If Necessity is the Mother of Invention...

I always make sure I have a package of blueberry pancake mix and a big jug of maple syrup in my cupboard for just such a craving, because yes, I have had to eat thin, flat pancakes made without the proper ingredients, topped with thin, watery syrup concocted from water, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. I was walking home from the store the other night... it was almost 9PM and we were expecting a freeze before the next morning, so the Mennonite guy who lives nearby was out collecting the sap from all the maple trees up and down the road that he had tapped. I went over and watched as he emptied the buckets into a big vat that he was pulling along in a little trailer behind his ATV. It looks exactly like water! And only has a very mild sweetness to it. I asked him how it got brown and he said it was mostly from oxidation, just like what occurs when you cut an apple! I never knew that. But it is the syrup that will be made from these trees around me - the same sap that I stuck my finger in and tasted - that is what I will be consuming come spring! I love living around maple syrup makers!!

I like plumped raisins in my agave syrup and a little whipped cream on my pancakes. Yes, improvising is good and I do it a lot. Sometimes things turn out very tasty when we experiment :-) Often food made from scratch is healthier than stuff we buy at the store, too.

saint anne,my stomch is growling.ya,sure,laziness is sometimes my other name.once i had a craving for icecream but was feeling too lazy to go and buy one,so i just took some fresh milk added some sugar to it and also put vanilla essence and put the mixture in the freezer and viola,there my icecream was ready...................

Funnily enough, I made pancakes last night! I haven't had them for ages and got this sudden urge to eat them. I didn't use baking soda either. It would have been great if I could have, but I didn't get to add maple syrup 'cos we don't have any. I did experiment a bit though and the second batch I made had cheese melted into them. I really don't recommend it!

Hi Anne, I have tried mixing stuff with rice when I am very hungry but when I have nothing, I mean when everything is frozen and I want to eat right away, it's either I will just go with ramen...LOL! That is a great job for you! Enjoy!

Yes, one evening I got home from fetching my son and found that my husband had finished the bread so I made a batch of bread rolls and scones because I didnt want to go out again. It meant that we got to eat some whilst they were still warm and at their very best