It happened again.  I was pulling ingredients together for dinner when I discovered I didn’t have one of the items required.  I was making venison stroganoff and it called for sour cream.  My first impulse was “oh boy, now I have to stop and run to the grocery store.”  Something inside resisted.  I didn’t want to drive to the store to buy just one item.  What could I use instead?  I rummaged around the refrigerator until I discovered some plain yoghurt.   Why not?  Since yoghurt is a little thinner than sour cream I added a bit of flour to the cooked meat and then added the yoghurt and seasonings.  It tasted fine.

How often do we get into the middle of a recipe or a project and discover we’re missing an essential ingredient, component, or tool?  How often do we respond by thinking we have to go buy the missing object?  What if, instead, we use our creativity and use what’s on hand?

What if, for example, I had no yoghurt?  Well, one possibility would be to add beef broth and a little flour, maybe some Worcestershire sauce, and make gravy instead?  Or throw some cheese on top, or breadcrumbs?    This can make me a more innovative cook and help me to use up food that’s already purchased.   If you feel the need for inspiration, go to www.supercook.com, a recipe search engine that provides recipes based on the ingredients you have on hand.  You can type in as many ingredients as you like, though just using the main ingredients will give you abundant recipes and any additional ingredients required.  You can emphasize which ingredient you want the search engine to find.  Also, this is a terrific resource when looking for recipes using minimal ingredients.

You can make a meal of many small ingredients.  Just a few, rather tired mushrooms?  A half dozen eggs?  Some wilted but still good parsley? One tomato, a little bit of cheese, a half a pepper and some onion?  A couple of cooked potatoes?  Result?  An omelet with fries.

Or a few beets left from dinner, added to some lettuce, a few alfalfa sprouts, or some peas, chopped celery, a bit of feta cheese or chopped egg and a handful of toasted walnuts, can make a filling salad.

What if you are in the middle of a craft or do-it-yourself project?  I admit it can make the work easier if you have the right tools and materials, but consider what you might use instead. Think function.  What is the function of the item I’m missing?  What else do I already have that would serve the same purpose?  Can I glue it, paint it, dye it, resize it, combine it with something else, or otherwise modify it to fit?  Can I make it myself out of whatever is on hand?

Think outside the box.  If I were designing this, rather than following a plan, a diagram, or a recipe, how could I make it?  Look at the beautiful furniture, objects, and tools, that were designed and hand made by the Shakers.  Clearly, there are limits when you are working with large-scale projects, those requiring wiring or other safety-first features, but often we limit our own imaginations.  Look around your home for leftovers of food, material, yarn, wood, metal, etc.  Imagine how you can use them up.  One of the most inspiring, self-taught woodworkers in America is Sam Maloof, mentioned in the book “Craft in America,” who over a lifetime has built his own house and workshop from 800 to now 4800 square feet.  In his house he built an exquisite spiral staircase from old packing crates.  He used what was on hand.  And no, it looks nothing like packing crates.

How is this green?

By using what’s on hand we use up, rather than waste resources, and we decrease the amount of fuel needed to produce, transport and purchase additional items.

Your turn:

Tell us what you’ve discovered about using what’s on hand. 

Resources and Inspirations:

“The Improvisational Cook,” by Sally Schneider.

“Craft In America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects,” by Jo Lauria and Steve Fenton.

“Thinkertoys:  A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques,” by Michael Michalko.

http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/

http://www.craftideas.info/html/wood_crafts.html

http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqp.shtml

Next week:  Paper, paper, everywhere.