Vegetarian Gravy

Just had my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian (which I became about 2 months ago), and other than stuffing from inside the turkey, I decided that the only other thing I would miss was GRAVY. Thus began the hunt for a decent-looking vegetarian gravy recipe. I tried this one and it turned out really well!

http://veggieoption.blogspot.com/2009/11/recipe-vegetarian-gravy.html

Vegetarian Gravy
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3/4 Cup chopped mushroom
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs butter
2 1/2 Cup vegetable broth (I use McKay's Chicken Style Instant Broth)
2 Tbs soy sauce (or Bragg's Liquid Amino)
4-5 Tbs flour
salt and pepper to taste


1. Melt butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven and add onion.

2. Sauté onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the onion is softened and browned, about 15 minutes.

3. When onions are browned and beginning to crisp, add mushrooms and garlic and sauté two minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Reduce heat to medium and add vegetable broth and soy sauce. Give everything a good stir, then add flour, one tablespoon at a time, stirring between each addition until flour is completely dissolved. Adjust seasoning and continue stirring for 8-10 minutes or until gravy reaches the desired thickness.

NOTE: This turned out rather salty. The raw potato trick helped some, but even better would be using low sodium soy sauce and broth.

Homemade Pesto

This worked a lot better once I realized my Magic Bullet had both a blender blade and a food processor blade. Blending blade = fail. My verdict is MORE GARLIC. Always more garlic! I also added some extra cheese. Tastes rather "green" the day it's made, but is fantastic after that.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

METHOD
1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Wine Sauce

I hate pork. But oddly enough...this is one of the best things I've ever eaten. I got this from the grocery store, of all places, where they were giving samples and handing out the recipe. 

Ingredients:

2 Pork Tenderloins
Italian Herb Seasoning, to taste
1 tbsp. Olive Oil

For the sauce:
1/2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tbsp. Green Onion, finely minced
1 cup Pomegranate Juice
3/4 cup Red Wine (they say merlot, we just used whatever we had laying around)
1/2 tbsp. Fresh Rosemary (we used 1/4 tbsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. Pepper, freshly ground

Preparation:

Sauce:

Heat a sauce pan over medium heat for one minute. Add olive oil and onion and sautee for 30 seconds. Add pomegranate juice and wine. Summer until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat and add rosemary and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly. ((Note: It can take a while for the liquid to reduce, so make sure you do this first so you can prep and cook the meat while it simmers.))

Pork:

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Cut the pork tenderloin into 1/2 inch slices. Season both sides of the pork medallions to taste with the italian seasoning. Add olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add the seasoned pork and sautee for three minutes per side, or until just done. Place the cooked pork on serving plates and spoon on some of the sauce. 

Notes: 

I suggest serving the pork on top of french bread. They go perfectly together, and the bread soaks up the sauce, which is the best part of this recipe.