BONUS RECIPE OF THE DAY: THE BEST SAUCE EVER

I went through my bookmarks the other day and saved only two of the 500. The first one was Augustan Burroughs' Flickr with pictures from his Dry era. If you haven't read Dry you definitely should; Burroughs is more famous for Running with Scissors, that memoir made movie about his wacky and tragic childhood. Dry, which was written before but, I think, released after is about his early-mid 20's struggle with alcohol. He even came from New York to go to treatment in Northern Minnesota (I guess there is/was a GLBT rehab clinic up there?) and I like his sense of humor. He's poignant without being mushy; a lot of memoirs go the "in your face/cut you to the quick with emotion" route but Burroughs just seems like a guy you'd get a drink with (well, not anymore, I guess) and chill.

But, to the point, the second bookmark I kept was this recipe that I modified.

THE BEST SAUCE EVER FOR ANYTHING

I got this off AllRecipes and changed it dramatically. The original recipe called for 1/3 CUP butter and I feel much better using just a tablespoon.

1 Tablespoon butter
-Melt this in a sauce pan and then add:
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons chopped garlic (have to go with real garlic on this one, no powders. The kind in the little jar work best for this one so no need to break out the knives)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Splash of vinegar (if you have it, not imperative)

Heat all of this up and then add the secret ingredient.

1 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Let it simmer very gently for awhile and then pour over vegetables. It's so good. It tastes vaguely Asian and sweet...it's sweet, savory, amazing. I tried it over rice once and it was good but almost a little too rich. It goes best with broccoli and cashews (the original intention of the recipe) but I've poured it over pasta and salad in a stitch and it's a great sauce all around. You will be addicted for a good month or so.

Note: Feel free to change out the butter for a vegan margarine, too. Vegan margarine, unlike vegan cheese, imitates the real thing pretty well.