Do you ever see a recipe and think, "that looks really good, but we don't have everything to make it..?". Well, this post is for you! First off, this used to happen to us all the time! I think we have been better lately with planning our meals for the next two weeks. Makes it a lot easier to have all the ingredients we need for the meal. But it definitely still happens.
So what do you do? You get creative!
Find a substitute for what you are missing, this does take some practice, but most ingredients can be changed without changing your meal too much. Plus its one of the best ways to learn how different flavors and textures combine!
So, now some examples and ideas. One of the first things you can do is google a substitute, a lot of people post lots of ideas. Second, see if you can think of something you have that can mimmick the characteristics of your missing ingredient, for example substituting pine nuts for waterchestnuts in a lettuce wrap recipe to give it a good crunch, or using oregano in place of marjoram to give it a similar herby flavor. Now, remember, the original ingredient will still probably give you the best results, and you may have a few food disasters - so don't expirement when you have company coming over.
The most important thing though is to learn from your mistakes, if it didn't turn ask yourself why. Try something else and figure out what ingredients you like to keep on hand. Some of our staples are butter, garlic and onions, they do a lot for almost any meal. Don't be afraid of new things and keep track of changes you make that turn out tasty, that's kind of how this blog started!
So what do you do? You get creative!
Find a substitute for what you are missing, this does take some practice, but most ingredients can be changed without changing your meal too much. Plus its one of the best ways to learn how different flavors and textures combine!
So, now some examples and ideas. One of the first things you can do is google a substitute, a lot of people post lots of ideas. Second, see if you can think of something you have that can mimmick the characteristics of your missing ingredient, for example substituting pine nuts for waterchestnuts in a lettuce wrap recipe to give it a good crunch, or using oregano in place of marjoram to give it a similar herby flavor. Now, remember, the original ingredient will still probably give you the best results, and you may have a few food disasters - so don't expirement when you have company coming over.
The most important thing though is to learn from your mistakes, if it didn't turn ask yourself why. Try something else and figure out what ingredients you like to keep on hand. Some of our staples are butter, garlic and onions, they do a lot for almost any meal. Don't be afraid of new things and keep track of changes you make that turn out tasty, that's kind of how this blog started!
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