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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