Month: September 2012

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Victory Tea Party- You are invited!

NOTE: VICTORY TEA PARTY HAS BEEN POST PONED UNTIL 100 lb WEIGHT LOSS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED… NEW DATE WILL BE POSTED SOON!!

Well my year living on wartime rations is drawing to a close. I have 15 more wartime recipes to cook and will continue to exercise and eat as they did in Great Britain during World War II and finally weigh in, take my measurements and probably shed a few tears on October 1st…

The blog WILL NOT stop! I love this too much! Although after October 1st I won’t be living 100% on wartime rations anymore, I’ll still be recreating recipes, doing more research into rationing and the home front and will spend time on building a resource for schools as well as writing that book!

To kind of celebrate the end of rationing and a victory against morbid obesity, we’ll be having a VIRTUAL VICTORY TEA-PARTY (thank you to Lili for this GREAT idea!) here at my home (just the children and I) and on the blog where we hope many of you lovely blog readers will send photos in of your wartime celebratory victory food!

Send your name, country, recipe name, website address (we’ll link to it) and of course your photo to 1940sexperiment@gmail.com and put in the subject line VICTORY TEA PARTY… I think it will be GREAT fun!

At 3 pm (Atlantic Canada Time) which is 7 pm (GMT) in Great Britain we’ll have a live virtual chat open on the front of the website with your wonderful photos and I hope we can all enjoy a 1940s Virtual Knees Up and Gossip! There will be wartime sound effects and tunes for you to listen to and YES the Hobbits and I will be enjoying a real celebratory tea-party at that time in our little home..

Hope you can come

Please spread the word, the more the merrier and we’d love to see you..

SHARE this page on Facebook or download the below PDF poster 🙂

CLICK HERE TO OPEN AND SAVE POSTER

“We’ll meet again” real soon!!!

C xxxxxxx

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Weekly weigh in – 19 days to go

My two eldest Hobbits

I lost just 1 lb this week…. mehhh. Let me say that again…. “I lost 1 lb this week”…… YIPPEE!  Every lb lost IS a triumph..

I guess it’s a little disappointing that I’m not going to reach my target of losing 100 lbs in 1 year BUT this is a social/culinary experiment with no calorie restriction but rather a lifestyle change and even if on my final weigh-in day (October 1), I am 15 lbs short of my goal I HAVE to be pleased, really pleased, and I will be.

This morning I had my blood pressure done. OK I had been flitting about before hand so it wasn’t an ‘at rest’ reading but a big smile etched itself on my face when it came back at 130/75 and my pulse 55. Perfectly normal and my pulse nice and low. My heart is no longer struggling. Seeing as I am still 70-80 lbs overweight, this is

My youngest Hobbit with her brother

simply wonderful. I remember a year ago the readings were 176/88 and my pulse at rest raced at 85.

I AM healing myself. I’m gonna be around for my kids… 🙂

GOAL by October 1st, 2012: Live for one year using wartime food rations- 100 wartime recipes re-created- lose 100 lbs of fat

To date: 225lbs, 74 lb lost- 84 wartime recipes re-created

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A simple life

I won’t go in to too much detail on what a simple life I lead (I’ll save that for the book I’m trying to write- LOL!) but needless to say there maybe people who could end up being quite horrified when they eventually do…lets just say my 1940s Experiment has been pretty authentic in many respects not just culinary (no I haven’t used gravy browning on my legs)

Life throws us challenges, mine tend to be mostly financial BUT there are always ways to “mend and make-do” and live a very simple life where you can get by on much less money than you’d imagine. I’ve done this out of necessity but actually really enjoy my less wasteful life (at least my portion of it anyway). When the children have all left home there is no doubt in my mind I will be living in a small, very basic, off-grid home, maybe even with limited power and I don’t even mind heating up all my own hot water. Things like this simply do not bother me….. its bred into me somewhere I’m sure!

I tidied my 1940s cupboard tonight and it struck me how bare it must look to some people. I’ve got organic porridge oats, organic flour, some good old Lyle’s Golden Syrup (that was so popular during the war), Marmite, Bisto, a little jam, split peas, lentils, raisins, dates, tea, some cocoa and spices. But this is perfectly adequate when I add all the fresh vegetables and fruit and of course me meat(less) ration.

Cooking from scratch using fresh wholesome food instead of processed convenience food (or eating junk food) is surprisingly cheap… I did a price comparison with my pre-1940s diet – CLICK HERE for “Will eating a diet based on wartime rations save you money?” and I ended up saving nearly $10 a day..

I never got to dig my own victory garden this year, which was shame, as it’s so easy to grow ones own food and it allows you to consume super fresh organic produce for a fraction of the cost of store bought food. Time seems to be against me as always…..in 2013 I’ll make time.

Well it’s time to head to bed, it won’t be long until midnight but I wanted to write a blog post as this message from Samara inspired me earlier

“Carolyn,Just wanted to stop by and say hello. I found your blog almost by accident (or divine intervention!) six weeks ago as cooking frugally was put upon me to feed my family suddenly and without any warning. I just kept remembering stories of my grandmothers during the war and soldiering on in the face of adversity and with little money or food to be found. The thought of semi-rationing (or at least serious portion control!) was the idea. I was trying to do lots of recipes from memory, as that is how most were handed down to me, so finding your blog was a godsend. The added bonus of cutting almost all of the processed food out of my diet has resulted in a 10lb weight loss in a month. That might not seem like a lot but I and am hypothyroid and the weight packed on in the last few years and nothing takes the weight off! It is the first weight decrease in years! I need to lose about 60-70 more pounds just to get into the top end of the normal weight category. I want to tell you that your blog has inspired me that I can lose weight and cook for my family and live on an ever decreasing budget. Sam x….”

I do feel we can learn so much about budgeting, mending and making do and nourishing ourselves on limited means through everything that is remembered and written about the home front in Great Britain during World War II. A less wasteful and more sustainable way to live…

C xxxxx

 

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Gingerbread men

I’ve been looking at my diet after feeling ikky on the treadmill the other day. I also took time to absorb some thoughts and suggestions from kind readers of my blog and came to the conclusion that I’m not getting enough fat and my diet is devoid of refined sugars except if I cook a dessert or bake and then I tend to use my ration but share whatever I make…. without thinking I am not having my full ration of fats and sugar (although I am sure on the home-front, some of the sugar would have been saved and put by for celebrations and preserving)..

Sooooo I decided that I needed to have a good nosh on something with fat and sugar in and enjoy a treat while drinking lots of cups of tea.

I chose a wartime recipe for gingerbread men. These were DELICIOUS!

(listen for my youngest Hobbit saying…. “you are sooooo lame…” tee hee)

Gingerbread men

  • 2 oz sugar or Lyle’s golden syrup
  • 2 oz margarine
  • 8 oz plain wholewheat/wholemeal flour
  • 2 level teaspoons of ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon of all spice or cinnamon
  • few drops of lemon essence
  • 1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tablespoon of tepid water

Method

  1. Melt the syrup (or sugar) and margarine in a pan.
  2. Pour into a bowl, add some flour, the spices and lemon essence.
  3. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the tepid water and add to the mixture
  4. Stir in then keep adding the flour
  5. Roll out the dough until about 1/8 inch thick and cut out the gingerbread men. There should be enough to make 10 small men
  6. Cook in the centre of an oven at 180 C for 15 minutes
  7. Cool and remove to a wire tray
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Ration Book Goodies and Treadmill Baddies

I got a little pressie from my ex-in law’s, Dorothy and Simon. How cool is this! A perfect little replica of a ration book keyring 🙂  I’ve hung it on my bag with the “Equality Now” keyring that my youngest Hobbit Em bought me from the recent  “Can’t Stop The Serenity” event in Halifax  which unfortunately I had to miss…

Yesterday, my Hobbits spent the day in the city as their Dad had his commitment ceremony with his partner Deborah. This involved 5 + hours of driving back and forth and was such a busy day that my evening meal consisted of a dry toasted bagel from Tim Hortons and fruit on the go..I had a huge lunch earlier though of spinach, raw cauliflower, tomatoes, kidney beans and raw peas

Today, I have felt literally sick with hunger, I even had to nibble food during the night. I ate fruit first thing, a large bowl of porridge oats with ground flax seed and apple puree mid-morning and a large slice of wholewheat bread an hour later. Then it was time for “Week 6 – Run 1” of my “Couch to 5k” program. This session looked pretty easy compared to my last run (which was 20 minutes running non-stop) and consisted of 5 minutes brisk walk, 5 minutes running, 3 minutes brisk walk, 8 minutes running, 3 minutes brisk walk, 5 minutes running and finally 5 minutes brisk walk. This time I decided to increase my walking a running speed by 0.5 mph. So I walked at 3.5 mph and jogged at 4.5 mph on the treadmill at a 2 incline..

It started off well enough.. 3.5 mph is a perfect walking pace. The first 5 minute jog at 4.5 mph went well, it was tough but was fine. After a 3 minute walk it was time to run 8 minutes. The first few minutes were OK and then I began to feel really quite sick, like I was going to throw up. I’d never felt like this before, I drank water and pushed through it but I think I possibly looked green… after another 3 minutes walk I did a further 5 minutes jogging at 4.5 mph, it wasn’t so bad but still felt nauseous…

It was the TOUGHEST run I’d done to date when I wasn’t expecting it and the only thing I can think that may have made me feel this way was low blood sugar. Maybe my metabolism is going through a hyper phase!

Needless to say that once I’d cooled off and ate a HUGE lunch I felt 100% better!!

Roll on the weekend- I wanna go hike! Not sure where yet but I’ll find somewhere!

 

C xxxxxxx
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Oatmeal Pastry

I’ve used this simple recipe most recently for my prune flan and also mock apricot flan but it would be as suitable for a savoury dish..

Oatmeal Pastry

  1. Sift 6 oz of self-raising flour (or plain flour with a teaspoon of baking powder) with a pinch of salt.
  2. Rub in 2-3 oz of cooking fat and then add in 2 oz of rolled oats.
  3. Mix with water and use as an ordinary shortcrust pastry
  4. Bake in a moderately hot oven
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No weight loss – still running

Ackkkkk.. once again I’m disappointed. Last week I did well and lost 4 lb but no movement on the scales this week..

However my fitness continues to improve and my clothes definitely continue to get looser! I like that feeling…the downside is that my BUTT now gets sore when I’m sitting in one place for too long. I’ve rediscovered my coccyx…it sucks! Hee hee!

Yesterday I completed run 3 on Week 5 of my “Couch to 5K” program and ran a total of 20 full minutes (2.5 km) on the treadmill at 4 mph and set at a 2 incline (the theory is by adding a small incline it would be similar to the extra effort needed to run outside). Everything bounces, I’m not a pretty sight, BUTT (you see I did a play on words there) I can’t believe I can run again. I try and hit the treadmill 3 or 4 times a week now for at least 30 minutes and at weekends take some long walks or go for a hike. I LOVE challenges..

I’m fairly confident that I can reach my goal of running 5K by October 7th on the treadmill however running off the treadmill is so very different and much more difficult. At the moment I can’t even run 1/2 a km outside. I’m going to try and do more track work and just try and do my best

C xxxxx

PS Is anyone else doing or done the “Couch to 5K” or who jogs? I’d love to get your feedback….maybe you can share some tips. Did you have difficulty running off the treadmill when you had done most of your training on it?

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Corned beef with cabbage

Before turning vegan, I made this dish an extraordinary amount of times because

a) I LOVE cabbage….simply go crazy for the stuff and often crave it for breakfast too. Hell I even think a cabbage brassiere would be jolly wonderful!

b) Corned beef is salty and tasty if you try not to think about all the ikky stuff that goes into it, a little goes a long way

Now I don’t eat meat and instead, sometimes, use plant based alternatives for my ration so I can re-create many of the recipes. This came out really well using a meatless ground beef.

Here is the original wartime recipe for

Corned beef with cabbage

  • 1 tin of corned beef (I used 1/2 lb of meatless ground beef)
  • 1 lb cooked potatoes chopped
  • 1 lb of cabbage (or more) shredded
  • 1 onion or 1 leek chopped
  • 1 cup of vegetable water (use the cabbage water)
  • dessertspoonful of flour
  • seasoning and herbs (although you probably won’t need salt if using corned beef)

 

Method

  1. Put the shredded cabbage in a little salted water, bring to boil and simmer in a covered pot
  2. Cube your potatoes (still with skins on) and boil in a saucepan until cooked
  3. Chop up your leek or onion and place in a pan with a little cooking fat and cook until lightly golden, add in the cubed corned beef (or meat alternative) and cubed potato and continue to saute for a few minutes
  4. Add the vegetable water and stir and slowly add the flour to thicken
  5. Add seasoning and herbs to your own taste
  6. When cooked serve on a bed of cooked cabbage
  7. Serves 4-6
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Mock apricot flan

Carrots were utilized a lot during WW2..

They were promoted as a secret weapon against the enemy enabling pilots to see in the dark and civilians on the home-front were encouraged to eat up their carrots to help them see during the black-out and children warmed to “Doctor Carrot”- the children’s best friend.

Carrots were also rather sweet when cooked and used as a replacement for sugar or other foodstuffs in short supply because of the decrease in imported goods.

Today I tried carrots in a “mock apricot flan” recipe from the Ministry of Food. It was incredibly sweet and perfectly acceptable and I’m sure rather popular during WW2. I made mine into small mini-flans and served them with some mock cream

Mock apricot flan

  • 1 lb finely grated young carrots
  • 4 drops almond essence
  • 4 tablespoons of plum jam (6 tablespoons in North America)
  • 4 tablespoons water (6 tablespoons in North America)
  • Shortcrust pastry/oatmeal pastry/potato pastry

Method

  1. Line a large 9 inch flan dish or pie dish with shortcrust pastry (or make small individual pies like I did)
  2. Bake without filling in a moderate oven for 25 minutes until golden brown
  3. Meanwhile place the grated carrots, jam, water and almond essence into a saucepan
  4. Bring to a simmer and cook gently and stir for around 20 minutes until you achieve a thick pulp
  5. Spoon into the cooked flan case and return to oven for 5 minutes
  6. Serve with custard or mock cream

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Volunteering makes me happy

One of the greatest pleasures, since moving to Nova Scotia, here in Canada 8 years ago, has been the enjoyment integrating into the community via non-profit organizations, festivals and events  in our area. I am PASSIONATE about what Nova Scotia has to offer tourism. Over the years I’ve volunteered, fundraised, done publicity and media, chaired or just been an extra pair of hands for some great local events or places such as, The Settlers Museum, Mahone Bay Wooden Boat Festival, Mahone Bay Classic Boat Festival, Mahone Bay Father Christmas Festival, Mahone Bay Wooden Boat Society, Mahone Bay Civic Marina, Mahone Bay Pirate Festival, Growing Green Festival and the Friends of Oak Island Society.

ALL these organizations run on the goodness and freewill of unpaid volunteers. Without them our festivals and events would not thrive and would soon become obsolete. They still do… the struggle to maintain volunteers is a constant one so please consider offering to be an extra pair of hands or to be involved and pre-event organizing. These events NEED YOU!

I digress…

My biggest integration at the moment is as a founding director of the wonderful “Friends of Oak Island Society”. We formed our non-profit group to promote and educate people on Oak Island and it’s mystery and we work closely with Dan Blankenship and the Michigan Group (equal partners in Oak Island Tours inc which are the current treasure hunters) to provide monthly tours to the public from June until September. It’s the only opportunity the public now have to set foot on the island. Oak Island is the site of the worlds longest running treasure hunt. The island is private but hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world are fascinated by the story and the many theories surrounding it. Is it Knights Templar via Henry Sinclair,  Spanish treasure, Sir Francis Bacon or is there nothing there at all? But there IS something there, an extensive huge network of flooding systems and tunnels… millions of dollars have been spent but yet the island has not given up her mystery.

Today I am out on the island again. We have an awesome visitors centre we resurrected, all hands on deck. One day I even turned up to help out and found 89 year old Dan Blankenship up on the roof with hammer and nails laying the roofing. So today I’ll do my session in the visitors centre and enjoy watching people from all over the world, descend on us and then go out for the 2 hour guided walking tour around the island (lots of exercise!!) to all the places of significance. It’s great exercise and I never grow tired of listening to our awesome tour guide Charles Barkhouse, share his knowledge.

Enjoy your weekend!

C xxxxxxx