Gentle Readers, how sweet it is to be in the kitchen again. A near-normal week has meant actual cooking! Of course, as is the hazard when one has been away, some ingredients were past their prime, and in one case, missing altogether!
Prepping Waffles for the Freezer
Breakfast for dinner was on the meal plan, and waffles were to be the centerpiece. They are relatively easy to make in bulk, and they use up a lot of milk, which was nearing expiration time. However, I was missing wheat germ.
Blueberries atop Whole Wheat Waffles
Let’s hear it for cereal. You know the kind in a box? It’s made from wheat when it’s not something like Cinnamon Toast Crunch (not a cereal, they lost the name). I took two of my heartier cereals, put them in the food processor, and let it blend. I added roughly the equivalent to the batter, and let it sit a little extra time to absorb the liquid.
Pulverized Cereal
It worked. We could taste a little bit of the cereal (Cracklin Oat Bran was the key component, and left a slight cinnamon taste), and a little of the texture (similar to pecan waffles), but they were good. Far better to take the chance when the batter was almost ready to go than to stop and try to change the meal.
Breakfast for Dinner: Featuring grits!
Admittedly, I should have checked the pantry for a back-up on that one before starting the recipe. However, even the most Practical Cook can overlook the obvious sometimes. The key lesson here: keep going. Food doesn’t have to be that hard. Just keep cooking.
Lightly Browned Waffles
What’s the strangest substitution you’ve ever done? Post a comment below, or Tweet away!
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Coming up Sunday, Weekly Menu Time!
The Practical Cook 