Cussing Gravy

Nutritional Yeast

   Ever tasted something that was so surprisingly good that you wanted to cuss?  It's almost like the flavor lubricates your lips and the four letter word slips right out. Well that's exactly what happened when I experimented with gravy making. I'm not ashamed to admit, I've made gravy that is less than edible in my quest to find "the perfect gravy". My version of perfect means the gravy has to be worthy of being served up along side my grandmother's biscuits and that is a pretty high bar. The not-so-secret weapons used to make vegan gravy so good it makes you wanna cuss are tamari and nutritional yeast.

   Tamari is sort of like soy sauce, but slightly thicker and it has a more complex flavor. It is lower in sodium and tends to be a little easier on the palate then soy sauce, which can overwhelm a dish. The addition of the tamari gave this gravy its color and salty depth. Don't fret if you can't find it in the Asian foods section of your local grocery store just add soy sauce instead. 

  The second key here was the addition is nutritional yeast.  Not to be confused with the active yeast we use in baked goods, nutritional yeast is sold only for it's nutritional value and is rich in B vitamins. Nutritional yeast is closely related to edible mushrooms and is typically used as a cheese flavor replacement in vegan dishes. While I don't think it tastes much like cheese, it does add an incredible savory kick to dishes. It adds pizzazz to plain rice, sass to soups, and puts some bang in boring vegetables. It can be found in most health food and natural stores, however, I found it in my local grocery store in the "natural foods” section. I think this was the addition that kicked this gravy up a couple of notches. 

 Special Tip : Make sure the kids are out of the room before you try this gravy!

Here's what you need: 

This gravy is #@*% good!

•   1 ½ tbsp olive oil

•   ½ red onion finely sliced

•   ½ tsp of cumin

•   2 tbsp flour

•   1 ½ tbsp cornstarch  

•   1 ½ vegetable broth

•   1 tbsp of tamari

•   1 tbsp of nutritional yeast      

 Here's what you gotta do: 

1)   Heat olive oil  in a small sauce pan on a medium  heat

2)   Add the onion and cumin . Sauté until the onion is translucent

3)   Add the flour, starch and vegetable broth . Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring to beak up lumps.

4)   Cook an additional 2 minutes on boil and lower the heat to a medium low. Stir in the tamari and nutritional yeast. Cook for an additional 3 minutes on low.

Serve  warm.

                                                   Life is Delicious...Go taste it!