Garden Fresh Portobello Tacos

I made these a while ago, but knew I'd want to share them once I got the blog back up and running. I didn't do much "cooking for one" this weekend. One of my best friends, the lovely Sarah came into town with her super cute baby Claudia. We had a BBQ with the beautiful Melissa and Joe- also my best, awesome friends who live here in Chicago with their two amazing little boys, Liam and Evan plus Joe's little brother Nicholas. It was great time with tons of cute baby action and fabulous adult conversations.
Yes, I cooked some things for it but they were meals for many. And I wasn't really pleased with one of the dishes- it needs work before I'd post it here. I might post the marinade, which was really good, I made for the kabobs, but I forgot to take pictures. So that might have to wait until I make them again. But first, I need a grill. Anyone getting rid of a table top gas grill? I really need one for myself, but don't like buying new things if I can find it gently loved by someone else that doesn't need it anymore.

Sarah and I had lunch before she left today. Sarah ordered Chicken Tacos and I had Gazpacho (I just can't get enough!) and we split an order of delicious fried cheese curds. I was admiring her tacos and kind of wished I had ordered some myself (not chicken, of course) so tonight I was thinking about these tacos I made a few weeks ago. I don't have the ingredients tonight, so I'm just eating leftovers from the BBQ. But I really want these instead.

They are called Garden Fresh not because I grew the mushrooms, but the pico de gallo that goes with it is from the garden- well, at least 1 tomato, the cilantro and the jalapenos.

Garden Fresh Portobello Tacos
Ingredients

• 2 caps Portobello Mushrooms 
• 2 Corn Tortillas (approx 6" dia) 
• 1 1/2 ounces Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 of Avocados, California (Haas)
• 3 T Pico de Gallo*
*Pico de Gallo

• 1 medium tomato, diced
• a bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 medium onion (spanish or red), diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• salt to taste

Make it

1. Slice the mushroom caps strips. 

2. Heat a skillet with cooking spray and add shrooms. 

3. Add 1/3 the amount of pico de gallo you have (really you can't have too much!) to the mushrooms, stir. Reduce heat to low. 

4. Shred the cheese (if using), chunk the avocado, and heat the tortillas. Getting them slightly damp before adding to a dry hot pan will help loosen up the tortillas for folding. 

5. Fill the heated tortillas with the mushrooms, avocado, remaining pico de gallo and top with cheese. 

These are really delicious and versatile. Try fresh cilantro and chopped onion. Or add cumin to the mushrooms while they cook. Don't use cheese and it's vegan. Oh the possibilities!! Of course, if you leave the cheese off you have a lesser calorie and fat dinner, but even still this one is just over 300 calories. Amazingly yummy, too! As you can see in the image, the mushrooms and pico mixes make much more than can fit in the tortillas, but makes a lovely salad-like dish to put on the side of this. Oh so satisfying. 

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 1

Serving Size: 2 awesome tacos with extra Pico de Gallo & 'Shroom mixture salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 307.4

Total Fat: 14.7 g

Cholesterol: 15.0 mg

Sodium: 437.8 mg

Total Carbs: 36.7 g

Dietary Fiber: 8.8 g

Protein: 14.8 g

I pack my own lunch: part 1

I love to pack my own lunch to work. I enjoy it for several reasons- because I like what I cook; because I know where the food I am eating came from & bringing my lunch creates far less waste than eating out, i.e., I have control over the impact of my choices; bringing my lunch allows me to have more time to enjoy it vs. trying to procure it.

This summer Gazpacho is pretty much like a staple in my home. I love tomatoes!! But year-round they are nearly impossible to enjoy- especially in the Mid-West (because that's where I live- insert your location and empathize with me according to season). I know you can "get them in winter" but they are from far, far away picked while green and having to ripen on a boat, truck, plane, long before they get to the store- and they taste like yuck! Not to mention their embodied CO2...yikes!!

So this is the time of year to make 'everything tomato' your heart (stomach) desires. And by Gazpacho, clearly I don't mean store bought, of course, I mean homemade. Do I mean traditional Gazpacho? No, I don't think so. The interweb isn't really opening up to what "traditional" means anyway...so I am not really concerned. It seems as though so long as the cold summer soup is tomato based, you can call it gazpacho. And that's exactly what I am doing.

I have also been interested in the nutritional properties of nutritional yeast. I'm trying to cut down on my dairy intake, for many reasons but 2 most significant are to minimize my individual carbon footprint & because I've been hearing more about linkages to lactose and cancer growth (not in a good way). I know nutritional yeast makes a nice "cheesy" flavor for things and it's, well, nutritional! So I've experimented with it for cheese-like foods, including dusting popcorn with it for a cheesy flavor and recently, my favorite, coating raw, pressed, extra firm tofu with it and some salt and pepper.

As I mentioned, bringing my own lunch also cuts down on waste since I don't have to use styrofoam, or plastic-ware of sorts, or other "take-out trash" on a daily basis. At the office, I keep a set of cutlery, a cloth napkin and a container of salt and pepper. I carry my lunch in glass jars that once housed something like salsa, garlic, prepared chutney or some other jarred food. And I have a handy cloth sack that keeps it all together. There's a fridge in the common area near my office, so I don't have to worry about keeping things cold in a portable cooler.

There, now you have the rationale behind what I've been enjoying for the last several weeks: since about mid-June my daily work lunch has consisted of the following (with recipes):

Weekly Gazpacho:
(disclaimer: each week there's a new twist, but the following are the base ingredients- amend as you prefer)

6-7 medium tomatoes, roughly skin 3-4 of them & dice them all
3/4, roughly, C chopped of each of the following
- Red onions (or spanish or Vidalia)
- Celery- Carrots
Fresh Basil leaves, 10 or so, torn
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar

1/2-1 C water

1/2 Haas Avocado, diced

Fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste


I chop everything pretty rough, adding it to a giant bowl as I go along- all except the water and the avocado. Once it's all in the bowl, I then add the water. Using my blender, I "chop" 3/4 of the mixture until it's somewhat smooth, but not too frothy. I return that to the bowl, add the avocado, stir and refrigerate. *This should make about 8 cups, of which 1 cup is a serving.
This week, I added some rough chopped red cabbage to each serving before leaving the house in the AM. That added some nice texture and flavor.

"Cheesy" Tofu:

Tofu, extra firm, 0.2 block (1/5 block pressed)
Nutritional Yeast Flakes, 1T 
Pepper, black, 4 dash (freshly ground, several twists)
Salt, 2 dash
Chop the tofu, add yeast, salt & pepper, stir to coat. Refrigerate until lunch time.  
And I add a piece of fruit (this week, Pears!) for good measure.

(less than 300 calorie, protein & nutrient rich, & low carbon-impact lunch - oh so satisfying!) 

Gazpacho Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 71.7
Total Fat: 3.8 g

Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Sodium: 71.1 mg

Total Carbs: 9.6 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.9 g

Protein: 1.6 g

"Cheesy Tofu" Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 118.4

Total Fat: 6.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 321.9 mg
Total Carbs: 5.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g
Protein: 13.7 g

Pear Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 1
Amount Per Serving (1 medium)
Calories: 97.9Total Fat: 0.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 0.0 mg
Total Carbs: 25.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.0 g
Protein: 0.6 g