How to Alter a Recipe using Food on Hand
We have a cook’s nightmare in our house. My youngest is a vegetarian who doesn’t eat any meat including fish, but at least eats dairy products. My other two sons and my husband are big meat eaters. Oh, they can tolerate a meatless meal about once a week, but that’s about all before I hear about it. And I sway like the breeze with what I’ll eat because I’m about the only cook in the family.
Some nights after a long day at work, I give up! Only one “extreme” gets fed, meaning I either make a meaty entree, and the vegetarian forages for side dishes and leftovers, or I make a meatless entree and be done with it.
But other nights I feel more creative and satisfy all of them. That’s what happened last night with this delicious dish. It started from a recipe from Martha Stewart magazine called Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pecans. It certainly sounded yummy enough, and I had a nice large container of fresh mushrooms on hand that needed using up.
Well, we can’t all be Martha Stewart. Reality set in when the hunt in my pantry for the rest of the ingredients didn’t go so well. Of the eight ingredients on the list, I had two. But that’s OK, this is where you get creative substituting ingredients you have on hand to make a delicious dish. Don’t be afraid to think outside-the-Martha-Stewart-box! We ended up with a delicious meal that pleased the vegetarian and meat-lovers alike, and I didn’t pay a cent at the grocery store for ingredients that I didn’t already have on hand.
No orzo pasta? Use Tabouli, quinoa, small pasta shapes, cooked spaghetti in small bits, or spaghetti squash
No chickpeas? Use rinsed white or black beans, tofu, or additional vegetables like corn, carrots, or zucchini chunks
No frozen peas? Use most any frozen vegetable like corn, green beans, carrots, edamame
No sage? Use fresh or dried oragano, basil, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, or a spice packet
Carol’s Brown Rice and Tabouli (Tabbouleh) with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts
| Original Martha Stewart Recipe | Carol’s Substitution |
| 6 ounces wild rice (about 1 cup) | 1 cup brown rice |
| 1 lb. orzo pasta | one box Fantastic-brand Tabouli mix with seasoning |
| 4 T. butter | 2 T. butter plus 2 T. olive oil |
| 1 lb. cremini mushrooms – sliced | 1 lb. fresh button mushrooms – sliced |
| 2/3 cup pecans | 1/3 cup pine nuts |
| 2 T. fresh sage | nothing since the box mix had spices included |
| 1 cup frozen peas | 1 cup frozen mixed veggies (peas, carrots, corn) |
| 1 can chickpeas, drained | 1/4 cup edamame plus 1/4 cup raw spinach |
| No Meat called for | 1/4 cup chopped turkey breast per serving for the meat lovers |
| Cook the rice. Transfer to a large bowl. Cook the orzo and add to the rice.Melt butter in skillet and cook mushrooms for 3 minutes.
Add pecans and sage and cook another 3 minutes. Stir in peas and chickpeas. Add vegetable mixture to orzo mixture. Serve. |
Prepare the Tabbouleh according to the box directions in a large bowl. Cook the rice and add to the Tabouli.
Melt butter in skillet and cook mushrooms for 3 minutes. Add pine nuts and cook another 3 minutes. Stir in thawed mixed veggies and heat through. Add the chopped spinach, turn off heat, and stir until spinach is wilted. Add vegetable mixture to the rice/Tabouli mixture. For the non-vegetarian, I added warmed chopped turkey breast from a turkey that I roasted for Easter. Serve. |
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