Thriftlady's wartime experiment

jennybb

Good luck, Thriftlady. I read something about this on another forum somewhere last year - will try and remember where

I am not sure I could motivate myself to do this - but I'll read your thread and perhaps it will inspire me - especially if it involves weight loss :j

By the way - could you share some rabbit recipes please?

I am with you on tripe - a childhood friend's dogs used to get fed tripe - I can smell it now (where is the smiley for fingers down throat?!) I guess if it were served up looking pretty I might give it a go.

I'll follow this with interest.

hev_2

I shall be watching this thread closely, and I may try it (well, an adapted version). I have the Marguerite Patten books, and some of the recipes sound so tasty.

I am awestruck that housewives of the day cooked from scratch (very little option to do other), cleaned (and soap was rationed!) and had to queue for practically everything, bringing their own paper bags. What I didn't realise is that so many women were called up for war work as well. Not to mention the pressure to do all the other stuff, like the allotment (especially if the man was away), make do and mend - I can barely cope and I have all the modern conveniences!

Not only is it a frugal idea, but it is also healthy and really good for the environment.

Thank you for starting this thread!

Hev

[Deleted User]

What was also very good during the war was the 'extra's that went around .They was a lot of swopping of food-stuff, as not everyone likes the same things .Onions were like gold dust and my Mum hoarded hers with an eagle eye .I never tased butter until I was 12 so I didn't miss what I had never tasted. A little went a long way though, and NO one left anything on the plate. Chickens were far too valuable to eat if they produced eggs, and almost everyone either had a chook or a family member had one .
Condensed milk was popular spread on bread or toast .But you didn't have marge as well it was one or the other . The fact that almost everyone was in the same boat made it better I think. Now and again my Dad would come in with something that he had managed to get hold of. I never saw a banana though, and when they arrived in the shops after the war you had to queue just to get one ! My Dad used the skin to clean his shoes with, as it made them nice and shiny. My Mum would have sold her soul for a lemon though as she loved lemon tea .Everything was used and most of the dustbins were virtually empty as if you couldn't eat it then you could burn it on the fire for heat.No central heating in those chilly days .It was a wash in cold water in the morning and a very fast trip to the outside toilet for your abolutions .No loo roll, ,just a bit of newspaper on a string.:eek:
A large green bar of Fairy washing soap doubled as soap to wash with, and my Mum grated some into a jar with some hot water tosoften it down and thats what washed our hair .no shampoos or conditioners . The washing was done in a big tub or boiler and a dolly blue bag tossed in .My job when I got big enough was to poke this boiling mass of clothes with a long dolly stick .Then when it was got out you had to rinse it in cold water and then turn it through the mangle . Sometimes if she was flush we would go to the wash-house where Mum used to say 'Block your ears up lassie and take no notice of what you hear' Worse thing to say to a nosy little sprat like myself .The womens conversations was so interesting, and at times I suppose a bit rude .
I learnt a lot in the wash-house!! :eek: I loved my childhood for all the hardships and shortages we were never short of a cuddle, and if your Mum wasn't well, a neighbough would always help out. The Mums all looked out for everyones children and if a hungry kid was at the door it would get something ,usually a bit of bread and jam.
No one thought of H&S,the fact you had survived the previous night's bombing was a result. I ate many things as a child I wouldn't dream of touching now ,but then when your are hungry you will not be so fussy. I must admit that Tripe was something that I ate, but couldn't stomach today. I have a choice now the only choice then was take it or go hungry. It's a good idea to try to experiment with a war-time diet ,but you wouldn't want to do it for any prolonged length of time . My Mum had six years of it, and then when the war finished we still had rationing until 1953-4 She was like most women of her era ,very hard-working and inventive with what she had .We never went hungry though we might have felt as though we could have had more .'Seconds' never happened in our house at all.:rotfl:

sylphraven

thriftlady wrote: »

‘Grow fit not fat on your wartime diet ! Cut out ‘

Menu for yesterday

Breakfast - little pancakes made with sour milk (very wartime) and golden syrup, orange juice

Sour Milk? am I just being a bit slow, or are these actually made out of gone off milk?

Sounds very interesting, never looked into ration recipes before, popping to my Grandads on monday so may ask to borrow my Nans recipe book, I know she had war time recipes in there & she was very creative with her cooking.

:T Thank you for the carrot cookie recipe, shall have to give it a go to see if I can get some veg down my eldests throat without him really knowing:D !

sairy2005

I was born in 1946 when my Dad came home from the war. We lived with my Grandparents for two years as there were no houses for us. They were promised homes fit for heroes but ended up with heroes fit for homes. My Dad was one of the lucky ones. He could have been invalided out after Dunkirk but chose to go in the medic instead so lived out the rest of the was in the relative peace of a hospital in Ireland.

We had one room plus a bedroom for us 4 (I had a brother). And my Grandparents had another bedroom. No bathroom or inside toilet. My Gran kept a shop so I guess we didn’t do too bad. Grandad was dying of cancer so he had to have all the sugar ration. I never tasted sugar until I was about 4.

When we got a house I used to help my mother do the shopping as rationing was still in force until 1954. I remember getting 8ozs of cheese and so much bacon and sugar. This was then delivered by the delivery boy on a bicycle in the afternoon.

Dad kept chickens for eggs and meat and rabbits as well. He always told me that they weren’t our chickens or rabbits we were eating as the postman came and killed them when I was at school and we swapped them with his! I believed this for years.

We always had dogs and cats but not sure what they were fed on, scraps I expect, but they seemed healthy enough.

I had a marvellous childhood. We were poor but as Dolly Parton said we didn’t know we were until some one told us. Every one was in the same boat. We never wanted for any thing it was possible for my parents to provide.

thriftlady_2

Thanks for your reminiscences Jackie, I was hoping you'd pop in. I'm not sure I can manage without lemons either, but since I'm aiming for the health aspects of a wartime diet and not the deprivation bit I may cheat

I've not managed to make soup for lunch, just had some ofOH's tuna on oatckes plus a carrot and apple. I haven't had time to do much else as I've been baking for my school tuckshop (not with my rations). I suppose that could count as voluntary work like the WVS. I haven't got round to my bread baking yet either because I've spent far too much time typing away on here;) I'll do it when the kids are home as I won't be able to get on the computer then :rolleyes:

Glad so many people are interested in my mad little experiment and now I've really got to do it, so thanks for the motivation:T

thriftlady_2

sylphraven wrote: »

Sour Milk? am I just being a bit slow, or are these actually made out of gone off milk?

Yes this wasn't actually a wartime recipe but it's something I make regularly, they're like Scotch pancakes. You can use sour milk for lots of baking -soda bread and scones are good. The milk had only just gone off so it wasn't like cheese. I used it for muffins too. I think a wartime housewife would have made scones or something with milk on the turn.

Talking of waste, it was illegal to throw out food fit for human consumption during the war. People were fined for putting bread out for the birds.

Churchmouse

My word, thriftlady, you've really sparked some interest here!:D

Looks like this is going to be one busy, well-read thread. Good luck to you in doing it, and it's lovely to read other's reminiscences of the time. A really fascinating experiment.

Plum_Pie

Apple Cookie Recipe

Exactly like Thriftlady's carrot cookie recipe only substitute apple for carrots and don't add the milk as the juice from the apples will be adequate.

Cinnamon or nutmeg and raisins can be added to the batter if desired.

thriftlady_2

Churchmouse wrote: »

My word, thriftlady, you've really sparked some interest here!:D

Looks like this is going to be one busy, well-read thread. Good luck to you in doing it, and it's lovely to read other's reminiscences of the time. A really fascinating experiment.

Well, I can't back out now can I ?:rotfl:

Thanks for the recipe plum pie will be trying that too just wondering about beetroot cookies now:think: