Day 3

Leftovers Day!

Not much new to put up for today.

Breakfast

Porridge again!

Lunch (late)

Quick corned beef sandwhich (light on the marge)

Dinner

Leftover steak and kidney pie with bubble and squeak made from yesterday's leftover mash and cabbage (tastes even beter cooked a day later).
Last of the Brown betty for desert...  went to bed stuffed again.

Day 2

For the first half of the day paula was at work so only had to cook for myself.  It is important to note that many (or in fact most) people were fed luch at their workplace or school with no effect to their rations.  This means that rationing is tighter for me than it actually was in reality during the war.  In addition to free food at work people could also buy food at cafes, restaurants etc which also had no efect on their rations.  To prevent profitering by restaurants the government imposed strict rules on how much could be charged for a meal.

So where as the average person in the 1940s had to get 14 meals each a week from rations I have to make 21.

Breakfast

Porridge and tea again!

Lunch


Corned beef fritters, bread and a little marge.

It's begining to dawn on my that most of the wartime diet consists of brown discs.... Extremely tasty though.

Dinner

Steak and kidney pie with mash and cabbage.  Followed by leftover brown betty.

Basically this is the same as the traditional recipe.... but with more kidney than steak (just used half our diced beef) and with wartime recipe pastry.

A note on gravy....

We've had to cheat a little on the gravy.  As this is our first week we are starting out without many of the things that would be kept in a wartime kitchen, one of which is the juices saved from cooking meat.  This would be saved each week to cook the next week's gravey.  Bisto was popular during the war but as very different to the product we have today.  Wartime Bisto contained only dry stock (like oxo), seasoning and thickener.  This product (also known as gravy browning) has proved almost impossible to find today, modern Bisto contains mainy more ingredients including fat and can be used as gravy alone without having to mix it with meat juices.

So until we have enough stored stock, and preferably a source of traditional gravy browning we have to compromise.

Day 1

Only Bacon, ham and butter rationed?  Chance would be a fine thing... Unfortunately for us we are sticking to mid war rations when all meat, fat and sugars were in short supply.

Breakfast

Deciding to start off frugal and save the best for later in the week our first breakfast was the staple for much of the war...

Porridge and a pot of tea. Although Mr Woolton at the food ministry would disaprove we spared a little milk mixed with the water for the porridge.

Lunch

Bacon turnovers, toast and Bovril, tea (re-used leaves from this morning).

 

 Recipe from original wartime leaflet.

Not much to work with for 2 people....

 

Surprisingly very filling (thanks largely to the flour). 

Shame the tea was so weak.

Afternoon snack

As Paula is at work this afternoon I decided to have a snack that doesn't dip in to the rations (except a little marge) and as I was getting some mash ready for this evening I made a little extra for some potato cakes.... with of course a fresh half pot of tea.

Dinner

To continue the frugal theme of the day I baked some bubble and squeek for dinner - for those who don't know.... leftovers (usually cabbage) and mash, fried or baked and served it it with gravy and veg.

And for desert I made a Brown Betty and served it with a little custard (actually really nice).

Oh and of course some more tea (second brew from leaves)

End of first day and feeling very full... and have eaten almost no fat and far less sugar than normal.

Preparation

D-day -1

Our first weeks rations

Planning the shop

The shopping list was based on some research I have been putting together to work out exactly what food you got on the weekly ration.  Most of the information is quite easy to find... some other parts, like exactly how much meat you could buy for 1s 2d took a little longer.  The quantities of various foods available on ration varied throughout the war so I have worked with averages on several items.

This is what we get each week per person

Meat

Bacon/Ham 4oz (100g)

Meat to value of 1s 2d
e.g. 2 small lamb chops
or 2 pork chops
or 1lb 2oz (540g) mince
or 1lb 2oz (540g) stewing steak

Offal is not rationed

Plus... Subject to availability – off ration but scarce. (estimates based on original accounts)

1 Small piece of fish e.g 1 kipper, 1 small cod fillet

and

2 sausages
or ½ a rabbit
or 6oz (150g) corned beef

or 3oz corned beef and 1 sausage etc.

Fat/Dairy

Whole Milk 3 pints (skimmed and semi not available)
Butter 2oz (50g)
Cheese 4oz (75g) – English hard cheese only e.g. Cheddar, Red Leicester etc.
Marge 4oz (100g)
Cooking fat 2oz (50g)

Sugar 8oz

Sundries

1 pint worth dried milk
Preserves 2oz (50g)
Tea 2oz (50g or 18 tea bags)
Eggs 1
Dried Egg equivalent to 3 whole eggs (1 ½ oz - 45g)
Confectionery 3oz

Monthly points 16 (need to research more items available)

= 1 can tinned fish
or 1can tinned meat
or 2 lb dried fruit
or 8lb split peas.....

Off ration and in plentiful supply – As much as you like.

Offal
Wholemeal/national flour
Brown bread (white not available) - Availability varies at certain times and areas
Potatoes
Oats
Fruit and veg (usually home grown – Dig For Victory!)

Just 2 rashers of bacon each for the week... 2 wafer thin slices of ham each.  Lucky enough to get hold of a sausage each!... things are looking up!

A chop each for next sunday, some stewing beef and a couple of pigs kidneys.

Cheese, butter, lard and marge.

Although this looks like a lot of fat it is in fact nowhere near the average weekly intake of today.

Think thats a lot of sugar for two people? You are likely to eat as much by yourself with the modern diet... it's even in savoury food these days.