Tuesdays have slowly, inadvertently turned into Taco Tuesdays here at our house. Totally unplanned every week I have been making some type of fun vegan, grilled tacos! This portobello mushroom taco has become a new favorite in our house. Even though we both eat meat (though very rarely), it is always a super welcomed challenge to come up with fun vegan versions of classic meat dishes. In my opinion, portobello mushrooms are better than any creepy overly processed meat alternative on the market. By grilling the portobellos slowly over a smoky charcoal grill, they end up so loaded with flavor, even the most hardcore meat eater couldn’t turn it down.

I keep these fairly simple and they are always a little bit different each time I make them. I have served them with this tangy, sweet and spicy mango black bean salsa, but I have also just used the traditional pico de gallo or salsa verde. I have topped them with baby spinach and tatsoi instead of arugula, and sometimes I add avocado or a drizzle of sriracha, it just depends on what I have on hand and what I feel like. Play with this recipe, add and take away as you’d like, that is one of my favorite things about tacos, they are so versatile and really hard to screw up. This is just a nice, simple recipe to use as a guide.

In keeping with the Taco Tuesday thing we have going on around here, tonight we are having Crock Pot Korean Beef Short Rib Tacos. We have a few servings of short ribs from the 1/4 share of a pasture-raised cow we purchased from our local farmer and I honestly have no clue what to do with them. Now that it is so hot, I have no interest in slow braising them in the oven and turning the house into a sauna, so I thought slow-cooking the short ribs in the crock pot all day will make for a very simple and incredibly delicious dinner (here’s hoping). I plan to make a tangy cabbage and cucumber slaw to serve on top of the tacos and possibly a dairy-free creamy spicy sauce. I have never made anything like this before, so it is an experiment. If it works out, I will definitely make it again to share the recipe. So cross your fingers for me!

Oh and in other news, we finally got the house on the market yesterday morning. I couldn’t be happier to start this process and to begin our journey into the next chapter of our life. Who knows how long it will take before we get to make the move to California, there is so much out of our control and we are OK with it, but it feels good to have accomplished this first major feat towards our new adventure. Hold some positive house-selling thoughts and vibes for us, if you will, we would love if we could move past this part and start this journey, as soon as possible. We are so excited!

[print_this]Grilled Portobello Mushroom Tacos with Mango Black Bean Salsa – Gluten-free + Vegan
serves 2-4

Mango Black Bean Salsa

• 1 mango, diced
• 1-2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeño, finely diced
• juice from 1 lime
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chipped
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 1 cup cooked black beans
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl, stir/toss well to combine. Set aside while you make your tacos. Taste again just before serving to see if it needs any additional seasoning.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Tacos
 makes 6-8 tacos

• 4 portobello mushrooms
• 1-2 tablespoons hot pepper spread or a teaspoon or two of red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
• juice from 1/2 lime
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6-8 corn tortillas (store-bought or you can make your own)
• 3 cups arugula, roughly chopped or torn (or baby spinach or tatsoi, etc)
• 3 or 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• fresh lime wedges

Additional topping options:

• avocado
• queso fresco or vegan cheese
• sour cream or vegan sour cream
• tomatoes
• black olives
• radishes
• pickled red onion

Place the portobello mushrooms stem side up on a plate, drizzle olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms use a brush to evenly disperse, divide the hot pepper spread (or red pepper flakes) and garlic evenly over all 4 mushrooms and salt and pepper, to taste. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lime over them all. Set the mushrooms aside to marinate a bit while you preheat your grill. We have a charcoal grill that we burn all natural wood charcoal in. We allow it to heat up for approximately 15 minutes before we start grilling. Once your grill is a medium-high heat, add the mushrooms, stem side facing up and close the lid. Allow the mushrooms to cook for 15-20 minutes or until they are tender and getting some nice browned/blackened grill marks. It may take less time if you have them on a direct flame on a gas grill. Just keep your eye on them, we check ours every 5 or so minutes.

Once the mushrooms are cooked, place them on a plate and allow them to cool enough to cut them into strips or cut into small cubes, whichever you prefer. While the grill is still hot, add your corn tortillas, heat for approximately 30 seconds to 1 minutes per side, until the edges are slightly browned, being careful not to burn them or dry them out.

When you are ready to serve the tacos, top each corn tortilla with grilled portobello mushroom pieces, a small handful of arugula (or green of your choice), fresh cilantro, green onions, the mango black bean salsa and a squeeze or two of fresh lime juice. If you are looking for even more heat, squeeze a little sriracha on top. Our salsa was perfectly spicy, so we didn’t need it.

Have fun with these tacos, add any other toppings that you prefer. [/print_this]