This morning when I got up, I decided, since I'm out of breakfast foods (cereal, yogurt, eggs, bread, bagels) and not going to the market until tomorrow, to make cornbread, which could also be eaten later with my pot of beans. So I looked up my recipe in Laurel's Bread Book, and started assembling the ingredients into two bowls (wet and dry).
I couldn't find the baking powder, so I looked it up online and discovered I could substitute baking soda plus vinegar or lemon juice. So I put more baking soda in the dry ingredients bowl, put lemon juice in the wet ingredients bowl, and then...I couldn't find the cornmeal. I knew I had bought a brand-new one a few weeks ago, but it was nowhere. So, since I had already measured out baking soda and salt and lemon juice, I decided to make muffins.
I thumbed through the muffin section in the cookbook. I wanted to make cheese muffins, but they call for rolled oats and I didn't have any, so I opted for some basic wheat muffins. They are supposed to be made with pastry flour, but I only had whole wheat, so I used that. I had a choice of either honey or "light" molasses, but I only had regular molasses, so I used that. I was supposed to have powdered milk, but I didn't; but one variation substituted orange juice, so I used that. Worried that without the baking powder and the heavier ingredients the muffins wouldn't rise, I added some buttermilk, even though the recipe didn't call for it. And, I used the last egg in the house. And walnuts. The batter was thicker than it should be, but I filled the muffin tins and put them in the oven.
While the muffins were baking, I went into my studio and there sat the baking powder and the cornmeal, because they were among the subjects of a painting I made a few weeks back, so of course they stayed where they were, unnoticed until 20 minutes after I needed them.
I thumbed through the muffin section in the cookbook. I wanted to make cheese muffins, but they call for rolled oats and I didn't have any, so I opted for some basic wheat muffins. They are supposed to be made with pastry flour, but I only had whole wheat, so I used that. I had a choice of either honey or "light" molasses, but I only had regular molasses, so I used that. I was supposed to have powdered milk, but I didn't; but one variation substituted orange juice, so I used that. Worried that without the baking powder and the heavier ingredients the muffins wouldn't rise, I added some buttermilk, even though the recipe didn't call for it. And, I used the last egg in the house. And walnuts. The batter was thicker than it should be, but I filled the muffin tins and put them in the oven.
While the muffins were baking, I went into my studio and there sat the baking powder and the cornmeal, because they were among the subjects of a painting I made a few weeks back, so of course they stayed where they were, unnoticed until 20 minutes after I needed them.
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| Notice the cornmeal and baking powder, to the right. |
The worst part of it is, I USED MY LAST EGG, so even though I found them, I STILL can't make cornbread. Unless I could substitute something...
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