Vegan No Beef Stew

I made a vegan no beef stew. I brought it to a potluck and it disappeared pretty quickly, even though I got there almost an hour late. By the time I had to leave, there was only one bowl left! I think if I had stayed the whole time, there wouldn't have been any left at all. :)
 

Here's what I used, and how I made it.
 

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 large onion, quartered, then chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
About 1-2 lbs red potatoes, diced
4 med carrots with tops, sliced 1/2" thick
4 stalks celery, sliced 1/2" thick
1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
1 cup red wine
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground mustard
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp salt
3, 8 oz packages of mini Bella mushrooms, quartered
1 oz dried shiitake mushrooms
1 can of tomato sauce
About 1 Tbsp, or more cornstarch (for thickening)
2 cups hot water, divided
2 Not-Chick'n bouillon cubes
2 Tbsp soy sauce, optional
 

Directions:
First you'll need to cut and prepare all the vegetables. Don't throw away the carrot tops. Pluck off all the leaves from the stems and set aside. Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup hot water, once softened, cut into small pieces, place back into water. Disolve the bouillon cubes in 1 cup of hot water and the 1 cup red wine. Set all these aside.
 

In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic slightly, until fragrant. Add potatoes and carrots, sautéing  for about 2-3 mins, add celery and peppers, sauté for about another 2-3 minutes. Add fresh mushrooms, all the spices, except black pepper, sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Once the mushrooms have let out some of their water, add the shiitake mushrooms, including the water it was soaking in, and all the rest of the liquids (tomato sauce too).
 

Lower heat, simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Thicken with cornstarch to desired thickness. Check potatoes, once it can be cut with a spoon, add carrot tops and freshly ground black pepper. Taste, add more salt and pepper if needed.
 

Serve with crusty bread, or over rice.

Ps. I have a secret, I put a handful of crushed toasted Nori in this too, it really ups the umami (savory) flavor!
  

*I love fonts! These are the fonts I used: Cherry Cream Soda, Josefin Sans, Reenie Beanie, and Walter Turncoat.