Un-Beef Stew

This recipe may even please the carnivores! Meat? Who needs meat in their stew?

1 lg. onion, diced
Veggie broth or veg bouillion cube and water
5 Tbsp. vegan Worcestishire sauce (yes there is a vegan version)
1 Tbsp. Soy sauce or Tamari
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
4 each of Large carrots and lg. potatoes, chopped to the size you like to eat in a stew
1 med. tomato, seeded and diced up
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp each of pepper and dried basil
3 Tbsps. Olive oil
A little flour, cornstarch, or you can pick out some cooked potatoes and blend them up with a hand mixer or small food processor to thicken the stew with

Sautee the onion in the olive oil, then add in everything but the basil and cornstarch (or flour). Put in broth (or boullion cube and water) to come to just under the top of the potatoes and carrots. Bring to boil, and then simmer on medium (or low- depending on how much time you want to take) until the potatoes and carrots are soft enough to break apart. Add in the basil and the thickener (or blend up about 1 1/2 cups of the potatoes and then add them back in to thicken the stew. Goes awesome with the vegan baking powder biscuits! Probably would make a great crockpot recipe.

White Mushroom Gravy for Biscuits

This isn't exact science, but I will put what I did. Don't blame the recipe if it isn't right.

All these are approximates:
2 Tbsps Olive oil
2 Tbsps. Flour

10-12 Mushrooms, diced up fine
1/2 onion, diced up fine
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Coconut milk & water

In a sauce pan, sautee in a bit of olive oil the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Scrape out of pan into a bowl and set aside.
Replace the pan onto the burner and pour the 2 Tbsps. olive oil and immediately add the flour, stirring rapidly so you do not burn for about 1 minute.
Pour into this a can of coconut milk and as much as 3/4 of a can more of water if you wish. Stir over high heat for a few minutes and add in some salt and a lot of pepper. Add in the cooked mushrooms and onion mixture. Keep stirring for a few minutes until it is well thickened. Will thicken more upon standing. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. I like a lot of pepper to capture that sausage gravy taste. I would have also tried the sausage seasoning mix from Penzey's spices if I had it.

Vegan Baking Powder Biscuits

I got this recipe from Vegweb and substituted the margarine (bad stuff) for Olive oil (good stuff). So easy and so good!

2 Cups flour
3 Tbsps. Baking Powder
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbsps. Olive oil
3/4 cup room temp water (at least non- chilled water)
**Optional- you can add garlic powder to them, good for soup! But not if you want jelly on the left-over ones.

Mix the dry ingredients together, add oil and water in, and mix. Knead dough, adding extra flour if it is too sticky to knead. Put a little flour on counter and knead a few seconds and then roll out with rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into circles with the top of a water glass. Tear away extra dough, form into ball again, and repeat making as many circles as possible, roll out last little bit by hand into circles. Bake at 450 for 12- 15 minutes (will depend on the size they are) until they are just starting to turn golden around the edges.

Makes about 10 smallish biscuits. I double the recipe for my family if I am making biscuits and gravy, but not for an addition to soup or stew.