It’s 6:45pm, and you got started late on dinner. You can hear the kids destroying the living room as you fumble around in the spice cabinet for a seasoning. Annnd, your hand returns with an empty jar. Bummer.
I’m sure you’ve lived this scenario more times than you’d like to count. But you’re too deep into prep to quit and order pizza, and you’re also not going to be able to continue without that vital ingredient. At our house it’s eggs or buttermilk or butter or flour.
We buy those 10 lb. bags of King Arthur Flour, and we still manage to have nights where we’re frantically searching the cupboard for a spare cup of cake flour or masa or dust or whatever to make up the shortfall.
Scarcity happens outside the kitchen, too. We don’t have enough time to finish a project how we want. We lack the authority to make an important decision at work. We have a scarcity of bedrooms that prevents the use of traditional twin beds for 6 kids (Again—speaking from experience).
Scarcity always hits at the most inopportune times. But when we’re robbed of a vital ingredient, we have two options: (1) quit or (2) pivot.
That moment of frustration is an opportunity, because limitation is the necessary ingredient for true creativity. That lack of chili powder is an opportunity to head down a new culinary path. That “no” from your boss is a chance to pursue the same goal by another way. That roadblock is your invitation to explore yet uncharted territories.
Odysseus to Ithaca. Aeneas to Italy. Paul to Rome. Dante to Paradise. Epics are epic because of the frustrations, because of the circuitous routes, because of the unexpected pivots. All epic heroes agree with George Strait: Sometimes you gotta go through hell to get to heaven.
The next time you experience scarcity—at home, at work, in the kitchen, on your calendar—take a deep breath, and consider a new path. This episode is a part of the epic voyage God is guiding you on. You’ll make it to your journey’s end, but maybe not by the path you expected.
No ingredient is truly irreplaceable if you are willing to add a dash of creativity.
An Unexpected Twist: Honey Grunt!
In our kitchen we have a scarcity of oven space. Seriously, the oven at our place is the size of a microwave. The other night I wanted to make biscuits, but we already had sweet potatoes and pork tenderloin in the oven.
What other cooking options are there for biscuits besides baking? Well, the stovetop was empty. Steaming them might work.
In fact, we make blueberry grunt (recipe here) which is basically steamed biscuits. And if I made a diluted honey mixture in place of berries, the biscuits would come already prepped.
Bam. A burst of last-minute creativity, and a new classic was born.
Honey
1 cup (227g) water
1/2 to 3/4 cups (98g to 149g) honey
1/4 c maple syrup
Dough
2 cups (240g) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (57g) cold butter, cubed
1 cup (227g) buttermilk, cold
Instructions:
Stir all honey ingredients into a dutch oven over medium heat. Bring to gentle simmer.
Meanwhile, mix dough ingredients as you would biscuit dough. Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl, then rub in the butter cubes, then stir in buttermilk until a spoonable dough forms.
Once the honey is bubbling, use a dough scooper or large spoon to dollop the dough on top. Do not stir! Put on lid and lower temp to lowest setting.
Cook lidded for 15 minutes. Take off heat and let steam for 5 minutes. Enjoy!