sorry for two back to back mushrooms posts for my mushroom hating pals. to my mushroom loving pals: YOU’RE WELCOME.

this was delicious! oooooh man tasty times.

CREAMY POLENTA

• 4  c. water
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 1 tsp salt
• unsweetened almond milk (or soy or whatever)
• 4 tbsp earth balance

bring water and pinch of salt to a boil then whisk in cornmeal. continue whisking until it starts to thicken and sputter then bring the heat down to medium low. it’ll keep sputtering but just teeny sputters. if it’s sputtering big flying hot cornmeal burps then turn the heat lower. add a bit of almond milk as it thickens, whisk and let it chill out. add bits of milk as need be (i added probably 1/2 c. all in). it should cook for atleast half an hour but ideally up to an hour. it should be creamy and smooth, not grainy. remove from heat, add another splash of milk and the earth balance and whisk again until incorporated.

THE MUSHROOMS

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, diced small
• 5 c. crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 c. white wine
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 c. water
• 2 tsp porcini powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp vegan worcestershire
• big pinch of chopped thyme
• 5 leaves tuscan kale, veined and chopped
• sea salt and pepper to taste (don’t under salt this, it’ll really bring out everything going on in this dish)

in a big pan heat oil and saute onion with a pinch of salt. cook until browned then add mushrooms. cook until they start to brown a bit. add the garlic and cook another minute. add white wine and kale, scrape up any brown bits and let it reduce slightly (turn up the heat a wee bit if need be).  in a bowl mix water, porcini powder. pepper flakes, worcestershire and thyme and put aside. mix flour into the mushrooms and cook for a minute, stirring. add the water mixture, stir and scrape up the bottom of the pan and cook just until the liquid thickens, about 2 or 3 minutes. season with salt and pepper and serve over polenta. DELICIOUS TIMES FOR YOU.