1940sexperiment

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Potato Peel Pie – Recipe No. 194

Traditional Guernsey Potato Peel Pie

Last month I watched a wonderful film called “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” and absolutely loved it. I loved it even more when 20 minutes into the movie a strange wartime dish called ‘Potato Peel Pie’ made an appearance, a insipid looking creation facilitating the gag reflex of all uninitiated humans who tasted it. That was enough for me to want to re-create it. Surely it couldn’t have been THAT bad?

Traditional Guernsey Potato Peel Pie was made of 3 ingredients, potatoes, beetroot and milk. With little flour or butter available to the islanders during German occupation, the potato peelings were used to create an open pie crust of sorts instead, into which mashed potato and chopped beetroot was added and then baked in the oven. I absolutely love potatoes but even I could see that without a few extras here and there and even with copious amounts of salt and pepper, this dish was going to be bland without some artistic licence!

I simply added some chopped spring onion (although leeks would have been good to use too) and some margarine to facilitate a pleasing taste. The ‘Potato Peel Pie’ was very tasty, I didn’t skimp on the salt and pepper because without these it would have indeed been very bland.

Here is the recipe for the authentic WW2 “Guernsey Potato Peel Pie” with my additions noted.

WW2 Guernsey Potato Peel Pie

Ingredients:

  • 2 large potatoes
  • Dash of milk
  • Beetroot
  • Salt & pepper
  • (I also added spring onion and margarine)

Method:

  1. Wash your two large potatoes and peel the potatoes
  2. Par-boil the potato skins for 3-5 minutes
  3. Drain and set aside
  4. Grease a two person size pie dish
  5. Place the potato peels on the bottom and around the sides
  6. Dot in some margarine
  7. Press the peels down a little to the bottom and sides and sprinkle with salt
  8. Dice up some slices of beetroot (I used some pickled beetroot) and dot around the base
  9. Place pie dish in a pre-heated oven at 220C until the potato peels are properly cooked and the edges are browning
  10. Cut your remaining peeled potatoes into chunks and boil until cooked.
  11. Drain and set aside.
  12. Cut up onions or leeks and fry until cooked in a pan
  13. Add in the cooked potato chunks and mash adding in milk where needed and lots of salt and pepper
  14. Place the mash into the potato peel pie crust
  15. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and continue baking in the oven until the top is lightly crisped.
  16. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes before serving

Serves 2.

PS: Check out my Art Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/CarolynHylandAnimalNatureArt

https://www.youtube.com/CarolynHylandAnimalNatureArt
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Cheese sauce – No 74

Cheese sauce you say? Hang on, you are a vegan aren’t you? Well yes I am… BUT occasionally, I’ll use a dairy free cheese, as my cheese ration, just so I can make some recipes. This week I bought some dairy free cheese and vegan sausage for my cheese and meat instead of extra split peas, lentils and nuts…

Cheese sauce

  • 1 tablespoon of flour (2 dessert spoons in US and Canada)
  • 2 oz grated cheese
  • A little dry mustard
  • Teacup of milk (I use a dairy free alternative like Hemp milk)
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • teaspoon of margarine or butter

Method

    1. Blend flour and mustard with a little milk until smooth, add rest of milk
    2. Bring to the boil adding a teaspoon of margarine or butter as the milk becomes warm, and gently cook, stirring constantly, for a minute until the sauce thickens
    3. Add grated cheese and seasoning and stir over a gentle heat until fully melted

Serves 2-4

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My favourite wartime recipes revisited- pt 1

I’ve had lots of recent comments left or sent regarding the wartime recipes so far re-created during the 1940s Experiment. Many people have expressed delight in finding out that wartime food was actually rather yummy! Here are some of my favourite ones I have re-created to date

 
Wartime Vegetable Turnovers: I am not sure whether there was a typo in the cook book for this one- it said serves 4 so I made 4 veggie turnovers out of the ingredients …they were each the size of 1/2 a dinner plate! BUT if Marguerite Patten tells me it feeds 4 then I will eat a whole one… click for recipe 
Wartime Pumpkin Soup: ALWAYS make pumpkin soup with the smaller, non carving variety! I had stocked up on some honey crisp apples (for pies) and some sugar pie pumpkins and butternut squash for soups from www.indiangardenfarms.ca  The pumpkin soup I made today nearly stopped me following through with our thanksgiving meal it was so delicious.. click for recipe
Glory Buns: This is a recipe for simple currant spiced buns that turned out so absolutely tasty and yummy and easy to make that I simply called them GLORIOUS.. They are not only economical but taste sooo good! …click for recipe
C xxxx
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Potato and Lentil Curry

I based this recipe on an authentic carrot curry recipe (which wasn’t very inspiring) which I have already re-created on my blog. This version however is totally awesome and I enjoyed a large plateful last night served with fresh broccoli and I have the same packed for my lunch today at work!
Lentils became popular in the UK the US and Canada during WWII and they are an excellent source of protein and fibre and are a very filling addition to soups and stews

Potato and Lentil Curry (serves 2-4)

  • 4 medium potatoes
  • handful of sliced mushrooms
  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot diced small
  • 1/2 cup dry lentils
  • milk (or almond milk for vegans- coconut milk would be wonderful in a modern adaption)
  • curry powder to taste (or turmeric, cumin and chilli powder)
  • 1/2 cup of finely chopped canned tomatoes
  • salt and pepper
  • thyme
  • parsley
  • tablespoon of sweet chutney or raw sugar to add some sweetness

Method

  1. Dice washed potatoes (no need to peel), chop onion and mushrooms
  2. Put some margarine or butter in a pan (vegans can use vegan spread)
  3. Heat and add above ingredients and lightly saute
  4. Add a cup of milk (or half milk and half water), lentils, chopped canned tomatoes and mix well
  5. Add curry powder (or turmeric, cumin and chilli powder), salt and pepper, thyme, parsley and your sweet chutney.
  6. Mix well again and turn down to a low/medium heat and cook until sauce thickens and potatoes are tender to eat (about 20 minutes)
  7. Add more water or milk if you need too
  8. Add more spices etc to your own taste
I served mine with some lightly cooked fresh broccoli but you can serve with rice or anything you wish.
Serves 2-4 people
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Lunch time at work

So I’m eating lots of veggies!

It’s my lunch break at work and I had an Oslo Meal without the cheese and milk! (I guess it isn’t an Oslo Meal then)… but just so I don’t go into shock with not having dairy (until I find my feet on eating vegan on 1940s rations) I did have some Almond milk in place of regular milk.

The good news is I found out that Vegans (as well as vegetarians) were given “special” ration books during the war and vegans were given “nuts” instead of cheese so I’ve had some walnuts with my salad too!

A pretty nutritious meal if I say so myself!

Catcha Later!

C xxxxxx

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A big blip and a journey


VIDEO- Chillin this evening sat in my car overlooking harbour in Mahone Bay

So although I have continued to cook 1940s meals here and there, the 1940s experiment fell by the wayside early this year for a number of reasons..

To help myself and anyone else who is new to my blog or skim reads it, try and understand that I am not a total flake, guess I should start at the beginning…

In January 2009 my marriage broke down. We had known each other 25 years and had been married 23 years. Although things had been strained for a while and his decision to leave wasn’t totally unexpected, it was however quite a shock. We have remained on good terms, however, the first 6 months were an enormous emotional strain on the children & I. After my commitment to a volunteer role was over end of July in 2009, I decided to throw myself into a social experiment and become all consumed by it….. this would address two problems, my obesity and keeping myself busy.

The first 4 months of this second attempt at living on a purely wartime rationing diet were VERY successful. I felt fabulous, I dropped tons of weight and the preoccupation with this way of eating kept my mind busy..

Christmas came and went… the first Christmas alone with the children. We had a nice time but that was when the loneliness began to creep in. Although my life was busy with work, children and blogging it would be nice to feel the comfort of a man- someone more than a friend. I couldn’t ever imagine myself opening my heart and home to someone for quite sometime however it would be nice to think about the odd date once the snow disappeared.
The loneliness began to pre-occupy me, began to feel lost and consequently my focus on my social experiment took a back seat especially as in March 2010 my volunteer role as fundraiser, publicity and website coordinator with the http://www.mahonebayregatta.ca began to take up more of my time.

The weight began to pile on as I began to eat MODERN food again- how quickly that weight goes on….

And then I began speaking to a nice guy called M. We became virtual friends and built up quite a bond and decided to meet. We hit it off and had the longest first date of my entire life- 14 hours! Despite the distance and my misgivings about allowing a man in my life, we kept in contact daily by e-mail and eventually by telephone every night. We gave each other friendship and companionship. Oh and did I say that we also did some real fun road trips?

M and I met up as often as we could but with my children, work & volunteer commitments it didn’t happen very often. After three awesome and happy months we talked as we always did, very frankly and truthfully and agreed mutually that come winter  the relationship would become very frustrating and impossible with the added difficulty of snow. After three fun months we called it quits before we invested more emotions in something that probably was doomed to begin with…… This was two days ago.

“M” gave me so many things that I had recently been deprived of in my life, I will always remember our time together with huge affection- will never forget him…. xxx

So now I return to focusing on getting myself into shape. Dropping 150 lbs and living longer. I’d like to set an example to my youngest daughter Emily..

I look forward to returning to the 1940s Experiment

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Danish Apple Pudding

First of all SORRY for the quality of the photo- if you stare at it for too long you’ll be heading to the nearest ‘Vogue Optical’ for an eye test…… I really miss the Canon Eos Digital (that used to take incredible photos).

So here is the recipe for ‘Danish Apple Pudding’ that I cooked yesterday. It tasted really nice and was very easy to make.

Danish Apple Pudding

  • 2lbs apples (peeled and thinly sliced)
  • 2 tea cups of breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons of golden syrup (uk) or table/maple syrup (North America)
  • 1-2 level teaspoons sugar per apple used (according to taste)
  • 1/2 oz margarine
  • several drops of almond essence

Method

  1. Place apples in saucepan with a couple tablespoons of water and cook over medium/high for 5 minutes or so until apples become soft.
  2. Add in the sugar and almond essence and mix thoroughly with fork until mixture is pulpy.
  3. Grease a pie dish with the margarine
  4. Add a layer of breadcrumbs to the bottom and then cover with a layer of applesauce. Continue like this until all the mixture is used up and finish with a layer of breadcrumbs (you can always make more breadcrumbs if you run out of these)
  5. Drizzle the syrup over the top
  6. Place in a moderate over (about 180 C) for 45 minutes or until the top is golden.

Serves 4 – 6

TIP: Make sure the breadcrumbs used on the top layer are quite fine. If you use larger chunks they can resemble croutons!

100 Wartime Recipes: Page has now been updated… CLICK HERE for all 1940s wartime recipes that have been recreated and photographed as part of the 1940sExperiment!

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Potato Floddies

‘Potato floddies’ are nom, nom nom! (sorry there was no other description that fitted the bill)

Potato floddies are 1940s junk food… only to be used when you need something quick, tasty, a little greasy and are missing those trips to the nearest fast food establishment when only fried potatoes will fill the void.

Floddies can be cooked and spread with jam or cooked with a pinch of mixed herbs, salt and pepper for that hash brown taste.

Floddies are flippin fantastic! NON, NOM, NOM!

Potato floddies

  • 2 large potatoes, scrubbed with skins on
  • a little flour
  • salt & pepper
  • pinch of mixed herbs
  • butter, margarine or dripping for frying

Method

1. Grate your scrubbed potatoes into a large bowl (coarse)

2. Add in salt and pepper and herbs

3. Sprinkle in flour and stir, keep adding until a batter begins to form and starts to bind together the grated potato

4. Non-stick pans work best, place fat into pan and heat on medium/hot

5. Drop in a large spoonful of the floddie mix and press down to flatten out

6. Fry until browned on one side (a few minutes or so) and turn. Fry the other side

7. Remove from heat. Eat!!!

Each potato makes about 3 floddies so this recipe makes 6 or more floddies!

“This post is part of Twinkl’s VE Day Campaign, and is featured in their Best Wartime Recipes to Celebrate VE Day from Home post”

 

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Farmhouse Scramble (version 1)

So OK- I am sorry the photo looks like vomit…

I did try to improve it’s nauseous qualities in photoshop but unfortunately I am unable to work miracles. I will have to just live with the plain truth of the fact that the Farmhouse Scramble (1) recipe in the book “Feed the Nation” by Marguerite Patten OBE is one of the less attractive home front recipes.

As it tastes somewhat nicer than vomit I will forgive her..

Farmhouse Scramble (version 1)

  • 8 oz mixed raw vegetables grated
  • 2 eggs (reconstituted dried eggs)
  • 1/2 oz margarine
  • salt and pepper

Method

Melt the margarine in a saucepan.

Add the veggies and heat until lightly cooked

Beat up the eggs with the seasoning and then pour over the hot veggies and mix until scrambled lightly

Serve with potatoes or in a sandwich or on toast!

(1940sexperiment tip: I would add onions or chopped leeks to the veggie mix)

PS: I am thinking that there are a number of visitors to my blog who are interested in food and frugality. You maybe interested in a recipe I cooked today for ‘Fabby & Frugal Breakfast Muffins’. The ingredients I used were available in my ration but because I couldn’t find a recipe for muffins during WWII I just couldn’t post it in my blog as an authentic recipe- CLICK HERE to check it out!

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4 birthday cakes and a christmas one!

So it was with extreme trepidation I finally jumped on the weighing scales today to see what damage 2 weeks of non- 1940s eating/drinking over Christmas, New Year, 1st anniversary of marriage separation and 44th birthday had done to me.

It was no surprise to find that exactly 14 lbs had added itself to the scales and this morning I officially weighed in, naked and scarey, at 293 lbs ( 20 st 9 lbs ) – am of course trying to convince myself that exactly 65% of the weight gain is water which will be miraculously peed out overnight once my return to copious amounts of steamed broccoli and a choccy-and-wine-free-diet finally kicks in…. we’ll see.

I officially weighed in, naked and scarey, at 293 lbs = 14 lbs on

What I do know is I am SO GLAD to be returning to eating 100% 1940’s. Consuming even a partially modern diet again as I have done over the last 14 days, after the initial euphoria of being able to shove anything down my neck I so desired (and drink wine!) has made me feel quite tired and sluggish and unhappy.

The upside to setting things aside for a couple of weeks was that I could enjoy birthday cake without any guilt whatsover!

Cake 1: Thanks to my Trivia Night at the pub friends, it all started on Wednesday, actually at the pub, two days before my birthday. My friends Rene, Vic, Sandy, Margaret & Dave sang Happy Birthday and shared some lovely birthday gifts followed by a delicious almond liquor cake hand-baked by Margaret. We all had some cake, served with fresh cream and pralines and the rest I brought home to share with the hobbits and I STILL managed to enjoy a slice for breakfast- how bad is that!

Cake 2: The hobbits had been dropping not very subtle hints that instead of me baking my own birthday cake to enjoy after work on Friday I should call by M & M Meat Shops and purchase a Too-Tall Strawberry Shortcake Cake. It had been a tiring week and feeling exhausted, picking up my birthday cake on the way home sounded like a good idea. So that’s exactly what I did. Arriving home with a big pizza for everyone and my birthday cake I flopped down in a chair while the kids recycled the candles from Cake 1, lit them and sang me Happy Birthday. Em (my youngest hobbit) made me an origami crown with a chin strap made from yarn that I HAD to wear (see photo) or my life would not be worth living.. I obliged.

Cake 3: The day after my birthday was a busy one with a couple of meetings in and beyond town. During the meeting at my friend Garnette’s house, a wonderful banana cake emerged, complete with one of those fun candles that plays Happy Birthday. Yum- couldn’t believe my luck, 3 cakes in 3 days!

Cake 4: And on the same day, straight after my second meeting, I drove to my friend Liana’s house where more work colleagues were gathering for a snow shoeing afternoon. I arrived in time to join in a wonderful buffet and then Liana brought out a yummy birthday cake slathered with chocolate cool whip which was totally delicious.

And finally, just to round the cake eating fest off, yesterday, I decided that it was time to eat Christmas cake…

4 birthdays and a christmas cake later I may be 14 lb heavier but I did have one-hell-of-a-birthday…

Thank you my friends..

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