Sizzle for Saturday: Mushroom Fajitas and House Salsa

I like mexican, but what I mean by that is that I have the occasional craving for something to be wrapped in a tortilla and strongly spiced, though I've yet to encounter the Mexican dish I didn't wind up liking. Anyway, like most things I know how to cook, this particular one has a bit of a story. One day a few years ago I was visiting Kat and her roommates in Fredricton over a long weekend and we decided we wanted fajitas. Not having any Fajitas, I grabbed the next best: button mushrooms. This recipe is (omitting the sour cream) totally vegan friendly and to all my understanding of the terminology, vegetarian friendly as written.

If you're feeling fussy you can even make your own tortillas but my experience has been this is too much work for too little reward.

Mushroom Fajitas - Intentional Variation

Cooking with mushrooms is a common trick for those who are trying to approximate the flavour of meat without actually including it. In this instance I've done the same, but I caution all of you that I've done nothing to enhance the protein content - those of you who like refried beans may well consider that an option. Serves 2

Ingredients:

• ~10 Button Mushrooms, diced finely
• Cultured Butter or Canola Oil
• ½ of a red bell pepper, cut into thinnish strips
• Some strips of cabbage
• ½ of a red bell pepper, cut into strips
• Sour Cream
• Tortillas, as authetntic as you can find them
• Taco Seasoning Mix, to Taste
• ½ cup of shredded old or sharp cheddar cheese
• House Salsa (see below)

Procedure:

• Using pre-heated butter or oil in a good frying pan, sauttee together the button mushrooms, seasoning mix, and vegetables. Cook all well, browning the vegetables if possible.
• Nap sour cream over tortillas. Top with the hot filling. Top this with salsa and cheese. Fold in ends and roll to form.
• If desired, press in a panini press/clamshell grill until tortillas are crisp. Serve with guacamole to dip and beer for a drink.

Mild Tomato Salsa - Summer Variation

The best thing that happened to me with the college was that I stopped being afraid to re-test foods I traditionally didn't like. The downside is that it's made me fussy about them - salsa and pickles being the two most common examples. This is a simple salsa: chop the ingredients up, chill for an hour, then serve. All I use are:

• 3 Seeded Roma Tomatos, small dice
• 5 sliced green onions
• 3 coarsely-chopped cloves of garlic.
• Chopped Cilantro (hefty pinch)
• Jalapeño, fine chopped, seeds removed, 3 of the lower half of the pepper.
• A shot-glass' worth of lemon juice
• Dash of Cayenne Pepper