I’m sure I am not the only one who knows how frustrating it is to find the perfect recipe, start making it, and then realize that I am out of a crucial ingredient. (What’s that? You don’t make recipes without double-checking that you have all the ingredients on hand? Well, aren’t you special.)

Because there is nothing more annoying than having to run to the grocery store and leave your raw cookie batter sitting on the counter, I took the liberty of putting together a handy-dandy substitution cheat sheet of things you can use when you find yourself without the genuine article.

For self-rising flour, substitute flour with baking powder and salt. Self-rising flour is really just a fancy name for flour that already has baking powder and salt added, so you can cheat the system by adding those things yourself. For each cup of flour, just throw in 1 ½ tsp baking powder and about ½ tsp salt.

For cream/half-and-half, substitute milk. Keep in mind that this will only work sometimes. Milk is a lot thinner than cream and has a lot less fat (added health bonus), but that also means that it doesn’t behave the same way. For a recipe in which you’re mixing everything together anyway (quiche), it will work fine, but it’s not going to get you anywhere if you pour it in a bowl and try to whip it into real fluffy cream. If you don’t have regular milk, try using buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream. Read More »

I don’t like beer. Let’s just get that out there.

All summer, everywhere I go, if it’s after 3pm, everyone is drinking beer. And, look, it’s not that I don’t like alcohol. I am a very big fan of wine. But if you drink wine while everyone is drinking beer, you suddenly become the butt of every joke. Which I totally get. But, I digress.

I don’t think the perfect summer drink is beer. I think it’s–wait for it, wait for it–TEA.

That’s right, tea. Don’t you know that drinking hot things cools you off, silly? Plus, tea is great for you and is very refreshing.

Here are some summer teas to help you cool off when everyone is making fun of you for shunning beer:

Chai Tea
Chai is the best of all tea worlds, if you ask me. It’s strong black tea with milk and sugar and spices. Delicious. Make it an iced chai and you’re set for the summer.

Thai Iced Tea
Spiced and sweet and, best of all, iced for your summer enjoyment.

Ginseng Green Tea
So high in antioxidants it’s kind of ridiculous. Plus, the ginseng helps keep you energized and alert (green tea naturally has less caffeine than black tea). Steer clear of the bottled Arizona kind, as delish as it is, to avoid excess sugar.

White Darjeeling Tea
White tea has even more antioxidants than green tea, and it’s low in caffeine so you can drink it at night when everyone else is drinking yucko beer around the campfire. Read More »