Where do I begin? I’m currently on extreme rations while trying to understand what is going on with intense, upper-right abdomen cramps yesterday. I ended up in Urgent Care, had a long, long wait, but received lovely care, treatment, blood and wee tests, and a referral by the surgical team for an Ultrasound scan. Oh, and they gave me strong drugs (codeine phosphate) in case I had another attack.

All is absolutely fine, and the hospital feels it is likely to be a post-gallbladder removal syndrome where there can be spasms of the sphincter or a change in concentration of bile salts (among other things), even several years after having your gallbladder removed. This makes sense to me as it feels so similar to the pain and cramps I had in 2019 and little cramps and tension I’ve had since then over the years too.

To cut a long story short, I’m going to avoid massive stews with lots of beans and lentils, keep to smaller meals and make sure that they are fairly low in fat, keep a food diary for a week and see if I get any further pain and cramps after eating, and take notes!

Yesterday I barely ate at all, apart from several dextrose tablets borrowed from my daughter’s handbag while we spent several long hours waiting in urgent care. Today has been a little better, with 50g of oat bran for breakfast, then half a small baked potato for lunch, followed by half of a low-fat pasty I made yesterday using wartime economical pastry, filled with a meat substitute, leeks, and potatoes that I’d prepared the day before.

Here is the recipe I used for the “economical pastry”.

• 1 oz fat
• 4 oz flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (or none if using self-raising flour)
• milk to bind

Makes enough pastry for 4 pasties.

And here is my daughter giving me a pep talk when we got in late last night. Honestly, she really looked after me and is a treasure.

C xxxx

This is a super quick recipe for a bread roll when you haven’t got time to bake a loaf with yeast. This took me less than 30 minutes to create from mixing to the moment I took them out of the oven! These are slightly denser than your typical bread roll (and would have been even more so with National Flour) but absolutely delicious nevertheless! Perfect to dip in gravy!

Cobs

These are an excellent substitute for bread. They are made in minutes and must be eaten fresh! (Victory Cookbook – Marguerite Patten)

Ingredients

• 8 oz (225g) of self-raising flour or plain flour sifted with 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 oz (25g) margarine
• 1/4 pint (150 ml) of milk
• pinch of salt

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 230C (450F) Gas Mark 8 – I made my rolls a little larger and cooked them at 180C for longer
• Lightly grease a baking tray
• Sift the flour/baking powder/salt into a bowl
• Rub in the margarine
• Add enough milk to make a soft binding consistency (the mixture mustn’t be too stiff but more on the side of sticky)
• Divide the dough into 10 portions and roll into balls with floured hands
• Place on the baking tray and cook for 10 minutes or so (longer if you bake them at a lower temperature) until they feel firm and are golden brown in colour
• Eat the cobs when freshly baked.

Hope you enjoy these, C xxxx

Am back to rationing, and as crazy as it sounds, I feel like I am coming home!

Starting yesterday (January 12th) I am committed to following the allowances during rationing (in 1940) for as long as it takes to write and publish my >>>WW2 Ration Book Recipe Cook Book<<<

I will also commit to doing short touch ins on my blog and social channels during this journey but also do weekly long form video updates on my YouTube channel at >>>www.RationBookRecipes.tv<<< and a full weekly update on my blog too!

I haven’t planned recipes this week because

1. I am literally still using up stuff the best way I can before they go “off” so this week I am mostly eating stews!
2. Next week I start cooking, baking and photographing the recipes for the cook book so my focus for planning is with that (I’ll be sharing glimpses)

It was fun the other day to work out in today’s prices, here in the UK, what it would cost someone to purchase their full WW2 food ration. I’ve enclosed some screenshots from my notes below! NOTE: I am going to be using a pea protein meat substitute (its processed but far from ultra processed) some weeks so I can create MEAT RECIPES that look authentic for the recipe book. Most weeks I will be using extra dried beans/legumes.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about my weight and some of the food I’ve been eating!

But for now here is the “Kale and Haricot Bean Stew” I’ve made myself for lunch (and hopefully there will be enough for tomorrows lunch too!)

Much love, C xxx

My birthday was perfect, exactly how I like it. A gentle, low-key day, family, coffee, cake and a last splurge on pizza day before rationing starts today on January the 12th! I will share my rationing updates with you this week, likely a series of short daily written updates with a few photos thrown in for good measure!

Today I start back to work after a few weeks rest over the festive period. When I say work, I of course mean “working for myself”, planning and writing my very first WW2 cook book (and other exciting things in the mix) so every day I am now committed to 6-8 hours of book writing, content development as well as a focus on creating delicious WW2 recipes and photographing them all while living on WW2 rations while doing so. I want to feel the reality while I write….

Thank you once again for all the lovely comments and messages you have been so kind to leave me. It made my 60th birthday so very special, thank you.

C xxxx

PS: I had a mystery gift the day before my birthday on January the 7th, the gift came from a company called “The Ration Room” and I know you’ll love looking at this video!! I couldn’t work out who sent me the gift but in the end it transpired it was from my friend Kaytie and some of my ex-work colleagues (Oph, Kaysh and Ellie). I absolutely love it…. thank you

Thank you, whoever sent me an amazing The Ration Room Hamper to my address today, I am literally gobsmacked! Whoever you are, this was very thoughtful and exceptionally generous, a beautiful gift indeed for someone obsessed with WW2 rationing and the home front!

Honestly, thank you so much, this has made my day xxxx C

Here is an excerpt from the website (which I never knew existed until today!!!)

In the heart of Wrexham, Apra Roberts and Beth Cole, two enterprising women with a passion for history, joined forces to give you a taste of the past like never before. Together, they birthed “The Ration Room”, a haven for all who yearn for the echoes of yesteryears and the spirit of wartime Britain.

Step into The Ration Room, a portal to the epoch of the ’40s, where wartime camaraderie and British resilience prevailed. Apra and Beth, captivated by the allure of World War II, have meticulously curated a trove of authentic memorabilia that transcends time.

Our shelves yearn with treasures of an era long past. Behold the humble cardboard gas mask box, a relic of a time when every citizen was armed with fortitude and a trusty mask. Indulge your sweet tooth with our ration-style chocolate, crafted to perfection using recipes from an era when sugar was scarce but the spirit was sweet.

Good afternoon! I am so excited as I am counting down to not only Day 1 of officially starting to write my book but Day 1 of a return to rationing too! (Monday the 12th of January).

It is my birthday tomorrow (January 8th) so I am going out with my eldest daughter for a coffee treat at one of my favourite places before the snow arrives plus a quick shop in Waitrose next door for some olives and other nibblies and then a late birthday lunch at home with takeaway pizza on the menu!

As I type this my eldest daughter is making two individual coffee cakes for us tomorrow, how lovely is that!!!

I am so excited about returning to a simple and frugal diet and to creating and photographing a new WW2 recipe every day (for the book) and of course eating that recipe every day too!

Oh and my Mum turned up at my door yesterday with some flowers and a card (and some birthday money) and that made my day. I love my Mum and Dad so much. I wish they would live forever….

C xxxx

My eldest daughter and I on Christmas morning!

This is an easy and delicious recipe for “Country House Cake” from the “Good Eating – Suggestions for Wartime Dishes” book by the Daily Telegraph.

Selfishly, I was looking for a recipe to “christen” my new stand mixer I was gifted at Christmas by my brother. I’ve never, ever, had a stand mixer you see, so this moment was important to me!! Oh how easy it was rather than with a bowl and spoon! I think this will come into it’s own on a “baking day” when I’m making cake, bread and pastry! You’ll never see me give up my old-fashioned mixing bowl and wooden spoon though! (I’m far too nostalgic).

I really liked this recipe, I had dried fruit in my pantry from Christmas 2024 that was past it’s best before date so was looking for recipes to use this up. The same with some old flour that needed using up too!

Country House Cake

• 12 oz plain flour
• 6 oz raisins or dried mixed fruit
• 4 oz margarine
• 3 oz sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 pint of warmed milk (I used oat milk)

Method

Cream margarine and sugar together, then add the dried ingredients that have been well mixed. Stir in warmed milk and beat well. Bake in a moderate oven for about 2 hours. (I set the oven at 175c and covered the tin for the first 45 minutes).

I also brushed the top of the cake with milk when I removed the foil from the tin at 45 minutes and sprinkled on some caster sugar.

Serves 12.

PS: I’m bring out a full colour WW2 recipe book in the spring. Please join my waitlist and I’ll let you know when it is ready to pre-order! Thanks for supporting me!

I’m eating up my 3rd and final portion of this stew as I write my blog. It’s pretty much my go to when I need to use up root vegetables and celery and it’s so easy to create. Stew was likely commonplace in most wartime kitchens!

There are so many variations of recipes when you look through WW2 cook books. None are right or wrong, a stew is just throwing things together to create a thick and textured soup and often a very economical dish! Often people during the war would throw all sorts in such as porridge, bacon rinds, dripping, even leftovers!

Here is the recipe for the stew I made yesterday.

Basic Wartime Stew

• Mixed root vegetables (I used swede, parsnip and carrots)
• Onions or leeks
• Any other veg that needs using up (I used courgette and celery)
• Tomatoes if preferred (although I prefer it without)
• Soup mix, lentils or beans for protein (make sure these are pre-soaked if instructions on the packet say so)
• Vegetable stock
• Bisto Gravy Powder for thickening
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Knob of butter or margarine

Method

• Chop swede, carrot and parsnip into smallish pieces/slices
• Chop onion or leek and celery
• Gently fry onion/leek and celery in the pan until translucent
• Add in chopped vegetables (and tomatoes if you include these) – set aside the vegetables that only need a short cook so you can add them in later.
• Add water/vegetable stock to cover and simmer
• Add in soup mix, lentils or beans if required (make sure these have been soaked if the instructions specify on the packet). Add more water if required.
• Cook until everything is nearly cooked and add in the final vegetables like courgette/marrow/leafy greens
• Prepare Bisto gravy powder and add in slowly stirring continuously, adjust water if needed.
• Add salt and pepper and cook for another 5-10 minutes
• Serve with bread or steamed potatoes.

Serves 3-4 people with bread and/or potatoes

Costs about £1 per portion

PS: I’m baking a wartime “Country Cake” right now, I haven’t cooked a cake for ages! I needed to christen my new stand mixer (Christmas present!)

C xxxx

Have you joined our rationing group on Facebook yet? This amazing group of nearly 17,000 people share their rationing experiences as well as take part in group challenges such as our “Daily Walking Challenge” (where we try and walk more like our ancestors did in the 1940s).

One of our group experts, Holly Whiteside, suggested a pretty “Walking Challenge Calendar” that could be downloaded and printed off (or used digitally on an iPad) so we can record our daily movements, whether it is a 5 minute walk down the road or a 50 minute walk in the countryside, all movement counts!

I’m personally really struggling right now, my weight has piled on in recent months and my osteoarthritic knees are really painful at times (getting weight off again will help!) but I’ve joined the challenge to get out every day, even if it is just 5-10 minutes! Am hoping with returning to rationing on January the 9th, my weight will reduce again and there will be longer country walks in the Spring!

I created this free calendar for you to use. I have a huge love of nature so of course I utilised the lovely little nature images available on Canva! >>> Download the calendar here. <<<

Hope you enjoy it!

C xxxx

I’m trying to spend as little as possible so wartime recipes are really going to help my new budget! I very recently quit my job to achieve my dream of writing/photographing/designing/marketing and self-publishing my first WW2 cook book. I’ve enough money to pay my rent and bills for 3 months before deciding what to do next and I hope this will just be long enough, if I work very hard, to finish it!

I digress…

Watching every single penny will be crucial to give me those 3 months and although I am not officially starting rationing again until January the 9th, I am already cooking up simple wartime recipes from inexpensive ingredients. Actually, the last time I bought any food was last year! (that’s true, sorry I couldn’t resist!)

Over the next few months I am going to try and not waste anything and use ingredients I have got stored in cans and jars as well as preserve and freeze cheap fruit and veg when I come across them for sale. The other day I froze a while large bag of swede, enough for 5 large portions and that was only 5p!

Here is a recipe I used today from the wartime cook book “Health for All” by Margaret Y. Brady. I LOVE this book. It contains 249 recipes with health and simplicity in mind. It is one of my favourite little books!

Leeks & Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 1 large bundle of leeks
• 1 oz of margarine or Nutter (this was a type of nut butter back in the day)
• 1/2 lb of tomatoes

Method

Wash leeks well and cut them into short lengths. Cut tomatoes in quarters. Put them with leeks into previously melted margarine. Cover and simmer for half to three-quarters of an hour, or bake in a moderate oven.

Carolyn’s note

I used about half the ingredients, added a little water into the pan with a teaspoon of a low-salt vegetable bouillon powder, and simmered for roughly 10-15 minutes. I served this on a slice of sourdough toast! Yum!

C xxx