Welcome back to 1943

The new year has come and gone. It was a quiet one at home, our town didn't have fireworks due to the fires around Australia and the drought we are currently facing. Many people feel like 1943 seems to be a long time ago, but if you look around there are still reminders of that time. How they lived then isn't too far removed from now, there were phones, cars, television, radios, and other modern cons. They were anxious and had sad moments of course, but they learn how to move on and made do with what they had. In today's time there are many who are trying to do the same.

As the world moves into 2020, I'm moving into 1943.  World War 2 is continuing and Australian households are facing a necessity to tighten spending habits to give money to war bonds and so that the government doesn't have to force people into harsher rations. Coupons are in full use for most items and many of the advertising of the day such as this ad for LUX washing powder encourages the use of being thrifty and taking care of clothing items so they last longer and coupons weren't used wastefully.

 Many of the articles in the newspapers are now talking about saving, being careful with money, and making do. The government of the time is asking people not to spend and instead find ways to put pursuits to wartime efforts instead. For those on the Homefront, that meant making sure the home was presentable and meals ready for those who were working outside of the home and doing late shift work for the war.

Many of the recipes of the day included very simple, quick, thrifty meals, for those who were watching how they used their coupons. All of this of course sounds very familiar as those of us who are doing it hard and trying to find ways to simplify, live simply, and spend less.

I'm doing my bit for the 'war', by using things I currently have and making the most of those items. I recently made a Christmas stocking from this thrift store brought cross-stitch kit I brought for $1. The stocking also used up fabric scraps I had.

This will likely be the major theme this year, to use what I have. The letter from 'Mauve Delphinium' is just one of many written in Jan, 1943 to Eleanor Barbour. The letter sums up the way everyone was helping with their bit for the war to save as much as they could. I am planning to show more letters of the time because they are  good example of what was happening in Australian Home-fronts.

As the war continues into 1943 the homemakers of the time are finding ways to be more thrifty to do their part for the war. This year, I will continue to follow along as they did, it may not be exactly the same as they live because I'm not trying to be a re-inactor. I'm trying to learn how they lived and take away parts I can use in my own life to make my life more thrifty too.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

When there is no sugar, make a batch of scones -1942

Light Hands, Light Scones.

Scones are as simple as ABC to make. A proper scone maker will tell the first lesson for the cook who says they are never able to turn out a decent scone is to remember scones need lightness.  They are not like bread, where you have to roll and roll, and then knead and knead. And wielding flour will never turn out a fluffy scone. A good solid scone, maybe, but a scone that has lost all chance of lightness before it reaches the oven.

The secret of a scone is they must literally be tossed together, and quickly into the oven with a light hand (and light heart, too, if you can manage it), and the oven must be very hot. The whole process of mixing and cooking need only be around ten or twelve minutes.  

Scones are the next best thing to a cake that requires a lot of sugar and that they require very little in way of ingredients also makes it a top list for the wartime Austerity meal of 1942. Scones can vary in plain, sweet, or savoury.

A useful savory scone:

Add about half a cup of grated cheese to two cups of flour, you can also make up onion scones, which are tasty even if the name doesn’t suggest so. Here is the recipe:

Two large cups self-raising flower, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 cup grated cheese, 1 beaten egg, 1 small very finely chopped onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and about 1/2 cup milk. Sift flour and salt, rub in the butter and mix in the cheese and onion. Mix to a soft dough with the egg and milk, roll out and cut into usual shapes.

Bake about 10 minutes in a very hot oven.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Foam Biscuits

We've had some lovely Spring like days here at the moment and it makes for nice weather to be into the kitchen cooking. I found this recipe called: foam biscuits, and thought I'd give it a try. 

The recipe it self is very basic and the original didn't give an oven time as I suppose they expected everyone to know how to bake a biscuit (cookie) in the type of oven they had. This was a time when people still had wood stoves and some had gas stoves and some had the new electric stoves.

FOAM BISCUITS:

Recipe: Take 3 cups plain flour. I cup of dripping. 1 cup of sugar. 1/2 cup milk, level teaspoonful Bi-carb. soda. Boil milk and sugar, then add soda and stir well. Let foam and cool. 

Rub dripping well into flour, add cool foam mixture and mix well. A cup of cocoanut can be added if liked. (I never added cocoanut to mine)

You can roll dough out and cut out with a cookie cutter or pinch off a piece of balled up dough and press down with a fork on a well greased baking tray. 

I baked mine in a moderate oven of 200 degrees for 15 mins or until golden brown.

Let cool  slightly on tray and turn out on wire rack to cool fully.

These biscuits can also be iced if you like. 

Because this recipe uses very little ingredients it was popularly added to 'Austerity recipes'. Although the war is still in early days and a lot of things have yet to be rationed and given coupons. Come December sugar will be rationed to 1 pound per person per week.

I have also seen this recipe in earlier newspaper articles as late as 1920's and right up to the '30's. It isn't a recipe specific to wartime cooking of the '40's, like say SPAM recipes of the time.

This is what the milk, sugar, and bicarbonate soda looks like when brought to the boil. The biscuits get the name foam biscuits from the fact the bicarbonate soda foams up.

The foamy mixture is then added to the flour and dripping mix and stirred up well. 

The finished recipe is a simple home style biscuit which can be fancied up with icing and sprinkles. If I had balled my dough up smaller I would have gotten a lot of biscuits from this recipe which makes it very frugal recipe.

I'm no cook, but I'm learning as I go and I think these are very easy to make.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

40 vintage ways to cut costs

Vintage living is renowned for having a life-style based on frugality. Adapting the rules from a no-nonsense era can stretch today’s dollar and cut household costs. 

As I continue the year of living like 1939, I can hardly be anything less than a careful housekeeper. The suggestions that follow are all I have learnt so far.

1. Grow as much food as possible to lower the food bill, and freeze or can what you can’t use immediately. Even tomatoes can be frozen and used in soups and stews.

2. Save leftovers to make potato scones, soups, stews or fried vegetables.

3. Sheets can be reversed to extend their wear, putting the top border at the bottom end of the bed.

4. A sheet that’s worn in the centre can be put “sides-to-middle.” Cut it in half lengthways, seams the sides together and hem the raw edges.

5. Turn back bedding in the morning to help keep sheets to stay fresh longer. Which will cut back on frequent laundering. 

6. Cleaners should be bought in the most economical size (not always the largest) and decanted into spray bottles. Use just a squirt instead of pouring out a large amount.

7. Don’t use more laundry detergent than you need. If you don’t have a measuring cup, use a 470g jam jar (fill it halfway for a cup measure).

8. A slightly soiled wash may not need as much detergent as the manufacturer recommends.

9. Towels need watching. At the first sign of weakening along the edge, take bias tape and sew it with strong thread on both sides. 

10. A ripped towel can be cut into squares for use as washcloths.

11. Worn-out towels, cut into squares and bound together in four or five thicknesses, make good washable pot holders. Hem with binding tape and leave a piece at the end to make a little loop of tape to hang them up.

12. Wash blue towels, sheets, pillowcases with your whites to brighten up the white wash. Of course, any new coloured items should be washed separately for a few times.

13. Camouflage unremovable stains on children’s clothes with embroidery. Paint, rust spots, small rips can all be concealed with stitched flowers, a butterfly or a fish, using washable beads or old pearls for centres and eyes.

14. Soap is said to harden with keeping. Buy it six months ahead and store. unwrapped, in the linen cupboard. It smells good too.

15. Use soap holders to prevent soap being wasted.

16. If your bath oil label suggests using two capfuls, then half a cap is probably just as good.

17. You can get rid of paper table napkins, too. An inexpensive bangle for a serviette ring for everyone in the family and a hemmed square from a worn-out towel make free substitutes.

20. Scrub the dirtiest spots on clothes first to cut down on the washing time.

21. Boil only enough water for the cups of tea or coffee needed.

22. Have everything ready before the kettle comes to the boil, turning off the heat as soon as the water is boiling.

23. Use the minimum amount of water to cook vegetables. Add a tablespoon of water and a dab of butter to the vegetables, shake to coat, then cover and cook slowly.

24. A properly insulated oven retains heat. Turn it off before dishes such as casseroles are quite ready.

25. If the oven is already on, cook frozen vegetables in it. Put them in a covered casserole with a little water, butter, and salt, and cook for 39 minutes.

26. Keep your mending up-to-date, or that pair of ripped pyjama pants will sit in the mending box until it’s been out-grown. Organise a mending or sewing circle among your neighbours, for one or two afternoons a month.

27. Worn-out clothes should have zips, buttons and binding tape removed. The old binding is more suitable for mending older clothes, since new tape is stronger and causes more stress. 

28. A patchwork quilt uses up old clothes. Make a cardboard template about 20cm square, and cut squares from the better parts of old garments. Back the quilt with an old flannelette sheet and interline with an old swollen blanket. Pillow slips can be fashioned in the same way.

29. Short dresses can still be used by buying or making a wrap skirt in a complementary colour to wear over the dress.

30. Lengthen accordion-pleated skirts using a remnant of fabric lining. Unpick the waist. Make a circle from the lining by seaming together a strip 17 cm wide and hop measurement plus 5cm long. Stitch the circle tot he top of the skirt - this portion will be hidden by an overblouse or seeker - and make an elasticised waist.

31. Hand-knitted sweaters are warmer and can be unravelled when outworn or outgrown. Wind the yarn loosely around a large book, tie the skein in several place and hand-wash.

32. Sometimes there is enough fabric in a pleated skirt to make into another garment by unpicking and pressing out the pleats. The material can then be reassembled.

33. Carry a notebook with your family’s current measurements. If you see an unexpected sale, you’ll be prepared.

34. Jot down metres or wool requirements for a pattern. That way you won’t buy too much or too little.

35. Thermal cot blankets can be saved and seamed together to make a bedsize blanket when the cot is outgrown.

36. Bean sprouts are an excellent and cheap source of vitamin C. 

37. Worn-out sheets cut into handkerchief-chief size pieces are softer on the nose than tissues.

38. Conserve heating oil or gas by keeping the thermostat about 19 deg C (66 deg F) during the day and turning it down at night. Better still, turn the heat off.

39. Cook roast beef slowly to minimise shrinkage. Rub it with oil but no salt, and place on a rack in a shallow pan fat side up. Do no sear or add water. Cook, uncovered, in a preheated 150 deg C (300deg F) oven for 32 to 34 minutes per 500g (1lb) for medium.

40. A clothes dryer can use up to 100 kilowatt hours a month; drying clothes on a line is free. Clothes can be partly dried in the dryer, then hung on a line under cover.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

From Kitchen Left Overs

From Kitchen Left Overs.

It’s May and Autumn is starting to appear here with plenty of foggy days, crisp mornings, and a hit of frost on the ground during early morning times. The weather has been very foggy and rainy. The rain is nice for the garden. There have been fine days too and the days are cooler in temperature but not very cold, making  most days really pleasant. The weather makes it a good time to be indoors pottering around.

During May of 1939 there's articles for dishes from ‘left overs’.  The articles all suggests it worth having patience and a love for making something from nothing to make sure not a scrap is wasted in the kitchen so that pennies can be saved. Below are just some of the tips from those articles for using your kitchen left overs.

When The Food Overflows.

It’s worth while for a cook to make use of using left overs as it helps with savings in the weekly account. Left overs can be used - not every other day, but often enough to make a savings. In the first place, it pays to get into the habit of planning meals so there isn’t really any left-overs to be had. Over time this can be managed and when scraps do appear obviously know what to keep and what not to keep. 

Hoard The Gravy and The Sauce.

Cupfuls of gravy and white sauce from dinner, can be reheated with pieces of cold meat like chicken and the sauce is easily season well and served up with crips bits of toast sprinkled with parsley makes an easily made meal.

Chicken heated in left over brown gravy: to the gravy add a little curry powder and spoon-full of chutney, and it makes for a nice breakfast dish. Boil up some rice and the left over becomes something more substantial.

Hasty Curried Eggs.

Eggs are always a good standby for any left over dish for dinner or breakfast. If there’s white sauce or gravy on hand, curried eggs are a few minutes and can be made up easily when you don’t have time. Heat the sauce or gravy, thin it if necessary, and flavour to taste with curry, a tiny pinch of sugar, and just before serving squeeze some lemon in it. Hard-boil and egg, shell them, and halve them, and smother with the prepared curry sauce. Serve with toast. A variation is simply poach an egg, serve on toast and coat with the curry gravy. The same can be done with poached egg on a bed of rice and the sauce over that.

A Spoonful of Gravy.

* Try poaching eggs boiled in brown gravy. 

* Place an egg in a small greased ramekin dish, cover with gravy, and bake until the egg is set. If you have white sauce left over you can add breadcrumbs on the surface and grated cheese, and brown as the egg sets.

* A rissole mixture can be moisten with left over gravy.

* White sauce is good for mixing in with salmon patties.

* And both gravies can enrich a stew or soup.

The Potato Goes a Long Way Here.

Everyone knows scraps of mashed potato are some-how always in the kitchen left-overs. They can be fried and made into covering fish pie. Left over mashed potato is also good for padding rissoles or fish patties. Add left over potato to a shepherds pie for a good family meal.

You can make some potato puffs as well if you have dry cheese that can be grated. Mash a cupful of potato with 2 or 4 tablespoons of cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. You can include a spoonful fo chopped parsley as well. Then add about 1 cup fo self-raising flour, and mix the whole together with two beaten eggs and a little milk if necessary. At the end it should be like a cavelike mixture that you will drop from the spoon. Fry in very hot oil until puffy and golden brown all over. Drain well. Serve with bacon and tomatoes.

Try Potato Scones.

When you are making up some sweet scones, try making up a batch of potato scones (biscuit) which can be made quickly with scraps of cold potato. Sift 2 cups flour with a good pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and then rub into it a heaped tablespoon of butter. Thoroughly mash 2 cups cold potato and blend it thoroughly with the flour. Mix to a soft, scone-line paste with a beaten egg and milk, or with the milk alone. Roll and cut in the usual way. Bake for 10 minutes in a very hot oven. You can add some grated cheese to this as well.

Cauliflower left over?

When you buy cheese in blocks there’s always unavoidable scraps and the ends are always dry. Those ends are easy to grate, and really useful to have on hand. They can be grated into macaroni cheese. If you have cauliflower, cheese blends very well with it. Place the left over cauliflower in a greased pie dish and cover it with a white sauce, well flavoured with grated cheese, pepper, and salt. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and grated cheese then dot with a few bits of butter on top.  Bake until brown. 

Odds And Ends

* Rice left from curry will make a rice custard with the addition of eggs and milk. It won’t be as creamy as the usual rice custard but still tasty.

* Use ends of jam in the bottom of the basin that holds steamed pudding.

* An odd spoonful of jam goes well in a curry.

* Any old tomatoes, onions, or scraps of meat can be added to a damper.

* Think twice before throwing out dry ends of bread. Bake them instead in a slow oven until pale brown and crisp right through, or lightly toast them. Then either roll them finely with a rolling pin in a bag and store them in an airtight jar where they will keep for several weeks, and always be available for coating fried foods, and other purposes. 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Aubergine or Egg plant

The garden section from a newspaper article in early November of 1939 wrote: Those who like variety in their vegetables and home gardeners who like to grow uncommon vegetables should take an interest in growing the egg-plant or Aubergine. 

I took up the suggestion and planted out a couple of plants. This can be done by planting out seedlings, which I did. Or sowing direct in the open ground, three or four seeds to the site and afterwards thinning to one plant. The plant likes warm temperatures and the seeds germinate in hotter weather and flourish better when the weather is warmer. I planted my egg plants next to tomato plants as they are of the same family and require the same cultivation methods. The plants produce a lot of fruit and it is best to keep the crop to five or six per plant. Any garden work around the plant should be very shallow as the roots of the plant are at the surface and can be easily damaging to the plant. 

The above recipe for Aubergine tomatoes reads:

Wash large ripe tomatoes and cut in half cross wise. Melt 2 tablespoons butter or oil in skillet, place the tomatoes in the cut side up and sprinkle with the following seasonings, 2 cloves of farce finely minced, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and finely minced (chopped) parsley. Cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes. Garnish with sprigs of parsley and serve immediately with any kind of fish (or meat) course.

Egg-plant fruits are ready for uses as soon as they reach a good size, and while they have a glossy appearance. If dull, they are over-mature and seedy, and not very good for cooking with. To prepare for cooking, simply wipe with damp cloth and remove stem and calyx. It can be peeled or left unpeeled. Egg plant is a watery vegetable; if cut into thick slices, salted, and covered with plate with weight on top, some of the excess moisture will drain away.

When frying egg plant do not cover the pan - slices should be crisp.

Cut unpeeled egg plant crosswise in thin slices. Coat light with seasoned flour, fry in hot butter until pale golden brown. Serve pipping hot as vegetable accompaniment with meat, fish, etc. 

For the right seasoning egg plant is best with: Basil, dill, garlic, marjoram, oregano, rosemary.

Growing the plant was no more difficult than growing tomatoes and I will keep adding the plant to my kitchen garden now I know how easy an egg plant is to grow and how versatile it can be in the kitchen.

Thank you to all who have left comments. I have read the replies but I just haven't had time to respond to them. 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Bay Leaf

Bay Leaf

(Laurus nobilis)

Sweet bay

Parts Used:

Leaves

Properties:

Aromatic, Culinary flavouring.

The sweet bay is the true laurel of ancient Greece. Its leaves were used to make crowns for triumphant heroes, distinguished poets and victors of the Pythian games at Delphi. The title, Poet Laureate, comes from this use.

In Greek myth, Apollo was pursuing a mountain nymph named Daphne. The gods changed her into a laurel tree to escape him. Apollo consoled himself by weaving a garland from ‘her’ branches and, after this, the tree was held sacred by Apollo.

Cultivating: The Laurus nobilis needs special care in frost areas. It is not a hardy plant for the out-of-doors, but it adds a great deal of charm to an herb garden and will grow well as a tub plant if great care is given it.

The potting mixture must be prepared with 2 parts loam, 2 parts sand, 2 parts peat moss and fertiliser, preferably cow manure.

It prefers a sunny spot and the soil should be kept moist at all times. When frost threatens, the plant should be placed in a protected area.

Harvesting: Like most herbs, bay leaves should be picked in the early morning when they are clean and still fresh from the morning dew but not wet. Place leaves to dry gradually in warm shady spot. When dry but not brittle, arrange the leaves and weight them to flatten them so they do not curl. When completely dried and pressed, pack carefully in tightly covered opaque containers until needed. 

Uses Of The Herb:

Culinary:

Use bay leaves as part of a bouquet garni for soups, stews, and sauces. Add to stocks, marinades and stews, curry, and poached fish. Remove leaves before serving. Place in rice jar to flavour rice. Heat in milk to flavour custards and puddings. Use to flavour vinegar.

Medicinal:

Use an infusion of the leaves as a digestive stimulant. Apply infusion to scalp to relieve dandruff. Essential oil is good for massaging sprains and rheumatic pains. Make sure the oil is diluted by mixing it with a ‘carrier oil; such as sweet almond beforehand.

Cosmetic:

Add a decoction of bay to bath water to tone the skin and relieve aches.

Decorative:

Clipped and trains day trees in tubs are an elegant and traditional decoration for doorways and walls. Use branches in full leaf for wreaths.

Household:

Crumble dried leaves into potpourri. Hang branches up to freshen the air.

To make spiced scented coasters:

Bay leaves  

Cinnamon sticks

Star anise

Cloves

Crush six bay leaves, a couple of cinnamon sticks, some cloves, and star anise with pestle and mortar.

This scented spice mix then can be placed between squares of fabric and sewn in.  The aroma of the crushed spices is released when a warm tea cup or coffee mug is placed on the coasters.

A larger mat can also be made to rest a tea pot on or a hot pan.

(Disclaimer: As always be careful about using herbs. Consult your doctor before use. Never use on small children or pregnant women)

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Corned Beef: White Sauce variations

I don't think corned beef really needs a recipe. You just put everything into a pot and let it boil. The meat is cooked first with carrot, onion, parsley. You can also add peppercorns, cloves, thyme, and bay leaves as well. Then towards the end add in the potatoes, then the pumpkin. The cabbage should be done seperate in a little of the water from the pot after every thing else is done. 

This is two variations for the white sauce.

Variation one: Plain white sauce

45 grams of butter

1/4 cup of plain flour

400 ML of milk

To make the rue: Melt butter and add flour. Give it a good stir and cook off the flour, stirring as you go. Add a little of the milk at first, stir. Then change over to a whisk, whisk in a little more milk when it thickens. Then when it becomes a littler thicker add in the remainder of the milk, whisking all the time. Turn up to a high heat and constantly whisk until it thickens more. When it is bubbling and thickens add a ladle full of the stock water from the pot you cooked the meat and vegetables in.

(you can add in chopped onions into this plain white sauce. Cook up the onions until they are just clear and add in butter and flour.)

Variation two: Parsley white sauce

Pinch of salt (not much!)

Pinch of nutmeg

1 tbs Seeded mustard 

lot of finely chopped parsley 

To make the sauce use the same method as above, then add in the extras.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are. 

Catnip

Catnip ( Nepeta cataria)

Parts used: Flowering tops, leaves.

Catnip is often used for wind or colic. It soothes upset stomachs, indigestion and stress-related problems. Because it contains tannins, it is also good for diarrhoea and inflammatory bowel problems. In the respiratory system it is helpful for coughs, bronchitis and asthma.  Another use is it helps reducing fevers and bringing out rashes in irruptive infections such as measles and chicken pox.

It is an antiseptic and staunches bleeding and speeds healing of cuts, bites, burns, scalds and bruises.

How to grow:

Catnip is a perennial shrub, traditionally thought to excite cats. It has attractive, aromatic, grey-green foliage and grows to a round 60 cm (2ft) tall. 

Propagate by sowing seeds in spring, taking softwood cuttings in spring or dividing the plant in late summer. It prefers well drained soil in full sun. 

Protect from cats if necessary.

Uses:

Catnip (or catmint) is a herb suited to relaxing the nervous system, it has calming qualities  and a handful of dried catnip steeped in boiling water makes a good tea to calm down after a stressful day, drink before bed. A teaspoon of honey will take away the woodsy flavour.

In other uses catnip is useful as a repellent. Mice dislike the scent, catnip in sachets or planted around doors outside will keep mice away. The plant is also useful as a insect repellent.  A spray can be made using catnip & basil:

1/2 cup fresh catnip and basil leaves chopped

1 cup witch hazel

Any of the following essential oils: Citronella, lemongrass, basil, lemon, or eucalyptus.

Water for diluting.

Place catnip and bail in jar and pour the witch hazel over the herbs. Close the jar and leave in a dark place for 1 week. Strain and the infused witch hazel should stay fresh for up to a 1 year.

The spray:

Fill a small spray bottle half way with infused witch hazel add 3 to 4 drops of essential oils and fill the rest of the bottle with plain water, cap and shake.

Shake frequently before and during use. Spray lightly on skin to keeps bugs at bay.

CAUTION: As always be careful about using herbs. Never use while pregnant. Be careful when using on young children. And always test a small patch on the skin first to see if a reaction will occur. See your doctor first to check if it will react to any other medications.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Bouquet Garni

Bouquet Garni

Spices and aromatic herbs lend flavour to most savoury dishes, including soups, broths, stews, and sauces. Bouquet garni are small bound muslin sachets filled with herbs to savour food during cooking especially slow cooked food, but should be removed before or during serving.

Aromatic Dishes

To make a bouquet garni cut out a piece of muslin 6 inch 915cm) across and place some herbs and spices in the centre. Gather the bundle together and tie with thread or raffia.

Bay, parsley, and thyme are the most usual ingredients for a bouquet garni but you can combine any herbs and spice you choose to suit the dish you are making.

A blend of lemon peel, parsley, celery leaf, cardamon and saffron goes well with rice. 

Fish stews are best with star anise, lime, parsley and dill.

Far Eastern dishes are enhanced by a bouquet garni of basil, chives, oregano, and bay. 

For lamb, bay leaves, rosemary, crushed garlic and orange peel will give any lamb dish a special hint of herb flavour.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.