Latest Addiction: Vegan Sausage Gravy

There are few things I like better than comfort food on a cold winter's day, and what's more comforting than biscuits and gravy? I've been wanting to veganize a sausage gravy for years, but I was scared of fake sausage because I never could eat the chunks of real sausage in the gravy. Okay, okay, I was a weirdo. I liked the taste of the sausage gravy, but not the sausage, itself. I had some serious food texture issues when it came to meat. So, you can understand my hesitation to try something that had the potential for weirdness. But, my dearest pals, I have created a success. You should totally make this ASAP!!!

What I used:

• 2 1/4 cups almond milk
• 1/3 cup finely diced onion
• 7 ounces vegan sausage, its about half a tube. Then break into small chunks. (I used LightLife Gimme Lean- click here)
• 3 1/2 TB flour
• 1 TB coconut oil or your preferred cooking oil
• 2 TB Earth Balance or other vegan butter
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/8 tsp fennel seed, partially crushed between your fingers
• salt to taste
• lots of pepper

What I did:

1. Heat a high-sided skillet (nonstick works best, take my word for it-- I've made it a lot of times) over medium heat. Add the coconut oil. Once hot, add the onion and crumbled sausage along with the red pepper flakes, sage and fennel seed. Stir regularly until the onions are transparent and the sausage is lightly browned. Once that is done, remove from heat and put in a bowl. 
2. Now, return the skillet to the burner with the earth balance and the flour. Mix into a golden paste (aka- roux). Then slowly whisk in the milk. Use your whisk to scrape the bottom of the pan, loosening up the roux along with the little crusty bits from the onion and sausage. Add some salt and pepper to the milky mix. The cooking of the gravy will take 12-15 minutes total and requires a LOT of whisking. Once it starts to bubble, add in the sausage. Now you will want to whisk pretty much non-stop until it reaches your desired thickness. You don't even have to mix fast, just continually, so no milk or flour burns to the bottom of the pot. Also, the constant whisking keeps it from getting lumpy. Note to remember: gravy thickens more after it is removed from the heat, so once it gets pretty thick (mine took 13 minutes), remove the pot from the burner.
3. Let rest a few minutes to let the gravy thicken a bit more and generally get more awesome. It should look something like this (pardon the poor lighting in this one)

Now, You can serve it up however you want, but I definitely recommend biscuits. You are going to flip for this gravy.