Thriftlady's wartime experiment

recovering_spendaholic · 22 June 2007 at 9:57PM

Hapless wrote: »

yup...bleeeurgh

you can still get it.

I absolutely love Camp Coffee - When I was little in the late 60's my Dad used to make it with half milk and half Carnation and a little bit of water - I thought it was wonderful and still do!! This thread is really great! I have always been fascinated by Wartime rationing and am going to try and incorporate some of the stuff into our diet! I noticed the Stork Wartime Cookbook mentioned earlier - does anyone know if this is available to buy anywhere? I was born in 1963 and remember loads of people who didn't have a fridge, and one of my Auntie's used to use lard on toast which used to make me shudder!

astep70uk · 22 June 2007 at 10:15PM

thriftlady wrote: »

I've bought the kid's sweet ration.They(shop-not kids) wouldn't let me buy 3 oz of sweets, smallest amount I could get was 100g :rolleyes: So I chose 100g of rhubarb abd custards, 100g of acid drops and 100g of cola bottles. I've weighed them out 3 oz each- doesn't come to much (good )Next time I'll choose some other old fashioned sweets like barley sugar and sherbert lemons.

thriftlady - thought you might like to see a photo I took in an authentic 1900s sweet shop in Beamish Museum.

You can also buy the sweets online here

Fantastic thread by the way :T

Sweet_Pea_2 · 22 June 2007 at 10:25PM

This thread is fantastic and Ive been reading with interest.
I was reading some of the recipe ideas out over the tea table yesterday(from "We'll eat again")
When I mentioned some of the suggestions for sandwich fillings such as mashed potato and yeast extract, DD's faces were a picture! (Marguerite says "You may think that some of these ideas will surprise the family,but you'll like them!")
When I mentioned "Carrot sandwiches for a change" - cook diced carrots in curry sauce until tender enough to spread easily with a knife, OH pipes up "Dont even think about cooking any of the recipes in that book!"

I am going to ignore him actually, because there are some really nice ideas in there, Ive been through the book and marked them all with pencil and intend to try out a few next week, carrot cookies as mentioned earlier will be included.
Its a good job my OH was not around in the war I think he would have starved, but I would love to give it a go. I also have the book of the series "The 1940's house" also mentioned earlier in the thread, and the family found it really hard, but they were take away and junk food eaters and didnt usually bake or cook much from scratch.
I have questioned my mum and she cant recall eating mashed potato sandwiches, but she did eat a lot of bread and jam and bread and dripping which she said was wonderful.

DanceInThe_Dark · 22 June 2007 at 10:31PM

Love your thread and how I wish my mum was alive so I could tell her all about it (she died just before christmas).
Well done for sticking to the rations. Funnily enough when my Dad mentions going shopping he always says he's going for his "rations", perhaps its something left over from when he heard his parents say it?

Very interesting to hear everyone elses stories and to hear about bread and dripping!
I know mum said her Mum bought cows udders from the butchers as they werent rationed...
YUCK.
MIL still eats Brawn on toast....DOUBLE YUCK

thriftlady_2 · 22 June 2007 at 11:05PM

Sweet_Pea wrote: »

This thread is fantastic and Ive been reading with interest.
I was reading some of the recipe ideas out over the tea table yesterday(from "We'll eat again")
When I mentioned some of the suggestions for sandwich fillings such as mashed potato and yeast extract, DD's faces were a picture! (Marguerite says "You may think that some of these ideas will surprise the family,but you'll like them!")
.

Funny you should mention this, I've just been reading that very page in my book. I think mashed potato and marmite with chopped parsley sounds delicious

full of vitamins. Pilchard, leek and mash was another I fancied trying.

My lot are used to having everything made from scratch, so rationing hasn't really registered with them. My only worry is that we're going to run out of butter before Monday. It's not me or the kids, but OH who likes a bit of toast of an evening. There's plenty of bread but not much butter. I feel like Gracie Fields in that song about the butter

Chorus:
Everybody pinches my butter,
They won't leave my butter alone,
And nothing is better than butter,
For keeping the old man at home.
Everybody says I'm old-fashioned
To sit on the things that are rationed.
You can pinch all my ham,
And my plum and apple jam,
But please leave my butter alone.
Verse:
I've got a nice friendly face,
I think you'll agree,
But folk are always popping in to have a cuppa tea,
You may think I'm old-fashioned,
When I argue and shout,
But it's not wars and politics I worry about.

Topher · 22 June 2007 at 11:10PM

Well done Thriftlady, just caught up with your thread tonight. I often use a wartime rationed diet (not so much these days). Have you tried any of the British restaurant recipes? We still eat savoy cabbage stuffed in layers with sausage meat, the sausage meat itself is stretched with breadcrumbs. Love it.
Topher

thriftlady_2 · 22 June 2007 at 11:15PM

Where can you find British Restaurant recipes Topher ? I'd love to see some. The cabbage sounds delicious but I'm the only one who likes it :rolleyes:

meanmarie · 22 June 2007 at 11:27PM

Thriftlady, this thread is wonderful...I am enjoying the recipes and the reminiscences so much.

When I was a child, people often referred to food shopping as going for the rations. I am intrigued by the inventiveness with which women fed their families and salute them in retrospect...it shows how true the old saying is that ' necessity is the mother of invention'

I am much impressed with the workload people carried on what many to-day would consider an inferior diet..I think that was why people could eat so many fats and not suffer any ill-health because of them.

Can't remember what someone called bread and sugar with boiled milk on top...it was called ' goodie' in our house and was often fed to young and old who were unable to tolerate anything heavy or needing chewing.

I remember Virol as being a very popular thing to give to children in winter to boost their stamina or immunity or whatever...the thing my mother favoured was called something like Robelene...I was a very precious child as the two sisters born in 1936 and 1943 died as tiny infants and my parents were determined that I should have every health promoting chance that they could afford.

Sleep well

Marie

chardonnay_2 · 23 June 2007 at 12:56AM

awwh, just realised i had got to the end of the thread. i have really enjoyed reading this especially with all the stories. well done so far thriftlady.

thriftlady_2 · 23 June 2007 at 10:17AM

Hard to believe I've been at it nearly a week now.

Today's menu
Breakfast was toast, butter or jam and apples.
I'm going to try a recipe for chocolate spread for tomorrow's breakfast which they can have on their toast instead of butter. Will let you know what it's like (on page 85 of We'll Eat Again).

Lunch -Soup (mixed veg plus barley and lentils/beans) with a heap of croutons and maybe crispy bacon bits and lots of bread.
Strawberries.

Tea- Raised pork pie, potatoes and salad. The pork pie is actually made from sausage meat and bacon. Last time I made it was for a picnic and it was excellent and made enough for two slices each so we'll have some for lunch tomorrow too.
pudding -rhubarb and orange jelly -an orange jelly made up with juice from a tin of mandarins and pureed stewed rhubarb + the mandarins.

Recipe for Raised Pork Pie

You need an 8 inch cake tin with a loose bottom.

Make the hot-water crust pastry:

Melt 4 oz of cooking fat or dripping in a saucepan with ½ pint of water.
Pour onto 1 lb sifted plain flour and 1 tsp salt.
Mix well and keep warm.

Make the filling:

Mix together
1 lb of sausagemeat
6oz finely chopped bacon
1 grated apple (my addition)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp of whatever fresh herbs you have (I shall use parsley) or ½ tsp of dried herb.
Salt and pepper -I add some mace too because I like it savoury pies.

Assemble the pie

Knead the pastry until smooth and pliable. Roll out two thirds of it to line the bottom and sides of the tin. Fill with filling.
Roll out the rest of the pastry and press on top of pie (wet the edges).
Make a cut in the lid for steam to escape. Use leftover pastry to make leaves etc if you like.
Brush with beaten egg if you can spare one -I don't bother.

Bake at 180C/Gas 4 for 2 hours. Serve cold.

Adapted slightly from The Victory Cookbook by Marguerite Patten.

I'm going to make another recipe from this book which is one of my regulars -Eggless Chocolate buns. It needs some marge or butter, but I think it will work with oil (I'm using a bit of oil as part of my cooking fat ration). The kids need something for their lunch boxes and they make a good weekend treat.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=2333718&postcount=3

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Thriftlady's wartime experiment

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