The PokéCommunity Forums

The PokéCommunity Forums (https://www.pokecommunity.com/index.php)
-   Off-Topic (https://www.pokecommunity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=23)
-   -   Food improv (https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=342853)

Alfieri January 21st, 2015 1:06 PM

Food improv
 
How well do you do when you crave something but don't have the resources you need?

Like for most Hispanics, if we want hot dogs but we don't have hot dog bread, we'll use a sandwich bread to hold the hot dog.
And yesterday I wanted grilled cheese but we ran out of sandwich bread earlier so I had to butter up some hamburger bread and then flattened it on the skillet and it came out looking really good. Like one of those breakfast sandwiches.

Entermaid January 21st, 2015 1:20 PM

If you have eggs, almost everything, except overly sweet things can be added for into the skillet. Basically it will take 5 minutes to put something together. Same thing goes for rice and pasta, though they do take a bit longer.

If you have potatoes, you can make a really good potato salad, though I actually don't go for mayo. Rather I might use hummus, pesto, or some form of olive oil. Then just add whatever you want that is in the fridge. Though, this is more of a making dinner thing, not a quick meal.

Also, pesto is amazing, and you don't have to have expensive pine nuts in it to be good, (olive oil, galic, salt, pepper, sunflower seeds). I can put pesto on everything.

starseed galaxy auticorn January 21st, 2015 1:25 PM

When I crave something, but we don't have the stuff to make it... I find something else. XD Or I start begging my dad to go into town to get it if we have the money.

Circuit January 21st, 2015 2:14 PM

When I crave stuff I go out and buy it (if I have money). If I can't buy it/make it I just have to suffer or eat something else tasty. Most of my food I cook myself (other than oven food) and can make most food that I'd enjoy eating. Most stuff I crave is healthy anyway, so it's easy to make. Just time consuming, and I'm not patient. I can't really ask my family for food anymore since they live in another country, so I have to make do XD

Nick January 21st, 2015 2:57 PM

I have little self control when I have a craving for something, but I'm super strict with my money now. If I want an iced coffee at McDonalds, I'll go get an iced coffee at McDonalds since they're only $1. If I want fries, I'll get fries. If I want a burger, I'll get a burger. If I want a salad, I'll get a salad.

ANARCHit3cht January 21st, 2015 4:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfieri (Post 8588865)
-snip-
Like for most Hispanics, if we want hot dogs but we don't have hot dog bread, we'll use a sandwich bread to hold the hot dog. -snip-

Wait, what does being Hispanic have to do with that?

That aside, I don't usually run out of resources because in bulk from the dollar store!! Hooray. It might not be the best tasting but if I'm making a sandwich or a grilled cheese or something, the taste of the ingredients really comes together and makes it so that it doesn't taste too cheap.

Alfieri January 21st, 2015 4:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANARCHit3cht (Post 8589048)
Wait, what does being Hispanic have to do with that?

'Cause a lot of Hispanics do that.

Sonata January 21st, 2015 4:58 PM

I will look up a recipe online and cut corners until I get something that roughly resembles the thing I was originally craving. Or I'll look in the pantry and just start pulling out things and throw them together somehow. I can be very creative when hungry or craving something.

Spiff January 21st, 2015 6:41 PM

In Arizona, when we don't like what we have to eat we smother it with salsa. We call it Mexican gravy for a reason.

Skip Class January 21st, 2015 9:51 PM

When you live in a city where everything is accessible I can just go walk to a fast food place or even the supermarket if I wanted to. Especially at uni when my school is pretty much in the middle of town and close to all the food places.
If I'm lazy or it's too late at night, I'll usually go look for alternatives. Like if there's no rice cooked and I want to have scrambled eggs and rice, I'll have scrambled eggs and bread instead.
In any case that there's a lack of the main ingredient (like an egg for scrambled eggs) I can easily just switch to a nutella sandwich or something.

Altairis January 21st, 2015 9:59 PM

Honestly if I didn't have the food I wanted in the house and it wasn't expensive or anything, I could just walk a couple blocks to the supermarket :P I kind of feel lazy if I don't, unless the stores are closed.

Nolafus January 21st, 2015 11:00 PM

I only crave what I have in the house, fortunately. The only real trouble is when I crave something and I don't realize that we're out of it. Then I just pout a little and go back upstairs to my room and pick it up after work the next day, haha.

Lotus the Cat January 21st, 2015 11:35 PM

This happens often when I forget to buy key ingredients for recipes and I just substitute. My worst is that I almost always forget to buy coconut milk for a Thai recipe I really like. On two separate occasions my fix was:

1. Regular milk plus blended parsley from my garden to add texture and thickening

2. Regular milk and dessicated coconut.

They both worked in my opinion. Good enough anyway.

Usually I don't have specific cravings. They're more general like a craving for salty or sweet food. The most specific is when I have a craving for fruit, meat or cheese.

Megan January 22nd, 2015 5:25 PM

When I want pizza it's pretty much:
- buy some "you wouldn't believe it's pizza if it wouldn't say so on the box"
- if it's salami: add tons of salami and cheese
- if it's tuna: add tons of cheese

Or when I feel like fried noodles:
- make noodles
- fry some salami, add ketchup, water, salt, pepper and whatever else I find and wait until the water vaporizes
- add the noodles

Tbh. I'm still experimenting on an ultimate recipe, but I'm getting there. :D

Belinda January 22nd, 2015 6:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfieri (Post 8589054)
'Cause a lot of Hispanics do that.

I can confirm this and my Dad's family always used bread for their beans instead of a corn tortilla whenever I went over to his house as a kid.

alisaie January 22nd, 2015 6:22 PM

When I'm craving something but can't get exactly what I want I will substitute. And just in general I will become creative (perhaps to the point of 'what is this is this edible' to some) with my food to get something close to what I want.

I also have a tendency to use bread for a lot of things. Or a tortilla if I don't have bread to do it with. Considering I'm partially hispanic I suppose it helps supports the whole hotdog bread thing (which I have totally done on multiple occasions).

Austin January 22nd, 2015 6:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spiff (Post 8589189)
In Arizona, when we don't like what we have to eat we smother it with salsa. We call it Mexican gravy for a reason.

I live in Arizona and I have several friends and relatives who do this quite a lot. I personally don't do it; I can't really stand salsa tbh. :/ But I've never even heard of the term "Mexican gravy" lol, that's new to me.

Shining Raichu January 24th, 2015 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfieri (Post 8589054)
'Cause a lot of Hispanics do that.

Yeah but like... a lot of every type of person does that too haha

Bellsprout January 24th, 2015 10:27 AM

Wait, doesn't everyone do these things? Using hamburger bread for a grilled cheese is like second nature if you're out of regular bread.

Alfieri January 24th, 2015 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayselipera (Post 8592057)
Wait, doesn't everyone do these things? Using hamburger bread for a grilled cheese is like second nature if you're out of regular bread.

That's what I thought too but apparently everyone here just goes to the store. Looks like no one will be surviving any stranded islands anytime soon lol.

CoffeeDrink January 27th, 2015 6:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfieri (Post 8588865)
if we want hot dogs. . .

This better be a Nathan's hotdog, and not in a slice of bread. I'm a bit defensive with the hotdog. Anything that is a combination of three animals is not a true hotdog. Get a Nathan's hotdog and you won't be disappointed. But if you put ketchup on everything I don't care if you're going to be disappointed or not (generalization).

Also, fun fact: I've made fruit salad with nothing but tomatos, which I then pureed and poured over pasta. Being mostly Italian, pasta generally doesn't fall under 'improv'. As for sauce, you can't get much out of 'improve' because it can all go great: Olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, a dash of parmesan, alfredo, and quite a few others I can't remember. Maybe it is improv and I just don't know it. . . that could be the case.

Bounsweet January 27th, 2015 10:50 PM

I'm pretty sure that literally everyone will just use some basic ass sliced bread to hold a hot dog if they didn't have hot dog buns, lol...

Anyway, I like to add a lot of kind of random things to food to "bulk it up" if that counts as any improv. I add onions and peppers to macaroni and cheese, I will add like every vegetable in my crisper and eggs to any instant ramen, stuff like that.

If I don't have something to prepare something, I'll either do without it (if possible) or just not make it if it's crucial. I would eat a peanut butter sandwich without jelly, but you won't see me baking any cookies without flour.

Speaking of peanut butter though, I'll add regular peanuts to peanut butter if I'm in the mood for crunchy and we only have creamy. So creative!!


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 5:03 PM.


Like our Facebook Page Follow us on Twitter © 2002 - 2018 The PokéCommunity™, pokecommunity.com.
Pokémon characters and images belong to The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo. This website is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK, The Pokémon Company or The Pokémon Company International. We just love Pokémon.
All forum styles, their images (unless noted otherwise) and site designs are © 2002 - 2016 The PokéCommunity / PokéCommunity.com.
PokéCommunity™ is a trademark of The PokéCommunity. All rights reserved. Sponsor advertisements do not imply our endorsement of that product or service. User generated content remains the property of its creator.

Acknowledgements
Use of PokéCommunity Assets
vB Optimise by DragonByte Technologies Ltd © 2023.