Portabella Mushroom Tacos

I love tacos. My hubby and I thought it would be awesome to see if we could do a meatless Monday  and Portabella mushrooms have a great meaty texture. These were awesome! Didn’t even miss meat! We topped with avocado and salsa and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Portabella Mushroom Tacos

3–4 large portobello mushrooms caps

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 large onion, cut into thin slices

2 large sweet bell peppers, cut into thin slices

juice of 1 lime

tortillas

taco toppings such as avocado, salsa, hot sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, black olives, cilantro,      cheese, sour cream, etc.

Directions: 

1. To prepare the mushrooms, rinse them under water and rub your fingers along the dark “gills” on the underside to remove the gills. Remove any debris or dirt. Slice into 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide pieces.
2. In a small bowl, toss the prepared mushroom slices with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the Worcestershire or soy sauce. Then add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.
3. Heat a large cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the onion and peppers and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan.
5. Add the marinating mushrooms and all of the accumulated juices into the hot pan. Add a little more oil if needed. Cook until the mushrooms are tender, 4-5 minutes.
6. Returned the vegetables to the pan and cook until heated through. Cook until the vegetables are to your liking without overcooking. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
7.  Add the juice of one lime and stir to incorporate.
8. Remove from the heat and serve as you do other tacos, in a tortilla with all the toppings. Also makes a great topping for taco salad.

Sour dough start

I love home made bread. I have been restricting my baking  / eating carbs over the last year due to trying to eat healthier. One diet I followed and found very successful allowed you to have whole grain or sourdough bread since it digests slower... and is more healthy than other kinds of bread. I read a book last month, that was about a baker and it sparked something in me, that baker in me that had felt squashed lately, so I thought why not, life is too short to squash the real you. I have always wanted to try a sour dough start and making the different things you can make with it. So I watched You tube videos and looked up recipes for a sour dough start. I reccommend looking up you tube videos for hints. But I found this recipe and it worked great!!! REMEMBER!! Sour dough starts take time and becomes a "pet" so to speak. Mine is named Borris... and he continues to come in handy. But he took a good two weeks before he was ready to make anything from him. You notice the elastic around my jar? I use it to mark where my starter is right after I stir and feed him. Then I can see how much he grows and bubbles.... Good luck! I'll post a great Sour dough bread recipe later. Today I"m trying English muffins! Yum!!

Sour Dough Start

Ingredients:

To begin your starter

• 1 cup (113g) whole rye (pumpernickel) or whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup (113g) cool water*

*See "tips," below

To feed your starter

• scant 1 cup (113g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup (113g) cool water (if your house is warm), or lukewarm water (if your house is cool)
• 
  

  Instructions

  1. Day 1: Combine the pumpernickel or whole wheat flour with the cool water in a non-reactive container. Glass, crockery, stainless steel, or food-grade plastic all work fine for this. Make sure the container is large enough to hold your starter as it grows; we recommend at least 1-quart capacity.
  2. Stir everything together thoroughly; make sure there's no dry flour anywhere. Cover the container loosely and let the mixture sit at warm room temperature (about 70°F) for 24 hours. See "tips," below, for advice about growing starters in a cold house.
  3. Day 2: You may see no activity at all in the first 24 hours, or you may see a bit of growth or bubbling. Either way, discard half the starter (4 ounces, about 1/2 cup), and add to the remainder a scant 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 1/2 cup cool water (if your house is warm); or lukewarm water (if it's cold).
  4. Mix well, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for 24 hours.
  5. Day 3: By the third day, you'll likely see some activity — bubbling; a fresh, fruity aroma, and some evidence of expansion. It's now time to begin two feedings daily, as evenly spaced as your schedule allows. For each feeding, weigh out 4 ounces starter; this will be a generous 1/2 cup, once it's thoroughly stirred down. Discard any remaining starter.
  6. Add a scant 1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 1/2 cup water to the 4 ounces starter. Mix the starter, flour, and water, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for approximately 12 hours before repeating.
  7. Day 4: Weigh out 4 ounces starter, and discard any remaining starter. Repeat step #6.
  8. Day 5: Weigh out 4 ounces starter, and discard any remaining starter. Repeat step #6. By the end of day #5, the starter should have at least doubled in volume. You'll see lots of bubbles; there may be some little "rivulets" on the surface, full of finer bubbles. Also, the starter should have a tangy aroma — pleasingly acidic, but not overpowering. If your starter hasn't risen much and isn't showing lots of bubbles, repeat discarding and feeding every 12 hours on day 6, and day 7, if necessary — as long as it takes to create a vigorous (risen, bubbly) starter. Note: see "tips," below.
  9. Once the starter is ready, give it one last feeding. Discard all but 4 ounces (a generous 1/2 cup). Feed as usual. Let the starter rest at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours; it should be active, with bubbles breaking the surface. Hate discarding so much starter? See "tips," below.
  10. Remove however much starter you need for your recipe — typically no more than 8 ounces, about 1 cup. If your recipe calls for more than 1 cup of starter, give it a couple of feedings without discarding, until you've made enough for your recipe plus 4 ounces to keep and feed again.
  11. Transfer the remaining 4 ounces of starter to its permanent home: a crock, jar, or whatever you'd like to store it in long-term. Feed this reserved starter with 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup water, and let it rest at room temperature for several hours, to get going, before covering it. If you're storing starter in a screw-top jar, screw the top on loosely rather than airtight.
  12. Store this starter in the refrigerator, and feed it regularly; we recommend feeding it with a scant 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water once a week.

      Tips from Bakers

      • Why do you need to discard half the starter? It seems so wasteful... But unless you discard starter at some point, eventually you'll end up with a very large container of starter. Also, keeping the volume down offers the yeast more food to eat each time you feed it; it's not fighting with quite so many other little yeast cells to get enough to eat. You don't have to actually discard it if you don't want to, either; you can give it to a friend, or use it to bake. There are quite a few recipes on our site using "discard" starter, including pizza crust, pretzels, and waffles, and even chocolate cake.
      • Why does this starter begin with whole-grain flour? Because the wild yeast that gives sourdough starter its life is more likely to be found in the flora- and fauna-rich environment of a whole-grain flour than in all-purpose flour.
      • Want to put your starter on hold for the summer, or as you go on vacation? Here's how: Drying your sourdough starter.
      • Should you use bottled water? Unless your tap water is so heavily treated that you can smell the chemicals, there's no need to use bottled water; tap water is fine.
      • A note about room temperature: the colder the environment, the more slowly your starter will grow. If the normal temperature in your home is below 68°F, we suggest finding a smaller, warmer spot to develop your starter. For instance, try setting the starter atop your water heater, refrigerator, or another appliance that might generate ambient heat. Your turned-off oven — with the light turned on — is also a good choice.
      • One of our readers offers the following thoughts about the duration of everyday feeding, which we think is great advice: "Conditions vary so widely that 7 days can be far too little. I've learned the key is to watch for a dramatic and consistent rise in the jar — at least doubling between 1 and 4 hours after feeding. This could be 7 days or less after you begin, or it could be three weeks (for me it was 12 to 14 days).