Month: December 2011

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Merry Christmas

I’m a day late! But we had an awesome Christmas Day, very relaxed and laid back and the first ever year I didn’t have turkey or ham! (I did cook turkey for the kids though)..

Although I didn’t intend to cook a 1940s Christmas Dinner it unintentionally became one….pretty much everything on my plate was fresh veggies!

I’m not sure whether folk cooked mince pies BUT I couldn’t resist making up the mixture so I’ll be making a ration shortcrust pastry tomorrow- can’t wait for that 🙂

Hope everyone had a super day and wishing you much joy and happiness in 2012

C xxxxxxxxxxx

Not sure why it was such fun stabbing parsnips!

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Still losing…

Sorry- I’ve had such an incredibly busy week or two that I’ve not had time to devote to blogging properly but hoping to catch up over Christmas as I have nine wonderful days off..

I weighed in last week and had dropped another 1 lb so I’m down to 264 lbs 🙂 (81 lbs down from my heaviest ever and 51 lbs down from when I started this blog)

I’m still sticking to a plant based diet (there were vegans during the 1940s although not many) as this simply is the quickest way for me to reverse my health concerns like high blood pressure and I’m seeing that improve all the time (much of the time it is now within normal levels)

These days, to reward myself, I try to think of non-food pick me ups and last night I decided to soak my feet in epsom salts, massage them with a peppermint moisturizer, and paint my nails a glorious christmas red and take time to enjoy the twinkling lights on the christmas tree while doing so..

I’ll have a couple more Christmas ration recipes to share this week with you so keep checking back!

Hugs and kisses

C xxxxxxxxxxx

PS: I’ve just realized that I’ve lost 51 lbs but have only cooked 48 recipes! (I promised to cook a wartime recipe for every 1 lb I lost) I’ll have to make sure I add a bunch more ASAP!

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Weigh in: Down, down, down

A  2 lbs weight-loss this week (265 lbs). If my calculations are correct I am now 80 lbs down from my heaviest weight ever and 50 lbs down from when I initially started this blog….
This makes me happy, very, very happy!
What also makes me very, very happy is that my son is visiting for the week, my eldest daughter Jess is happy, my youngest daughter Em played a fabulous Dirty Sheriff Harry (King Herod) in the school Christmas drama production last night AND our Christmas tree is up!
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here in the Hobbit house!
C xxxx
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Wartime Eggless Christmas Cake

Countdown to a 1940s Christmas! Although I won’t subject my family to an authentic austere Christmas I will incorporate many 1940s Christmas recipes and goodies so please check back regularly for recipes such as eggless cakes, mock marzipan, mock icing, christmas pudding, christmas decorations and of course homemade christmas crackers!

This Eggless Christmas Cake is a recipe from the British Home Front during World War II. Eggs were strictly rationed (1 egg per person per week) and many recipes were adapted without them. This makes a delicious small cake..
  • 1 large carrot finely grated
  • 2-3 tablespoons of golden syrup
  • 3 oz sugar
  • 4 oz margarine or butter
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
  • ½ teaspoon of almond essence (or 1 teaspoon of rum extract)
  • 6 oz dried fruit (I used mixed)
  • 12 oz self raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 small teacup of slightly warm tea or coffee (with milk in)
  1. Cook the grated carrot and syrup over a low heat for a few minutes
  2. Cream the sugar and margarine until light and fluffy
  3. Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the syrup mixture and then beat it into the sugar and margarine as if adding an egg, bit by bit
  4. Add the vanilla and almond essence (or vanilla and rum extract)
  5. Add the dried mixed fruit
  6. Fold in the sieved flour and cinnamon
  7. Add some of the tea or coffee if needs be as the batter needs to be thick but moist
  8. Put the mixture into a greased meatloaf tin
  9. Smooth the top leaving a slight depression in the centre to stop the cake from rising too much during cooking
  10. Place into the pre-heated oven at 200C for 15 minutes
  11. Reduce temperature to 160C and cook for 45 minutes (cover with foil if cake is getting too dark)
  12. Cool and decorate with your choice of edible toppings
  • Christmas Cake Toppings & Decorations

    The British government banned icing sugar in 1942. Alternative toppings for Christmas cakes popped up and the housewife had to be inventive. In preparation for Christmas, hard to come by supplies were squirreled away and saved for use over Yuletide.

1940segglesschristmascake

Hey there.. my recipe has just been featured on “Come Dine with Me”..

Click here for the latest piccys of this years Eggless Christmas Cake and some thoughts on “Come Dine With Me” – I doubled the quantities

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1940s Eggless Christmas Cake

Last week I cooked my very first authentic British WWII 1940s Eggless Christmas Cake for a new online magazine.. It was a trial run for me to see if it would taste good and try it out on my kids and see if they liked it too!

Despite my misgivings about cooking grated carrots in Golden Syrup and a Christmas Cake that did not have eggs in – it came out marvellously and made me a meatloaf sized cake that tasted bloody wonderful!

The girls and I demolished it in just two days and I’m afraid half of it ended up in my tummy…

I’ll post the recipe and photo on here next week but in fairness I’d like people to take a peek at this great, free online 1940s UK Radio Show magazine that has some terrific articles in… you’ll also see my recipe

 

PS: I’m still working on the “Home Front Kitchen Radio Show” so I’ll let you know once that is going to air!