Gravy Recipes and Nutritional Yeast

If you haven't tried nutritional yeast, this is your chance. It's high in B vitamins and gives anything a cheesy flavor. We like it so much in our family, we even sprinkle it on toast! It's an important ingredient in these two gravy recipes, and you can buy it bulk at any natural food store. I have to admit, I buy packets of powdered vegan gravy at local health food stores these days--you boil some water, mix the powder in, and you're done. But I have, in the past, been ambitious enough to make my own vegan gravies. Here are two of my favorites, for the upcoming holidays.

**Traditional Gravy--vegan style**

2 T margarine1 onion, diced

2 T flour

1 t garlic salt

2 T cornstarch dissolved in 1 1/2 cups cold water

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 T nutritional yeast

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, melt margarine and saute onions for a few minutes. Add flour and garlic powder and saute for 8 more minutes. Gradually add cornstarch mixture, add bouillon cube, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add nutritional yeast and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Serve warm.

**Cheesy Gravy**

This is so cheesy, you can pour it over macaroni and bake it to make a delicious vegan mac and cheese. It's super-easy, too--one pot. It's adapted from the fantastic _New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook_ edited by Louise Hagler and Dorothy R. Bates, published first in 1975.

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes or powder

1/8-1/4 c vegetable oil (not olive oil--I use canola)

2 c water

1 T soy sauce
black pepper (and, optionally, garlic powder) to taste

In large saucepan, cook the flour over medium heat until it begins to smell fragrant. Mix in the nutritional yeast and then the oil. Cook for a few minutes until it bubbles. Then add water, bring to a boil, and simmer while whisking until it bubbles and thickens. Add soy sauce and other ingredients to taste. Enjoy over pasta, mashed potatoes, or, my favorite, mixed with cooked rice and broccoli to make a delicious cheesy casserole.