shi_koi | Mmmn...mushrooms!

So...my taste buds have been all whacked out recently, and I've had to dial down the intensity of the flavours in the meals I've been doing.

Anyway, just posting this here because I'm really happy with it.

Usually I make things that really pop in your mouth, you know, really tickle the taste buds, but since I couldn't, I ended up throwing together a few items which made a really delicious gravy with mushrooms that goes really well with beef of any kind and mashed potatoes and just about every kind of veg.

So, button mushrooms or quartered closed cup mushrooms, small bit of oil in a pan, high heat, blast 'em for a few minutes, add a knob of butter, stir for a minute or two, add a small amount of garlic (paste or mashed or dried, depending on how you prefer to use it), stir, add a dash of pepper and a dash of paprika, add a quick flick of dark soy sauce, stir it all in for a minute or two, add just enough plain flour to cover the mushrooms lightly, stir some more until everything is mixed and brown, add hot water, stir, simmer and stir for five minutes until thick.

If you make the sauce thinner, and add beef stock instead of water, it makes a nice base for a beef casserole, just add a teaspoon of tomato paste/puree to it and a dash of worchester sauce for a kick.

If you add onions to the mushrooms at the beginning, it makes a good base for doing a baked sausage dish. Just wait until the sauce starts to thicken, then pour into a baking dish over mostly cooked sausages, bake for ten-fifteen minutes and then you get a delicious cheap dish that goes well with baked potatoes, mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes.

It's a lot blander than I'm used to making, but the other half really liked it.

That's good, yeah? --beaming smile--