Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• finely diced onion
• clove minced garlic
• sliced or chopped mushrooms [any kind you like]
• water
• arrowroot, kudzu, or cornstarch [dissolved in a little cold water]
• shoyu, tamari, or soy sauce
• salt and pepper
• thyme
• vegan white wine or sherry
• fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

This recipe is all to taste, and you can make as much or as little as you want, but here''s the basic procedure. also, I''ve made it very simply before, with no wine, thyme, parsley, etc. So if you don''t like something, or know of something you''d like better, experiment! In the parentheses are approximate amounts that I used.

Sauté the onion (~2 tbsp) and garlic (1 clove) in olive oil (~1 tbsp) until soft. Add mushrooms (~1/2 cup?) and let it cook until they get "watery". then add water (~1 cup), wine (just a splash for some flavor) and shoyu (to taste). Let this simmer and reduce for a bit, then add the arrowroot slurry (you''ll have to experiment with the thickener, depends which one you use and what consistency you like) and thyme (to taste). Simmer/adjust thickener to get desired consistency. at the end add salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with parsley (optional).

This is good on just about any ol'' thing. Mashed potatoes, rice and tempeh, tofu, lentil loaves... go wild! It''s very nice made with crimini or some other heartier mushroom, but also delicious with plain ol'' white button mushrooms.

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes