Happy birthday, Alexandria!
Last night, we had a couple of friends over for a birthday cookout – Alexandria turned 266 years old this week, and what better way to celebrate than to put some fajita fixins on the grill and whip up some Cuba libres? I feel sure George Washington and Co. would approve.
So it came to pass that I sliced one red and one green bell pepper, plus a poblano pepper, and nestled them into an aluminum grill pan along with several handfuls of sliced baby Portobello mushrooms in a healthy dose of olive oil. Then I seasoned the whole kit and caboodle with cumin, garlic powder, salt, dried minced onion, and chipotle powder, and tossed them all together again, then set them aside until Go Time.
That, truly, was the hardest part of yesterday’s dinner prep! The refried beans went from can to grill pan (covered with foil); the vegan beef tips went straight from plastic package to foil packet, as did the flour tortillas (but not the same packet as the beef tips. Ahem.).
All that was left to do was to flip the rice cooker on after adding a double dose of rice and Goya seasoning (we were having company, after all, and quite honestly I was excited about the prospect of leftovers!), and fire up the grill. Once the grate was heated nicely, I added the tray of fajita veggies to the mix and let it cook for about half an hour in all, stirring occasionally. The same went for the refried beans, which ended up silky smooth on account of the long cooking time.
I cooked the vegan beef tips for about 20 minutes, turning occasionally, and then heated up the tortillas for the last 10-or-so minutes of the grilling time. Then it was time to take everything off the grill and dig in!
We piled our tortillas high with beans, rice, beef, and veggies, and then topped them with shredded lettuce, vegan sour cream, salsa, and some leftover olives from the appetizer course. We added a little extra rice on the side for good measure and were off to the culinary races!
The fajitas turned out beautifully, I’m happy to say, and at the end of dinner there wasn’t a speck of food left on anyone’s plate. Together, we finished off the beans and beef and made a significant dent in the rice and tortillas, but we were admittedly being cautious; there was strawberry-rhubarb pie with soy ice cream waiting for dessert!
The city’s fireworks display over the Potomac was a triumphant cherry on top of a wonderful day. Here’s to 266 more years, Alexandria!
:)