Gluten-Free & Vegan Mushroom Gravy

When I was growing up, gravy was always one of my favorite parts of holiday meals. I was one of those people who would cover their entire plate in gravy if they could.  I didn’t even care if it touched the cranberry sauce.

Once I went vegetarian and then vegan, gravy was one of the things that I missed most at the holidays.  Until, of course, I discovered that you can make a fabulous gravy with mushrooms that (dare I say it?) tastes even better than the original. 

With Christmas quickly approaching, I have been experimenting with different mushroom gravy recipes and have come to love this one the best.  It’s gluten-free and vegan, which means it can be enjoyed by everyone at your table this holiday season.

This gravy gets its rich flavor and color from sautéed button mushrooms along with hearty spices like sage, thyme, and rosemary. I wanted this gravy to be really satisfying so I added some healthy fats by blending in some raw cashews. If you have nut allergies, simply omit the cashews and decrease the vegetable broth by about a half cup. If you desire a smooth gravy (or perhaps want to hide the fact that this was made with mushrooms), simply blend the gravy when it is done cooking.  

P.S. If you live in Seattle, don't miss FIT + FIERCE + FABULOUS on Sunday, January 13th from 9 am to 1 pm! You'll release tension and open up your mind with yoga, get clear on how to achieve big goals in 2013 with Life and Business Coach June Moore, have a blast dancing your booty off in Zumba, AND I'll show you how to beat your sugar cravings by discovering where you've been missing sweetness in your life! This workshop is going to be loads of fun and there's nothing else like it in the city! The early bird registration ends soon so sign up now to save $50!  

Gluten-Free and Vegan Mushroom Gravy
Makes about 5 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz button mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
5 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
Freshly-ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a pot over low-medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent.  Stir in mushrooms, sage, thyme, rosemary, and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes or until mushrooms start to become tender.  

While mushrooms are cooking, add vegetable broth and cashews to a blender and blend until smooth.  Add the liquid to the pot and bring to a simmer. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the liquid aminos, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, and arrowroot powder to form a thick paste. Add mixture to pot slowly, whisking constantly to ensure that paste dissolves.  Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. 

Note: if making ahead of time and reheating, you might need to add a little water during the reheating if the gravy is too thick. 

Wordless Wednesday: Three Years of Thanksgiving

 Our Thanksgiving family photos. We have so much to be thankful for!


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2011

 


2012



Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

I understand that Thanksgiving is over. I know that it's time to move on from lentil loaves, mashed potatoes, and roasted yams. My brain is on board with this. But, my tastebuds? That's a different story.

I made this spiced orange cranberry sauce this year for Thanksgiving and have been indulging myself every day since. I've had this sauce over lentils, spread this on toast, and eaten it after dinner for dessert. If this keeps up, by New Years you might have to send me to cranberry rehab.

In my defense, it's important for you to know that this isn't any ordinary cranberry sauce. This one isn't overly sweet or loaded with refined white sugars like the typical canned cranberry sauce of my youth. Instead, it is sweetened with a few dates and spiced up with ginger, fresh oranges, and zest.

This recipe comes together quickly with minimal ingredients. I highly recommend using an organic orange since you will be using the zest in this recipe. If you are not able to purchase an organic orange, I would skip the zest to eliminate unnecessary pesticides.

Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce
Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:
1 organic orange
1/2 cup water
12 ounces fresh cranberries

5 Medjool dates, pitted and diced

2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger

Directions:
Zest half the orange. Next, segment it by cutting off the top and bottom of the fruit then cutting away the peel and pith of the fruit.  Slice in-between the segments to remove any of the white skin in the middle of the fruit.

Add water to a medium saucepan and bring water to a boil. Add cranberries, dates, ginger, and segmented oranges. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, until sauce is reduced and thick. Stir in the orange zest and refrigerate until serving. Serve cold.

Recipe shared at Wellness Weekend

Sweet November

Here is my long overdue Mr. & Mrs. post.  I wanted to share a bit about wedded life. Well... not so much about wedded life, but more about sharing how much I adore my Mr.!  I am lucky, I know it but don't always show it.  I'm sure that my husband would rather NOT be a the focus of a blog topic. He doesn't read my blog so I think that makes it OK.  Or at least I hope so! If this post mysteriously disappears, you'll know that I was censored! LOL.



WOW November! It is NOVEMBER. Where did the time go?  Our life seems to be in fast forward these days.  This glorious month is my husband's birth month. It is the month that I first met his mother, the month that we announced that we were pregnant, and the month when we celebrate one of my favorite holidays: Thanksgiving. SO... In honor of this sweet month and to show my thanks: I am going to make an effort to celebrate hubby's birthday all month long.  Hopefully that will remind him of how special I think that he is! My confession: Since our baby boy was born over 2 years ago I have been focused on being the best mommy that I can be, but NOT necessarily on the best wife that I can be! Yes... I admit it....I am that "not-so-great" wife.  Is anyone else with me?  It's not easy for me with so many life changes going on. Have I mentioned that I am going on 42 YEARS of age?!  I'm no spring chicken!  But no more excuses! Not this month at least! I will try my best. Because my guy is worth it.



SO - - - happy birthday (birthMONTH) to my hubby!  His present? The gift of a SWEET Wife!



In this post I have included family photos from my husband's birthday celebrations since the arrival of our son. The first year he got a cake. For the second year we took a family trip to Las Vegas but I forgot about a birthday cake! THIS year?! Stay tuned!

   

I am hoping to enlist YOUR help with ideas to make it the BEST November ever for my guy! Please share how you have WOWed your hubby! I need you!

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2011

Note: YES, that is me about 20 pounds ago. I have about 10 lbs that I'd like to shed. But that is a separate blog post!



Occupy Alice's Restaurant

By Fuzzyone

First off I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read my musings here over the past year.  I also want to send a big thank you to our host, lovechilde, for giving me this forum and for his kind words earlier today.

For me, you can't have Thanksgiving without Alice's Restaurant.  I was driving to the store for some last minute items with my kids earlier today and the song came on the radio.  We ended up sitting in the parking lot for ten minutes so we could finish listening to the song.
I could not help thinking that the final section is as relevant today as it was when Arlo first wrote it (except, happily, for the end of discrimination against gay and lesbian service members):

And the only reason I'm singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into the shrink wherever you are, just walk in say "Shrink, You can get anything you want, at Alice's restaurant." And walk out.You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both faggots and they won't take either of them. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement. And that's what it is, the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the guitar.

Of course, that could never work, just like a bunch of people taking over public spaces all over the country, and indeed the world, could not change anything.  Except it has.  In Tunisa, Egypt, Syria, and other countries it is changing governments.  In the United States it has at least changed the national conversation, and I personally think it was part of what prevented the Democrats from their usual ignominious surrender in the Super Committee.  The last line of those songs have not yet been written, but I am thankful to all those who have given their time, effort, and money and risked arrest and the totally out of control and brutal response of police to bring needed change to this country and countries around the world.

So this Thanksgiving start a movement.  Do something, give your time to a local food bank, shelter, or other organization helping those in need, if you can, give money to help the occupy movement or to feed those in need, or call or write those who represent you and let them know that this country needs to change and that change needs to start with the richest among us paying their share and with laws and law enforcers who will punish those who brought down our economy with their fraud and greed.  Talk to your friends and neighbors and get them involved.  And while you are at it, don't forget to be thankful for what you have and to tell those you love that you are thankful for them.

Happy Thanksgiving.