1940s experiment

The 1940's Experiment

Frugal wartime recipes to see you through challenging times.

A slow return

Everything went wrong and then everything went right. I’m back again but it will be a slow return.

Thank you for popping by, thank you for your messages, for your support and understanding. I had to step back from blogging, social media, and YouTube as I was burned out, chronic pain and fatigue, personal/family worries, and I literally just felt terribly unhappy (not that anyone would have known).

Stepping back from it all, from any extra pressures outside trying to maintain my job/livelihood, enabled me to think, to rest more, to have less to cope with and things began to feel a bit better a few weeks ago. I could see that beautiful dappled sunlight between the boughs of the trees.

As Autumn has arrived, I feel excitement and hope for the future again instead of focusing on negativity and worrying about everything. I LOVE the cool, crisp air, the rain, the autumn sunlight, the orange, red and brown leaves falling and the squirrels returning to the garden.

And just when things were starting to feel more positive, a few weeks ago we had big changes at work and I felt for a few moments that everything was going to come crashing down. I won’t go into detail but after a few unsettled weeks, yesterday I signed a contract for a new role within the company, for a position I really wanted as a “Digital Learning and Engagement Specialist”. The role will bring with it challenging times (for me) but it is exactly what I wanted to be doing.

And with that, this morning I stepped out into the sunlight, into a beautiful autumn day, and walked to my favourite coffee shop, bought a loaf of sourdough, drank coffee, and wrote in my journal while watching the world walk on by and I felt happy, calm and I smiled.

Love to all, C xxxx

COMMENT 6/10/2024

Thank you all for your lovely comments, I did so enjoy reading them all just now xxxx I’ll ease myself back into posting more regularly here and on YouTube but I probably won’t be back into doing videos until nearer Christmas as they are time consuming and I know the next month or two will be very busy with the new role and with doing my diploma too. I do appreciate you taking the time to make me smile xxx

Have a wonderful Sunday, C xxxx

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Stepping back for a while

Dear all, I didn’t just want to leave the blog hanging without an explanation. Everything is OK but I am taking a step back from all my personal social channels including YouTube and my blog. There are a number of reasons including feeling weary/exhausted with maintaining everything in addition to working a full time job and having carer commitments. But mostly I need to focus on myself and my immediate well being and career and financial goals if ever I am to move forward and provide security for myself.

This is not a permanent step-back. This is rather taking control of my life, recognising that things are a bit much for me right now and it is OK to take time out for a while and not feel guilty.

My initial thoughts were a 2-3 week break but I recognise now that I need longer to regroup.

I’ll not be updating the blog until September the 1st, nor my social channels and YouTube.

I then will be returning with energy and passion for the subject I love so much.

I’m still dropping into my Facebook Group 4 or 5 times a day to see if there are any admin duties and to read some of the posts but Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, Pinterest, my Facebook pages and my blog will not be uploaded with any recipes/content etc.

Sending much love and good thoughts, thank you for messages, I will be replying in September after having a proper break.

See you in September, C xxxxx

Rationing Day 29 – I ate 8 points and feel guilty

So I’ve used up all my 16 points for the month now because this evening I had a craving for tinned peaches and luckily “Mr. Bill Brown” (he who runs the grocers on Victoria Road) had a few cans on the shelves when I went shopping yesterday. It’s early days for rationing, I’m sure it will be harder to find my favourite treat in a few more months!

Anyone who loves tinned peaches knows that it’s so easy to eat them all! The tin actually contained 2.5 very small peaches in juice. It was heaven. However, afterwards, I did give some thought to how precious that can of peaches would have been a year or so into rationing when things began to get very scarce. That can of peaches would have been shared among a complete family no doubt. I did feel a little guilty…

So apart from the peaches (which I ate 1/2 an hour ago), what else did I eat today?

Breakfast: Porridge with a spoonful of milled flax and a large cup of tea. I had coffee at work.

Lunch: I wasn’t hungry at my normal lunch time as I felt hot and bothered having walked back from work but when I did eat lunch an hour later than normal, it was leftover stew with some spinach leaves and two slices of bread. I drank water.

Dinner: Again I didn’t feel hungry but eventually ate around 7pm. On my menu I was down for making “vegetable mince” and mashed potatoes but I wasn’t fancying that so instead I had a bowl of lettuce topped with a baked potato (leftover from yesterday) that I chopped up and fried. Enjoyed a large mug of tea afterwards.

Supper: My appetite returned and I craved peaches so had the whole can! Enjoyed my final mug of tea!

I also had some cough sweets as my throat was scratchy and dry today.

Much love, C xxx

Photos of everything I ate today.

I admit, it was hard to not GRAZE on bits and bobs, here and there, as I went about my day.

Although I wasn’t hungry, I still ate my porridge for breakfast with a large mug of tea at 7 am as I knew I wouldn’t be back home to eat lunch until around 1 pm. At the office I normally have a piece of fruit at around 10:30 am but today I decided to go without as I’m trying to establish what is purely habit and what is actual hunger. During the morning at work I also enjoyed 2 cups of coffee! The perks of working is that back in the 40’s, tea and coffee would have been available to purchase from the canteen.

I work from home in the afternoon so as soon as I got in at lunch time I resorted to 1/2 a can of baked beans on 2 slices of toast placed on a nice large bed of salad leaves. I absolutely love my green leaves. Afterwards I had another mug of tea and a sliced apple before cracking on with my to-do list. It’s a BIG one and in never seems to get completed but that is good, it keeps me in a job! I then got hungry again a couple of hours later and ate a sliced tomato and had ANOTHER mug of tea.

As soon as I finished work later I grabbed a medium baked potato (I’d baked earlier) and foolishly used up 2 oz of my vegan cheese and gobbled it down as I was so hungry and then proceeded to make my planned dish which was vegetable stew. I chopped up 1 medium potato, 1 medium parsnip, 1 medium carrot, 1 small onion, a couple of stems of celery, 3 large tomatoes and some herbs, salt and pepper and made enough for a few large bowls. I’ll be having any leftovers for lunch tomorrow with buttered bread.

And that is it so far! Its 6pm and I know in a couple of hours my stomach will be rumbling again, luckily I have a ladle or two of stew I can afford to have and still have some for tomorrow.

Several times today I’ve had to give myself a stern talking too when I almost reached out for a cracker or a biscuit. Hoping over the coming weeks to break that habit.

Here are photos of what I have eaten today. I forgot to take a photo of the baked potato and cheese though.

Thank you so much again for all the lovely comments on my last two posts. I’ve read them all and will try and respond this evening once I settle down for the evening.

Much love, C xxxx

My 1940s Rationing Menu and Plans this Week

You made me cry. You really did. You are beautiful. Thank you. Taking time from your day to offer support on my blog post this morning truly touched me. Your support always does but for some reason that really hit me this afternoon when I needed it. Your positive comments mean the world.

I’ve had a busy day. I visited my parents and then cleaned the house downstairs including yesterday’s washing up STILL in the sink! I also cleaned the gas hob, did the laundry, cleaned the bathroom, and then chatted with a visitor. I also gave JoJo (our remaining Guinea Pig) some love and attention before sitting down with my journal to write down this week,s menu.

Of course, during wartime Britain, after I had written my menu I would have set off early on Monday morning, with my ration book and basket, joining a queue at my local shop to pick up my rations and hope that I’d be able to get the dried or canned goods on points that I needed for my weeks planned menu. Time travel again forward to 2024, and, after writing my menu, I can simply pick up my mobile phone and place my ASDA shopping order and almost be guaranteed to get what I want and delivered, without queueing, the very next day. Quite honestly the modern way of shopping is a Godsend when you work full-time so as much as I like the thought of popping out for a stroll with my shopping basket and a gossip with Mrs. Bridges at number 24, Asda online saves me so much time.

What am I eating this week and what did I buy on points?

I have plenty of staples in my cupboard such as porridge oats and bread. I also still have lots of pulses but nevertheless used some of my points to order 1 lbs of yellow split peas (2 points), 1 lb of haricot beans (2 points) plus two cans of baked beans (4 points). We are currently on 16 points per month at the moment so I’m going to set aside my other 8 points to use at a later date. I tend to buy a lot of dried pulses as they are great for protein and fibre and are low in points.

Here is my menu for the week…

What is the current state of my food cupboard?

Would you believe it I am still on my 8 oz of sugar from week 1 of rationing! I have bought sugar each and every week though as I am stockpiling it to make preserves (see below). I am planning to make some jam and applesauce! Currently I have a good supply of dried foods such as beans and pulses and dried fruit which should last me months. It helped that I already had quite a bit in my larder before rationing began. The things I find a challenge are milk, tea and cheese. I don’t take my egg ration as I don’t eat them but if I did I am sure that would be a challenge too!

Free download coming this week

I have this wonderful pamphlet with lots of pages and information about preserving and canning published in the 1940s by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. This one is the Growmore Bulletin No. 3 and I really hope you enjoy it so please check back as I will post it later this week! For now I thought you might like to see the first few pages!

Much love and thank you once again, C xxxxx

Back to Rationing Day 27 – It’s Rubbish!

What an absolute waste this past week has been. I simply don’t know why I do these things, all I know is it’s RUBBISH, could do better, D minus! Today I am planning the hell out of next week, giving myself a BIG kick up the bum and just getting back on with it tomorrow.

I’ll hold myself accountable and post next weeks menu on my blog tonight, complete with what I am buying with my “points” and post a very quick daily update every evening with a photo of EVERYTHING I have eaten.

All I know if that I am tired of being in pain from the Osteoarthritis all the time and the ONLY way I can lessen it for sure is by actually LOSING a LOT of weight. Quite honestly I feel sadness at times because I’m limited to about a 20 minute slow walk at the moment (which is better than a few painful steps back in February). My mind and self pity is my biggest adversary right now. I hate that so much.

Here’s the thing, there are people out there, that read my blog, who have no choice, who have chronic pain, that is nothing to do with weight and lifestyle. I can’t imagine how you persevere. You are STRONG! I have a choice as I know that dropping 50 lbs will likely have a large, positive impact on my pain and losing 100 lbs could quite honestly see it mostly disappear. That is the reality. I CAN CHANGE my future!

So my friends, readers of my blog, those who have been selfless and kind putting up with my struggles and woes for years and years, thank you for your support and words of encouragement. I won’t shy away from being truthful, I’ll share the good and the bad, the reality of being an imperfect human being who never quite succeeds but NEVER EVER gives up.

I’ll share my 1940s menu sheet tonight and what gentle movement I’m going to do every day to ensure I feel psychologically positive.

Free Download: Patsy, Learn to Cook by Pictures 1940s

I promised I’d preserve all the WW2 recipe books, clippings and pamphlets I was donated by Newquay Zoo and I’m going to try my best to do so, even if I only have time for a clipping once a week, I’ll do it!

I’ve preserved this fun spiral bound booklet produced by the Daily Mirror in the 1940s. Patsy: Learn to Cook by Pictures is a comic book for younger people helping them to learn to cook.

You can download this here. Please can you share the link to my page, I’d appreciate that so much.

Back to Rationing – Day 21, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

Wow! What a difficult 10 days or so. I’ve been struggling with the rationing, I’ll have a couple of good days cooking authentically and then just throw everything up in the air, swear loudly in my head, go and eat a packet of crackers or half a banana cake (that my eldest daughter made) and then have a little cry.

Honestly, I’ve been way sadder then I ever thought I’d be over the death of Truffle (my little Guinea pig). I keep seeing his little pink hind foot in my head and I get so upset. Things were made worse because I buried poor Truffle in his box, deeply into the ground, covered with a heavy slab and rocks around the side but I was devastated a few days later to find that a fox had dug down into Truffles grave and I found lumps of Truffles beautiful fur around the garden. I don’t blame the fox, it is nature, I blame myself and I can’t stop thinking of it in my head. RIP Truffle. I’m sorry xxxx

• I had to cancel my monthly weigh in at the doctors as that was on the day I had to have Truffle put down. I need to rebook this in for a soon as possible so I can keep moving forward (which I’m not doing at the moment).
• I booked 2 nights away in a WW2 Corrugated Tin Cottage used by Land Army Girls during the war. This is near Glastonbury and I can’t wait to stay there in late summer.
• I’ve bought lots of various apples and bought a BARGAIN jam making pan (as it has an imperfect handle position) and bought a few new canning tools and jars. Next weekend we’ll be making lots of apple sauce, chutney and jam!
• I was blown away by an exceptionally generous donation through the blog (I’m not going to mention names as it’s not my place to) to thank me for all the content and it was for me to use on my short break in the WW2 Corrugated Tin Cottage. Any donations that come through are always used for paying for hosting, domains, software, even the odd item of kitchen ware to assist with the recipes so it’s a first to use a donation in this way. My first reaction was to send it back, I couldn’t possibly take it, but I know that we have to learn to accept people’s kindness and generosity. Thank you!!!

Today I’ll be planning my menu for the week. I have lots of potatoes that need using up that I keep in a paper bag in my “war store”. I also have lots of apples stored there too but those are for next weekend when I make preserves. I also have lots of carrots, wilting spring greens (I’ll fry those up tonight for dinner!), some salad leaves (enough for a few days), and onions. I also need to plan my points! I’ll share in full hopefully tomorrow evening.

Much love C xxxx

Carrot Flan – Recipe No. 225

Carrot Flan is a STRANGE recipe and a highly economical one! It is on the precipice of a savoury and sweet dish, it could be either with the addition of other ingredients. For instance if I had added extra sweetener and some cocoa powder, I’m confident this would have made an excellent chocolate pie. I may try that one day.

This recipe was from Ambrose Heath’s, “Vegetables for Victory”. I made the flan case from a standard shortcrust pastry recipe (with a little less fat) and lightly blind baked this in the oven before filling this with the pureed carrot. I didn’t have enough sliced carrot to overlap the rings on the top but hey ho, you get the drift.

Ingredients

• Several large carrots
• Salt and pepper (if you want it as a savoury dish)
• 6-8 oz shortcrust pastry ( 6 oz plain flour, 2-3 oz of margarine, salt, cold water to bind)
• Line a flan dish with the pastry and blind bake at 180 C
• Once baked add the pureed carrot and fill the case placing cooked sliced carrots on the top and glaze with the liquor from boiling the carrots or with some melted margarine.
• Place back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes

I’m Going to Live in a WW2 1940s Corrugated Cottage Built for Land Army Girls!

I can hardly believe it! Just like that, on a whim after watching this YouTube video that was shared in our Facebook Group , I booked it and now I’m going to live in this AMAZING little 1940s WW2 tin cottage for two whole days! To say I’m excited is an understatement…

I’m not visiting until late August but that gives me time to plan how to make the most of my visit which will not only involve a day in Glastonbury (which is just a few miles away) but a full day of cooking some 1940s recipes and filming them (for the blog) and enjoying some beer in the Anderson shelter. Simply enjoying some private downtime to myself.

I’m lucky that the cottage is only about 1.5 hrs drive from my house and my plans are to spend a full day in Glastonbury (I’ve never visited) before checking in at the cottage and enjoying a relaxing evening.

The next day I hope to spend most of it relaxing, cooking and filming a couple of WW2 recipes , hopefully a walk to Glastonbury Tor and maybe a visit to the village pub! I’m so excited! The last time I managed to go away on a mini-break was a stay at a pub near the Uffington White Horse a few years ago. Some time away is long overdue.

From the owners website: (you can check out availability here )

“The corrugated cottage was built in the spring of 1940, around the beginning of the Second World War when Britain felt under imminent threat of invasion. The cottage was built for the Women’s Land Army, or ‘land girls’, who were young women working in agriculture to help the war effort. More than a third of land girls came from major cities, so many rural accommodations had to be built. The cottage is built out of corrugated iron with tongue and groove wooden panelling inside with insulation between. It stands alone beside the owner’s house in some small woods with lots of badgers, foxes and tawny owls!

The cottage is just a few miles from Glastonbury on the edge of a small village called Baltonsborough , including a shop, post office, church and pub within short walking distance across the fields.

The cottage has been recreated in the style of the 1940s, with authentic details such as a forties enamelled range with back boiler, forties utility furniture, a functioning radiogram from the fifties and Bakelite switches and plugs. The kitchen includes an original fifties sink, larder and fridge with a modern electric hob and microwave.

In the bathroom is a claw-foot roll top bath and toilet with elevated cistern.

There is a small enclosed garden with a wonderful view over the levels. The garden includes table and chairs

The cottage sleeps four people, with two bedrooms and four single beds and an additional sofa bed. The bedroom upstairs is reached by a steep staircase and very low doorway with a very low ceiling, so is unsuitable for disabled or elderly people (but brilliant for children!). The house has wireless internet and no television. The house is well-insulated and includes both a coal fire range with back boiler and electric heater.

The house includes an Anderson shelter in the garden. “