An Agent of Universal Order ([info]thekatebeyond) wrote in [info]easier_than_pie,
2005-11-27 15:00:00
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Secret Ingredients

Sometimes one ingredient can make the difference between an everyday recipe and one that people rave about. What secret ingredients do you add to ordinary recipes to make them better?



Chicken salad: onion powder
Egg salad: spicy mustard
Chili: beef boullion (I prefer the Better-than-Boullion brand paste)
Banana bread: 1/4 cup flaked coconut, 1/4 cup currants
Steamed vegetables: add onion and spices to the boiling water beneath the steamer (I usually use basil, but any spice you like will work.)
Soups and stews: a little finely chopped celery leaf; a bayleaf too, which is removed at the end of cooking.
Chocolate cake mix: add 1/2 cup mayonnaise. (I just picked this tip up from my MIL, and I thought it was crazy, but it's great.)
Pot roast: use canned beef broth instead of water in the pan.

That's it for me. What do you do a little differently?

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  • 14 comments

[info]nakedtoes

November 27 2005, 21:04:32 UTC 6 years ago

Chilli powder and cinammon to my favourite recipe for chocolate cake. It's fabulous :) I love the idea about steaming vegeatbles - I'm definitely trying that next time. Thank you!

[info]thekatebeyond

November 27 2005, 21:16:42 UTC 6 years ago

Chili powder? I never would have thought of that. About how much of each do you use?

[info]nakedtoes

November 27 2005, 21:22:06 UTC 6 years ago

For a recipe that makes about a dozen muffins I'd use 1 tsp of cinammon and a little under .5 tsp of chilli powder, but obviously you have to be very careful to mix it in properly. The first time I was experimenting I think I used double the quantity and the muffins were inedible - I had to throw them away.

[info]thekatebeyond

November 27 2005, 22:36:49 UTC 6 years ago

Cool. I'm going to give that a try! (After being proved wrong about the mayonnaise thing, I'm open to trying anything!)

[info]mylittleredgirl

November 28 2005, 20:58:30 UTC 6 years ago

Pretty Much Everything: Spike.

Okay, not everything. But omelettes? Rice? Tuna salad? Anything that's not *sweet* and that you could put garlic powder and/or salt on without going "ewwww" is made tasty and exciting by addition of Spike. Yay!

I must needs find a source of it here in the northwest now...

[info]thekatebeyond

November 28 2005, 21:05:17 UTC 6 years ago

What is Spike? (At first I thought you meant you spike it with liquor, but on second thought, I can't see you making rum omelettes.)

[info]mylittleredgirl

November 28 2005, 21:14:56 UTC 6 years ago

OMG! Spike is an all-natural multi-seasoning spice thing that is apparently not as widespread as I thought it was! It is salty and very good.

[info]thekatebeyond

November 28 2005, 21:23:44 UTC 6 years ago

Ooh, look at that! You can buy it online. Maybe I will try it out!

[info]kirvin3

February 15 2006, 22:17:08 UTC 6 years ago

Beef stir fry over noodles A little shot of rice wine vinegar (otherwise for the sauce I use half a bottle of Kikkoman stir fry sauce and whatever other Asian sauces I have around, dash of this and that)

[info]thekatebeyond

February 16 2006, 21:01:47 UTC 6 years ago

To clarify, are you saying that in addition to the Kikkoman sauce (which rocks, btw) you add the vinegar?

Anonymous

February 17 2006, 21:36:31 UTC 6 years ago

Yes. I use half a bottle of the Kikkoman Stir Fry and then add a dash of this and that of other Asian Sauces - tempura sauce, low sodium soy sauce, and my favorite, Garlic Terriyaki sauce. Then I found that it's even better with one or two small slugs of the vinegar.
the other ingredients are leftover steak (previously cooked to rare) sliced thin, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots sliced thin on a diagonal, and bok choy if it's available. Takes 10 minutes to throw together. Serve over rice or whole wheat spaghettini.

[info]kirvin3

February 17 2006, 21:38:42 UTC 6 years ago

That was me by the way.

[info]thekatebeyond

February 17 2006, 22:37:58 UTC 6 years ago

*facepalm* And I have a bad habit of answering without looking! I answered the anonymous one.

[info]thekatebeyond

February 17 2006, 22:36:10 UTC 6 years ago

Terrific! Thanks! I love the garlic teriyaki sauce too. Mmmm. But I'd have never thought of the vinegar. I'll give that a try!
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