Saturday, February 20, 2010

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

7 comments:

  1. I was a super picky eater as a kid so my list is pretty long. One thing I REALLY hated was potato soup.

    For whatever reason my parents would always insist that I try that one food item, and would withold fun activities and the like if I wouldn't try it.

    To this day I refuse to eat potato soup.

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  2. The foods I'm not a fan of are nothing that anybody really makes. I can remember sitting at the talbe FOREVER because my dad made me sit there until I drank my milk. HATE MILK. Still don't really care for it. Applesauce has always made me gag. Still does-- I just tried it as an adult about a month ago and it seriously still kicks my gag reflex into high gear. Beets and radishes are disgusting (to me)! I'm a veggie lover, but there are some things this greenie won't touch. Good luck with the liver. You are more brave (much more) than I!

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  3. Sloppy Joes. Blah. And we'd have them anytime we'd have company driving into town to stay with us... because it could stay on the oven I guess. So I started to hate a having company. The sloppy joe issue remains, but I sure do love company! On that note... can you skip the cabbage on Monday and come over for an early dinner? We're going to frog princess at 6:35 ($1 theater, love to take the girls). So it would need to be like 5. Call me. I've got a snow day. I'll be here. :)

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  5. Mom had a very basic cooking repoitore, bland, lol! We were happy for anything and I can't remember anything I didn't like. My kids on the other hand are the pickiest kids on earth, I'm sure! (DS has sensory eating issues with flavors, textures and touching that I had hoped he'd outgrow by now, but!).

    Here is a potato idea that you may like. Potato pancakes the easy way ;). I wash and grate a few potatoes, skins and all. Add an egg, a little baking powder, pinch of salt and enough flour to make a batter. Fry until browned and cooked through. It's good with butter, ketchup, molasses, maple syrup or even just plain. It makes a good hearty supper that is good savory or sweet. I wasn't sure if you made potato pancakes and it popped in my head when you mentioned grated potatoes :)

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  6. Lara - I knew I had a friend that gagged on apple sauce, but I couldn't remember who! Carla - I haven't made potato pancakes in years - thanks for the reminder!

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  7. I hated butter when I was a kid, and favoured margarine (I'm the opposite now). And I've never, EVER been able to stand the smell of Spam being fried. I actually had to leave the house if my mother was cooking it. Sorry, since I know it was a hit in the RL household. ;-)

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