Sundays are Special

Ryan and I have made it a habit to set aside Sunday as a special day. We usually wake up late, drink coffee together (I had a honey latte this morning, YUM!), and then we head to the Hollywood Farmer's Market to buy fixings for a special Sunday dinner and a few days worth of produce.

Today, at the market a new vendor dazzled us with his beautiful array of mushrooms.
He offered patrons more varieties of mushrooms than I have ever seen in my life. Chantrelles, morrels, weird ones that looked like martians with antennas. The variety of mushrooms was overwhelming, and even a little intimidating, but I was after one variety, the portobello, and in this array of eccentric shrooms, the portobello seemed as plain as Jane.

I searched his selection and the only mushroom I could not find was my beloved, portentous portobellos. Last week, Ryan and I searched high and low for them, scouring each vendors offerings, only to leave empty handed, and forced to put my special portobello fajita recipe on hold for a week in hopes of finding these treasures at this week's market. I feared that I would have to wait to try the much anticipated fajitas for another week.

After minutes of searching, I resolved to ask the vendor if he had any portobellos left, hoping that Ryan and my lazy morning had not cost us the joy of savoring these fungi. He informed me that he was not allowed to sell portobellos because three other vendors had monopoly over them at this market.

Sensing my disappointment and not wanting to turn away a customer, he took me aside and whispered his admittance to having a few perfectly plumb portobellos left from the early morning rush before his license to sell them was revoked. He said they were mine, if I wanted them. Upon my request, he beckoned his assistant to procure the portobellos. His assistant scurried to the back of the truck and emerged with a small brown paper bag. I checked the goods to make sure they were as plumb as promised and handed the vendor his dough.

As I made my way to the lettuce man in the next stall over, I eyed the rest of his magnificent display of fungi. Next week, I will buy an array of exotic mushrooms for a special bisque, but today I was content with my portobellos.

Tonight we sliced up our black market shrooms and put them into a fajita. They tasted out of this world delicious.

Try the recipe and let me know what you think (even Ryan loved the salsa and he hates tomatoes).

Portobello Fajitas
2 T olive oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed and caps cut into strips
1 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cayenne (optional)
4 large tortillas, warmed (I like the Ezekial because they add a nice earthy flavor and are a whole source of protein).
Fresh tomato salsa (recipe to follow) or your own favorite salsa

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring a few times, until tender, 1 to 3 minutes. Add the chili powder, salt, and cayenne (if using) and cook, stirring to coat the vegetables with the spices, for 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.

2. Place the tortillas on a flat work surface and spread a large spoonful of the mushroom mixture across the lower third of each tortilla. Top each portion of filling with salsa. Roll up the fajitas to enclose the filling and serve at once.

Serves 4

Fresh Tomato Salsa
3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (This is a lot of work and you loose the nutrients of the tomatoes when you seed them. I threw a bunch of heirloom cherry tomatoes into a food processor, it was quick and easy, and the salsa came out great).
1 small, fresh hot red chile (optional), seeded and minced.
4 scallions, minced
1 garlic clove (or 4, that is how many I used, but we love garlic).
1 T fresh lime juice
1/4 c minced fresh cilantro leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Combine the tomatoes, chile (if using), scallions, and garlic in a large bowl. Add the lime juice and cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine.
2. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving. If not using right away, store in the refrigerator, where it will keep for 3 to 5 days. Bring back to room temperature before serving.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ryan and I added black refried beans and jalapeno goat cheese to our fajitas. We also had guacamole (because I could not resist the fresh avocados at outrageous prices 4 for $1!) and Ryan's special rice pilaf on the side.

Bon Appetit!

Both recipes taken from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet.