Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Oops! I Ran Out of xxx in the Middle of Cooking


How many times have you discovered you were missing an ingredient in the middle of getting dinner ready?  Somehow I can look at a recipe, carefully check the ingredients and still manage to overlook the need for an egg or a cup of milk. 

If the ingredient is something odd—like anchovies or honeydew melon—I make a special point of confirming its existence in the house. But if it’s something so basic, so certain to be in the fridge or the cupboard, then I often don’t bother to check that I actually have it. 

I never buy lemons, for instance, because there’s a lemon tree 20 feet from my front door.  So lemons are always in supply—except when they’re not, as I discovered the other day when I went out to pick one.  The tree was full of mini-green lemons, which should be ripe next month.

Once in a while I have to drop everything and run to the store…or at least to my neighbors.  If that’s not an option, I may leave out the ingredient.  Most times, though, I come up with a substitute. Lacking a lemon to squeeze on my fish, I made garlic mayonnaise instead.  I could have also used a splash of vinegar, which is what British fish & chip shops offer their customers.

If I were trying to thicken a soup and somehow was out of flour, I would use cornstarch: 1 tablespoon cornstarch for 2 tablespoons flour

If I had no spreadable mustard, I would use dry (also known as powdered or hot) mustard and water: 1 tablespoon dry mustard and 1 tablespoon water mixed together and allowed to sit for 10 minutes for 1 tablespoon prepared mustard.

If I should run out of hot pepper sauce, I would substitute 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes for 5-6 drops of sauce.

My best discovery came when I was making a chocolate cake and had no milk.  I substituted water, and the cake had a much stronger chocolate taste.  It turns out that the milk had been hiding the flavor.

                         For easy recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"

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