Missing an Ingredient? No Problem!

Ingredient substitution, it's something we all do, but is it really always a good idea? In my family the phrase "I didn't have....so I used...." is infamous, my maternal great-grandmother (who was a home-ec teacher for many years) was notorious for her substitutions. I have childhood memories of our family sitting around the table at her house and my grandfather (her son) saying, "Mother, what is this?" about dinner, her response was something to the effect that we were eating a tuna salad, although she wanted to use mayo in it and didn't have mayo so she used Cool Whip! Or, one of my mom's least favorite substitutions, if something called for tomato and she was out, it might have been topped with katsup instead.

While these are definitely extreme examples, and hopefully one no one can identify with :) it illustrates just how confusing things can get when you start searching for a substitute for an ingredient. Some of us do it because we lack a specific ingredient (who doesn't get home from the grocery store without a key item occasionally?) or we do it because we want a healthier recipe (maybe subbing apple sauce into a baked good?), either way if you aren't extremely good at it, your recipe may be ruined. Because of the family jokes I am usually pretty leery of substituting things, the older I get the more adventurous I am but something about being ridiculed by the family makes me look for only the best substitutions. The internet offers a wealth of options, one of my favorite substitution charts can be found on the Joyofbaking.com, maybe it will help you too, or if you have a better resource please share! Well for all of you substitute-rs out there, good luck!

In the spirit of substitutions, my recipe for Lemon-Raspberry Muffins with sour cream instead of all that butter!

Lemon-Raspberry Muffins
2 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Raspberries
Juice and Zest of 1 Large Lemon

1. Beat eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla
2. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
3. Slowly add dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with the sour cream.
4. Fold lemon juice, zest and raspberries into mixture.
5. Bake 20 minutes in a 400F oven.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins