Usurp!

This weekend I went shopping in my own kitchen. You know how sometimes you'll get stuff to make a recipe and then you have produce or spices that just go unused? I try to be efficient by keeping scraps for stocks and by planning my next meal based off what I need to use up. It's a fun way to keep things challenging.

What did I end up making with what I found? One night Joey and I had a cauliflower souffle and pasta with chopped grilled chicken dressed in a parsley pesto. For Sunday brunch we had pancakes.

Anyway, I wanted to share some great substitutions that I made this weekend. The last one I didn't do this weekend, but I have done it before and it really works well, especially for pancakes.

1. Sour Cream! Replace buttermilk with it. Both have a tang, so it works really well. Omit the butter from the batter. You won't need it because sour cream is high in fat.

2. Sour Cream again! Omit cheese in your souffle recipe and add sour cream. Please note you will still need some cheese to dress the souffle dish.

3. Cauliflower! Use this to replace a bechamel sauce in your souffle. This is truly great because it will really make your souffle much healthier. Add about a heaping cup of cauliflower to a pot. Add about a cup of 1% milk and a bay leaf. Keep your cheese rinds people! I added them to the pot and it added so much flavor, without the fat. I also added a teaspoon of butter. When fully tender, remove from heat. Add a pinch of ground cloves and leave covered on stove. Then pick out bay leaf and cheese rinds. Put in blender and pulse until smooth. When this is cool, stir in three egg yolks and the sour cream. BAM! You've got something going on.

4. Parsley! Make a pesto per usual, but substitute parsley for the basil.

5. Flax seeds! When you don't have eggs, just take a tablespoon of flax seeds add about a 1/4 cup of water and heat over medium flame. Stir constantly until it has the consistency of egg whites. Let cool and add to pancake batter or cake batter.

What are your go to usurpers?