Cabin Fever

Another weekend with 12+ inches of snow on the ground and -20 degree wind chills. The girls had two days of school cancelled this week because of the weather. We are all getting a bit squirrelly and need to get out, but it doesn't seem likely to happen.

At least the girls were able to have a sleep-over at their grandparents last night while The Man of the House and I went to a movie. I'm sure the change of scenery was good for the girls, and since we only see about one movie a year in the theater the movie was a nice departure from the ice and snow.

Now, The Man of the House is at work and the girls are still over at their grandparents. I'll have to brave the elements in a bit to go get them, but in the meantime I have homemade cinnamon rolls, coffee and seed catalogues. Not a bad start to the day.



--Rational Mama

Rationing Across the Pond

It's snowing here. Again.

We're expecting 2 to 5 inches of white stuff, in addition to the 10+ inches we already have on the ground. Snow has become monotonous and it's only early January. Sigh.


At least our monotony will be broken up tonight by another round of Mr. Bowles' Amazing Marketplace Scenario Randomizer. I'm a little nervous that cheese will be restricted - Sissy has her heart set on serving all 17 attendees at her family birthday party from-scratch macaroni and cheese.


Oh, and anyone who thinks we have a challenge this year should check out the folks at On the Ration - a modern couple "across the pond" who is living on U.K. WWII civilian rations for an entire month. U.K. civilian rations were considerably tighter than those in the U.S. and subject to much more frequent shortages. The current weather condition in the U.K. isn't making their month any easier.


To learn more about U.K. rationing and the homefront I highly recommend a viewing of 1940's House. It's available through Netflix and is a guaranteed three hours well spent.

Stay warm, readers!

--Rational Mama

Historic Recipe: Mock Apple Pie

Greetings from Rational Living!

During this next year of living on WWII rations we will be trying various period-appropriate recipes both to connect with our 1940's counterparts and to make the most use of our available consumables. Recipes will come from a variety of sources including three fabulous books:

• Grandma's Wartime Baking Book: World War II and the Way We Baked, by Joanne Lamb Hayes
• Grandma's Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked, by Joanne Lamb Hayes
• Anna's Kitchen: A Compilation of WWII Ration Recipes that You Can Create in Your Kitchen Today, by Gayle Homes Martin

Additionally, I'll be pulling recipes from some of the 1942 - 1946 newspapers in the collection at the Kansas Historical Society.

Today's recipe is actually from an Internet source: the website for the National WWII Museum. The original recipe was provided by Janice M. of Germantown, IL and there are several similar recipes available on the Internet. The following is the recipe I as made by yours truly.

One note: this was my first attempt in my thirty-f(*cough*cough*) years at making a pie crust. It ain't pretty, but it worked out in the end.

Pie Crust Ingredients
2/3 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour, sifted
5 to 6 TB cold water

Sift flour with salt into large mixing bowl. Cut shortening into flour with pastry blender or, in my case, using the double knife method until particles are the size of small peas.

Sprinkle in cold water, partly mixing until flour is moist. Divide pastry into 2 balls.



Roll out each pastry ball onto floured surface until 1/8" thick.




Mock Apple Pie Ingredients
2 pie crusts
approximately 20 crackers (saltines or Ritz-style)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3 TB lemon juice
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Bring water, sugar, cinnamon, cream of tartar, lemon juice and nutmeg to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes and set aside to cool.


Place crackers into the unbaked pie shell. Pour the cooled mixture over the crackers and cover with the second pie crust.

Cover edges with foil and bake in preheated 425 degree oven until crust is light brown, approximately 40 minutes.

Let cool on wire rack until ready to serve.


And the results...?


Not the prettiest pie, but it's a pie nonetheless.

The taste is very similar to apple pie, but the texture is a bit off.


Either way, a pretty slice - the only thing missing is a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream.





And the judges give it two thumbs up!

--Rational Mama

First Results from the Randomizer!

Last Wednesday night we used Mr. Bowles' Amazing Marketplace Scenario Randomizer for the first time - something we will be doing every Wednesday evening during the rationing year. The roll of the die indicated that there would be three scenarios for the this week's shopping. They are:

Salad Oils - None available

Frozen Fruit - Scarce, available but only at 1 1/2 times the normal ration points

Processed Meats - Only substandard quality available

As far as the salad oils go, I'm glad I bought a new jar of canola oil last week. I think we have enough to get us through, but I hope we can purchase more next week.

Frozen fruit is already quite pricey on the rationing list, so 1 1/2 the regular points makes it a definite luxury for the week. Our family typically does not use much frozen fruit at all when not rationing, but that's because we eat lots of fresh fruit instead. Since we're limited to seasonal availability during the rationing project I have a feeling frozen fruit will be purchased more often as a nice break from canned and dried fruit during the winter months. Luckily we had just enough points to purchase some frozen strawberries this week as an extra treat.

Substandard processed meats showed up on our shopping list in the form of hot dogs and some pepperoni for homemade pizza night. In this instance I assumed that "substandard" meant off-brand. Again, not too bad of a scenario for our first week with the Randomizer.

For this week's shopping trip we used 63 of our 64 red rationing points and 185 of our 192 blue/green stamps. Red points were used on pepperoni, cheese, hot dogs and turkey and then buying containers of both shortening and margarine. Friday night will be a special night with 10 point pork chops! Most of the blue/green points were used on canned fruits and vegetables and those point-pricey frozen strawberries. Also, we purchased a modest-sized bottle of ketchup at a whopping 18 points - yowzer!

I also purchased our allotted 2 pounds of sugar (brown).

The dinner menu for this week is:
Saturday - homemade pizza (pepperoni and black olive)
Sunday - sloppy does (using non-rationed venison), mashed potatoes and cabbage salad
Monday - vegetable fried rice and egg-drop soup
Tuesday - baked hot dogs loaded with left-over mashed potatoes and cheese and (canned) green beans
Wednesday - vegetarian taco soup with sour cream and Fritos (yay for historically accurate Fritos!)
Thursday - waffles and (turkey) gravy (historical recipe) and (frozen) peas
Friday - pork chops, cabbage and fresh-baked bread

On Wednesday night we also reset the trip meters on our vehicles - this week will be the first full week to stay under our 193 miles-per-week ration. The Man of the House has been carpooling to work with a gentleman who prefers to be paid in soda (!); this saves us around 14 miles each day that he works. My round trip to work is only 2 1/2 miles, and I often walk to and from work two to three times a week, weather permitting. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't permitted much lately, so I'm itching for some nicer weather in the new year!

The next few weeks of shopping should be interesting because we are preparing for Sissy's birthday party, during which we will be feeding 17 people a noon-time meal. We've already developed a relatively ration-friendly menu and should be able to make all the items...as long as the Randomizer doesn't throw us a kink!

--Rational Mama

Why Ration?

Happy New Year from the Rational Living household! A new year seemed like a good time to reassess why we undertook this year-long rationing project (of which we just completed our first week). The Man of the House has provided the following essay…
--Rational Mama


When Rational Mama asked me to help explain the reasons we are undertaking this project, I was looking forward to writing a well organized and moving essay. It turns out that I am not quite the essayist that I used to think I was. Maybe it's the 15 years of not writing anything or maybe if she gave me a due date I could wait until the night before, get hopped up on Mountain Dew and microwave popcorn and pull an all-nighter of writing AND studying for the calculus midterm. Actually, my personal solution to the coffee vs. soda dilemma was to swear off caffeine completely, so the Mountain Dew solution isn't really an option now.

Anyway, when she mentioned that she would like to do something like the rationing project someday I pretty much immediately said "lets go."

For my part I think I was aware that I am guilty of being the type to talk about all that is wrong in the world and what should be done and then go back to hiding in my comfortable middle-class oblivion without committing to do anything about anything. Then this opportunity to commit to making some real changes to our habits and lifestyles came up. It just seemed like the right time to actually “get off the sofa” and do something. I don't have any delusions about saving the world from gluttonous consumerism and all it's cascading affects but at least for my own mental well being it's better than living with blinders on and pretending that nothing is wrong.

This is where the moving essay was going to be but for now you will have to settle for a quick survey of some of the issues that could be improved by those with the most using less and sharing more.

First off, there is the environment. This is the big one and it is more complicated that I can do justice. It’s not just one of the issues, it is many issues rolled together. Let's be clear from the beginning: in high school I was the idealistic type of environmentalist who thought we were supposed to save nature for nature’s sake. I have replaced that guy with a realistic and occasionally cynical and pessimistic environmentalist. I now realize that nature doesn't feel or care - people feel and care. We need to protect nature for the people. I’m sorry to have to bring up such an overworked topic, but Global Warming is real. Your children and grandchildren will live in a world shaped by our actions today.

So how is this an environmental project? That is the complicated part. I really believe that everything is connected and every action has consequences. The more we consume, the greater our impact on so many levels. We have chosen the World War II rationing scenario to make it interesting and give us specific guidelines but the real issue for me is to slow down our consumption.

Another personal goal is to increase awareness of some more directly humanitarian issues we feel strongly about.


By rationing, we are forcing ourselves to be mindful and not take for granted how lucky we are just to live in one of the "first world" nations. For example, as I gave the dog a bath, did some laundry, ran the dishwasher and took a bath yesterday I was really aware of how much I take for granted an abundant supply of clean water - and that is just the beginning. During our year of rationing there will be restrictions on what we can eat and when, but we will never go hungry. We may move the needle on the thermostat (between 60 and 62 degrees Fahrenheit going into January), but we won't be truly cold. We will carpool or walk when possible and combine and minimize shopping trips but I still am grateful that I am not one of the people I see standing in the snow and wind waiting for public transit.

I am not half the researcher Rational Mama is but in the future I will be posting highlights of other areas of the world (and some not so far away) where people have to make due with so much less than even our restricted amounts, along with some ideas about what we (and you) can do to make an impact. More good impact, less bad impact - that is the general idea we are working on.

I hope you enjoy reading about the nuts and bolts of our experiences trying to match the restricted consumption that was experienced by “The Greatest Generation.” While you do, please remember that they are considered Great because of the sacrifices they made and the change they brought about in the world. It may be difficult to convince today's populace in general that global environmental degradation is an enemy on par with those faced in WWII. But perhaps as you follow along with our little project you will consider if there are any small sacrifices you can make to help give a better world to our descendants and comfort to those who are suffering now.

--The Man of the House

Rationing Points: Week #1

So, wondering how we did on using our ration points this week? Here's a quick break down !

RED POINTS (Meats, Cheeses, Fats and Oils) -
TOTAL AVAILABLE: 64 pts
Turkey 5 lbs (bone in) - 15 pts
Macaroni and Cheese (2 boxes) - 1 pt
Butter (1 lb) - 16 pts
Canola Oil (32 oz) - 10 pts
Cheddar Cheese (1 lb) - 8 pts
Cream Cheese (8 oz) - 3 pts
Bologna (10 oz) - 3 pts
Bacon (1 lb) - 8 pts
TOTAL USED: 64 pts.

Whew! Barely scraped by, but if we weren't also rationing poultry we would have had much more wiggle room. That bacon was a last minute addition for Wednesday's dinner once I saw that we could afford the points. It's bacon!


BLUE/GREEN POINTS (Canned/Frozen/Dried Produce) -
TOTAL AVAILABLE: 192 pts.
Green Beans (2 cans) - 12 pts
Cream of Mushroom Soup (1 can) - 4 pts
Frozen Snap Peas (1 lb) - 12 pts
Fruit (2 cans) - 32 pts
Spaghetti Sauce (1 can) - 8 pts
Carrots (1 can) - 6 pts
Dried Black Beans (1 lb) - 2 pts
Chicken Broth (5 cans) - 20 pts
Raisins (3/4 lb) - 3 pts
Applesauce (25 oz) - 21 pts
Juice (48 oz) - 9 pts
Spinach (1 can) - 8 pts
TOTAL USED: 137 pts

Hmm...we still have 55 blue/green points to play with...which may come in handy (I'll 'splain later). We're really feeling the lack of fresh produce, especially fruit, since we are subject to seasonal availability just like our WWII civilian counterparts. I did splurge and by some clementines, though.

We also purchased our allotted two pounds of sugar and one adult's five-week coffee rations.

Here's our plans for all these rationed items, plus their non-rationed compadres:
Saturday: Roast turkey with gravy, green bean casserole, and stuffing (using day-old bread that had been stored in the freezer)
Sunday: Turkey and homemade noodle soup with cabbage salad
Monday: Sweet potato and (frozen) butternut squash soup with fresh-baked bread
Tuesday: Baked potatoes with cheese and sour cream and (frozen) snap peas
Wednesday: Pancakes, bacon and canned fruit
Thursday: Spaghetti marinara with carrots
Friday: Black bean soup with corn bread

Lunches this week consist mostly of left-overs, peanut butter and honey sandwiches and non-rationed dried soup mixes. Speaking of soup, the soup on Monday night was not that great. Really. Not good. Orange mush with too much pepper. But we ate it and I rewarded the family by baking our first historically-accurate treat: Lafayette Gingerbread (historical recipes will get their own blog post shortly). And I will fully disclose that we also finished off the last of the ice cream that was hibernating in the freezer since Eowyn's birthday party a few weeks ago. But that is gone now...long gone. Adios. Sigh.

Anyhoo, back to those extra blue/green points...we're getting together with a few friends on New Year's Eve and we need to bring some party noshings, so I imagine we'll be dipping into that surplus, plus providing some baked goods. No traditional little smokies or sweet and sour meatballs or cheese ball. But I also promise to not bring cans of cooked spinach and navy beans, either. I'll let you know what I come up with for that occasion.

Tomorrow night is our first experience with Mr. Bowles' Amazing Marketplace Scenario Randomizer. As challenging as it was to make a menu this week just keeping to basic points my mind already cramps a bit when I think about meal planning with key ingredients either missing or worth more points. Of course, they could also be worth less points...gotta keep the optimism going. Needless to say we'll keep you posted on what restrictions we'll be working with next week!

Be safe - there's a war on, you know!

--Rational Mama

A Rational Review

Now that we've survived the first day of rationing, I thought I'd review all of the rations/restrictions that we are following during this rationing year.

These allotments follow traditional U.S. civilian rationing during WWII:

Gasoline: maximum of 193 miles per week combined for our two vehicles (equivalent to the 11 gallons per week we would have been allowed during the War).
Sugar: maximum 2 pounds per week for our family of four.
Meat/Cheese/Oils: maximum 64 red points per week, following point values on this handy dandy chart (we are including poultry, which was not part of the original WWII U.S. civilian rationing program).
Canned, Frozen and Processed Fruits, Vegetables and Soups: up to 192 blue/green ration points per week following the handy dandy chart. [Editorial Note: during the 4th week of the rationing year it was discovered that we are only allowed 48 blue/green points. Big change!]
Coffee: Up to 1 pound per adult every 5 weeks.

All of the above restrictions, as well as some additional food items, are subject to change as a result of Mr. Bowles' Amazing Marketplace Scenario Randomizer.

In addition to the above we have also incorporated a host of additional restrictions during the rationing year:

Eating Out: we will eat out at a restaurant as a family only once a month, and I will have one weekend lunch out with the girls just once a month as well.
Limited Processed Foods: minimally processed and/or minimally-packaged foods will be preferred over other options (i.e. "real" carrots vs. bags of mini peeled carrots, no prepackaged snack cakes).
Seasonal Produce: only seasonal fresh produce may be purchased, following this list (if off-season, produce must be dried, canned or frozen and thus cost more rationing points).
Soda: permitted at a maximum of three 12 oz servings per week, per adult.
Limited New Purchases: all purchases must be evaluated for needs vs. wants and when possible second-hand options should be considered (Craig's List, Ebay, Goodwill and Freecycle).

We're also in the process of re-evaluating our energy usage in the Rational Living household, so additional energy ration guidelines may be added. We're notoriously bad about leaving lights on in unoccupied rooms and don't use power strips to power-down idle electronics. But that will be fodder for a future post!

In the meantime...pretty much the entire gang at the Rational Living household suspects that the eating out restrictions are where we will feel the most pain.

How often does your family eat out? Do you have a family plan about eating out, or is it more loosey-goosey?

Thanks for stopping by!

--Rational Mama