The Substitution Game

For the past few weeks, my husband, Lunch Hour Waffle has made me breakfast in bed on my Sunday morning lie in. I am under no illusions - this is part generous gesture on his behalf, and part "it's time to get up because I need to go out". Never the less, it is greatly appreciated by me. Sometimes we have homemade pancakes, sometimes we have rolls and sausage, occasionally croissants, usually orange juice. Homespun or not (the pancakes are by far my favourite) and regardless of the whys and wherefores, I love that he thinks to do this for me. I am realising that I am luckier than I previously thought in having him as my other half.

With this in mind, last week I decided it was high time I rustled up some Saturday morning breakfast goodies of my own. I often organise sausages from our local butcher, but I fancied something with a little more input than switching on the hob. My latest fixation is baking, so I hunted for a muffin recipe and found a recipe for Apple and Cinnamon muffins. Perfect - two of his favourite things and family friendly too. I made them last week, they were a big hit with all tasters, and so I wanted to make them again this week, full on Nigella style, in my dressing gown. Having mixed up the dry ingredients in a bowl, and most of the wet ingredients in a jug I realised I was missing something: yoghurt. Disaster? No. A sift through my fridge offered me the first of what would turn out to be FOUR subs! Sour cream for yoghurt, pecan nuts for almonds, dark brown sugar for light brown and apple sauce for apples (since when do I not have apples in my fruit bowl?) and you know what? They are perfect. Possibly slightly more dense than batch one but otherwise absolutely splendid. That's not very modest, is it?

Anyway the point is this - don't stress too much if you don't have the exact right ingredients in your cupboard for your chosen dish. If you have a well stocked store cupboard the chances are you've got something which will act as a substitute, and the more you cook, the better selection of ingredients your store cupboard will have to choose from. Sometimes the subs work brilliantly and sometimes they just about work and no more, but the fun is in the finding out.

Rice Crispie Brownies

I really should be being more productive. My big Bee, Heather, is sleeping on the sofa. This is unheard of these days - a snooze in the car is more likely. My little Bee, Megan, is midway through her lunch time nap.

Peace and quiet at the Bee Hive.

There are many things I could be doing. I could be folding washing and reloading the washing machine. I could be cleaning the bathroom. I could be trying to make sense of the nursery. I could even be out enjoying the splash of usually unseen Scottish sun bathing my house today. How I choose to spend my hour of peace today though is, as it so often is, in the kitchen.

Today's recipe is not what I thought my next post would be. I had thought maybe something more sophisticated than my last couple of offerings, yet here I am posting the recipe for Rice Crispie Brownies. It is Rice Crispie cake by another name, but creamy and addictive in a way ordinary chocolate and crispies aren't. This recipe comes from Nigella Lawson's Kitchen. The sophistication can wait.

100g butter (preferably unsalted)
150g milk choc chips
50g dark choc chips
75g golden syrup
150g Rice Crispies

150g chocolate chips - White, milk, dark or a mixture

Line a brownie tin with foil.

Melt the first 200g chocolate, butter and syrup on a low heat. When melted, remove from the heat and add the crispies. When cooled slightly, add the additional 150g chips.

Transfer to your lined tin and chill for roughly 4 hours.

Keeps for several days in a sealed tub but I guarantee it won't last that long! This is for all the BabyCentre girls.

Cheats Pizza and Garlic Bread

I made this last night. It's not the first time I've used this recipe, but last night I took a chunk of the dough and used the same cooking principle to make a cheese and tomato garlic bread too, kind of Dominos-esque. I have to say it was delicious. I served with potato wedges last night (I really wanted a Dominos!) but usually I serve with coleslaw and salads.

 

You can thank Jamie Oliver for this recipe.

  

 

1.5 mugs self raising flour

half a mug of tepid water (use the same mug)

pinch of salt

glug of olive oil

toppings: tomato sauce (I used passata mixed with pesto and a blob of tomato puree to thicken), cheese and other toppings as required. 

 

Mix the dough ingredients together until you have a soft dough, using a food processor if possible. Heat a frying pan on a medium high heat and drizzle with oil. Roll out your dough on a floured board and transfer to your frying pan. Switch on your grill to high. Top the pizza with your sauce, cheese and chosen toppings. Allow the base to firm up and go golden before transferring to the grill to cook the top. Keep checking, I usually turn the grill down a little so it cooks a little slower and more evenly.

To make a garlic bread to go alongside, chop a small chunk of dough off and cook in the same way. Top with tomato sauce, blob garlic butter over and top with cheese. You could also do a whole pizza size like this if you are feeding a crowd.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce for Ice Cream

I made this on Sunday night as a weekend treat for us all. If you like Snickers this is for you. It takes no time at all, and tastes amazing. 

View Recipe