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

I’d like to thank everyone for your comments yesterday when I was feeling “down in the dumps” with a rotten cold. I REALLY did appreciate them and honestly perked me up a LOT. You really are so lovely xxxx

Leslee Barnes left a supportive and interesting comment on my post yesterday too, and I wanted to share this with you as well as the video she recommended, which I’ve embedded above.

Leslee shared some videos that she thought might interest me for my ongoing research, and I know you’ll enjoy these too. I’m a huge believer in the way we eat and the type of food we eat (instead of predominantly a whole foods diet) being at the root of the struggles we have with obesity. I know myself that my lack of control with ultra-processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle has been fundamental to my obesity, and despite knowing that, I still struggle with my “addiction”.

A reset and a return to rationing.

During the next three months of writing my “Ration Book Recipes WW2 Cook Book” (please join my waitlist here and I will let you know when you can pre-order nearer the time) – I am also putting back time into my day to return to rationing and walking. Both will be critical and a form of self-care to get me back on track and move me away from those “ultra-processed demons” that plague my life.

Rationing started on January the 8th, 1940 and as that is my birthday (the 8th) so I am looking forward to returning to this lifestyle of less is more, simple is suitable and fresh air is freeing on January the 9th.

My new daily routine will be…

• 4 core hours a day on baking and photographing and writing about recipes for the book.
• 2 hours on self care which will include walking outside, time for creativity such as art and reading, planning and preparing meals and savouring their taste.
• 2 hours on blogging, YouTube, community, emails, planning and marketing.

Those 4 core hours of productivity will be early morning, the part of the day where I feel alert and alive!

As the first month of writing the book progresses, I may adjust my hours. While I have tested the water with creating a digital recipe book in the past, creating a 150-200 page book for print is quite a different challenge. Luckily I have enough design and layout skills to hopefully see me through but we’ll see!

Thank you once again for supporting me, I really appreciate it so much!

C xxxx

After a couple of wonderful days over Christmas, I’m not feeling well at all to be honest. I have been physically and emotionally exhausted towards the last few months of 2025 and I picked up a rotten cold over Christmas and the last 3 days I’m struggling with sore throat, congestion, coughing, cotton wool head and wretched exhaustion!!! Sage tea and throat sweets are helping today and lots of rest!

That didn’t stop me from driving to the recycling centre this morning with a car full and watching a documentary on an elderly woman who loved painting houses in Fulham (that seemed to open the flood gates and had me sobbing for ages).

And then the coughing started again so I’m in bed drinking lots of tea and writing notes to myself to stop myself feeling terrified about the next 3 months ahead…

I hope none of you have a rotten cold or flu! C xxx

I’ve quit my job at 60, and for the next 3 months (at the very least), there will be no money coming in to pay the bills or the rent while I follow my dream of writing and self-publishing my first cookbook (join waitlist here).

This has concentrated my mind to say the least, and while I write my book and work out how to bring some pennies in, I also have to pull my metaphorical belt in so tightly, it will be pretty hard to breathe for several months to come.

I’ve already started how I mean to go on. A perfect example of this was yesterday in my local “Aldi’s” where “Swedes” were selling for just 5p each! (normally 65p). If I’d had room in my freezer, I would have bought 20 of them, but as I didn’t, I just bought two. I steamed one of them to make 5 portions of mash and chopped up one of them, and put it in the freezer, ready to add to stews and pies!

During the Second World War, the humble swede quietly earned its place on the British table. With imports cut off and rationing shaping every meal, this sturdy root vegetable became a dependable friend on the home front, easy to grow, easy to store, and endlessly adaptable. The Ministry of Food encouraged families to make the most of swedes, and they soon found their way into everyday cooking, mashed with a little seasoning, bulked out in stews and soups, baked into pies, or grated into surprisingly inventive dishes.

While it may not have been everyone’s favourite, the swede filled bellies, stretched rations, and helped households get by with what they had. Today, it stands as a reminder of wartime thrift, resilience, and the make-do spirit that defined British kitchens in the 1940s.

I honestly don’t know why “swedes” are given such bad press. Almost as versatile as the potato and as easy to store, I just think they have simply fallen out of fashion.

But that’s what this blog is all about, remembering those faithful foods that got our families through challenging times and kept them fed and well.

Those two swedes I prepared yesterday have provided me with 10 portions for just 10p. Very economical and in my opinion, simply delicious!

Much love, C xxxx

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your continued support and encouragement throughout 2025 and I sincerely hope you get to spend Christmas with people who really mean something to you and there will be smiles and happiness during the festive season.

And if you are all alone through choice, I hope you find peacefulness, and for those who are spending it alone not from choice and feel lonely, please know that if you need to hear the words “Merry Christmas” or “Seasons Greetings” on Christmas Day drop me a message to 1940sExperiment@gmail.com

So this is me now signing off for a busy few family days, Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings to all and may 2026 bring you happiness, comfort and good health.

Much love, C xxxxx