Shopping for the New Month and the Reset

 

From Aldi - £3.13

I went shopping the other day to get some of the things that I need for the start of the month and my rations reset.  I am moving from the 'vegetarian rations' to the 'meat eaters rations'.  Using meat replacements alongside one portion of fish each week in a bid to simplify things and keep them as healthy as possible.

I'll show you a photo of the wartime pamphlet that helped me make this decision on tomorrows post, alongside the way the rations will be for the foreseeable future.  Hopefully this will help it make sense.

Anyway, I needed milk for next week and another milk for the monthly rations and I also needed bread.  As you can see this is not my usual unsliced wholemeal loaf, I am going back to this Ancient Grains Aldi sliced bread for a couple of weeks so that I can assess if it has been the Sainsbury's bread giving me the side effects that I have been experiencing.  

I am dairy intolerant but I can usually get away with eating the products that say 'may contain' or 'made in a factory that handles milk products', but just recently I have been having all the side-effects as though I have been eating things containing milk or milk products.  So I need to do a bit of elimination from my diet and see if it's the bread or something else.  I do know that I can't eat the custard doughnuts from Sainsbury's as they have a 'may contain' label ... I found out after eating some!!

From Aldi - £3.74

From 1st October I will have £3.50 to spend each week on a fish item, this is in place of having that amount to spend on meat.  Back in 1942 the ration amount for meat was whatever you could buy with 1s 2d per person in your family, in today's money that correlates to £3.50.  Housewives could buy whatever the butcher had available, maybe a nice but very small steak or a couple of chops or maybe the choice would be more of the cheaper cuts.  At some times during rationing when meat was really scarce you would have to take some of this ration in the form of offal.

Gosh just imagine if this was the case now in the shops, and instead of being able to stack your trolley up with whatever you want you had to put back one of your packs of chicken and  have a tray of tripe!!

I don't eat meat so I have decided to allow myself fish to this value instead, this I have decided can be any sort of fish, in this first instance I decided on a box of fishfingers which cost me £1.75 ... there's not a lot of fish products that you can get for under £3.50, but I will be searching out other sorts ... and YES I know fish fingers weren't around during 1942, but then neither was I.  😎 

Once a month  in lieu of the 3 eggs that I could have had a meat eater (according to my new info sheet) I have decided I will have one pack of a modern meat-free item, this first month's choice is 'No Chicken Kyivs'.

From Sainsbury's - £3.27

While I was out I had to nip into Sainsbury's for something pussycat related so I took the opportunity to do a little fruit and vegetable shop.  Just look at the size of those British Bramleys, they weigh over half a kilo each.  I should have plenty for a crumble and a pie, with the peels and cores left over to go into the fridge for the next lot of jelly.

My total spend for week seven was £10.14, I was really pleased with that.  

Of the £70 available for the first 7 weeks of rationing I have £28.57 left.

Back tomorrow with the information that changed the way I am doing the rationing and my new planner to try to keep things simple.

Sue xx

Crab Apples and Soup

 

Foraging was always encouraged during the war years and if you lived in the countryside you would have had lots of opportunity at this time of year.  I haven't done much at all this year, the blackberries passed me by as they were out much sooner than I expected and when I did spot them they already seemed to be massively over-picked by locals.  I am a firm believer in leaving lots for the wildlife, I do wonder though if I would have been so generous during the rationing years!

Anyway while I was in the park with the dogs yesterday I spotted lots of lovely little crab apples lying on the grass and decided to pick some of them up.  If nothing else they will make a good source of pectin for my next batch of compost heap jelly.  So once they are dry they will be going in the freezer until I have saved some more peels and cores to go with them.

Following on from Wednesdays post, I had one of my bowls of soup for lunch today, gosh it was nice.  The other three same sized portions went into the freezer.  That's three more ready meals for my collection.

Sue xx

Christmas on the Home Front

 

Driving home from Mum's yesterday afternoon we got to chatting about my life on rations and I mentioned to Alan that I had recently watched Carolyn's YouTube video making her Mock Turkey, or 'Murky' as it was often called.  I asked him if he fancied it for Christmas dinner this year?

And to my surprise he agreed.  😀

So now I need to watch the video again and perhaps have a practice run for myself.

https://youtu.be/iA3UhDYbJek?si=x7TV0euNQDTyTrIy

Obviously it can be made with real sausage-meat if that's what you like, but I will be making it with Carolyn's idea of plant-based sausages, and Alan is more than happy with this.

The recipe is taken from this book, page 230, although it is in many others too.

So, I think it's time for me to get the book in my top photo out ready for some Christmas inspiration ... and to stop writing the word Christmas when it's still September!!

Sue xx

Books, Coleslaw and Ready Meals

 

I shared this photo on the Facebook group the other day and it brought all the other book lovers out of the closet.  We had a brilliant time chatting about our rationing books and just books in general.  I only took it because I was sorting out my bookcase a bit and these all ended up on the floor.  Seeing the colours on the mustard coloured rug made me set them out a bit more artistically and take the photo.

My name is Sue and I am a bookaholic ... and I know I am not alone.  😀

In other non-booky news, I made some delicious coleslaw yesterday to go with my lunchtime jacket potato.  Using a couple of the inner leaves of my Savoy cabbage a grated carrot and some white onion and just a dollop of mayo, it was so tasty and very filling.

During the war years everyone was encouraged to have one raw or salad type meal.  As well as helping to improve health and make good use of non-rationed vegetables this saved on power as no cooking was involved.

And while I ate my lunch a big pan of vegetables was simmering away on the hob.

My tea last night was a simple bowl of vegetable stew, and if that looks small don't worry ... I came back for seconds.  😄

And after dishing up that second bowl I left everything else to cool off before it went into the fridge.  Another portion of stew, the filling for a pasty or pie and a large bowl of soup.  

It's nice to have some ready meals.

Sue xx

Sugar, Bread, Toast

 

I missed the sugar ration off yesterdays photo ... oops, I knew something looked wrong!!

I don't use sugar on anything, maybe occasionally half a teaspoon in my porridge, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth so my sugar ration over the last few weeks of rationing was mostly used in the jelly and in the scones that I made.  I think I need to make some more scones this week, they are the perfect wartime treat aren't they ... minimal fat and just a bit of sugar.

I am also a dab hand at slicing my bread now, my slices are getting thinner and thinner, in fact so thin the other day that although it was perfectly straight it was also virtually see through.  So ... I ate it as it was a did another for my sandwich.  😄

I am also remembering to tip the loaf over near to the end to slice the bread the other way.  As this was getting a bit stale, the bread in this photo was purposefully sliced nice and thick ...

... ready for toasting the following morning.

Ready sliced bread is the greatest invention!!

Sue xx

Week Seven ... and the Final 'Vegetarian' Rations

 

This week is the seventh week of my rationing journey.

It's also the final time I will be using the 'vegetarian rations'.  Yep, it struck me as so complicated when I dropped eggs from my diet again and reintroduced fish into my meal plans but continued to use the vegetarian rations.  And if I'm confused then surely you are!!  😄

Last week I found a picture of an old information leaflet from the Ministry of Food that immediately made me realise what I could do.  Don't you just love it when something that has been preying on your mind suddenly becomes clear ... I know I do. 

Anyway there will be a re-jig of my rations in time for the new month and my new set of 20 points will also become available.  Making last 'months' points stretch out over six weeks has been quite good in some ways, helping me to be able to use up some of things from my pre-rationing cupboard and whittle down the contents of the freezer.

The best meal of the week last week was this Sausage, Mash, Cabbage and Gravy meal.  Gosh that was delicious.  Who knew that I suddenly really love Savoy cabbage, I think cooking it the wartime way is the real gamechanger ... it's lovely.

I also made a real effort last week to use up all my weekly rations of spread and cheese, but even though I thought I had done well I still ended up with lots for a sandwich on Saturday.

I am also really getting ahead with my coffee.  

The two ounces that I top the jar up with each week has now brought me right to the top of my small jar, I will have to revert to my former larger jar on the counter.  I think I am using between an ounce and an ounce and a half each week.  I still have the monthly ration of 4oz untouched in the cupboard as well.

There wasn't any space in my little jars of oil to top them up this week, so I weighed what was in them both and then weighed the oil in my dispenser and there was just under what I needed, so now my oil bottle is back in use and will be topped up each week.

This weeks Menu Plan is designed to use up a few of the things in my freezer and get a couple of my more 'modern' foods out of the way.

I'm looking forward to the re-jig next week, but first there are lots of lovely things to have this week ... and it's the last time I will be having a full four ounces of cheese, so I thought I would take cheese and beetroot sandwiches to Mum's this week for our lunch, Alan has his own cheddar and me and Mum both have Violife.

Sue xx

Memories, Old Photos and a Re-Jig

 

My posts on this blog seem to be bring out so many memories for so many people, myself included.  

I am just hoping that the majority of them are good, and that the bad ones at least make us realise just how far we have come in the past few years.  

Today I am just sharing a photo of the kitchen from The 1940s House. 

 I recently re-watched this and although I have the book I have never read right through it.  Perhaps I should as I do like to pore over photos like these, picking out the details remembering the versions of things that we had in our tiny little pantry-sized kitchen in my Nana's house growing up.

 I do have the large saucepan that is on the cooker and lots of other enamelware, which I absolutely love.  If I had more space in my tiny home I would love to get an original kitchen cabinet, my Nana had a beautiful cream coloured 1940's version, and then in the late sixties my Mum got one with a Formica worktop instead of the enamel as they used to be.

Now I need to go and weigh out next weeks rations.  

This will be the final week that I will be having these sort of rations before I have a re-jig the following week.  I have very luckily found a way to simplify things, well I think it will be simpler!!

It can't possibly get any more complicated ... can it?

Sue xx

Blitz Spirit. Why?

 

I'm currently half way through watching Lucy Worsley's latest programme Blitz Spirit. 

To be honest I'm finding it heart-breaking to watch, hearing it through the words of the people who lived it, and to find out that our own Government kept so much from the general news as it was happening during the war years.  I understand the need for some things to be delayed ... reports, information etc ... for all sorts of national security and morale issues, but it must have been horrendous for the people going through the absolute terror of the worst days of the blitz for it to be hushed up for so long and not reported on.  As though they were going through it alone.

As for photographs of bombed buildings being censored to show only part of the destruction and having to include an untouched building and 'happy people' ... words fail me.

It seems the more you learn the harder it is to accept that humans do this sort of things to each other so very regularly.  There has never been a time on this planet without a war raging somewhere.

Why?

Sue xx

IZAL Toilet Paper & Extra Shopping - Beans

We were chatting about IZAL toilet paper on the Facebook group the other day and it brought back all sorts of memories.  It was the only sort of toilet roll that we even knew existed as children, although I have just found out that soft paper was launched by St Andrew's Paper Mill (later to be known as Andrex) in England in 1942, so it was around ... gosh my Mum kept that quiet!!

I have just  found out that it was only in 1935 that toilet paper was advertised as being 'splinter free', gosh that must have been a relief.  😨

 As a child I thought the best use for IZAL was as tracing paper.  😄

This weeks only shopping has been the £1 that I spent on these two packs of Heinz baked beans, which I bought at Booths using the six pounds in vouchers that Heinz/Kraft sent me last week after my polite complaint about being short changed.

So my week six shopping bill was just £1.

I will be putting these in the lower food cupboard and 'buying' them with my Points spend each month.  Baked beans come in at 2 points per tin, so I can have at least two tins every month for the next four months.

Sue xx

Do I Follow the Menu Plan? One Days Meals

 

Someone asked me if I followed the menu plan rigidly, most days the answer would be yes.  

I am doing a menu plan to help keep myself on track and to take that 'What can I have for tea?' quandary off the table each day.  There's nothing worse to me than standing in front of the fridge or cupboard, hungry and wanting something quickly and just not knowing what to have.  That's the time when all good intentions can fly out of the window and I risk eating rubbish, which then leaves me unsatisfied and leads to nibbling all evening.

But ... I am very open to switching the meals or the days around.

So I will eat a Tuesday meal for Monday's tea and vice versa.  The main thing for me is to have seven evening meals, seven lunches and seven breakfasts written down and ready for inspiration.  Some weeks, like last week for example, things crop up, time runs away with me or we go out and a meal isn't eaten at all.  That's when I can add the missing meal to the next weeks Menu Plan to make sure that nothing gets wasted and everything gets enjoyed while it is in the best possible condition.

So to me a menu plan isn't written in stone, it is a daily reminder of what I think will be balanced for me over the course of the week, what is ready and waiting to be eaten and what I hope to be eating each day.

As you can see from these photos and this weeks Menu Plan Monday went very well.  😁

Sue xx

First Thing on a Monday Morning

 

First thing on a Monday morning I am trying to get into the habit of checking through the previous week's menu plan, ticking off what I did eat and noting what I didn't use up.  Then I try and make those missed off items the first thing that I use on the following week's plan, especially anything that has been in the fridge for a few days.

Then I look in the fridge to double check that yes they are actually there and see what else I have that needs using.  I still have lots of vegetables that I want to use up this week if possible, but luckily everything seems to be in good condition at the moment.

Then using the freezer inventory I did a couple of weeks ago I start to plan out the meals, just roughly on a piece of paper.

Then I give myself a break from that and weigh out the new weeks rations.

I have found ... much to my surprise ... that I use only about one and a half ounces of instant coffee each week, I honestly thought I drank a lot more than that.  Maybe that amount will go up a bit now that the cooler weather seems to be here to stay, we'll see.  But even if it does I have my 2oz a week and the build up of all the extra half ounces that I haven't used, and I have not touched the first month's extra monthly ration of 4oz.

I'm going to have to switch to a bigger jar soon if I carry on having a backlog!!

Now that I have used a good proportion of my sugar for the Compost Heap Jelly I made last week, this weeks ration fitted into the jar easily.

One good thing came out of my search of the kitchen for the jelly bag for straining the fruit ... I found a stash of Love Hearts in one of my enamel containers.  It seems that I can have five packets for my 2oz sweetie ration.  😁

Week Six - Weekly Food Rations

Once everything is weighed I take a photo for the records and then get everything put away.

This is the first week that I am not taking an egg as part of my ration and I have instead chosen to take fish for the next few weeks.  So two veggie sausages instead of one egg, as has been the norm for the first five weeks, and a fish portion instead of the other.  The idea of this is that it will give  me a nice protein rich simple meal.  

This may be re-evaluated in the coming weeks as if I am trying to keep my food spend down this isn't really helping.  Fish is pretty expensive ... and quite rightly so ... and it would make up a large percentage of my £10 per week budget.   I will have to have a look through my cupboard and see what tinned fish I have in.  Although in reality tinned fish was only available through the points system during the war years, however, I may be lenient with myself to use up any reserves that I already have in as wartime housewives would have done ... we'll see.

Some things take a bit of thinking about!  🤔

Anyway after all the menu planning and weighing out it was time for my breakfast, and as per this weeks menu plan this was porridge ... and a well earned cup of coffee.

My Menu Plan for Week Six

Sue xx

Shopping, Fish and Re-workings

Shopping from Sainsbury's £6.50.

I didn't really need to go shopping this week, but as I had to call into Sainsbury's for something completely non-food related I thought I might as well pick up some bread while I was there and also some fish for when I am making up next weeks rations.

I decided at the end of last week that instead of my two eggs each week for the next few weeks at least, I will be taking the two meat-free sausages I have been having since rationing began instead of one of them and instead of the other I will take a single portion of fish.  So once opened this pack will be one portion for this week and the other will go into the freezer for next week.

I saw the potatoes were still on offer at just £1.25 for 2.5kg so I decided to buy a bag of those as well, not realising that I had 7 potatoes still in the fridge.  I don't usually store potatoes in the fridge, it was just during that very hot week recently they were all beginning to sprout in the bag in the kitchen, so I popped them in the fridge drawer right at the back and only discovered them when I went to put the fish away.

As soon as I got home I got the potatoes out of the plastic bag and left them out for an hour to dry off a bit while I had a coffee.  Then I put them into a Stayfresh bag and then into a cotton tote.  Hopefully now it's so much cooler they will last just fine while I work my way through the seven large potatoes in the fridge.

 

I also sat down and did a re-working of my ration plan yesterday to update my new no-egg rations.  Isn't it great having things saved on the computer so  that you can just adjust a few lines instead of starting from scratch.  

I do have to make this rationing malarkey work for me if I want to do it long term and if it takes playing around with things for a while at first I am quite willing to do that.  Sorry if it gets a bit confusing for you when you read the posts. 😌

Sue xx

The Results of a Day in the Kitchen

 

I spent most of Thursday on and off in the kitchen and then just an hour on Friday to cook and pot up the jam.  Time well spent if you look at the results.

I ended up with two and a half pounds of Compost Heap Jelly*.  There are no labels on the jars in this photo as they are still piping hot, but I will label them as soon as they are cold.

*If you want to see how to make this look at yesterday's post which includes a YouTube video from Pam the Jam. 

They are definitely going to be a sweet treat as it took a kilo of sugar for the liquid I had to make the jelly.  It's a good job I only have a thin covering on my toast.  😄

I had decided to turn the roll of puff pastry that I had instead of my fats and oils this on weeks rations into as many things as I could.  In the end I managed to get four meals from it.

Two quiche bases part cooked and now in the fridge ready to turn into quick lunches over the weekend, one breakfast jam turnover that I had yesterday, very sweet but also very delicious.  What a wartime treat that would have been.

And a Sausage Plait that I had for my tea when it was hot straight out of the oven.  Served with just some salad from the garden and a drizzle of mayo, it was tasty and very filling.

This is what it looked like inside it's pastry overcoat.

I thawed two Linda McCartney sausages out and made up a couple of tablespoons of dried stuffing mix, then stirred the two together before forming into this patty shape.  I was aiming to have something that looked like the old Linda McCartney Sausage Plaits that were sadly discontinued many years ago and that a lot of people miss.  Then I decided a little smear of the garlic Jam that I still have left over from last Christmas would be good on top.

 I cut slits either side of the patty and criss-crossed them over until everything was covered.  I brushed it with milk and cooked it for about 30 minutes alongside everything else to make full use of the oven space.  I pulled the quiche bases out first, then the turnover and finally the sausage plait.

Inside the turnover was just a big dollop of this months jam, not quite as big as it looks in this photo!!  

I'm think that I'm doing really well as I haven't touched the other half of my bi-monthly jam ration so it's all going to plan ... up to now, and of course I have my new jars of jam which will be available to me at any time as they have been made from scraps and my ration of sugar.  Either for me to eat or to give as gifts.

So I think that was a good day in the kitchen, three things made off this weeks menu and a bonus breakfast to replace my porridge yesterday.  And using this pastry made me realise that homemade shortcrust pastry is definitely better, which is a good thing because during the war years there was definitely no shop bought, ready rolled pastry available.  In future making my own will be so much cheaper, mere pennies instead of the current Aldi price for a roll which is £1.19, so much kinder to my budget.

Sue xx