Vlogtober continues! Today I had Bubble & Squeak (a variation on it actually) for lunch which hit the spot as I was FAMISHED!

I also did some more research into Gert & Daisy and the copyright on their little cookbook. Several people have asked me whether it would be possible to scan the book and create a PDF to share with people. I’d love to do it if I can find the time but have to be mindful of copyright. Now normally a book goes out of copyright in the UK, 70 years after the author has died. The last of the sisters to pass (their real names were Elsie and Doris Waters) did so in 1990. They also had an older sister and a brother.

Elsie and Doris lived together all their lives. They never married or had children so their only next of kin could possibly be children their sister or brother may have had. When they died, the copyright of the book would likely pass to the next of kin. I also looked for the publishers but Withy Grove Press dissolved as a company in 2016. I’ve looked on the Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg but there were no listings.

Therefore I surmise that the book is likely not in the Public Domain and still in copyright until 2063 ish! I will nevertheless see if I can at least share some of the recipes!

I think tomorrow I will look in their cook book and see if I can find a Christmas recipe to recreate so watch this space!

Have a wonderful weekend, C xxx

I’m giving Vlogtober a bash this year! What is Vlogtober I hear you ask? Vlogtober is basically a month when YouTubers create a daily video that incorporates parts of their lives on the run up to Halloween. Vlogtober is kind of the practise run for Vlogmas which is the same thing except it ends with Christmas!

Every day I’m trying to create a video (long form or YouTube shorts) which is pretty challenging due to my full time job and carers responsibilities BUT I love communicating and sharing and if anything this will help me improve my skills AND become quicker plus the fact I get to hopefully share more 1940s recipes and other related content.

If you haven’t subscribed to my YouTube channel, I’d love it if you did.

Much love to all, C xxxxx

As my year of living on WW2 rations draws to a close in early January 2024, I really want my Christmas on wartime rations to be memorable and amazing but also as authentic as possible. From now until Christmas, I’m going to re-create and film several wartime recipes before deciding on which ones to use on the big day!

At precisely 5:22 a.m. this morning, I awoke abruptly with one thing on my mind…MURKEY (Mock Turkey). I had dreamt of it last night and knowing that I had all the very simple ingredients, I was in my kitchen a little after 7 am, brandishing my trusty wooden spoon and wearing my 40s pinny, to have a bash at making one!

Despite the severe shortages, I am sure people would have done their damned best during wartime to have a centrepiece to their Christmas table and if there was no turkey or goose available, or no money to buy one, then this delicious homemade stuffing, turkey-shaped creation would have helped bring a few smiles to the faces sat around the table? You would have tried to make the best of it I’m sure…

Mock Turkey Ingredients

I used half the ingredients below to make a small mock turkey but at Christmas, I will use the full measurements below!

• 1 lb of breadcrumbs
• 1 lb of sausage meat (I used vegan sausages)
• 2 onions
• 2 apples
• Fresh sage to your own taste (dry sage would work too!)
• lots of salt and pepper
• streaky bacon (or a carrot – see my video recipe above)
• two parsnips

Method

• Make breadcrumbs from the bread (I used a food processor) and chop up the sausage, apple, onions, and sage finely (you can grate too or use a food processor.)
• Mix all the ingredients together, they should stick quite well together, and on a greased baking tray, form them into a turkey shape.
• Trim the parsnips and place them into the mock turkey to form parsnip turkey legs.
• Glaze the turkey with a brown sauce and melted margarine mixture (optional). This will help hold it together.
• Add bacon rashers (or thinly sliced carrot) to the mock turkey and glaze again.
• Cover loosely with foil and place at 180 C in the oven for 30 minutes then remove foil and cook for a further 30 minutes or so until lightly browned.
• Remove from oven and stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 12!

Much love, C xxxxx

Cutting my hair was going to be symbolic of losing 100 lbs this year BUT I have been hating my hair so much it has been painful to live with it. To me it is reminding me daily of emotional pain, I couldn’t deal with that for 1 day longer. The hot weather gave me the final shove and today I discarded that pain, 14 inches of it!

Out with the old, in with the new and today I’m 62 lbs down since January!

C xxxx

PS: This length hair will be a lot easier for 1940s hairstyles too!

THANK YOU to everyone! I just wanted to let you know that thanks to YOU, I’ve finally been able to to move my blog off a FREE WordPress platform (after over 10 years!!) to a proper WordPress business hosting platform.

The kind donations through PayPal that I have received via my blog over the past year have paid for nearly 50% of this new plan and this enabled me to convince myself to go for it!!!

What does this mean? Although you won’t notice any differences right now, it does mean that over the next few months I can completely move my blog over to a more up to date professional theme on a staging site and hopefully have the new look website go live at Christmas (when I next have some time off!). Also it will allow the website to have a LOT more functionality and look a lot nicer.

Special shout out to the following supporters who made this happen: Emma, Kim, Kaye, Gwyeth, Irene, Sue, Lisa and Shirley AND to everyone who reads my blog or watches my YouTube channel. You have all helped enormously!

And of course a lovely warm thank you to the wonderful group members over on Facebook for sharing such wonderful daily updates and 1940s recipes and all things 1940s! The group has grown to almost 4500 members in such a short time and truly is a wonderful area for escapism.

Thank you, C xxxx

Dear all, I hope everyone is teaming up for a lovely long bank holiday weekend!

I am hoping to get some filming and a recipe done early tomorrow morning with the hope of posting the video MONDAY night but this will all depend on a number of things! This time I am creating a FREE downloadable information leaflet to accompany the video as I know it might help a few other people like me who have struggled, really, really struggled with overeating and weight gain. I want this to be a REALLY helpful video and resource for people so if it takes longer it will.

Today I am working on personal stuff which could be life changing and I only have a short window to complete so my focus is on that today with the inevitable back log of chores to complete as well as cleaning out my guinea pigs!! I’ve had a hearty breakfast of toast topped with fried vegetables and I’m going to make another large stew to use up all the veggies in the fridge!

YESTERDAY I managed to get out of the house for a while (day off work) and visited Avebury and the standing stones. My packed lunch was a sandwich and a cold baked potato! I’ve been living on wartime rations nearly 8 months now, dropped 56 lbs and feeling a little happier and healthier EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Lots of love, C xxxx

Dear all, I’ve recorded a video regarding my thoughts and feelings around my weigh-in at 7 months living on WW2 rations.

There is so much to say, less time to write but I do promise to try and get more writing done. I have been keeping extensive personal diaries on this year and hope to share parts of them starting during my Christmas break. I hope the content will help people who are struggling with their weight or food addictions like me, or struggling with the cost of living too. This year has been such a journey for many, many reasons. So many of you have been such a support to me. Thank you.

Please take a moment to join in our Facebook group here.

Also please take a moment to check out Sues Blog “A Smaller and Simple Life” – it’s a delightful blog and Sue will have WW2 rationing content coming up which I know will interest you!

Much love, C xxxx

This is an authentic wartime recipe for Blitz Soup from Gert & Daisy’s Wartime Cookery Book.

I had run out of bread so was baking a loaf and really fancied a simple soup for lunch to accompany the freshly baked bread. This recipe was pretty quick and very easy to make. Add lentils or beans for extra protein (or some left over meat trimmings/bones).

Blitz Soup Ingredients

• 1 carrot
• 1 turnip
• 1 leek or onion
• 1 or 2 potatoes
• A few bones
• 1 stick celery
• 4 tumblerfuls of stock or water
• Meat or vegetable extract
• Salt & Pepper

Method

1. Mince all the vegetables or cut them very small (unless you like them chunky like me!)
2. Place in pan with stock or water with seasoning (and bones) and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour
3. When almost cooked add meat or vegetable extract and extra seasoning if required

Serves 2-3 with bread

This is an authentic wartime recipe for Baking Powder Milk Rolls which I found in “Health for All – Wartime Recipes” by Margaret Y. Brady.

I had run out of bread and wanted bread quickly without going to the shops OR spending hours making, proving and baking a loaf! This recipe took about 10 minutes to make then about 20 or so minutes to cook so 30 minutes from beginning to end! Oh and the rolls worked out as costing 4p each for the ingredients BUT more in energy! I did use the hot oven to bake potatoes too so don’t feel quite so guilty!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz self-raising flour ( or 8 oz of plain flour and 1.5 tsp baking powder )
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 pint of milk (I used oat milk)

Method:

Mix ingredients together, gently knead on a floured board, divide into 4, and make 4 rolls, place in moderate oven at 180C – 200C for 20-30 minutes. Set aside to cool before serving.

This made 4 rolls.

C xxxx

Someone shared a link to this video on YouTube in our Facebook Group today so I had to share it with you as it makes for an interesting watch!

In an episode of Tonight, with Trevor McDonald, school children get to grips with eating a wartime diet and living on WW2 rations for 6 weeks!

Much love, C xxxx