#2 A Handbook for Existing in Adulthood Series: Resources and Substitutions

Resources for learning how to cook, reading recipe abbreviations, and substitute equipment and ingredients

Dear reader,

I return with a post on my first category of the series: things related to food, cooking, and groceries!

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Category I: Food, Cooking, Groceries

I. Recipe Resources and Learning How to Cook

Learning to cook is one of the single-most cost-effective strategies I have found to utilize, in my opinion.

Some of the resources my husband and I used on our cooking journey to get you started:

• YouTube:

  • Binging with Babish and Basics with Babish, which eventually expanded into the Babish Culinary Universe

  • Joshua Weissman

  • Claire Saffitz x Dessert Person

  • Internet Shaquille

  • B. Dylan Hollis (charming!)

• Cookbooks:

  • Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, my first main cookbook growing up

  • Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat, the four basics of a dish

  • Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz (referred to as a “sacred text” in our household)

  • Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish, the four basics of bread-baking

  • Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

  • Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto

• Blogs and Recipe Sites:

  • Budget Bytes (my absolute favorite and go-to for cost-effective and simple recipes, complete with recipe costs!)

  • Basics with Babish

  • Joshua Weissman

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II. What Do Recipe Abbreviations Mean?

• TBS/tbs = tablespoons

• TPS/tps = teaspoons

• C/c. = cup(s)

• Oz = ounces

• LB/lb = pound(s)

• Qt/qt = quart(s)

• G/g = gram(s)

• ML/mL = mililiter(s)

• MM/Mm = milimeter(s)

• In/in = inch(es)

• CM/cm = centimeter(s)

• Pat of butter, knob of butter, butter pat, butter knob, hunk of butter, slab of butter = roughly 1-2 tablespoon(s)

• pinch (of salt, etc.) = roughly 1/4-1/2 teaspoon

• just a dash (of salt, etc.) = roughly 1/8=1/4 teaspoon

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III. Helpful Substitutions When You Don’t Have Equipment or a Particular Ingredient

Equipment:

• If you don’t have a ¼ cup measuring cup: you can use 3 tablespoons to get roughly the same amount.

• If you don’t have a tablespoon measuring spoon: you can use a big dinner spoon to get roughly the same measurement.

• If you don’t have a teaspoon measuring spoon: you can use a small dinner spoon to get roughly the same measurement.

• If you don’t have a microplaner: you can use the small hole-side of a box cheese grater or a citrus zester.

• If you don’t have a pizza cutter: you can use a big knife.

• If you don’t have a pepper grinder/pepper mill: you can use a mortar and pestle or molcajete bowl. (It’s also really satisfying to crush pepper and other whole spices by hand like this!)

• If you don’t have a full blender: you can use a food processor or an immersion blender (the wand style kind) to achieve similar results.

• If you don’t have tongs or a spatula to cook over the stove: you can use chopsticks to cook. (I use a pair of wooden ones.)

Ingredient:

• If you don’t have heavy cream: you can make it yourself: you can use milk and butter. (To substitue for 1 cup of heavy cream, add about 1 tablespoon of melted butter to about 1 cup of milk and stir together.)

• If you don’t have simple syrup: you can make it yourself: heat equal parts water and sugar in a small pot over low-medium heat until the sugar has dissolved totally (you can tell it’s done once the mixture turns clear instead of cloudy). For a for a 1:1 ratio, use one part sugar and one part water, and for a 2:1 ratio, use two parts sugar and one part water. (So if you need 1 cup of simple syrup at a 1:1 ratio, you would use 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water.)

• If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice: you can make your own quick blend by mixing cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger together. (I typically use more cinnamon and a less of the other ingredients because they tend to have more potent flavors and I feel that I need less in my mix. I add a little bit of each spice to a small bowl until it smells like pumpkin pie; this is measured with my heart and nose.)

• If you don’t have Italian seasoning: you can make your own quick blend by mixing together a combination of basil, oregano, parsley (if you have it), red peppr flakes (optional), garlic powder, onion powder (optional), salt, and pepper. (I add a little bit of each spice to a small bowl until it smells vageuly like garlic bread to me; this is measured with my heart and nose.)

• If you don’t have taco/fajitas seasoning: you can make your own quick blend by mixing cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, cayenne/red pepper, salt, and paprika (optional). (Again, I add a little bit of each spice to a small bowl until it smells like tacos or fajitas to me; this is measured with my heart and nose.)

• If you don’t have 1 cup of buttermilk: make it by mixing together 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, then stir. (This gives it time to meld together. If you let it sit for much longer than this, it will curdle!)

• If you don’t have eggs: you can often substitute unsweetend, unflavored applesauce in when it’s a sweet baked good (like cookies, muffins, or pancakes). (I will typically use about 1/4 cup in place of 1 egg.)

• If you don’t have fresh herbs or spices: use dried herbs or spices instead. (Usually you will just use about half the amount of the fresh, as the dried herb or spices tend to be more potent. Many bottles will also have this information somewhere on the label.)

  • If you don’t have fresh ginger, use ground ginger.

  • If you don’t have fresh garlic, use garlic powder.

  • If you don’t have fresh onions, use dried onion or onion powder.

• If you don’t have marjoram: you can get a similar flavor profile from cloves, allspice, or nutmeg. (I have used this one so infrequently in recipes that I don’t keep it on hand and juste sub in cloves, allspice, or nutmeg instead because I see those in recipes much more often.)

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Hopefully this can be of some help if you’re starting out with cooking or looking for ways to use other ingredients. I know egg prices have been a concern to a lot of people in the U.S., so applesauce could be handy to have in your back pocket!

Any other kitchen tips you’d suggest? Let me know in the comments if you like!

Happy learning and cooking,

Olivia