The Ration Book Diet

Occasionally I check a book out of the library that I find I don't want to return.  I re-check it to the limit allowed and then reluctantly return it, sometimes even paying fines.  The Ration Book Diet was one of those.  Not that I'm on a diet or that we're rationing food around here.  I love it more for the history than the recipes, though they are good, too.  The wartime menus and their modern revisions are grouped by season.  I think I'm unlikely to use many of the recipes as they are in general highly calorific, designed to keep people well fed, full of energy and in good spirits.


This book is very much along the lines of Make Do and Mend, which I got for my birthday a while back.  I did my best at the time to make the information about clothes rationing into a strategy for a capsule wardrobe.  However, what one might end up with was too variable to characterise.  Even starting from scratch, the resulting wardrobe was entirely dependent on how clever a person was at knitting, sewing and re-fashioning garments.  There was a lot of wisdom to take away from the exercise even though I didn't come out with the answer I was seeking.

I love books about Britain's experience of WWII, not that I expect it was a very pleasant time. Nancy Mitford's letters (in, strangly enough, The Letters of Nancy Mitford) to friends and family provide me with a more chilling picture of the bombing horrors than movies ever have.   I think I like these rationing books because they make Britain seem more like my homeland, not that I ever experienced rationing, but certainly my Mom used all her skills to make our food budget go as far as possible.  I might add that I would be very sad if Britain were to be more like the US (and it does seem to be going in that direction, rather than towards Europe).  I would prefer that each culture managed to retain its own unique aspects, else what would be the fun in travel?

The Ration Book Diet makes the point that although Britain enjoys far more affluence than it did 60 years ago, this wealth has not resulted in better health.  This is largely true throughout the developed world.  (What on earth does that say about us?)  The British government learned some lessons from the first World War when many potential soldiers failed their physical due to conditions caused by malnutrition. Also, during that war the price of food rose by 60% and people with lower incomes went without; news about food riots was suppressed. The government plans rolled out during WWII were even more important with her capacity to import food and fuel under threat and so rationing and price controls were all put into place. My parents met and married during the war and Mom and my grandparents sometimes talked about their experiences of rationing in the US: sugar, meat and gasoline were things I heard about.   I have Grandma & Grandpa's old ration book around here somewhere. 

The captions read:  Do you remember what John Bull used to look like --  before he was invited to dig for victory and so forth -- and conserve petrol and all that -- and become a fitter Briton, etcetera, etcetera -- and go easy at meals times and that sort of thing -- and join the Home Guard and all -- and help with the harvest and this and that -- and do spare-time work on munitions and these and those -- and lend a hand with defence works and the like -- and be a good neighbour and so on -- and go to it and everything?  Well, just look at him now! 

When I first arrived here in 1995, it seemed to me that people couldn't spend their money fast enough.  I'd never lived in a society that went out to eat, to pubs, to plays or shopped and travelled quite so much.  When the nurses I worked with complained that they never knew where all their paycheques went, I kept my mouth shut.  I didn't know if I was stacking up my savings because I made that much more or because I didn't spend money on facials, convenience foods, a roaring night life or leg waxing (ouch!).    It was an alien culture to me on several levels and whilst I was fascinated, I didn't admire  all of it.  I've come to understand since that rationing here continued far beyond the end of the war and that there were economic hardships throughout the 1960s and into the 70's.  One could understand why people would take the view that 'make do and mend' was full of four-letter words they didn't want to know.  

However, when I read about the ingenuity of how Brits coped with the shortages during the war, it seems very much like the pioneer spirit that Americans are raised to appreciate, only moreso given the war here in Europe.  

We have food experiments at our house all the time!

I can't speak for the southern part of Britain, but from where I stand I wouldn't say there is a great deal of patriotism over here.   The world is changing and the old ideas of patriotism may not be as useful as they once were, but there is a lot to be said for having a sense of community.   

Given that Britain was fighting for its very survival as a nation, I imagine the sense of community was immense. 

I don't want to experience a war in the way that Britain did (or in any other way for that matter) and I'd prefer not to have enforced rationing, but I must say that I like a good challenge far more than I do having none at all.   Any one can spend money, but it takes a bit of creative imagination to solve problems in a different way.

I expect that's one of my definitions of frugality.

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

I haven't seen Vivien for most of January, as her Mom was visiting from Birmingham.  So, when we finally did meet up Monday we had a great time catching up.  We had lunch at Subway, where she'd never been, and then just wandered around Newcastle chatting as we went.  I had decided as another of my 'good intentions' to reduce my salt intake.  I love salty foods and sour.  I put salt on things like pickles and lemon slices, apples, oranges, loads of weird things.  I told Vivien I practically put salt on my salt.  Even though Bill and I eat very little processed foods and so there aren't many other sources of salt in my diet, I did feel that this was pretty silly.  I've done reasonably well at ignoring the salt shaker up until the last week when I caved a couple of times.  So, another plan needed to be put into place.

In The Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith proposed an alternative to salt:

Herb Blend:

1 tsp fresh-cracked pepper
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp whole oregano
1/4 tsp marjoram, whole leaves, dried, work best
1/4 tsp savory, whole leaves, dried, work best
1/4 tsp basil,whole leaves, dried, work best
1/4 tsp thyme, whole leaves, dried, work best
1/4 tsp rosemary, whole leaves, dried, work

Crush all the ingredients together with your fingers, and store in a tightly capped jar.  No need to refrigerate.  Use in any way you like for a little extra flavor in your cooking.


I decided that my first job was to find a dispenser.  I had in mind the large shakers that used to hold red chili flakes at Pizza Hut.  When we didn't find them I described this to Vivien and she said I was looking for a 'flour shaker'.  We turned up a 'sugar shaker' with a Cath Kidston sort of design at Fenwick's for £6 so I had a bench line to beat or a fall back if we didn't find anything else. 

Vivien suggested Lakeland's in Eldon Gardens shopping mall.  We had a blast looking at all the gadgets!  And lo and behold, I found a 'multi-purpose' shaker on sale, down from £4-something to I thought £2.99 but at the check out counter it was all of £1.49.  Big score!

 It is one of those fun gadgets you didn't know you needed.  Press the rubber top and it springs open to reveal the rather general holes.  Press it back down and it keeps the contents dry and air-tight.  Brilliant design.

Now, in no way does my kitchen stores normally include half of the fancy ingredients listed above, but I figured I'd use what I had and add the other to the grocery list, not that I expect to find dried whole leaves anywhere.  I put in 1 tsp each:  black pepper, marjoram, oregano, celery seed, tarragon and 1/2 tsp of Cajun spice.  I may regret that last on top of the black pepper, but we'll see.  I may add the bay leaves and I could have put in cumin or coriander, but I didn't.  Maybe next time!

Do you love salt or do you manage to resist?

Occupy the Kitchen

Note:  Owing to a large number of things screaming for my time and attention just now, I plan to cut back to four posts per week.  I don't love this blog any less, it just needs to take a slightly lower ranking on the priority list for a while.

The first year I was retired I developed a sort of routine to organise my time.  Friday was devoted to the kitchen.  Over time I fell away from this system, trying to cram in 1,000 other interesting things and eventually my routine sort of crumbled. 

However, on one of my more productive days pottering around the house of late, I realised that I spend next to no time in the kitchen.  Over the holidays Bill took over more and more of the cooking - he really likes doing it - and of course I 'let' him.   Now it seems to me that who ever has the lead role of cooking seems to 'own' the kitchen space and we've discovered that this is not a job we share well.  When he tries to help me, it goes awry;  I need to think about what I'm doing and if I have to talk to him I'm bound to screw something up.  If I try to help him I invariably stand in the very place he needs to be.  So, we just take turns doing solitary KP.

Kitchen English, Part I

I've since taken the cooking back, as he has started working on re-decorating the front hall.  I decided I would 'Occupy the Kitchen' (no disrespect to the 99%, I'm largely in agreement.)

Things I do in the kitchen besides cook meals and wash dishes: 
  

Kitchen English, Part II

• unclutter and organise cupboards, pulling out 'unusual' foods (who buys these things?  me!) to figure out how to use up
• put dried beans, lentils etc into clear glass jars on eye-level shelves
• make a batch of cornbread (we buy 5 kg/10 lb bags of polenta)
• make a loaf of bread (in the machine)
• clean the counters using the Braille method (a downside of dark brown mottled surface)
• soak beans, then cook in the crockpot
• water plants
• clean out fridge (finding not so much spoiled food, as odd items I forgot we had - butter, capers, jalopenos)
• clean out microwave and oven (well, the front anyhow)
• un-clutter the 'hardware' drawer
• un-clutter the cleaning supplies under the sink - we have a dozen bottles with 3 mm of liquid in them, but I don't dare combine them!
• pull things out of the pantry - the catch all cupboard; we have a lifetime supply of cling film and parchment paper owing to some sale or other
• clean out the trash bin
• wipe down the outside of the kettle and toaster
• clean and re-fill the filtered water jug
• wash the walls just above the counters and behind the stove, where things tend to splatter
• empty the compost box and wash
• re-pot the rootbound herb plants I bought (dill, basil & chives) for 79p each at the grocery store
• wipe down front of cupboards
• sweep and mop floor
• hang wet laundry on the airing rack (the thing on the ceiling in the photograph above)
• fold dry laundry and take upstairs
• give the cutting boards a good scrub

I'm sure there is loads more that hasn't come to mind  just now.  I know Bill does most of these at one time or another - in fact he's more likely to do some of them.  I enjoyed myself once I got started.  Although the breakfasting end is currently filled with furniture, carpet and curtains from the hall and stairs, the cooking end was set to rights and I was feeling my halo of accomplishment.

Kitchen English, Part III

Do you tend to get out of the kitchen ASAP, or do you like to occupy that space?

The Happiness Project

I decided to pull out my copy of The Happiness Project and re-read it over the course of this year.  I'm not particularly unhappy, but I am the sort of person who is always seeking to improve themself.  I don't know at what point this became ingrained in me, it just is and I don't think it's going to go away.

Not that I want to do 'a Happiness Project'; I'm not even exactly sure what one is.  I just think Gretchen Rubin proposed an awful lot of really good ideas that I want to read again.  For example, she listed her aim in January (that particular January, I guess, but why not every January?) as being 'to boost her energy'.  She aimed to do this by

Going to sleep earlier
Exercising better
Tossing, restoring and organising
Tackling a nagging task
Acting more energetic

This chapter of her book discusses the rationale behind this list and the ways in which she approached doing them.  I had to smile at re-reading about her de-cluttering efforts.  She identified various types of clutter that most of us have had at one time or another: 

-  Nostalgic: about her earlier life***
-  Self-righteous conservation:  keeping useful things out of the landfill, even if they weren't useful to her*
-  Bargain:  purchased only because of the low price, not one of her failings*
-  Freebie:  gifts, hand-me-downs and giveaways**
-  Crutch:  comfortable clothes that no one should be seen in***
-  Aspirational: craft, household or clothing items she only aspired to, but never did, use****
-  Buyer's Remorse:  mistake purchases that didn't get returned**

I could identify with everything on her list to a greater (****) or lesser (*) degree.  Of course, the way Gretchen writes makes it sound all very logical, straight-forward and even easy.  She was after all a lawyer who clerked for Sandra Day O'Connor and she is a very successful author, so she obviously has stacks of self-discipline.

I know I need to go to bed earlier even though it matters not the least what time I get up most mornings:  the later I stay up the more likely I am to eat food I don't need after a filling dinner.  My body says it's tired and wants rest, I want to stay up and so I feed it to 'give it more energy'. 

I started out exercising better but one running club day I had a slightly traumatic visit to the dentist and it threw me off my schedule.  I've never been as habitual since.  I'm apparently easily knocked off balance these days.

I made a start at filling some charity bags, but when Bill began re-decorating - as we planned - the resulting chaos, well, I don't want to talk about the rest of this.  Let's just say I haven't mastered January's list in spite of it almost being February!  Gretchen writes about having a checklist where she adds a new habit every week, but it just doesn't work that way for me.   Still, they are good ideas.  And I enjoy reading about her optimism.

Are there any books you tend to pull out at the start of a new year?

Turkey Pie

A couple of weeks ago Bill made turkey pie for dinner and I can't begin to tell you how delicious it was.   Neither of us tends to use recipes as a rule, though he did consult his Mom's cookbook to make the pastry - and excellent pastry it was, far better than mine.  In fact, it was up there with the lightest, flakiest pastry I can ever remember eating.  I asked him about his methods ostensibly to write this post, but really because I wanted to know his secret!

For the filling he just threw some cubed cooked turkey and sliced mushrooms into some white sauce and filled the pie shell with this.  He consulted instructions for a sausage pie (yum!) and baked his for 10-15 minutes at 400 F, then at 350 F for another 30 minutes.



I have much to learn about photographing food, but you might be able to use your imagination to help me out.

Shortcrust Pastry
4 oz plain flour
pinch of salt
1 oz lard
1 oz margarine
4 tsps water (approx.)

Mix flour and salt together.  Cut the fat into small knobs and add it.  Using both hands, rub the fat into the flour between finger and thumb tips.  After 2-3 minutes there will be no lumps of fat left and the mxiture will look like fresh breadcrumbs.  Add the water a little at a time, stirring with a round-bladed knife until the mixture begins to stick together.  With one hand, collect it together and knead lightly for a few seconds, to give a firm, smooth dough.  The pastry can be used straight  away, but it's better allowed to 'rest' for 15 minutes.  It can also be wrapped in polythene and kept in the refrigerator for a day or two.  When the pastry is required, sprinkle a very little flour on a board or table and roll out the dough evenly turning it occasionally.  The usual thickness is about 1/8 inch; don't pull or stretch it.  Use as required.  The usual oven temperature is hot (425 F).

We ate half of the pie with loads of steamed veg on the side and we're just pulling the other half out of the freezer to finish it off.  I'm really looking forward to dinner tonight!

Do you ever have savoury pies at your house?

Chaos

 

Bless him, Bill has spent most of this week patching cracks, lifting carpet and painting.  The goal is to redecorate the front hall, stairs and upstairs landing and all the doors of the rooms opening out from them. 

It's a big job not only because of the height of the stairwell but because of the masses of books we've managed to cram into two bookcases.  There are several other bookcases in the box room that I started clearing out to make room.

Once I started asking myself if I wanted to re-read some of those books in the next week I was amazed at how many I was prepared to ditch.  Also, how behind I am on reading the books we've acquired from the massive library sell off and from Christmas gifts Bill and I each received.  I may not need to visit the library for some time.

I've just finished being held hostage by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I'd put off reading these books because I thought the timing of the death of their author was so sad.  I saw it at the pub's trading library and plowed in as soon as I finished Truly Wilde.   I am not sure if I can recommend the book or not.  My dentist, seeing me carry it in from the waiting room, commented that the movie was said to be as brutal as the book, but as I was only on page 5 or so, I had no view.  What I would say is, don't start this book if you have anything else you need to do....like help shift books and bookcases.



Devastated!

I can't believe it!  The other day on one of the very rare occasions when I watched TV and - even rarer  - watched the news and weather (I tend to just look out the window), the weather forecaster mentioned that the Northern Lights might be visible in Northern Britain.  I took this to mean the outer reaches of Scotland and did nothing about it.

Bill's very talented friend, Graham, spent hours at Whitley Bay, just up the coast from us - I've shown it to you several times - and shared his photo of Aurora Borealis on Facebook, the first we realised what we'd missed.  This led me to look on the internet and find these photos on The Telegraph website.

It's something I've always wished to see, though I've not booked a trip to Tromsø or anything (where the above photo was taken).  It needed not only the sun's activity producing the beautiful light but also a cloudless night, another rare event here in Britain.

In fact, I remember years ago camping out at Bellingham (in the wilds of Northumberland) at a friend's house with other members of my running club the night before a race.  There was an enormous BBQ - I've never seen so much meat or so much beer and wine - and at some point I wandered down to the riverside for a spot of quiet.  I looked up and saw so many stars I had to go fetch some of the others to share the beauty.  I was astonished at how many people my age remarked that they had never before seen the Milky Way. 

I may have to figure out how to get email alerts for when the Northern Lights might be visible again, not that I imagine Bill sitting outside for hours to wait for the possibility.  I also don't have a camera with the capability of capturing the beauty should it present itself.  So, perhaps I should settle for photos.

How we lower our sights...