It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a recipe. I have a couple of days off work, so today I have a little time to COOK 1940s STYLE!

As always, I’m having to keep an eye on what I spend so I’ve given myself a task this month, of using up what I have stored away in the cupboards, fridge and freezer to save a little money as we are heading off to Waltham Abbey in October, to walk the marathon for Cancer Research UK. Travel and accommodation soon adds up!

For lunch today I re-created a wartime recipe from the late Marguerite Patten’s book ‘Feeding the Nation’ as it included using beans and I happen to have a lot of those in my larder. The recipe called for haricot beans but I only had kidney beans so I substituted those as any thrifty wartime household manager would have done! The recipe also called for bacon and being veggie, I still wanted to experience the taste of the original recipe as close as possible so I used a packet of ‘Quorn Meat Free Bacon Rashers’ which I first chopped and sauted before adding to the mashed potatoes and beans before baking in the oven.

I served with cabbage, as the recipe suggested, and cooked it in the right way (a little water in the bottom with a lid on to steam for a few minutes).

Hope you enjoy!

Canadian Bake

• 1.5 lbs of small white haricot beans (soaked for 24 hours then simmered in clean water until soft – 1.5 hrs)
• 1 lb of potatoes
• 1/4 lb of chopped boiled bacon
• Dessertspoon of ground sage
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt, pepper and butter
• Crisp breadcrumbs

Method

1. Mash the potato and haricot beans together and add salt, pepper and butter to taste.
2. Mix in the ground sage and bacon.
3. Grease a pie dish and sprinkle with crisp breadcrumbs
4. Place the mash in the dish and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned.
5. Serve with cabbage and gravy.