my pantry lessons

If you're going to cook and bake from scratch, have a well-stocked pantry.  I'm learning.

They loved the brownies.  More!  Let's make them again!

But no cocoa powder left for the frosting recipe.  No chocolate chips to melt.  Only unsweetened baking chocolate squares in the cupboard.

We finally used a recipe that called for melted semi-sweet chocolate chips, and just added extra (powered) sugar to sweeten up the baking squares.  Chocolate is horrible tasting.  Really horrible.  Without the sugar.  Notice that?  Good for you though.

Anyhow, the frosting recipe we planned on altering called for 2 cups of sugar.  Regular sugar.  I didn't notice this oddity as I was quickly mixing it up.

Then, I noticed.  Eeeww.  Grainy.  There is a reason frosting should be made with powdered sugar, rather than granulated.

We added this and that, trying to take away the grainy taste.  Then we stopped adding and decided to settle. They liked it; I was the one with the problem.

Momma:  "What a bother!  I will surely never print such a stupid frosting recipe again.  Who puts granulated sugar in frosting?

I was mostly talking to myself.  It was getting late and I was irritated.  I didn't intend on spending so much time on the baking.

Peter:  "Mommy!  You said stupid!  That's not nice."

Oops.

Notes to self:

- Buy every type of sugar, every type of chocolate (melting squares, cocoa powder, chips),  and every type of flour.

- Find a website on cooking/baking substitutions.

- Don't be a perfectionist!  It's frosting!  Just frosting!  Not some sculpture or painting.

- Don't call a recipe stupid, even if you've just spent half an hour doctoring it up.

- Use a thesaurus to come up with fancy words for stupid.  Tape the list to the cupboard if necessary.