Recipe: Baked Portobello Mushroom Caps with Tahini

The assembled mushroom caps: toppings include sliced garlic, chopped green onions, tomatoes, and tahini.

These baked mushroom caps burst with bold flavors and are a favorite dinner item in my household. Serve with a side of quinoa or rice, as well as some fresh pineapple chunks.

Baked Portobello Mushroom Caps with Tahini

Ingredients:
Portobello Mushroom Caps (I like to keep most of the stem and the gills)
2-3 green onions (scallions), chopped
1 garlic clove per mushroom cap (thinly slice each clove)
1-2 tomatoes (a few chopped pieces per mushroom cap)
salt and pepper
Other favorite seasonings: I used Italian seasonings and onion powder
Tahini (ground sesame seeds; I find tubs/jars of tahini near the peanut butter at the store)
Organic sweet chili sauce or a vegan liquid sweetener of choice

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking dish. Take a paper towel and brush off the tops of the mushroom caps to remove any dirt. I don't recommend washing the mushrooms because they absorb water.

Place the mushroom caps on the baking dish gill-side up. Sprinkle with a pinch a salt on each cap. Add sprinkles of your favorite seasonings, such as Italian herbs or onion powder, etc.

Spoon about 1T of sweet chili sauce or other liquid sweetener on the mushroom. If you want to use organic sugar or coconut sugar, just use a generous pinch around the mushroom.

Next, layer your toppings: I lay the sliced garlic around the mushroom stem, then the tomatoes, and then the green onions.

Finally, I spoon about 1T of tahini around the mushroom stem.

Bake the mushrooms for 25 minutes. The mushrooms get slightly tender, darker, and soak up all the flavors from the toppings. The tahini adds a slightly bitter taste that compliments the savory essence of the mushroom. The seasonings, tomatoes, garlic, and green onions add punches of flavor, enticing aromas, and slight crunches here and there. As you slice the mushroom over your rice and pineapple, you get a nice mix of sweet, savory, tangy, bitter, and salty tastes.

These veggie steaks are filling and delicious.

I baked my mushrooms with some asparagus that I sprinkled with salt and a few drops of olive oil.

These cooked mushroom caps (above and below) are from other times I made this recipe. My husband and I ate the other mushrooms pictured on the baking sheet before I could take photos -- we were hungry :) 

Recipe: Crispy Breaded Avocado Wedges

These crispy avocado wedges taste wonderful in tacos with a tangy slaw and a sauce made from vegan mayo and sriracha. 

I was watching a food truck show on TV the other day, and a dish caught my eye. One food truck was serving deep fried avocado tacos. The entire process looked so simple that I thought I'd give it a try. You can Google such terms as "fried avocado," "deep-fried avocado," and "crispy avocado tacos" to find a variety of recipes. 

All you basically need are slightly ripe avocados, a batter, panko crumbs, lime juice, and oil. 

Here's what I used:

• 1 large slightly ripe avocado (you don't want a very ripe/squishy avocado)
• 1 or 2 limes
• Pancake or French toast mix
• Non-dairy milk or water
• Panko crumbs
• Salt to season with at the end
• Vegetable oil

I used a medium-sized pot that could easily hold 4 to 5 wedges. I added about an inch-high worth of oil, and I set the flame at medium. 

In one bowl, I made my batter. I had some Mom's Vegan Kitchen French Toast Mix in my pantry, and I mixed about 1/2 cup of the mix with the juice of one lime and then enough non-dairy milk to make a thick batter that was like a cake batter. If the batter is too runny, just add more mix. You want the batter to really cling to the avocado. 

In a second bowl, I poured 2 cups of Panko crumbs (You can add more Panko as needed). 

I then cut my avocado in half, removed the pit, and peeled off the skin (I don't use a spoon to scoop out the flesh -- I find it easier to just peel the skin off). Each half of the avocado should give you four good wedge slices. If your avocado is medium or small, you'll get three wedges per half. 

I then dredged each wedge in the batter then Panko and then carefully set each wedge in the oil. I lowered the heat as needed if I noticed the breading getting too dark. After about a minute, I could see the bottom of the wedges getting golden brown. I then took my tongs and carefully flipped them over. I let them cook another minute or so until that side was golden brown. 

Have a plate with paper towels nearby so you can drain the wedges as you pull them out. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on each wedge as soon as they are sitting on the plate so the salt sticks to the oil on the Panko. 

I then finished cooking my last set of four wedges. 

These fried avocados taste wonderful when hot, so before frying them, have your taco or sandwich ingredients ready so you can assemble your meal as soon as your avocados are done. 

If some part of your wedge, such as the curved side, needs some browning, you can cook that side as needed. Some wedges are thinner (the ends), so one minute per side is usually enough. But the larger middle wedges might need another side in the oil for a minute. 

As I ate my crispy avocado tacos, it felt as if I were eating a nice breaded fish taco. The avocado was not overpowering in flavor, but was warm and creamy under the very crunchy and nicely seasoned Panko breading. My batter was slightly sweet and spiced (due to the ingredients in the French toast mix), but it wasn't overly sweet. It added a nice flavor to my taco. 

The whole recipe doesn't take more than 10 to 15 minutes to complete. It's all basically prep work: having your batter and bread crumbs ready, slicing your avocado, and having the oil hot enough. 

If you prefer not to fry your avocados, some recipes stated that said you could preheat your oven to 400 degrees and then generously spray your dredged wedges with cooking spray and then bake them for 15 to 20 minutes, turning them over halfway through cooking. I plan to try this method as well, but so far I've only fried my avocados. 

I've done this recipe twice, and I have found it to be simple and with delicious results. My tacos contained cilantro, a zesty crunchy slaw, a little sriracha mayo, and fresh lime juice. All this with the warm, crunchy avocado wedges was heaven in my mouth.