Mushroom and Onion Gravy

Ingredients:

2c onions, chopped

2c water (plus some to de-glaze onions)

3c chopped or sliced mushrooms

2T minced garlic

1t soy sauce

1T cornstarch

1T nutritional yeast

To Make:

Caramelize the onions on a low heat in a dry pot.

As they brown to the bottom of the pan de-glaze with small amounts of water and use a wooden spoon to lift the browned onions from the bottom of the pot. This will add lots of flavour to the gravy.

Add the cornstarch to  1c water and mix.

Add all ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve over Seitan or mashed potatoes.

Peanut Sauce (second version)

Peanut Sauce (second version) makes 7 cups.

Ingredients:

3 cups natural peanut butter (pour the oil off the top)

1/2  cup lime or lemon juice

1tsp-1Tbsp chili flakes

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups water

1/4 cup soy sauce (I use mushroom soy)

To Make:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or large blender.

Blend until completely mixed.

Serve over asian dumplings, over rice, over pasta, or spread on toast.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

This can be used as a dipping sauce, with rice and : or as a pasta sauce.

Ingredients:
2 cups natural peanut butter
1/2 cup lime juice
1 tsp - 1 TBSP chili flakes (depends how spicy you like it)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
optional:1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce-omit if trying to reduce salt

To Make:
Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.
Makes 4 cups.

Spicy Red Molé

Add peppers to a dry pan on medium heat and let brown

Add tomatoes, garlic and onion and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes

Spicy Red Molé

Ingredients:

5 dried Ancho peppers, de-stemmed

5 dried Arbol peppers, de-stemmed

5 dried Guajillo peppers, de-stemmed

3 Tomatoes, quartered

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup whole almonds

1/2 cup raisins (or more if you like it sweeter)

1/2 Tbsp ground cumin

1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbsp Cocoa powder

4 cups water

To Make:

For a milder sauce remove seeds from peppers

Rinse and dry peppers

Add peppers to a dry pan on medium heat and let brown

Be careful not to let them burn by turning often

Add almonds and raisins

Add tomatoes, garlic and onion and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until there are no lumps

Return all ingredients to the saucepan and bring to a boil then let simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

For best results, make this the day before you serve it so flavours can blend.

Serve at room temperature with Quesadillas.

Home Made Teriyaki Sauce

Teriyaki sauce

Making this from scratch is quick and easy and avoids a lot of added chemicals in the commercially made sauce. I came up with this when I did not want to make a run to the store. It works pretty well to marinate tofu which is the only thing I do with Teriyaki sauce.

Ingredients:

In first measuring cup or saucepan mix:

• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce 

• 1 cup water

• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger 

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 minced garlic cloves

In second measuring cup:

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1/4 cup cold water

Directions:

• Combine 1 cup water, tamari, brown sugar, garlic and ginger in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

• Dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup of cold water and add to sauce.

• Stir constantly to allow the sauce to thicken.

• If the sauce is too thick add a little water 

Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups.

Store in the fridge.

Note:

It is nice to have fresh grated ginger and garlic. We always keep jars of both in the refrigerator to ensure we can make recipes when needed rather than delaying for a trip to the market.