prosodic: (cook)
Karyn ([personal profile] prosodic) wrote2007-11-07 03:00 pm
Entry tags:

Resourcefulness

When one has many pantry items that need using up and very few cooking/baking utensils, one finds ways to use what one has available.

Case in point: I am making brownies. From scratch.

I have unsweetened chocolate squares, flour, sugar, vanilla, etc. etc. that need using up. I have 2 baking pans (an 8-inch square and a 2 quart casserole).

So I found a recipe with the ingredients I have on hand. Unfortunately, the only stick of margarine I had was light, which isn't recommended for baking. So it could very well ruin the brownies. We shall see.

But I melted the margarine and the chocolate in a saucepan. I mixed the rest of the ingredients in the 2 quart casserole, since I no longer have mixing bowls. I sprayed the 8-inch pan with cooking spray and floured it.

Once they come out of the oven and are cooled, I'll use a tea diffuser to dust the brownies with powdered sugar, since I don't have a sifter.

I need to plate the brownies, since I need the pan for making dinner tonight (the menu tonight is chicken fingers, which will be coated in a mixture of Shake N Bake, chili powder, and garlic powder, barbecue sauce for dipping, mashed potatoes made with evaporated milk, and corn...all stuff I need to use up).

I still have chocolate, flour, sugar, etc. left over. At some point, I will have to throw it out because I can't possibly use it all before we leave. I'm just trying to waste as little as possible.

Now, my next goal is to find a recipe for gingerbread using ingredients I already have. I'm trying to use up some molasses. That, I will freeze and take to book club later in the month. I'll probably have to get one of those foil pans to bake with, though.

***


Still on baby watch...probably will be until I get a phone call tonight. After all, my brother isn't anywhere at the moment where he has email access, and I'm sure emailing is the furthest thing from his mind.

And that dinging sound would be my brownies...and yeah, they're still a bit mushy.

Anyway...Really? Seattle isn't even in the top 5? Shocking!

...Yet, there is hope for the Emerald City:
Seattle took the top spot in just caffeinated coffee consumption. Nearly 60 percent of residents in the city said coffee would be the most difficult caffeine product to give up.

[identity profile] cookieschlampe.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:11 pm (UTC)(link)
which ingredients do you have on hand and need to get used up?

[identity profile] prosodic.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Lots and lots of olive oil, balsamic vinegar (really EXPENSIVE and super aged), white wine vinegar, molasses, peanut butter, honey (chocolate and regular), flour, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar, 1 unsweetened chocolate square, baking cocoa, every spice known to man...etc. etc. etc.

A lot of it will just have to be thrown out, and that's all there is to it.

And I'm not even including the various jams, jellies and sauces in my fridge, nor any of the stuff in boxes and cans.

[identity profile] cookieschlampe.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Can't you give the nice stuff, like the vinegar to one of your friends before you throw it out?

You could make chicken or pork loin with balsamic glaze. You could bake molasses cookies or Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles (delicious!!). Jams or Jellies you could use in sauces as well.

[identity profile] prosodic.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I'm not throwing out the nice stuff. I will pass that along, probably to Andrea.

The spices, flour, sugar, etc. will get tossed.

[identity profile] cookieschlampe.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I hear you.... poor Andrea ;)

When are you leaving for Seattle?

[identity profile] prosodic.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
December 9...but we move out of the house on the 27th and go to live in a hotel, so this stuff has to be consumed or thrown away by then.

[identity profile] prosodic.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Hell, I could drink the balsamic vinegar straight up. I have no shame. ;)

It is seriously that good.

[identity profile] queendisko.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Ugh. I'd fit right in. I've successfully given up soda of any kind, but coffee is my love, and my love is true. Le sigh.

[identity profile] prosodic.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I feel that way about tea. Especially chai latte.

[identity profile] cookieschlampe.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
hmmm... chai latte.... I love Chai Latte (and Chai Cookies!)

[identity profile] prosodic.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I will need a recipe for that! Just not right now, because I lack cookie sheets.

[identity profile] cookieschlampe.livejournal.com 2007-11-07 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Sure, just let me know when you are ready for it. I just looked at the recipe and now I wonder how they would turn out with gluten free flour....