It’s fall, and it’s time for hearty meals, so let’s get into the mood with a staple that most Americans list as a favorite! Good old mashed potatoes and gravy!
Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
4-5 russet potatoes
2/3-1 cup soy milk
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon rosemary
freshly ground black pepper
Method
Wash and chop the potatoes. You decide whether to peel. If the skins are just really old and awful, I peel, but if at all possible, I leave the skins on. I like to steam the potatoes in the top of a double boiler, rather than boil them to leave more nutrient, and keep them from getting soggy. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Just tender enough for the fork to enter easily, and no more.
Drain and cool immediately with cold water.
Pour the potatoes into a large mixing bowl, and mash them with a potato masher. Mash as thoroughly as you can.
Heat the milk. Get it hot but not boiling, and then add that and the nutritional yeast to the potatoes and mix well. At this point I often break out the hand mixer. You don’t need to use all the milk, or you might need more. Judge the texture as you go along.
Add the remaining ingredients, a little at a time, tasting after each addition until perfection is achieved.
Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup whole grain flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 tablespoon miso
2 tablespoons tamari dissolved in
2 cups water
Method
Heat a quality skillet until a droplet of water beads and dances.
Add the chopped onions and mushrooms to the pan, and stir frequently while they cook.
Meanwhile, mix flour, nutritional yeast, sage together. Add a pinch of dry mustard to the mix, and set it aside.
Next, put the miso, tamari, and water into a high speed blender and use the smoothie setting. Miso is really difficult to get well-blended.
When the mushrooms and onions are thoroughly cooked, remove the pan from heat, and then quickly stir in the flour & herb mixture to coat every bit of it.
Pour the water/miso/tamari mixture into the pan and return to heat, stirring, stirring, stirring. Even as well as you got the miso dissolved, it’ll cling to the bottom of the pan and coat the edge of your stirring utensil. That’s okay, just keep stirring.
Bring it to a simmer and it will thicken up nicely. It’ll get even thicker when it cools.
Serve over baked or mashed potatoes in any way you like!
