James went in to town today and arrived home very excited about a few of his bargains. Now, if you recall, this is a man who used to buy grapes in February…a man who declared Superstore “too vulgar to be tolerated.”

Welllllll…things have changed in Jamie-land.

Sure, his newly realized frugality might be rooted in the fact that we’re now on pensions, but he’s been moving in the direction of “the deal” for a few years now. Today was a red-letter day, however, since he actually worked out IN HIS HEAD which size of Raisin Bran was cheaper. As you may or may not know, James has an admitted, um, disadvantage when it comes to math. He can recite an Elizabethan sonnet at the drop of a hat though!

Anyway, he scored a few bargains (and, yes, he did shop at the dreaded Superstore!) including a 680 gram package of beautiful little button mushrooms for a mere THREE BUCKS!

So the meal of the evening is vegan mushroom stroganoff! I had to hunt around for a recipe that did not require soy yogurt…because I have none. I did find one recipe, but it needed serious adjustments to make it more schmecky.

So….here we go!

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

Stage One

• 3 cups fresh white button, crimini, or portobello mushrooms (or any combination thereof), sliced
• 1 small onion, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp vegan margarine
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 TBS white wine
• 2 TBS tomato paste
• 1 TBS vegan Worchestershire sauce

Stage Two

• 1 cup cashews
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 TBS Better Than Bouillon Mushroom (or vegetable) base
• 1 TBS Miso
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano

Place cashews and a cup of boiliing water in a blender leave to soak.

Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in margarine for five minutes until onions are translucent. Reduce heat, add the rest of the ingredients for stage one, cover and simmer for twenty minutes.

Blend all the ingredients for stage two in the blender until smooth.

Add the cashew mixture to the mushroom mixture and stir well to combine. Simmer on low for twenty more minutes.

Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve over brown rice pasta.