Have you ever seen a recipe you’d love to try, except there’s one ingredient that you really hate? “No substitutions” may be a good rule in a greasy spoon, but it doesn’t apply in the kitchen. If you’ve read anything I’ve written, you might surmise that I don’t go out of my way to conform my behavior to society’s standards. I’m not a sociopath. Really. I’m not. I just can’t see doing what I don’t enjoy in order to be considered correct. When you take a recipe and make a few changes, you are not committing sacrilege; you are inventing another dish.
I don’t consider myself a picky eater because I’m the one who does the grocery shopping. That means that I don’t buy things I won’t eat, like zucchini, green beans, or lamb. I don’t cook foods that I don’t like and I don’t include ingredients that a recipe calls for just so that I’ll make an exact duplicate of whatever. Sometimes that means I leave something out; sometimes it means I substitute. My favorite meatloaf is the Quaker Oats Classic Meatloaf recipe, but I don’t always have oatmeal in the house. I’ve substituted cracker crumbs, pretzel crumbs, crushed cereal, and packets of honey-nut instant oatmeal for the Old-Fashioned or Quick Oats in the recipe. Nobody died; nobody got sick; nobody even complained. If I’m going to make meatloaf, it’s not going to be the same each time because I might have something sitting around that I’d like to add. Raisins, for instance. Don’t groan; if you make an Italian meatloaf, add some raisins and pignoli nuts. I like a variety of textures and flavors, and the fruit and nuts do the trick.
Meatloaf is no longer a regular menu item at our house because I don’t actually like ground beef all that much. I think it’s kind of gross, which is why I’ll eat a kid’s burger and not a half-pounder. If I’m craving a burger, it’s more that I’m craving the burger experience than the meat. It doesn’t happen very often, anyway, and when it does I give half the burger to Charity. Charity is my dog (Charity Marie Doggie-Dog, to be exact).
Article comments
1 - Dawn
Miss Bob, remember my embracing my whatever-year-old concept? I feel that a similar mindset applies to cooking, so once again, we are in accord. Unless it's a baking recipe where you do need to use measured, specific ingredients, I just cook by the "whatever sounds good to me" rule of thumb. The majority of my most requested meals are from making something up on the spot. I have a wild rice salad that is a featured staple at any family reunion and many friends ask for it for parties.
I'm not a ground meat eater at all due to a childhood trauma that I've not been able to (nor have I wanted to) overcome. So, I do the veggie scrambles. I'm also allergic to onion of all kinds, so that ingredient does not exist in my kitchen.
The chili over rice thing? We do that in TN, so I thought is WAS a southern thing! LOL..interesting what different areas adopt, isn't it. Love you blog, chica.
~ Dawn
2 - Dawn
Your blog...dang it, missed that typo up there. Such a horror to a writer!
3 - Miss Bob Etier
Dawn, I've even broken the old baking rule. It's true baking is not as forgiving, but I've needed cream and substituted one part sour cream to one part soy milk. Nobody knew.