My fun guy

The summer that Vance and I started dating, we took a day trip to Rehoboth beach. We were young and falling in love and both burn rather quickly - so needless to say the day was full of giggles, waves crashing and the slathering of suntan lotion over freckles (people, please, let's keep this clean). Anyways, as we were driving home, I said to Vance, "I have so much with you - you are a fun guy!" and he replied, "I am a fun guy, I'm ike a big mushroom!" Get it - fun guy, fungi? From that moment, I knew it would be love to last a lifetime.

Speaking of mushrooms, I made a delicious mushroom bourguignon the other night. I am becoming anxious for chilly weather so I can make big hearty dishes like this! Vegan-alert, for my leaf-eating friends like the Murphys, I believe this fits the vegan bill! You would have to use egg free noodles though - no biggie!

Serves 4
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds portabello mushrooms, sliced into ¼ inch slices
½ carrot, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup full-bodied red wine
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon butter
1 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup pearl onions, peeled and thawed if frozen (I used fresh and just followed the directions to quickly boil and peel)
Egg noodles, cooked

Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a medium dutch oven or large sauce pan over high heat. Sear the mushrooms for about three or four minutes or until they start to darken. Before they begin to release much liquid remove from heat and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium and add in another tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the carrots, onion, thyme, salt and pepper for about 10 minutes until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the wine to the vegetables and turn the heat back up. Reduce it by half, scraping the bottom of the pot to remove any bits that are stuck. Add in the tomato paste and the broth. Remove the thyme sprigs (if using fresh) and add back in the mushrooms (and any juices that have collected) and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are very tender. Add in the pearl onions (if using).

Combine the tablespoons of butter and flour and stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and has a nice consistency. Spoon the mixture over egg noodles.

I served this with some lightly sauteed spinach and french bread, yum!