheat a bit. I bought sliced okra, dumped it all in the milk and then into the cornmeal mixture, thinking to save time. What I got was more mushy and not very tasty okra at all. This time I used whole okra and dipped and battered each piece individually. MUCH better!

Chicken Fried Steak is kind of a staple here in Texas. My husband swears there is a difference between *chicken fried* and *country fried*, so I decided to do a little research. It seems chicken fried steak originated with German immigrants to the Texas hill country, who made schnitzel. Chicken fried steak was originally a way to use tougher cuts of meat by slicing the meat into round steaks and pounding them to tenderize. Recipes for chicken fried steak all require that the steak is tenderized, dipped in flour, coated in egg wash, and then dipped once again in flour. It is then fried in a cast iron skillet in oil and served with cream gravy. Brown gravy belongs east of the Sabine, while Central Texas makes it with breadcrumbs and West Texas without egg.

What about country fried steak? In most instances, it is another name for chicken fried steak (sshhhh, don't    tell my husband that!), but it might or might not have been dipped in egg. The gravy on top and side dishes will give away the origins of a "chicken fried steak". If served with brown gravy or anything else but mashed potatoes, you're looking at country fried steak.
I'm not sure which mine qualifies as. Mine is cruelty free, I didn't dip anything in egg, but did serve it with a white cream gravy, and did make mashed potatoes. I'm sticking with calling it chicken fried, I guess.
The portobello mushroom (also called portabella) is really simply a brown crimini mushroom in disguise. Evidently the usage of the two words "portobello vs. portabella" is nothing more than a marketing issue. Once the little brown crimini grows up to be about 4" - 6" in diameter he is deemed to be a portobello. No one seems to know how the name came about, but a few theories include:
•Named after Portobello Road in London which has many high end antique shops and other fashionable establishments.

•Named after a T.V. show called Portobello
•The portobello in Northern Italy is called "cappellone" which means "big hat".

Whatever the origin, it is a big brown mushroom that is very meaty, and can be grilled, oven roasted or sautéed, or in my case, fried. We like to grill them and serve them up on whole wheat buns, lettuce, tomato and any assorted other toppings we like (my daughter is partial to onions).