Emergency substitutions

So, here you are in your kitchen with plans to create a fabulous dish for your dinner table, only to realize you are missing a key ingredient. A trip to the market for one little item does not seem a good use of your time, so you wonder if you could just substitute a different ingredient. Good news! It is often possible to fudge your ingredients a bit without affecting the final outcome of your dish. Here are a few such substitutions that might just save your bacon!

• 1 cup cake flour or sifted flour = 1 cup minus 2T all purpose flour
• 1T cornstarch = 2T white flour or 1 1/2t arrowroot, rice flour, or corn flour
• 1T baking powder = 2t cream of tartar plus 1t baking soda
• 1 cup brown sugar = 1 scant cup white sugar plus 3T blackstrap molasses
• 1 cup corn syrup = 2/3 cup white sugar plus 1/3 cup of water
• 1 cup sour cream = 2/3 cup sour milk plus 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup cream = 2/3 cup mik plus 1/3 cup unsalted butter 
• 1 cup whole milk = 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water, or 1 cup reconstituted dry milk plus 2 1/2t butter
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk = 1T vinegar or lemon juice plus milk to make 1 cup. Let stand five minutes before using.
• 1 whole egg = 2 egg yolks for use in custards or puddings, or 2 egg whites to replace oil in breads when reducing fat content is the goal
• 1oz square unsweetened chocolate = 3T dry cocoa powder plus 1T butter
• 1T fresh herbs = 1t dried herbs
• 1 small fresh onion = 1T dry minced onion
• 1T prepared mustard = 1t dry mustard plush a splash of vinegar
• 1 garlic clove = 1/8t garlic powder
• 1 cup tomato juice = 1/2 cup tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup tomato sauce = 2T tomato paste plus 3/4 cup water
• 1 cup butter = 3/4 cup oil in most recipes...not intended for pastry