Basic Country Gravy

1 stick margarine, melted
1/2 cup flour
Water, or milk, or soy milk
Salt
Pepper

Put margarine and flour in a pan. Turn on medium high heat and stir together so that you have a paste (you may want to add more margarine). Cook for several minutes stirring constantly. You will be ready to add the rest of the ingredients when the base gains a nice scent.
Turn off the heat again to add water (so that there are no lumps). Whisk the mixture while you add more water. Once you get a reasonable amount of water in the mixture, turn the heat back on and stir constantly until the gravy thickens. You can add more liquid until you get the desired consistency.
Add salt and pepper.

Great: on biscuits.

Variation: You can change this recipe slightly to make a sauce that can be used in other hearty recipes. When making the sauce, you may want to substitute regular oil instead of margarine (this is optional). Other slight changes would included using soy milk instead of water and adding mushroom powder in addition to the salt.