The Prudent Pantry: Ingredient Substitutions and Recipe Improvisations to Save Money

Wednesday was Saint Patrick's Day, and although we are not very Irish I wanted to do something to celebrate. And what better way than by preparing Irish food? We decided on Boxty, which is typically breakfast food (but that's never stopped me before--I love breakfast for dinner!). I found a Boxty recipe at Epicurious, my favorite place for free online recipes.

I was halfway through preparing the potatoes when I discovered that I'd forgotten to buy buttermilk. And not only that, but I was already over my grocery budget for the week. The budget thing I could handle--I often buy enough of a given item for two weeks, so this week's grocery list is much shorter--but I didn't want to go further over. Not to mention not wanting to drag the children to the store for just one ingredient...

It's easy to make your own (fake) buttermilk: you just add a little white vinegar (or lemon juice) to regular milk. Trouble is, I don't keep regular milk in the house. I had vanilla-flavored almond milk for my tea, but something told me that wouldn't quite do. But I did have some yogurt. I've baked with yogurt in place of milk before, so I decided to try it in the Boxty. I mixed in a splash of vinegar and a little cold water to thin it out, crossed my fingers, and added it to the potato mixture.

The Boxty came out perfect, so I guess it worked!

If I made every recipe I want to cook with every ingredient called for, I'd never stay within my grocery budget. Knowing how to substitute and being brave enough to improvise make it possible for me to cook a wider variety of foods without spending more money.

Here are a few substitutions everyone should know:

• Self-rising flour can be made by mixing 1½ teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt into 1 cup of all-purpose flour.
• Cake flour can be made by adding 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to 1 cup of all-purpose flour and sifting twice (measure for your recipe after sifting).
• Out of baking powder? To equal 1 teaspoon, use ½ teaspoon cream of tartar and ¼ teaspoon baking soda. (I've never done this because I always have baking powder but never cream of tartar!)
• I've heard that applesauce and flax meal are both good substitutes for eggs in baking. Does anyone know if they really work?

In my research on this subject, I stumbled across a more comprehensive listing of ingredient substitutions on the Land 'O Lakes site.

Does anyone else have any tips for substitutions? Stories of daring improvisations (whether they worked or not...)--I'd love to hear them!

Annika Barranti is a writer living in Los Angeles and blogging at Through the Looking Glass. She and her husband are raising two children and trying to eat well on a tiny budget.