Meatless Thursdays: Portobello "steaks"

I know, the movement is actually called "Meatless Mondays", but to mix things up a little I have decided to pick Thursday as the meatless day of the week. The decision of going vegetarian once a week wasn't easy -at least not for "someone" who shall remain nameless that lives in this household. See, I can go days without meat and I don't even notice. Although I like my Bolognese as much as the next guy, my favorite pasta recipes don't contain any meat. And when it comes to pizza, I only really like cheese pizza. So it's not THAT hard for me. I have recently started making some good vegetarian soups and have been eating them for lunch everyday since December. It's incredible to see what a diffrence it makes to skip meat for lunch. I feel lighter (it's only a feeling, mind you, I still weight the same) and more energetic, and I don't go into that comatose after-lunch state anymore. You know the one -when you feel like crawling under your desk and take a nap.

So how did I convince my better half to go meatless once a week? It all happened because of our friend Jayne and her Portobello "steaks". We happened to stop by her house one night about a month ago and her and her husband were about to eat said "steaks". One bite convinced Tommy that not only they were delicious, but they also had that steak texture he so longs for. And as easy as that Meatless Thursdays had begun.

The recipe is so quick and easy it definitely falls in the "life-saver" category, so try it next time that you are starving and you still have to go to the store at 8 p.m. I served mine with mashed potatoes (Simply Potatoes!) and sauteed spinach. Voila'. Gourmet meal in under 20 minutes.

PORTOBELLO "STEAKS"
Serves 2

2 large portobello caps
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
Worcestershire sauce, about 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 350F.

Wash the mushroom caps carefully and rub them with olive oil. Spray a pyrex with cooking spray, place mushroom caps in it and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place them smooth side down and pour Worcestershire sauce in them. Let it soak for a few minutes.

Add garlic cloves to the pyrex, flip the mushroom caps so they are smooth-side-up and cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes.