Month: October 2009

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Wartime Pumpkin Soup

ALWAYS make pumpkin soup with the smaller, non carving variety! I had stocked up on some honey crisp apples (for pies) and some sugar pie pumpkins and butternut squash for soups from www.indiangardenfarms.net

The pumpkin soup I made today nearly stopped me following through with our thanksgiving meal it was so delicious..

PS: Pumpkin soup WW2 Canada and USA.

Wartime Pumpkin Soup

  • 2lbs pumpkin
  • 1 onion
  • 1 oz margarine
  • salt and pepper
  • milk
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock

Method

Cut open pumpkin and scoop out seeds and stringy insides

Slice and chop into medium/large chunks

Place on baking tray and dot butter or marg over the top (if you had garlic in your cupboard you can add 1 or 2 whole cloves to roast on tray too)

Roast for 45 minutes or so, turning over once or twice (oven moderate/hot about 22o c )

Meanwhile chop onion, place 1 oz margarine into large saucepan and cook onions gently until soft

When pumpkin has roasted remove skin and place pumpkin pieces into saucepan (and cloves of garlic if available)

Add vegetable stock

Bring to a simmer and continue cooking for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally

Place all the contents of saucepan into a liquidizer (or rub through a sieve like they did in the old days!) and pulse until a thick puree is achieved

Put puree back into saucepan, add lots of salt and pepper to taste and reheat adding milk to achieve desired consistancy

(if you are wanting to store soup then put it into containers straight from the liquidizer. Just add seasoning and milk when you come to use it)

Makes about 8 bowls

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OMG – I could die for this pumpkin soup!

Sod the rest of the thanksgiving meal I am preparing…

Just finished the ‘wartime pumpkin soup’ recipe and I am seriously delirious about this magnificent apparition before me…

Because no one was looking I removed every speck of pumpkin soup from my bowl (well I had to test some!) with my index finger.

Check back soon for the full recipe in How-To steps.

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1st comparison photos

I can only see a subtle difference after losing 26 lbs but it’s a start…

When you blog about your weight-loss, especially when you have a LOT of weight to lose, I feel you probably have just about reached the end of the road. You no longer really care if people see your lumpy bits or what people think (although deep down inside you secretly do) but STILL it is painful to look at the photos you keep hidden….I have quite a few that I am still not brave enough to show just yet..

BUT part of my years journey, culinary experiment, awakening or whatever I deem to think of it as, is to record through photographs, thoughts, writing and video

a) What it’s like to live on a 1940’s WWII ration diet just like millions of people had to do not that long ago, and see if it improves my health AND recreate 100 wartime recipes!

b) The reality of facing ones own demons. What was the cause of a 160 lb weight gain? Can I change the eating habits that have caused this? What do people look like as they begin to lose weight? What thoughts run through your head? How do you cope with being a different person physically as you lose the weight?

As much as I find it difficult to share some of my photos and even some of my thoughts it really does also help me along the way…

There is a long journey ahead…

PS: CHECK BACK HERE TODAY: Pumpkin Soup, Apple Pie and Mock Banana Recipes (1940s style)

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Thank you DesBrisay Museum!

I am trying to live as close to 100% on an authentic WWII ration diet as possible to lose 100 lbs in one year. So far by changing my daily diet to eat simply and carefully as families did in wartime 1940’s I have lost 26 lbs over 9 weeks without even trying to diet…

In my quest for authenticity and with ‘Thanksgiving’ looming here in Nova Scotia, Canada, I recently e-mailed the DesBrisay Museum in my local town to see if they could assist me in putting together a typical 1940’s wartime Thanksgiving meal. What could I eat and what couldn’t I eat???

Here was the reply- thank you DesBrisay Museum!

Hi Carolyn:

Your research request has been passed to me for response. On short notice, I have quickly checked with a lady who volunteers at the Legion in Bridgewater to see if she recollects what a family would have at dinner during war time.

She said since she lived in the country they would normally have their own animals, i.e. chickens, turkey, and their own gardens full with vegetables and anything they could grow, such as potatoes, turnip, carrots. They probably had an apple tree in their yard as well and would make apple pie for dessert. She said that country people would be better off than city people who would have to go to a farmer’s market. She said each family would be given ration stamps for sugar, tea, butter etc. they would cash in at the local store for things that they could not grow themselves. We have a sample in the museum of some of these ration books in our military case.

It sounds like they pretty much ate what we eat now.

I would suggest you talk to some seniors at a nursing home but most of them were from the country too. Might be a fun project sometime to visit Hillside Pines and speak with the residents about this sort of stuff.

Enjoy your thanksgiving dinner.

Regards,

Linda Bedford, Curator

DesBrisay Museum

130 Jubilee Road

Mail: c/o 60 Pleasant Street

Bridgewater, N.S. B4V 3X9

902-543-4033 / fax 543-4713

website: www.desbrisaymuseum.ca

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Week 9 weigh in- no change

Start weight: 315 lbs (22 st 7 lb)

Last weeks weight: 289 lbs (20st 09 lb)

This weeks weight: 289 lbs (20st 09 lb)

Week 9 weight loss: 0lbs

TOTAL weight loss to date: 26lb (1 st 12 lb)

Darn, dash and codswallop…. really felt there would be a weight loss this week so have to admit a feeling of disappointment when I jumped on the scales!

Maybe with some exercise increase and a little less bread there will be a decent shift next week?

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A 1940’s Thanksgiving?

Here in Canada, on Monday October 12, 2009 it is Thanksgiving… a day to mark the end of harvest where we all get the day off work and eat a ton of food and get together with families or friends…

So far my 1940’s Experiment has been based on WWII rationing in Great Britain as that is where I have lived nearly all my life HOWEVER I have been living in Nova Scotia, Canada for 5 years now so I think it only right that I mark our thanksgiving this year by doing some research and having a typical meal that Nova Scotians would have done during WWII.

Is there someone out there who knows how Thanksgiving was celebrated in Canada during WWII? What food got put on the table?

I’m off to Google!

C xx

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A Shout Out!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO CLIP

In my last post I mentioned 120 yummy pies but what I didn’t mention was the wonderful ‘Great Scarecrow Festival and Antiques Fair’ that takes place every year in my nearest town, Mahone Bay. Thousands of people arrive to see the wonderful scarecrows on the streets as well as participate in some fabby stuff like the ‘Old Fashioned Pie Baking Contest’ and the traditional pumpkin walk..

I am a proud Mom (when do you ever stop being proud of your kids eh??) as my son did his second student video report for the local newspaper I work for www.southshorenow.ca

If you want to see the great scarecrows and see my son in action (bless him I bet he is really embarrassed now) then click the link above!

Well done Joshie!

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Thank you!

Just a little THANK YOU for the last two months…

  • Thank you for everyone who has taken the time to read a few pages from my blog. In two months that has added up to over 8000 page visits (not including myself)
  • Thank you for the 123 comments left since my blog started 2 months ago
  • Thank you for a recipes and comments on Facebook or by e-mail
  • Thank you for passing this link on..

Without YOU reading this blog or leaving little words of encouragement or sharing snippets of information I am SURE I couldn’t do it.

I am very, very grateful how you have helped me to lose this weight..

THANK YOU XXX

PS: Wanna see the yummy winning pies? CLICK HERE!

 

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Spam Hash

When I opened a can of spam a couple of weeks ago I managed to make it stretch for 5 meals  (2 main and 3 lunches)..

Here was a simple one using a small amount of spam but it nevertheless gave a nice flavour (spam is very salty)

Spam Hash Ingredients (for 1 person)

  • 2 largish potatoes
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1/4 can of spam
  • blob butter/margarine

Method

Wash potatoes

Cut into quarters and boil until firmly cooked, remove from water and cool

Chop onion

Chop up 1/4 can spam into chunks

Take large fying pan add in large blob of butter and heat

Add in onions and cook gently until nice and translucent

Take potatoes and chop them into smaller chunks

Add these and the spam chunks into the pan with the onions and continue to fry and stir

Turn down frying pan and cover if possible and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes. At this stage you can add in some chopped tomato if you like. If the mixture is sticking too much add in a little bit of water and stir

Once cooked served with your favourite veggies!

Serves 1