A page from my emergency notebook: Substitutions

I have gathered many substitutions in my "recipe substitutions" section of my emergency notebook, from more than one place. I entered these substitutions so long ago that I don't remember everywhere I got them from, so thanks to all who have shared their expertise with these on other blogs, because I certainly didn't come up with them on my own. However, I thought it was a good time to put this up, because even if you find that you need to make substitutions, you have to have the ingredients to substitute with:

Baking Powder (1 teaspoon):
1. 1 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 cup buttermilk (to replace 1/2 cup liquid in recipe)

Butter or margarine (1 cup)
1. 1 1/2 cup margarine or butter powder
2. 2/3 cup vegetable oil
3. 1 cup shortening plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 2 sticks softened margarine plus 1/3 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup buttermilk. Beat until liquid is absorbed. Refrigerate.

Buttermilk
1. 1 tablespoon vinegar (or 1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar) mixed in 1 cup milk.
2. 1 cup water, 1/3 cup powdered milk, 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice.
3. 1 3/4 dry milk in 3 cups slightly warm water (shake or beat until blended). Cover and allow to stand at room temperature until clabbered (6-12 hours). Refrigerate.
4. 1 cup water, 1/3 cup powdered milk, 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice. Let mixture stand in a warm place until thickened (18 hours). Stir until smooth. Refrigerate.
5. A buttermilk freeze-dried culture can be purchased at a grocery or health food store, and kept indefinitely.

Ok, I am the first to admit that I haven't tried all these substitutions. Some I would actually be wary of using, like the one that says to leave the mixture standing in a warm place until thickened for 18 hours. I probably wouldn't use that one, but with the list that I have, at least I have the option to pick and choose what I like.

That's one page, with a little over to finish the buttermilk section. Not interested in buttermilk because you don't use it? I didn't used to use it--I didn't buy buttermilk. However, the add vinegar or lemon juice (I prefer lemon juice personally, but use vinegar when needed) method is great for the following recipes I have linked to before:

Coffee Cake That Tastes Like Donuts???
Angel Biscuits (The recipe is a little further down in the linked post)
Best-Ever Buttermilk Biscuits
Cornmeal Buttermilk Biscuits

Thanks to all of the authors of the blogs that supplied these links! I have linked to them in the linked articles where applicable...

So, as always, decisions to use the information (or not) on this blog are your sole responsibility--I got the information (though in this case I don't remember exactly where) from sources that I thought were reliable, so I thought I would share them. If you have different substitutions to share, feel free (especially if they're easier--I love easy :) I'll be sharing a few more pages on substitutions from my emergency notebook this week. Gotta love options, especially if you find yourself in a situation where you can't just run out to the store....

A matter of supply....

Just a quick link to this article on food prices going up. Um, yeah, not good news, and another reason to get some food into the pantry before the prices go up even more--wheat, sugar, and rice prices are mentioned specifically. The article also talks about supply and demand of nations, weather and crop issues, etc., so thought you might want to take a look....

Does your road look/feel/damage your car like an ice rink??

Sorry, couldn't resist the post title. It is cold here, (as in -21 this morning, with no windchill) but watching the news it appears that elsewhere there is mega-snow, so we (almost) all have weather issues to deal with in the winter... :) Unfortunately, I wasn't really kidding about the "damage your car" issue--our road is iced over and the lack of adequate plowing earlier in the season has led to huge ruts, and where there are no ruts, there is usually a really thick and inconvenient layer of ice. When it's warmer, there is the occasional standing puddle/pond/bottomless black hole of water, but that's not today. Fortunately, our road is right off a more valued road that is better plowed, so as you are driving out, you can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel....

Anyway, in terms of emergency preparedness, I made enough different kinds of breads recently that one of my children commented on it. When we had spaghetti last week, I made Herbed Bread Sticks, a recipe I found over at Harried Homemaker. They were really good, and so much more substantial than frozen breadsticks that we have had in the past, but I have found that in general it takes me longer to actually make the recipes than what is expected. Ah, well. That's what practice is for, right? :) It is great when practice makes perfect, but absolutely convenient when it makes a task go more quickly....

Also wanted to share this link about first aid from SurvivalBlog.com, that I received and read about in an e-mail sent to my inbox recently. Makes me realize (again) that there is so much more that I have to learn, and more supplies that would be good to have in case of an emergency. Knowledge and supplies are a great combination for emergency preparation....

I hope that everyone has had a great start to February, and that your road is in better condition than ours. Speaking of cars, I would suggest, as has been suggested by many before me, I'm sure, that you attempt to keep your tanks as full as possible. For one thing, there is concern that the prices of fuel may go up, up, up in the near, near future. And more money used on fuel means less money available for other emergency preparation activities...