Surprisingly simple cooking hacks

Though most of us try our best to keep our kitchen stocked for rainy days, you can't plan for everything. Here are some surprising tips that might help you in a pinch.

When a recipe calls for lemon juice and the one you thought was in the fruit bowl has flown the coop, a lime is obviously your best bet should you have one on hand.

A chef's trick for reducing the amount of salt in a recipe is to replace it with half as much lemon juice. If a recipe calls for three millilitres (1/2 teaspoon) of salt, substitute 1.5 millilitres (1/4 teaspoon) of lemon juice and shelve the sodium.

If you run out of vanilla, just as the batter recipe calls for it, substitute an equal amount of maple syrup or a hazelnut or cream-based liqueur.

Making a meatloaf or meatballs, but you're running short of bread crumbs? Substitute oatmeal, crushed unsweetened cereal, crumbled crackers or instant mashed potato flakes.

You've got the vegetables chopped, the meat ready and you're about to fire up your skillet when you discover that you're out of oil. Rub the skillet with half of a potato, and your food won't stick.

You loaned your cake pans to a neighbour, she's on vacation, and you want to bake a cake. Or you're the one who's on vacation, and the supposedly fully equipped cabin in the woods you've rented can't even cough up a loaf pan for the carrot-zucchini bread you crave during your back-to-basics stay. Here are great solutions when you don't have the pot or pan or small appliance you need:

• Ceramic bowls: Use an ovenproof ceramic bowl in place of a cake pan, or try ovenproof cereal bowls for individual cakes. Just be sure to place them on a baking tray before putting them in the oven; bowls can be too hot to handle even with hot pads or a dishtowel.
• Coffee can: A quick bread will bake just fine in a coffee can. Be sure to spray the interior with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour.
• Dutch oven: If you don't have a slow cooker, a Dutch oven will do the job just as well. Combine the ingredients for your stew or braised dish in the pot, cover, and cook in a slow oven 120-180°C (250–350°F) for three to four hours or until any meat in the dish is fork-tender.

Your friends will think you're a genius when they see how cool and calm you can be in a pinch with these creative cooking hacks that will save the day.

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