Maybe?

The headline a few days ago in the “Living” section:

Actually, I have spent a good deal of time learning to substitute and “wing it” when I was in a bind! To me, that is a valuable skill and one that took me years to acquire. I used to be stymied if I didn’t have the ingredients or the proper equipment, and I would bail.

“Independent Living,” the renamed “Home Economics” class of the 70’s, taught me to measure perfectly. Use that flat side of the knife to properly skim the flour – after slicing through the measuring cup for air pockets – to get the EXACT amount you were providing for the recipe. I was attentive in class, and I followed directions well. Once upon a time.

All it takes is some time in forced feeding of the masses, aka making dinner nightly for the family, and you learn the fine art of substitution. You also learn that sometimes, measurements are actually suggestions. And if you deal with a high altitude climate, you additionally adjust in other ways. And if your oven is tricky, you adjust for that.

There is no way that anyone who cooks or bakes frequently can exactly follow a recipe, unless they are professionals in the professional kitchen. (As the author of that article is.)

It’s a bit of pleasantry to adjust and make something your own, especially when you neglected the grocery shopping.