Final prep for Day One

I've made the trenchmeat pudding for tomorrows evening meal. All I need to do is pop it on to steam for three hours when I get in from work.

Lesson in frugality!

Saturday

I found (again in Bombers and Mash.. it’s a great book, highly recommended) an item about “How to make one pound of butter two”. I HAD to have a try.

I got a half pound of nice local butter from the market, and scurried home to experiment.

As per instructions, I warmed the butter very carefully. I have a plate warmer on my hob, so used that to warm the bowl. It’s very important not to overheat the butter and allow it to “oil”. You need to warm it just enough so you can beat it with a fork into a smooth cream.

Boil a quarter pint of milk, with a pinch of salt, then allow it to cool to “blood temperature”. I took this to mean that you can stick your finger in it and it feels the same temperature as your body.

Gradually add the milk to the butter, mixing thoroughly. Some patience is required to allow the milk to cool enough… I suspect if you don’t it will go horrible!

Leave somewhere to cool.

Voila! Twice as much butter.

I started with just over 8oz of butter, and ended out with 14oz. Ok it wasn’t exactly twice as much, but the volume certainly is, filling a 1lb butter dish very nicely.

I’ve got this nagging feeling this is what butter companies must do when making their “spreadable” butters, charging you as much if not a bit more for about half the butter.

Anyway. Result! More butter for us next week. And certainly a little trick I will be employing on a regular basis.

Friday before Rationing Week begins.

Friday.

Made Nutty Flip for rationing week.

8oz oats, 4oz butter/marge, 2oz sugar, a little salt, 2.5 tablespoons golden syrup.

Note: Nutty Flip is a Lancashire name for Flapjacks. The recipe I use is one I got from my mum.

Finalised main meal plan, as follows:

Monday – Trench Meat Pudding (recipe from bombers and mash) w/ mashed potatoes, beetroot tops & cabbage

1/2lb beef mince and two finely chopped onions, mixed with 2oz shredded suet and 2 cups of oatmeal. Season with salt and pepper. Mix into a thick dough with cold water. Three quarters fill a greased pudding basin. Cover with greased paper, tie down securely. Steam for 3.5 hours.

Pudding to be prepared on Sunday, so only have to pop it on to cook when home from work.

Tuesday – Hamburgers (homemade) from remaining mince.

Wednesday - Pilchards on toast w/ salad

Apple bombes (recipe from Bombers and Mash)

Mix grated raw cooking apples with condensed milk and whip. Add a little orange juice. Arrange in large spoonfuls and top with ground nuts or grated chocolate.

Thursday – Braised Goats liver and onions

Friday – Welsh Rarebit

Saturday – Baked Stuffed Rabbit

Sunday – Bacon and egg breakfast (nice treat with our 2 fresh eggs)

Chicken and bean casserole

Three things.

I was planning my menu last night, and a couple or three things stand out.

1. There is more food there than I thought! I don't know whether I've made an error in the meat allowance. The mince is 10d/worth, which is well within my allowance. Besides making a pie or pudding of some sort with half of it, I was going to make a couple of hamburgers for the day after. The rabbit is also allowed, and I'm making a nice meal on the Saturday when I have the time to mess about. The liver is allowed, so no problem there. I've got chicken. But it's only a couple of boneless chicken legs, not a lot of meat on them. Yet, I have a nice plan for main meals all week, and don't feel like we will be going short. And I'm sure I haven't used all the ration for two people.

2. The more I read, the more I note that main meals were often taken at lunch time, with a tea of bread and butter, a little cake, probably a salad. I work full time. I leave the house before 0730, and commute for an hour each way. We are going to have to do a switchround, with the traditional "tea" being packed up and taken to work for lunch. It makes me realise that in the 40s very few ladies of middle years (hem!) would have worked full time. Even with volunteer war work, or pitching in as an ARP, they would STILL get a hot meal on the table for their husband. Hats off to them! I don't know how they found the time.

3. We rarely eat dessert in our house. The 40s cookbooks I have are FULL of cunning desserts, so I thought we'd try some. I'll post one here that we are going to try early in the week. You might give it a go yourself? I have some apples in the freezer from last autumn, and a tin of condensed milk in my store cupboard. Should be interesting.

Apple Bombes (no sugar)
Mix grated raw cooking apples with condensed milk and whip. Add a little orange juice. Arrange in large spoonfuls and top with ground nuts or grated chocolate.
[recipe from Bombers and Mash]

Getting Organised

Well here goes....

Items in red are yet to be acquired


Meat

1 lb beef mince
1 rabbit
goat liver
2 chicken legs

Ham or Bacon

Store cupboard

Porridge Oats
Green Split Peas
Yellow Split Peas
Red Lentils
Butter Beans

Cereal (some Weetabix and cornflakes)

Flour
Baking Soda
Salt
Dried Eggs
Powdered Milk

Bisto
Suet

1 Jelly

Tins

Condensed Milk
Evaporated Milk
Corned Beef
Pilchards in Tomato Sauce


Preserves

Homemade Jam
Branston Pickle
Bramley Apples in the freezer from last autumn (not pictured)

Dairy & Fat

4oz beef dripping

4oz butter
8oz marg
8oz cheese
6 pints milk

Other

16oz sugar
coffee (limit to 2 cups/day)


Veg (dig for victory)

1 kg potatoes
bunch of carrots
white cabbage
Chinese leaf cabbage
3 beetroot
1 lettuce
broccoli
onions

Bread (1 bought loaf, 1 homemade loaf)

I have started a slide show of the food, which will get updated as the experiment progresses, but for the time being you'll find the first couple of pics to the top-ish right of the blog.

Now to take my list and do a bit of menu planning.

I've been rooting through my freezer, and found that I still have quite a bit of frozen apples and blackberries from my foraging last year.

I think I can allow myself to use them during the experiment, because I think preserved fruits are in the spirit of the thing, even if your 40s housewife didn't own a freezer. If I can spare the fat I might make a fruit crumble.

The date has been set....

Ok, to stop me putting this off any longer, I have set the date. Our experiment will take place week commencing 14th July.

This week I shall be checking I have listed everything I need, gives me a last minute experiment with the powdered egg, and of course, chance to look at a few wartime recipes.

I'll diary the full week so you can see how we got along.