A VINTAGE MORE NEW

Vegetarian Stroganoff

This is a recipe I adapted from Linda McCartney’s “Linda’s Kitchen”), which I absolutely love - and it’s relatively quick to prepare.

 Ingredients:

4 tablespoons margarine ( I use non-hydrogenated Earth Balance).

1 - 2 onions sliced or chopped (I prefer just 1 onion finely chopped)

 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup white cooking wine

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sour  cream (non-dairy is fine, though watch out for & avoid  hydrogenated ingredients!)

freshly ground black pepper

chopped parsley for garnish

** optional 1/2 lb small mushrooms cut in half.

  1 package Lightlife “Smart Strips” steak-style)

1 cup vegetable broth/stock

Heat margarine in saucepan, add onions and cook (covered) till soft. Add the flour, mixing well, and then stir in vegetable stock and white wine. Add mushrooms if using. Simmer gently uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat oil and brown Smart Strips. Mix into sauce, stir in sour cream, season with lots of black pepper. Cook very gently for 6-8 minutes.

Serve over noodle of choice - I prefer wide egg noodles.

Warning: Lightlife Steak-style Smart Strips are remarkably like meat. I honestly felt a bit nauseated the first time I opened the package! But after cooking with this product for a couple years now, it no longer bothers me. It really is a great meat alternative.

It occurred to me while preparing this recipe today how simply wonderful it is to cook without seeing BLOOD - Seriously, it’s one of the perks to vegetarianism. Had I used “real” beef, there would be blood, something that always disgusted me back in my meat-eating days.