Thriftlady's wartime experiment

MRSMCAWBER

Lower fat suet pastry :j I adore dumplings, suet pastry..in fact any pastry ...potatoes...Im a serious carbohydrate junky so I will be giving that a go..

I got the victory cook book when I was last back in the UK for a couple of £s-but haven't really used it yet - i will sit this afternoon and pick out any likely looking recipes I can have a bash at

My mum used to (and still does) make savoury meat roll -like a swiss roll so there was shortcrust pastry in the middle too -but because it soaked up the flavour from the filling we never realised what it was when we were children:T -I still make it -and its one of our faves and uses very little meat ... plus its super yummy

sandraroffey

i use the wartime cookbooks as well. they are really good. i remember my nan keeping chickens so when i was little we often got fresh eggs (she didnt live in the country but a lot of people kept chickens then) and i have an over riding memory of when i was about 4 (i am 61 now) of walking into her tiny kitchen and seeing a stool upside down on the table with gooseberries straining through the jelly bag, ready for the jam. she grew the gooseberries as well. and red currants. and she had a small over type thing that was set into the side of the chimney of the coal fire in the front room.

i now make all the stuff she used to make. i have turned into my grandmother!!!!

mardatha

I was just sitting here yesterday thinking about Teviot pie, which I love. ( I live near the Teviots ) came in here to find somebody mentioned it and now I have a recipe. Thank yooo ladies !

tesuhoha

shetitasatic wrote: »

My Mum was in service before the War, and was always a frugal and inventive cook. She used to make a 'wartime omelette' with breadcrumbs added to beaten eggs and water/milk. This made quite a substantial omelette and I still do this sometimes. She also made a version of bakewell tart using ground rice and almond essence instead of ground almonds.
I was born in 1947 and remember rationing - I had my own card for sweets!
My Nan and Grandad lived in the country and had 1/4 acre garden. They kept chickens and grew everything they needed. I remember Nan making fowl pie when they had to kill an old layer. She boiled the hen first and then let it go cold. She skimmed off the fat on the surface and used this to make the pastry - it was deep yellow and just melted in the mouth! My nan made her own wine - I remember the corks popping on the dandelion and burdock kept in the pantry under the stairs!
I remember getting up at 5am to go mushrooming - the best ones were in the fields where horses had been.
She picked most things that grew wild - little wild strawberries, loads of blackberries for b'berry and apple jam and bramble jelly, crab apples for jelly
elderflowers and berries for wine and stinging nettles to cook, and sloes for sloe gin.
She used to make 'sad cake'( a sort of lardy cake?) and potato cake in the rayburn, I only wish I had the recipes.
This all makes me realise how much I miss my Mum and my Nan, and how hard they worked to give us such a good upbringing in difficult times

This so reminds me of my mum. She used to make bread, grow vegetables, including potatoes, pick wild fruits for pies, make marrow whiskey and tea wine. She used to make jam and chutney, gooseberry fool, all from the fruits and veg from the hedgerows and garden. She had no washing machine, just a mangle and a boiler. All this along with a part time job.

My dad was a forester and he used to bring home rabbits and pheasants for her to cook because the lord of the manor person gave them to him when he had a shooting hunt.

Pink_Fairy_2

I love this thread!

I've got We'll eat again and The Victory Cookbook, simply because I am fascinated with that period of history and used it for Reminiscence Therapy at work. Now I need to get them out and check out some of the recipes.

DH is in the process of constructing a raised bed for vegetables, and I've said I would like a couple of chickens once the garden is finished. We've got to finish the end of the patio as we want a greenhouse as well.

I think this thread is going to be very popular in my house in the current economic climate! I'm only getting the chance to read it as I'm off sick with a cold.

Thank you for a great thread. BTW How is your original experiment going?

Pathfinder Pudding is in We'll Eat Again.

thriftlady_2

Hi Pink Fairy.

The experiment only lasted a fortnight I'm afraid. You need to rummage through the thread to find the end.

I do think about having another stint on rations now and again. I cook ration-style recipes quite often.

Glad you enjoyed the thread.

Sue20bracknell

Well what a wonderful thread, I have spent the last few days reading this when I have had the opportunity. So many wonderful stories, made me think of being a child in Liverpool and my dear old nan, things like in the morning having toast and first of all marg went on it, then "best butter" over the top to hide the marg taste and how she had very weak tea with a tiny drop of milk. The cooker in one of the photographs I am sure was what my other nan had. I remember being on the bus with my mum and her pointing out the very many places that had been devistated by bombs. My dad telling me stories of being evacuated and how he had to use a slate for his school work. Such wonderful stories ... thankyou all
Sue x

moanymoany

Sue20bracknell wrote: »

Well what a wonderful thread, I have spent the last few days reading this when I have had the opportunity. So many wonderful stories, made me think of being a child in Liverpool and my dear old nan, things like in the morning having toast and first of all marg went on it, then "best butter" over the top to hide the marg taste and how she had very weak tea with a tiny drop of milk. The cooker in one of the photographs I am sure was what my other nan had. I remember being on the bus with my mum and her pointing out the very many places that had been devistated by bombs. My dad telling me stories of being evacuated and how he had to use a slate for his school work. Such wonderful stories ... thankyou all
Sue x

Interesting what you say about slates. I started school in 1953 there were more than 50 children in my class, we had slates that we used. Very OS when you think about it, constantly re-usable and a slate pencil lasts for ever!

Pink_Fairy_2

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but for a real War time experiment, try checking on BBC iplayer for The Coal House at War. This is the second series (1st being in the 30's) and is set in Stack Square, Blaenavon, near The Big Pit, which is about 20 minutes away from me. 3 families, plus some Bevan boys and a few evacuees - great viewing! (certainly beats Big Brother).

suzywoozy_3

That's a really interesting program. I'm going to be showing my kids it.