The Doldrums

Another week, another menu... *yawn*

I'm afraid we've reached the doldrums...listlessly shuffling from one rationing week to the next, counting our points, making the same meals with the same *sigh* seasonal produce.

Same, same, same...

Of course, in 1943 most food rationing didn't begin until late February, so folks didn't have to wait very long at all for the growing season to begin and thus quickly had colorful and tasty options for their menu. Plus, they had nearly a year to plan ahead and preserve that bounty so they wouldn't get stuck with only cabbage and carrots next winter.

Us? We started in late December, so cabbage and carrots we have.

Why, oh why, didn't we wait to start rationing until the end of February?

Anyhoo...after TMOTH rolled a five last week for the Randomizer I wasn't going to chance it again and gave the die to Eowyn for this week's scenarios. And she proceeded to roll a five (head smack!). BUT, at least two of the scenarios we pulled for this week we're favorable, unlike last week, so it wasn't too bad in the end.

• Beef - limited, only 1/2 the normal purchase amount available
• Fresh Vegetables - limited, only 1/2 the normal purchase amount available
• Canned Fruits - Victory Special! available at only 1/4 the usual ration points
• Nuts and Nut Products - none available for purchase
• Poultry - surplus, available for only 1/2 the usual ration points

Luckily, the only beef on the menu this week (Monday's meal) was leftover from last week - we ended up not making the meatballs last Sunday and so can use that beef instead of buying new for this week.

The fresh vegetable shortage is a bummer and I had to downsize several portions for the week.

The Victory Special on canned fruits allowed us to buy a few extra cans of peaches and pears and a much coveted jar of applesauce.

I usually try to have a spare jar of peanut butter in the house since it is a staple at Rational Living. That will come in very handy this week since we can't purchase another. Also, there is a pecan pie scheduled for a special meal with guests on Friday that was in jeopardy until I remembered that we still have a stash of locally-grown pecans we picked a few seasons ago hiding out in the back of the cupboard. Whew!

Since poultry was available for reduced ration points I bought a pound of chicken breasts for future use and then obtained a nice quantity of turkey deli meat for a yummy sandwich night on Saturday (all those Subway commercials during the Olympics convinced me we needed a yummy sandwich night).

So here's how our menu shaped up for the week:

Saturday: deli-style sandwiches and chips
Sunday: roasted turkey, gravy, canned green beans and homemade stuffing
Monday: cabbage, tomato and beef soup with fresh baked bread
Tuesday: out to eat (our once-a-month splurge)*
Wednesday: hot dogs and oven-roasted potato fries
Thursday: crisped lemon liver, rice and canned fruit
Friday: bacon-wrapped venison tenderloin, baked sweet potatoes and baked cabbage

*Since it is an eating out week our point allotments for the week were reduced by 1/14th.

Did you see that on Thursday? It's a liver recipe. *shudder*

Liver seems to be a very generational thing, in that generations before mine eat it but subsequent generations don't. I tried to find a recipe that wouldn't be too anachronistic for our experiment but had a very favorable rating. I don't think I will tell the girls it's liver until I see their reaction - but more on that in a special "liver" post after Thursday night.

In the meantime - liver has such a reputation that I am curious as to if there was anything particular that your family cooked that you just couldn't bare to eat?

For me, it was these hamburger/shredded potato patty combinations...it seemed the potatoes were never fully cooked and made the entire patty a bit slimy. My stomach turns a bit just thinking about it.

Sorry, Mom.

--Rational Mama