So tonight on my menu it said “Baked Stuffed Potatoes”. Normally this would excite me immensely BUT I’ve literally been eating potatoes at every meal on this “Living on WW2 Rations Experiment” and I just COULDN’T eat more again tonight. Instead I had “Apple Charlotte + Jam Sauce” for dinner, so yes I had dessert for dinner and no dinner.

I love a good bread based pudding, preferably with some fruit in it so this Apple Charlotte was easy to make and amazing to taste especially with the jam sauce (which was easy to make too). I obviously ate the whole pudding and enjoyed EVERY-SINGLE-MOUTHFUL!

This recipe is from the “Ministry of Food” War Cookery Leaflet No. 13.

Apple Charlotte

• 1lb apples
• 6 oz breadcrumbs
• 2-3 oz sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg or mixed spice
• 2 oz margarine melted

Method

Prepare the fruit and cut it into thin slices. Mix together the breadcrumbs, sugar, spice and melted margarine. Arrange a layer of the breadcrumb mixture in a greased pint sized pie dish, then a layer of fruit and continue filling the pie dish with alternate layers until all the ingredients are used up finishing with a layer of the breadcrumb mixture. Bake in a moderate oven for 3/4 to 1 hour.

What I did

With there just being 1 of me to feed I halved the ingredients. I had no margarine spare to use so instead I added a little milk with the breadcrumbs. To save on energy I cooked the apple in the microwave before adding it to the dish then cooked the dish in the air fryer, only took 10 minutes or so.

Jam Sauce

• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 2 teaspoons of jam
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• milk

Method

I mixed the flour into a thick paste with the milk. Added more milk to create a thin consistency. Place this in a saucepan and gently heated the sauce adding in the jam and sugar while the mixture is getting warmer. Stir slowly and gently bring to a simmer until you have a nice sauce with a custard consistency. Add milk while heating if it gets too thick.

Day 11 of the “Living on WW2 Rations Experiment” and I feel like I’m wasting away! Obviously I’m being slightly over dramatic here because at around 100 lbs overweight I can afford to eat very little for several months and then some.

This 2nd week has been harder for me. I used a lot of my fats up early in the week making homity pie. Craving a short pastry and tasty potatoes I was generous with my rations for that dish and now I’m feeling the pinch. I needed something tonight that would stick to my ribs yet not use what is left of my dairy free fat and cheese so when I saw this recipe in the Ministry of Foods leaflet on “Potatoes”, it looked man enough for the job, and it didn’t disappoint.

Just a warning that all WW2 curry recipes seem to contain an apple and sultanas, a slug of vinegar and often a teaspoon of sugar. This one did also. I’m not complaining. It tasted good! (although quite frankly most things are tasting good at the moment as I’m feeling a little hungry).

Potatoes in Curry Sauce

• 2 lb potatoes
• 1/2 oz fat
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 medium chopped apple
• 1 small tomato
• 1 dessertspoon of curry powder
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1/2 pint stock
• 1/2 teaspoon of mixed herbs
• 2 cloves
• Pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of sweet pickle or small amount of sultanas
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt to taste

Method

Boil or steam the potatoes and keep warm. Make the fat hot in the pan and put in the chopped onion and apple and fry lightly without browning. Add the curry powder and flour, mix well and add the stock gradually and the rest of the ingredients. Boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, add more water where necessary. Pour over the potatoes and serve at once.

Much love,

C xxxx

PS: I didn’t add cloves and I added some peas.

I’m on a roll! I was doing the tech for live streaming with the USA team (for my day job) less than an hour ago while this WW2 recipe for “Carrot & Potato Hotpot” was baking in the oven. I could smell the delights wafting up the stairs into my office while our ISO experts at IMSM were talking about energy efficiency and carbon footprints while my oven was blasting away at 220 centigrade for just two little pies (I did chuck something in for my daughter too). Yes I did feel a tad guilty (makes mental note to do better next time).

This dish needed more seasoning than I gave it and fresh herbs wouldn’t have gone amiss. My fault really but I wanted to taste authenticity and transport my mind and my senses back to a 40’s kitchen during WW2. I followed the recipe to a tee and of course it was a little bland.

I’m time poor right now so the recipe below is a clipping from a WW2 recipe book. I would suggest to add more salt and pepper than the recipe calls for and bung some other condiments in for good measure. Enjoy! C xxx

PS: Just a heads up to make it clear I am normally not so energy inefficient! This was an authentic recreation of a WW2 recipe (the pies took 45 minutes as I divided into two small dishes). I have a slow cooker, a bread maker, a microwave which I normally use. Please don’t worry!!! 🙂 xxxx C

WW2 Recipe No. 200 has been reached! I was hoping to mark the occasion with something more spectacular but with limited time, last nights dinner will have to do! Actually, this was surprisingly delicious.

I’ve just finished work, and made a WW2 Lentil Curry recipe from the Good Fare Recipe Booklet you can find under the ‘files’ tab on here. Since having my gallbladder out 2.5 years ago I seem to have developed a very WINDY BOTTOM after I eat beans, lentils etc so I’m sure this is NOT going to end well and will regret it. The curry tastes really nice, very mild as the recipe only called for 1 tsp of curry powder and as for the rice portion, just two tablespoons, tiny but authentic! C xxxx

Carolyn | Living on WW2 Rations Experiment Group on Facebook

Here is the recipe for this authentic WW2 recipe for anyone who is single or lives in a well ventilated home. It’s worth the wind, honest!

Good evening! I am reposting this authentic WW2 recipe for “Mock Black Pudding” that I recreated 5 years ago as I made a video recipe of this dish which I’ve added to the page. It was just as delicious this time around, even more so actually!

C xxx

It’s the final day of my first week on minimum UK WW2 rations. I’ve stuck 100% to what I’ve got in the cupboard and to what would have been allocated to me during the war. As a single woman, money would have been tight for me so I’ve made sure to stick with what I budgeted for although I did have to buy an extra cabbage and some carrots half-way through the week just so I had something to eat.

So at the end of 7 days what have I got left to eat?

By this morning I had used ALL 8 oz of fat allocated for the week (margarine, butter & cooking fat) and I had used ALL of my 4 oz of vegan cheese (I had a vegetarian ration so got 4 oz instead of 1 oz). This morning I still have a few teaspoons of loose tea left (I rationed myself to 2 teaspoons a day which made about a litre of tea a day plus and extra mug at the end of the day out of the old tea leaves in the pot) and only used less than half the sugar. I’m making my own oat milk and I didn’t buy an egg being vegan even though I could have had an extra one if I was vegetarian.

Things I noticed

I only bought one bread loaf for the week and it was a struggle to make that last. I found myself filling up on bread. Porridge oats I use every single day for making oat milk, adding to stews or WW2 dishes and also for breakfast at least 4 mornings in the first week. Oats are invaluable. Finally potatoes, every single day, lots of potatoes. The trilogy for me are bread, potatoes and rolled oats plus LOTS AND LOTS OF VEGETABLES!

What did I eat?

Some of the main meals I really enjoyed were, Lord Woolton Pie, Colcannon, Bubble & Squeak, Mock Black Pudding, and Vegetable stews. I had 3 desserts throughout the week. Duke Pudding and the Apple Crumble were delicious, the Beetroot Pudding not so much but you still eat it and enjoy it right? (the teaspoon of Golden Syrup over the top helped!)

How much did I spend?

In the end I spent around £12 something, just shy of £13. Everything lasted except I had to buy carrots (I was using up my guinea pigs snacks) and an extra cabbage. Today I have planned next weeks menu, bought my shopping and it will cost me £12.65 for all my food on rations in week 2 including making my own oat milk.

There is a member of our group who is doing two rationing challenges this and next month! Sue Hall is currently raising money for refugees by participating in a global charity fundraiser for the world’s refugees and is living for one week, on the same rations as a Syrian refugee living in a camp in Jordan. https://www.rationchallenge.org.uk/sue-hall

Please can you take a moment to support her efforts by donating what you can afford, maybe that coffee you didn’t buy this week or if you have a bit extra cash maybe £19 which will buy a food parcel for a Ukrainian family displaced by war.

And if you are struggling yourself and don’t have a few pounds free please offer her some words of support on her blog here https://asmallerlifelivingsimply.blogspot.com/ she has some great posts to read all about rationing!!

Good luck Sue!!!

C xxxx

Just a quick post to let you know that I recreated a WW2 Bubble & Squeak recipe for YouTube a couple of days ago. Yes it looked green and brown and beige but it tasted really nice! I’d do loads more of these recipes if I could find the time but I will try and keep getting some up regularly, it’s so much fun, ESPECIALLY THE WEIRD ONES!

Remember that there are nearly 200 WW2 recipes I’ve re-created over the past 12 years on this page here. Lots of the photos are just so awful but I wouldn’t change them for the world, it reminds me of those times when I was so broke that I’d have to get by with whatever I could beg or borrow!!!

Have a great evening all, I have a Lord Woolton Pie in the oven and I am wasting away…. (that was a joke)

Much love, C xxxx

Our “Living on WW2 Rations Experiment” group is just amazing. Not only the sharing of what we are eating but some really valuable resources! Thank you to Claire Dolman who shared this resource in the group yesterday. I had to immediately share this on here as I know we all struggle with points!

This 40 page booklet “Rationing in the United Kingdom” by the Ministry of Food takes you through EVERYTHING about the rationing and points system during WW2 in the UK and shortly afterwards. It also is a great resource historically as it lists how rationing amounts and points changed for certain foods throughout the years of the war.

It’s worth noting that although the points list is extensive that a lot of items were very scarce and not always available.

Download the complete booklet HERE!

C xxxx

Stay with me, don’t leave yet. This soup is surprisingly delicious (if you like cabbage of course!). Also it only costs about 40p to make 2 large bowlfuls (or 4 smaller ones). Infact, I worked it out that for 1 large bowlful plus 2 slices of bread it cost me about 28p for my lunch today.

This is Day 2 of the “Living on WW2 Rations Experiment” where a group of us HERE are spending a month on the minimum UK wartime ration, endeavouring to keep history alive and to cut our cloth during the “cost of living” rise.

I digress. Despite this soup perhaps looking rather “earthy” and unappetizing to a demographic of people who love more saturated tones, it actually tasted rather wonderful (don’t skimp on the seasoning though!). I will make this again quite regularly!

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

• 1 oz dripping or cooking fat
• 4 oz shredded cabbage (I used savoy)
• 1 medium sized onion (or spring onion or some leek)
• 3 oz carrot grated (1 medium carrot- I pinched another one from my Guinea Pigs stash)
• 1 oz oatmeal/porridge oats
• 1 pint of stock or water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 1 pint of milk (I added half a pint of homemade oat milk)

Method

Melt the fat in a saucepan and fry the vegetables except for the cabbage, gently for about 5 minutes without browning. Add the cabbage and oatmeal and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the stock or water and seasoning and boil gently for 20 minutes. lastly, add the amount of milk you want and heat through.

Serves 2 large bowls or 4 smaller ones.

This cabbage soup wartime recipe broken down by cost

• Cabbage 10p
• Rolled oats 5p
• Margarine 5p
• Milk (homemade oat milk) 5p
• Spring onion or onion 10p
• Carrot 5p

Calories for this recipe using homemade oat milk is around 400 Kcal

1 portion of soup plus 2 slices of bread with a scraping of margarine = 450 Kcal