There's little things, like adding chocolate chips to the pancake mix. That's just a matter of how many chocolate chips you want per pancake (a lot, if you're me). Or dried fruit or whatever else you want.
I have a banana about to go bad--toss it into a pan with a little butter and brown sugar, allspice, maybe some nutmeg (or cinnamon if you're not allergic like me!), cook it until it's soft.
It is so easy in this day and age of pinterest and other recipe repositories to find something that may strike an idea. But it's not always the same thing as what you're going for--but you should be able to go off script for a bit. How many great things come from ad libbing?
I was rooting through the freezer the other day, bypassing all the meat my mom has stocked up (and considering the concerns for losing power last week, I can only imagine how much meat would have gone bad!) and found a package of dumplings. It looked like something Mom had found, was allergen free, and was thus purchase and somehow migrated to the back of the freezer. I had no desire for dumplings, so I continue rooting around.
We also had some sweet potatoes my mom had been begging me to finish off before they went bad. I wasn't in the mood for potatoes.
But I was watching the USA/Russia hockey game on Saturday and idly searching pinterest for some new recipe before I went to the store. I didn't see anything in particular, but I did see a recipe for ravioli. Mmmm, ravioli. Did you know that most ravioli have eggs in them? If not in the dough, often in the ricotta mixture as a binder. Or the other ravioli have meat. Regardless, I haven't had ravioli in forever.
I did have these dumplings...and sweet potatoes...So I cobbled together some mashed sweet potatoes and allspice, folded into dumplings, and boiled until tender. They weren't fabulous because I didn't do a great job pinching them shut due to the precut shape of the dumplings, but it's a start. The dumpling texture is surprisingly like pie crust, so is there any particular reason I should try something similar with piecrust dough?
Now I know that my allergies are the mother of all inventions. I have tried all sorts of ridiculous food combinations and replacements--tonight was crushed crackers (verified safe) in place of breadcrumbs...that one works. But you know when you're standing in your fridge, just looking in, trying to find something? I'm SURE there is something good you can try. You just have to think about it. I challenge you to try it next time you're looking for something to eat and can't find anything...I bet there's something there!
That's how my delicious lentil soup came into being...I wasn't sure what I was doing, but I tossed a bay leaf in and that made all the difference.
And I never have to worry about the banana going bad after I tried that trick with the butter, brown sugar and nutmeg. In a pinch, I just roast it with a little brown sugar. Done. Sweet and nutritious...maybe ;)
As a side note, this is the last food related blog I can imagine having the time to sit down and write before I take off for two months out of the country. I don't leave until mid-March, but it is time consuming to settle everything here and pack up for six weeks in Jamaica. Then I'm going for two weeks of vacation in the UK--mainly London, but also venturing north to Scotland. That has to be planned myself, so that's been rather challenging to put together. So needless to say, commentary on food will be turning over to the travel related.
At the very least, there will be more pictures. :)
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