Wine-Infused Mushroom Gravy with Brown Rice and Crunchy Sweet Brussels Sprouts

I cooked forever tonight.  First, I made my sons their dinner, then I started on mine.  I threw some brown rice and water in my rice cooker so whenever my meal was done, the rice would be ready.

I had a pound of sliced mushrooms in my fridge that had to be used TO-NIGHT or I was going to have to toss them.  I searched for an hour or more to find something that I thought would be good.  I finally settled on a dish from the Fat Free Vegan website for E's Super-Awesome Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms.  But, once I started dicing and slicing, I wasn't so sure.  I decided to shred the Brussels sprouts instead of just halve them, and then I decided I needed to do something altogether different.

First, I sauteed the onions.  After they were soft, I added the mushrooms.  They cooked for about 10 minutes and were soft, but were still quite watery, so I cooked them another 5 minutes or so.  I turned off the burner and added a couple of tablespoons of flour.  I used white all-purpose, but only had a tablespoon or less of that.  Since I was feeling lazy and didn't want to go to my flour stash, I grabbed the closest thing to me, which was oat flour.  I made sure the mushrooms were coated.  I added a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast and stirred to coat the mushrooms.  I added a tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce, 1 no-beef bouillon cube, and 2/3 cup of water.  I turned the burner back on and let the mushroom gravy simmer.

The bottle of Pinot Noir was sitting next to the pan, so I thought, "What the heck?" and I added a healthy splash of wine to the gravy.  I let the gravy simmer until the liquid was reduced and it was a bit thicker.

While the gravy simmered, I turned my attention to the slivered Brussels sprouts.  I had decided that I would make Crunchy Sweet Brussels Sprouts. However, I like my Brussels sprouts to have a bit of a kick, so I added 1/2 teaspoon of red cayenne pepper to liven them up.  It did, but just a bit.

I sauteed the Brussels sprouts in a little olive oil until they were bright green and a little wilted.  I'm thinking I cooked them between 8 and 10 minutes total on a medium burner.

Once the Brussels sprouts were done, I added a healthy handful of craisins and about a tablespoon or so of slivered almonds.

All that was left was to dish the rice, gravy, and sprouts on my plate and refresh my wine.  And, so I did and enjoyed every morsel! :)

Here's what I did for the mushroom gravy.

Wine-Infused Mushroom Gravy

16 oz. sliced mushrooms (I used regular button mushrooms)
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, diced (I forgot this and used 1 teaspoon of garlic powder)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1-2 tablespoons of flour
1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce (can use Braggs)
1 no-beef bouillon cube
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup red wine (I used Pinot Noir - Blackstone about $9 a bottle)

Heat a large skillet.  (I used a wok.)  Add the olive oil and heat until warm; add onions.  Saute the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until all moisture is released and reduced by half.  Sprinkle with flour; stir to coat mushrooms.  Add nutritional yeast and stir to coat the mushrooms.  Add soy sauce, bouillon cube, water, and red wine.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced and is the desired "gravy" consistency.

This is good over brown rice, potatoes, or seitan.  It makes enough for 2 to 4 servings, depending on how greedy you are.  :::chuckle:::  Enjoy!

I'm closing with My Girl, Kobe Bean.  Her surgery scar (ACL surgery) is still visible on back leg and she still limps a bit, but she's getting better.  She's My Girl. :)