Notes from the rationing world:
One appreciates M&M's claims to melt in your mouth and not in your hand much more seriously when air conditioning isn't an option.
--Rational Mama
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Trouble with Summer and Chocolate...
Notes from the rationing world:
One appreciates M&M's claims to melt in your mouth and not in your hand much more seriously when air conditioning isn't an option.
--Rational Mama
Sunday, April 25, 2010
A Tisket! A Tasket! Our First CSA Basket (of the year)!
Friday was the first pick-up day for our CSA subscription through the local natural food co-op. Here's what it contained:
Just in case you can't tell from the photo, that's a half-dozen farm fresh/free-range eggs, a bunch (literally) of carrots, a bag of dried Nameko mushrooms, a bag of salad greens and a bag of spinach. This collection is a little bit smaller than the usual weekly pick-up (the growers had a hard time harvesting with all the rain we've had), so they charged us a bit less than the normal weekly fee.
Yum! All fresh, all local and all un-rationed! One of the best parts, though, is the newsletter that comes with the weekly bag. This week's newsletter explains that, "each week's bag holds gastronomic treasures and culinary mysteries for you to behold." Seriously. Is this not the most awesome food newsletter ever?
With the fresh greens available through our own garden, the farmer's market and our CSA subscription we've eaten a ridiculous amount of salad in the last week. This makes me very happy.
Not tonight, though. Tonight's dinner is very fitting for the cool, rainy day we've had here: chicken pot pie. Eowyn requested it late last week and so I just took my second attempt at making pie crust (you can revisit my first attempt here). I used a different pastry recipe and the results are much more aesthetically pleasing. The contents of the pie also include a homemade white/cream sauce, which replaces the store-bought can of cream of chicken soup I would have used prior to rationing.
And if tonight remains cold and dreary I might just need to make a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies - no cookies from a tube here.
Ah, how some things have changed!
--Rational Mama
Just in case you can't tell from the photo, that's a half-dozen farm fresh/free-range eggs, a bunch (literally) of carrots, a bag of dried Nameko mushrooms, a bag of salad greens and a bag of spinach. This collection is a little bit smaller than the usual weekly pick-up (the growers had a hard time harvesting with all the rain we've had), so they charged us a bit less than the normal weekly fee.Yum! All fresh, all local and all un-rationed! One of the best parts, though, is the newsletter that comes with the weekly bag. This week's newsletter explains that, "each week's bag holds gastronomic treasures and culinary mysteries for you to behold." Seriously. Is this not the most awesome food newsletter ever?
With the fresh greens available through our own garden, the farmer's market and our CSA subscription we've eaten a ridiculous amount of salad in the last week. This makes me very happy.
Not tonight, though. Tonight's dinner is very fitting for the cool, rainy day we've had here: chicken pot pie. Eowyn requested it late last week and so I just took my second attempt at making pie crust (you can revisit my first attempt here). I used a different pastry recipe and the results are much more aesthetically pleasing. The contents of the pie also include a homemade white/cream sauce, which replaces the store-bought can of cream of chicken soup I would have used prior to rationing.
And if tonight remains cold and dreary I might just need to make a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies - no cookies from a tube here.
Ah, how some things have changed!
--Rational Mama
Monday, April 19, 2010
How to Lose 1 Pound of Fat Per Month
Greetings, readers! Today's topic is that much-hated scourge of middle age: fat. But I'm not talking about a spare tire or love handles. I'm talking about...well...fat! Cooking fat!
In the 1940's it was not unusual for the dutiful housewife to keep reusing her cooking fats until there was nothing but sludgy grit and granules left. Then, down the drain or out with the trash the remaining gloop went. While this may sound especially reasonable during WWII rationing restrictions this practice actually caused a dilemma during the war: the U.S. government needed those fats to extract the glycerin necessary for making bullets and bombs!
Thus, in the middle of all the rationing hype you find plenty of reminders (such as this one from the March 30, 1943 Topeka Daily Capital) for women to not dispose of their waste fats but instead to set aside an amount for Uncle Sam.
With cooking oils being high-point items on the rationing list and consumers inclined to keep the waste fats for their own use (plenty of WWII recipes include a tablespoon of bacon or meat grease in place of shortening and/or oil), how was this campaign ever going to be successful?
In typical American fashion, the answer was bribery! Yes, for one pound of grease per month you could earn an additional two red ration points. Aha! Now we're talking! Civilians could bring their jars or cans of stored waste fats in to their butcher for the bonus two points.
Just by setting aside one tablespoon of waste fats per day the average household would have their one pound donation by the end of the month.
It takes our household much longer to come up with that much waste fat since we do not fry as
much food as was typical in the 1940's. In fact, most of our waste fat has come from the two times I've made fried chicken. As such, we have been able to turn in two one-pound containers of fat so far. I don't see that number increasing dramatically as one of the things that rationing has taught me is that I'm absolutely repulsed by shortening. Ugh.
Oh, and one final thought here: anyone who touts U.S. WWII rationing guidelines as a weight-loss scheme isn't being honest with you. While certain things like fats, cheeses, butter and meats were rationed, most grain-based items were not. So, while you might not be allowed your thick-cut steak you can fill that void with crackers, bread, potatoes and a heaping handful of sweets if you portion out your sugar ration just right. Civilian rations in the U.K., however, were quite Spartan and more than one example exists of that type of system leading to weight loss.
In the meantime, I'm happy to stick to our U.S. civilian rations, especially with the prospect of fresh fruits and vegetables just around the corner. Summer will clearly be the golden age of the rationing year.
--Rational Mama
In the 1940's it was not unusual for the dutiful housewife to keep reusing her cooking fats until there was nothing but sludgy grit and granules left. Then, down the drain or out with the trash the remaining gloop went. While this may sound especially reasonable during WWII rationing restrictions this practice actually caused a dilemma during the war: the U.S. government needed those fats to extract the glycerin necessary for making bullets and bombs!
Thus, in the middle of all the rationing hype you find plenty of reminders (such as this one from the March 30, 1943 Topeka Daily Capital) for women to not dispose of their waste fats but instead to set aside an amount for Uncle Sam.
With cooking oils being high-point items on the rationing list and consumers inclined to keep the waste fats for their own use (plenty of WWII recipes include a tablespoon of bacon or meat grease in place of shortening and/or oil), how was this campaign ever going to be successful?In typical American fashion, the answer was bribery! Yes, for one pound of grease per month you could earn an additional two red ration points. Aha! Now we're talking! Civilians could bring their jars or cans of stored waste fats in to their butcher for the bonus two points.
Just by setting aside one tablespoon of waste fats per day the average household would have their one pound donation by the end of the month.It takes our household much longer to come up with that much waste fat since we do not fry as
much food as was typical in the 1940's. In fact, most of our waste fat has come from the two times I've made fried chicken. As such, we have been able to turn in two one-pound containers of fat so far. I don't see that number increasing dramatically as one of the things that rationing has taught me is that I'm absolutely repulsed by shortening. Ugh.Oh, and one final thought here: anyone who touts U.S. WWII rationing guidelines as a weight-loss scheme isn't being honest with you. While certain things like fats, cheeses, butter and meats were rationed, most grain-based items were not. So, while you might not be allowed your thick-cut steak you can fill that void with crackers, bread, potatoes and a heaping handful of sweets if you portion out your sugar ration just right. Civilian rations in the U.K., however, were quite Spartan and more than one example exists of that type of system leading to weight loss.
In the meantime, I'm happy to stick to our U.S. civilian rations, especially with the prospect of fresh fruits and vegetables just around the corner. Summer will clearly be the golden age of the rationing year.
--Rational Mama
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Eating Out and Filling Up (with Guilt)
Remember waaaay back at the beginning of the Rational Living year when all the household members predicted that the self-imposed limitations on eating out would be the hardest part? And then in February I blogged this entry:
We are all surprised at how manageable the transition to reduced restaurant visitation has been.
It was like we were some bad-ass non-eating out ninjas who could quickly and silently whip up an easy dinner in the chaos of the day. Only a half-hour to eat between getting home and piano lessons? No problem! Running errands that conflict with lunch time? Just grab some snacks to tide us over until we eat a real meal at home.
Yeah, that was so February.
In the past few weeks we've definitely been experiencing a backslide in this category. An extra dinner out. Grabbing a quick sandwich while out shopping (who can resist the $5 foot-long with that catchy song?). And I was beginning to feel guilty about this slide, because we originally planned to reduce our allotted rationing points on the weeks we went out and because I'm very quick to feel guilt (seriously, it's amazing I'm not more religious with how quickly I can feel at blame even if I'm not).
We had decided to reduce our ration points during eating-out weeks because I had read in several sources general comments about how during WWII rationing consumers had to turn over ration points for meals eaten in restaurants. This made sense, since eating in restaurants would be an easy way to supplement rationing if points weren't involved.
So I did a little more research to see just how justified my guilt was for our recent transgressions. I had a hard time finding any specific information until I found this little gem. It's an article from the May 5, 1943 Wichita Eagle entitled, "Persons Eating Regularly At Cafes, Institutions, Must Pay Ration Points." Finally! Here was a historical source that would accurately admonish our current behavior and set us on a straight and righteous path when it comes to eating out during the rationing year!
The article clearly concludes:
OPA regulations state that all persons who consume eight or more meals a week in a restaurant, hotel dining room, hospital or institution which has registered as an institutional user of processed food, meat, and fats, shall surrender their ration books to the owner or operator of such places of business, and stamps will be removed by the management for the periods which stamps are currently valid. The books in turn will be turned back to their owners at the expiration of the period which the persons are receiving meals in such institutions. [bold added]
What? What? What? Eight or more meals a week? What? Seriously? You don't have to surrender ration points unless your eating eight or more meals out a week? I don't think I've ever eaten eight times out in a one week period, in my whole life!
Oh hell. Let me tell you, dear reader, that that foot-long sandwich is gonna taste a whole lot better without the extra side of guilt.
--Rational Mama
We are all surprised at how manageable the transition to reduced restaurant visitation has been.
It was like we were some bad-ass non-eating out ninjas who could quickly and silently whip up an easy dinner in the chaos of the day. Only a half-hour to eat between getting home and piano lessons? No problem! Running errands that conflict with lunch time? Just grab some snacks to tide us over until we eat a real meal at home.
Yeah, that was so February.
In the past few weeks we've definitely been experiencing a backslide in this category. An extra dinner out. Grabbing a quick sandwich while out shopping (who can resist the $5 foot-long with that catchy song?). And I was beginning to feel guilty about this slide, because we originally planned to reduce our allotted rationing points on the weeks we went out and because I'm very quick to feel guilt (seriously, it's amazing I'm not more religious with how quickly I can feel at blame even if I'm not).
We had decided to reduce our ration points during eating-out weeks because I had read in several sources general comments about how during WWII rationing consumers had to turn over ration points for meals eaten in restaurants. This made sense, since eating in restaurants would be an easy way to supplement rationing if points weren't involved.
So I did a little more research to see just how justified my guilt was for our recent transgressions. I had a hard time finding any specific information until I found this little gem. It's an article from the May 5, 1943 Wichita Eagle entitled, "Persons Eating Regularly At Cafes, Institutions, Must Pay Ration Points." Finally! Here was a historical source that would accurately admonish our current behavior and set us on a straight and righteous path when it comes to eating out during the rationing year!
The article clearly concludes:
OPA regulations state that all persons who consume eight or more meals a week in a restaurant, hotel dining room, hospital or institution which has registered as an institutional user of processed food, meat, and fats, shall surrender their ration books to the owner or operator of such places of business, and stamps will be removed by the management for the periods which stamps are currently valid. The books in turn will be turned back to their owners at the expiration of the period which the persons are receiving meals in such institutions. [bold added]
What? What? What? Eight or more meals a week? What? Seriously? You don't have to surrender ration points unless your eating eight or more meals out a week? I don't think I've ever eaten eight times out in a one week period, in my whole life!
Oh hell. Let me tell you, dear reader, that that foot-long sandwich is gonna taste a whole lot better without the extra side of guilt.
--Rational Mama
Saturday, April 3, 2010
A New Addition to the Rational Living Family
That's right readers! There's a new addition to the Rational Living household. Don't worry, there's no pitter-patter of little feet...in fact, there's no feet at all!
We now have a wormery! Our very own vermicomposting system! They're quite simple to make; ours was made with a plastic tote bin, 2 bricks, an extra screen, a plank of wood, dirt, shredded paper and small amounts of compost-able material. We already had all of these supplies, so our materials cost was zero.
All we had to do was add the right kind of worms. And thanks to a generous gift from Karla (an experienced vermicomposter who found herself with too many worms), around one pound of worms were mixed into our own bin today.
These hardworking little guys and gals...wait, these worms are hermaphrodites...well, then I guess each worm IS a guy and a gal...anyhoo...these little critters will happily decompose the following household waste:
As you may be able to tell from the photo, we are keeping the wormery in a corner of the basement, where the occupants should be happy with a near-constant temperature. Come summer we may need to redesign the screen cover to keep any flies out, but we will deal with that when the time comes.
In the meantime, we'll be saving our compostable waste in a little jar on the kitchen counter and take it down to the worms a few times a week (the girls are already in heated discussions as to who gets to feed the worms first). Any excess material will be tossed into our regular compost bin outside.
I haven't been able to find any information about the use of worm bins during WWII, but I believe the reuse of kitchen scraps falls within the spirit of "use it up!" And who knows, maybe the results will make our Victory Garden that much more victorious!
--Rational Mama
We now have a wormery! Our very own vermicomposting system! They're quite simple to make; ours was made with a plastic tote bin, 2 bricks, an extra screen, a plank of wood, dirt, shredded paper and small amounts of compost-able material. We already had all of these supplies, so our materials cost was zero.
All we had to do was add the right kind of worms. And thanks to a generous gift from Karla (an experienced vermicomposter who found herself with too many worms), around one pound of worms were mixed into our own bin today.
These hardworking little guys and gals...wait, these worms are hermaphrodites...well, then I guess each worm IS a guy and a gal...anyhoo...these little critters will happily decompose the following household waste:- Rotting fruits and vegetables
- Vegetable and fruit peels
- Coffee grounds
- Tea bags
- Stale grains (bread, cracker and cereal)
- Eggshells (rinsed off)
- Leaves and grass clippings (if needed to neutralize the pH)
As you may be able to tell from the photo, we are keeping the wormery in a corner of the basement, where the occupants should be happy with a near-constant temperature. Come summer we may need to redesign the screen cover to keep any flies out, but we will deal with that when the time comes.
In the meantime, we'll be saving our compostable waste in a little jar on the kitchen counter and take it down to the worms a few times a week (the girls are already in heated discussions as to who gets to feed the worms first). Any excess material will be tossed into our regular compost bin outside.
I haven't been able to find any information about the use of worm bins during WWII, but I believe the reuse of kitchen scraps falls within the spirit of "use it up!" And who knows, maybe the results will make our Victory Garden that much more victorious!
--Rational Mama
Monday, March 1, 2010
This Week's Scenarios and Menu (and No-Bake Cookies)
This week we had yet another mix of both favorable and limiting scenarios:
Beef - Victory Special! available for only 1/4 of the usual ration points
Salad Oils - Victory Special! available for only 1/4 of the usual ration points
Sugar - limited, only 1/2 the usual quantity available
Canned Vegetables - scarce, available for 1 1/2 the usual ration points
The beef Victory Special is nice, especially since my regular blood donation appointment is this Thursday and I could use the extra iron.
I used the salad oil Victory Special to purchase two pounds of olive oil.
We should be fine with only one pound of sugar this week since we have yet to run dry on that particular ration, so to speak.
The only canned vegetable in this week's menu is a can of corn that was actually left over from a previous week.
The biggest challenge for this week's menu was the sudden comatose state of the oven range. This menu was already planned and purchased when the range took a turn for the worse, so we were pretty much stuck with it. Here's what we have to work with:
Saturday: Hamburgers and (from scratch) potato fries
Sunday: Vegetarian lasagna and iceberg salad
Monday: Beef brisket and (canned) corn
Tuesday: Chicken and dumplings
Wednesday: Leftovers and Asian cabbage slaw
Thursday: Vegetable fried rice
Friday: Chicken enchiladas and black beans
Firstly, Saturday's fries were amazing. I did the entire peel, slice, soak in ice water, fry at 325 degrees, cool, fry at 375 degrees process and, although a lot of work, was totally worth it. Wonderfully delicious fries to rival anything available in a restaurant.
Normally, I would not be happy at all about an iceberg salad. I like my greens very, well, green and flavorful. Since the 1943 grocery store ads show that iceberg lettuce was occasionally available this time of year I decided to go for it. It was crunchy and a nice change of texture, but I learned that, as far as salads go, I might actually prefer a cabbage salad to an iceberg salad. Go figure.
I decided to "bake" the lasagna in the electric skillet by placing a metal trivet in the bottom and filling the skillet with water a little over half-way up the sides of the lasagna dish. Then I put the lid on and cranked the heat in the skillet for a while. The only drawback was that the top layer of cheese didn't get that golden, toasted appearance and taste. I'll reuse this method on Friday for the enchiladas if tomorrow's news from the appliance technician is not so good.
Otherwise, I was having a major cookie craving this evening and was quite disappointed to realize that you can't bake cookies if your oven is busted. And then I had a brilliant aha! moment: no bake cookies!
Here's the simple (and not very ration-friendly) recipe I used:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 TB cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 to 3 1/2 cups oats (bland cereal like Cheerios or bran flakes work well, too)
Hope everyone has their favorite sweet treats available tonight!
--Rational Mama
Beef - Victory Special! available for only 1/4 of the usual ration points
Salad Oils - Victory Special! available for only 1/4 of the usual ration points
Sugar - limited, only 1/2 the usual quantity available
Canned Vegetables - scarce, available for 1 1/2 the usual ration points
The beef Victory Special is nice, especially since my regular blood donation appointment is this Thursday and I could use the extra iron.
I used the salad oil Victory Special to purchase two pounds of olive oil.
We should be fine with only one pound of sugar this week since we have yet to run dry on that particular ration, so to speak.
The only canned vegetable in this week's menu is a can of corn that was actually left over from a previous week.
The biggest challenge for this week's menu was the sudden comatose state of the oven range. This menu was already planned and purchased when the range took a turn for the worse, so we were pretty much stuck with it. Here's what we have to work with:
Saturday: Hamburgers and (from scratch) potato fries
Sunday: Vegetarian lasagna and iceberg salad
Monday: Beef brisket and (canned) corn
Tuesday: Chicken and dumplings
Wednesday: Leftovers and Asian cabbage slaw
Thursday: Vegetable fried rice
Friday: Chicken enchiladas and black beans
Firstly, Saturday's fries were amazing. I did the entire peel, slice, soak in ice water, fry at 325 degrees, cool, fry at 375 degrees process and, although a lot of work, was totally worth it. Wonderfully delicious fries to rival anything available in a restaurant.
Normally, I would not be happy at all about an iceberg salad. I like my greens very, well, green and flavorful. Since the 1943 grocery store ads show that iceberg lettuce was occasionally available this time of year I decided to go for it. It was crunchy and a nice change of texture, but I learned that, as far as salads go, I might actually prefer a cabbage salad to an iceberg salad. Go figure.
I decided to "bake" the lasagna in the electric skillet by placing a metal trivet in the bottom and filling the skillet with water a little over half-way up the sides of the lasagna dish. Then I put the lid on and cranked the heat in the skillet for a while. The only drawback was that the top layer of cheese didn't get that golden, toasted appearance and taste. I'll reuse this method on Friday for the enchiladas if tomorrow's news from the appliance technician is not so good.
Otherwise, I was having a major cookie craving this evening and was quite disappointed to realize that you can't bake cookies if your oven is busted. And then I had a brilliant aha! moment: no bake cookies!
Here's the simple (and not very ration-friendly) recipe I used:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 TB cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 to 3 1/2 cups oats (bland cereal like Cheerios or bran flakes work well, too)
- Place all ingredients except the oats in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
- Boil hard for one minute and then pour into large bowl with the oats and mix well.
- Drop by spoonfuls onto cookies sheets covered with wax paper.
- Cool until set.
Hope everyone has their favorite sweet treats available tonight!
--Rational Mama
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.
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
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
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
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Historic Recipe: Sausage Loaf
This sausage loaf recipe was on the menu last Sunday and I used the recipe available in Joanne Lamb Hayes' Grandma's Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked.
The description above the recipe states: "This whimsical loaf is reminiscent of the crown roasts of lamb and pork that were almost impossible to get during the war."
Whimsical?
Do I want my food to be whimsical? Why hadn't I noticed that word in the description before I committed to cooking the recipe?
It's actually a very simple recipe. Basically, you line the edges of a loaf pan with the sausages "standing up."
Then you fill the middle with a from-scratch macaroni and cheese concoction and bake the whole thing for around an hour.
After an hour it looks like this:
Whimsical? Yes.
Problem? Yes.
See how nice and browned the little sausage heads look? Crispy and thoroughly cooked? Lovely. The sausage bottoms, however, were limp and undercooked. I had to pull them out of the pan and finish cooking them on the stove top to ensure no food poisoning in the Rational Living household. And I also drained out the sausage grease that was pooling in the bottom of the loaf pan. Eww...
In the end we ate our dinner, but it seemed like too much sausage, or not enough macaroni and cheese. In fact, I pulled out several sausages and placed them in the freezer for some future use - it was just too many, especially considering the recipe called for 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of sausages and I only used 1 1/4 pound.
In all, the recipe seems like a rationing odd-ball - lots of red points and an almost gluttonous amount of protein. Maybe this is a confrontation between modern lower-fat cooking and the reality of 1940's menus?
Either way, I think our household macaroni and cheese will continue to stay sausage free!
--Rational Mama
The description above the recipe states: "This whimsical loaf is reminiscent of the crown roasts of lamb and pork that were almost impossible to get during the war."
Whimsical?
Do I want my food to be whimsical? Why hadn't I noticed that word in the description before I committed to cooking the recipe?
It's actually a very simple recipe. Basically, you line the edges of a loaf pan with the sausages "standing up."
Then you fill the middle with a from-scratch macaroni and cheese concoction and bake the whole thing for around an hour.
After an hour it looks like this:
Whimsical? Yes.
Problem? Yes.
See how nice and browned the little sausage heads look? Crispy and thoroughly cooked? Lovely. The sausage bottoms, however, were limp and undercooked. I had to pull them out of the pan and finish cooking them on the stove top to ensure no food poisoning in the Rational Living household. And I also drained out the sausage grease that was pooling in the bottom of the loaf pan. Eww...
In the end we ate our dinner, but it seemed like too much sausage, or not enough macaroni and cheese. In fact, I pulled out several sausages and placed them in the freezer for some future use - it was just too many, especially considering the recipe called for 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of sausages and I only used 1 1/4 pound.
In all, the recipe seems like a rationing odd-ball - lots of red points and an almost gluttonous amount of protein. Maybe this is a confrontation between modern lower-fat cooking and the reality of 1940's menus?
Either way, I think our household macaroni and cheese will continue to stay sausage free!
--Rational Mama
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
This Week's Scenarios and Menu (and Ketchup on My Mind)
Whew! I'm a little late getting around to this - I kept my nose to the grindstone, so to speak, to finish up the text for the presentation I gave this last Sunday on the rationing program and shunned all other distractions as a result. But, it's over, it went well and I'm back! As soon as I have time to edit the text I'll post it here.
In the meantime, here's this week's scenarios:
- Eggs - none available for purchase
- Canned Vegetables - scarce, only available at 1 1/2 times the usual ration points
Lately we've been bartering rides to and from school for a neighbor child in exchange for farm fresh eggs from her grandparents, so we'll have a source for eggs this week even if we can't buy them in the store.
But the extra ration points for canned vegetables this week is sort of like rubbing salt on our wound of realizing we only have 48 blue/green points per week (and NOT 192). C'est la vie.
Here's our menu for the week:
Saturday: Polish cabbage roles and cooked carrots
Sunday: Sausage loaf (historic recipe) and fresh broccoli (!)
Monday: Venison pot pie
Tuesday: Potato-vegetable soup
Wednesday: Venison-beef chili with Frito's and sour cream
Thursday: Beef-less stroganoff and (canned) green beans
Friday: Buttermilk pancakes, bacon and (canned) fruit (our last canned fruit on hand, sigh)
As you can see, this week integrates ration-free venison on two different nights. Yay!
I've been craving chili for weeks and decided it was a must for this week's menu. However, it
will be a bittersweet meal because canned/jarred tomato products are some of the most expensive blue/green items. Seriously! One 14 ounce container of ketchup is 18 points (which we needed this week because we are out of ketchup), while one 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes is 11 points. Combined they are over 60% of our weekly blue/green point ration! I was able to pull off the chili by adding in some home preserved salsa and black beans and by using lower-point black-eyed peas rather than the traditional pinto or chili beans.Typically, at some point in the summer I declare that the 10+ tomato plants I usually plant are too many and swear to plant less the next year. I don't think I will make such a declaration this year. Eighteen points for ketchup? Gee whiz!
This summer? This summer we will can our OWN ketchup, by gum!
--Rational Mama
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Brilliant! Oczywiscie!
I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier...
If my undergraduate alma mater allowed non-education majors to have minors like other universities (really, KU, why not?), then I would have more than enough credits for a minor in Slavic Studies, with an emphasis in Polish language and literature. This may be news to some of you, and just genuinely weird to others. What can I say? I'm a Slav at heart.
Anyhoo, here I've been fretting over finding good recipes for our seasonal (and therefore non-rationed) produce, which right now consists mostly of cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and mushrooms.
And then I had an epiphany the other day, while calling my little cabbage kapusta, which is the Polish word for cabbage.
If you've ever flipped through a Polish cookbook then you will know that like 90% of the recipes consist mainly of combinations of cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and mushrooms, with modest amounts of cheese, butter or meats for flavor. Okay...maybe 90% is a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously - it's crazy high.
So I went to the library the other day and checked out a few Polish cookbooks.
Jackpot!
The cabbage dry spell may be over!
--Rational Mama
If my undergraduate alma mater allowed non-education majors to have minors like other universities (really, KU, why not?), then I would have more than enough credits for a minor in Slavic Studies, with an emphasis in Polish language and literature. This may be news to some of you, and just genuinely weird to others. What can I say? I'm a Slav at heart.
Anyhoo, here I've been fretting over finding good recipes for our seasonal (and therefore non-rationed) produce, which right now consists mostly of cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and mushrooms.
And then I had an epiphany the other day, while calling my little cabbage kapusta, which is the Polish word for cabbage.
If you've ever flipped through a Polish cookbook then you will know that like 90% of the recipes consist mainly of combinations of cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and mushrooms, with modest amounts of cheese, butter or meats for flavor. Okay...maybe 90% is a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously - it's crazy high.
So I went to the library the other day and checked out a few Polish cookbooks.
Jackpot!
The cabbage dry spell may be over!
--Rational Mama
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
1 Month Check-In
Today we mark one calendar month into our year of living on WWII U.S. civilian rations.How are we doing?
We used 248 of our 251 red ration points. Assigning these every week is quite a math game - there are definitely never too many red ration points!
We used 538 of what should have been only 192 allotted blue/green points (refer to the "And Then Things Became REALLY Interesting" post from a few weeks ago). The good news is that while I was doing some research I learned that all families were allowed to claim, without penalty, five cans per person at the start of rationing. Assuming that an average can was worth 14 points, that would be an additional 280 points worth of canned goods that I could have credited the family for at the beginning of ration. If we subtract those points from our total, that brings us down to 258 points. That's still about 18 can's worth of points, or 18 cans too many. But there's not much I can do about that now. I have a modest amount of canned goods in the cabinet right now (beets, spinach, corn and carrots), so I was not hoarding during those few weeks of excess point usage. I'm not happy with the situation, but I'm at peace with it.
We've purchased all our sugar and coffee allowances.
I didn't track gasoline/mile usage for that first partial week, but for the following three weeks we used 300 of our 576 miles. I'm really happy about that number. Even if we didn't get the extra gasoline/miles for The Man of the House's job equating to a wartime industry, we would be well within the reduced allotment for families without the added gallons/miles. Of course, TMOTH (as he likes to be called) would like to hoard all those extra miles. There will be a post on that compulsion soon!
And how are we doing mentally?
Eowyn and Sissy miss fresh fruit (Eowyn = bananas, Sissy = apples) and both are no longer amused by the increased appearance of soups on the menu.
TMOTH is frustrated with the fact that few people he talks to "gets it" and understand why we undertook this project.
As you are all aware, I greatly miss fresh vegetables - and lettuce most of all. Rational Living reader Kari had a great idea about this which I will be posting about soon. Otherwise, I'm also feeling the time drain of the project: time looking up points, extra time spent making menus and grocery lists, extra time spent cooking more meals from scratch, time spent tracking usage and time spent posting on the blog. But all of these except that last point help make the experiment that much more authentic, so I can't complain too loudly.And I have to admit that I look forward to Mr. Bowles' Marketplace Scenario Randomizer with giddy expectancy.
And let me add a note of thanks for all those who read the blog and use the comments section to ask questions, suggest recipes (I'm still loving the baked cabbage!) and give us emotional support. This project wouldn't be nearly as interesting if it wasn't for the ongoing dialogue. Thank you!
And what do we think the next month will hold for us? I imagine the reduced blue/green points will become painfully real in the next month, and we will plan our garden. And I'm sure we'll try at lease five other ways to cook cabbage.
In fact, sometimes I think the official title for the project should be: "Rational Living...or...50 Ways to Cook a Cabbage."
--Rational Mama
Monday, January 25, 2010
It's One of THOSE Days...
I accidentally left my lunch sitting on the kitchen counter top when I went to work today.
Luckily, I live close enough (and drove today) that I could run home during lunch to get it/eat it.
At lunch time I ran down a flight of stairs, across the alley, up a flight of stairs in the parking garage and over to my car...and then realized I left my purse in the office. Ugh.
Back down a flight of stairs, across the alley, up a flight of stairs to grab the purse.
A co-worker who doesn't know about our rationing program (really, I'm sure they all think I'm weird enough already) suggested I just run next door to the sandwich shop and grab lunch instead.
If only it were that easy. I am not allowed to eat lunch out during rationing year, but she doesn't know that so her comment is well-meaning.
Back down a flight of stairs, across the alley, up a flight of stairs in the parking garage and over to my car, then home to eat my left-overs which were luckily still chilled by their little freezer pack insert.
The dog was happy to see me. Good dog.
After lunch it's drive back to work, run down a flight of stairs in the parking garage, run across the alley then up a flight of stairs in the office and sit.
Sigh. Two and a half miles added to the weekly total because I forgot my lunch.
At least I got a decent mini stair workout.
--Rational Mama
Luckily, I live close enough (and drove today) that I could run home during lunch to get it/eat it.
At lunch time I ran down a flight of stairs, across the alley, up a flight of stairs in the parking garage and over to my car...and then realized I left my purse in the office. Ugh.
Back down a flight of stairs, across the alley, up a flight of stairs to grab the purse.
A co-worker who doesn't know about our rationing program (really, I'm sure they all think I'm weird enough already) suggested I just run next door to the sandwich shop and grab lunch instead.
If only it were that easy. I am not allowed to eat lunch out during rationing year, but she doesn't know that so her comment is well-meaning.
Back down a flight of stairs, across the alley, up a flight of stairs in the parking garage and over to my car, then home to eat my left-overs which were luckily still chilled by their little freezer pack insert.
The dog was happy to see me. Good dog.
After lunch it's drive back to work, run down a flight of stairs in the parking garage, run across the alley then up a flight of stairs in the office and sit.
Sigh. Two and a half miles added to the weekly total because I forgot my lunch.
At least I got a decent mini stair workout.
--Rational Mama
Sunday, January 24, 2010
This Week's Scenarios and Menu
Another week...and I'm starting to dream about salads. Nice, green, crispy salads...
Last week we used 103 of our 193 allotted miles. I think The Man of the House is working on a blog entry about gasoline usage and hoarding...or how I won't let him hoard as much as he wants to. Look for that to appear within the next week or so.
Last week we used all 59 of our reduced 59 red points and 88 of our (incorrectly calculated) 178 blue/green points (we went out on Tuesday, hence the reduce points).
For those of you who missed the post a few days ago, we have since learned that we are allowed only 48 blue/green points per week!
The good news is is that this week we have only one scenario:
Canned soups and sauces are scarce and only available at half the normal purchase/recipe quantity.
With that in mind, here's this week's menu:
Saturday: Homemade pizza (pepperoni, mushroom and onion)
Sunday: BBQ pork country-style ribs, cheesy potatoes and (canned) green beans
Monday: Carrot soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
Tuesday: Thai chicken thighs, rice and baked cabbage
Wednesday: Buttermilk pancakes and bacon
Thursday: Chicken broth soup (made with the thigh bones from making Tuesday's chicken boneless) and corn dumplings
Friday: Dinner out
Yes, I realize that said "Dinner out" for Friday night, even though we had our official "one dinner out per month as a family" last week. We've been gifted two dinner theater tickets to see some of our two best buddies in a play on Friday. Since dinner is included, and since the girls will be having a sleepover with their aunt that night we've reduced our allotted ration points for the week to 59 red (rather than 64) and 45 blue/green (rather than 48) accordingly.
I also purchased our allotted 2 pounds of sugar and finally purchased our second one pound coffee allowance for the month.
On Tuesday of this week we'll officially mark one calendar month of the project, so I'll work on a little recap for you. I'm also scheduled to give a presentation at out church next weekend, so when the text for that is finalized I'll post it as well.
Thanks for all your support!
--Rational Mama
Last week we used 103 of our 193 allotted miles. I think The Man of the House is working on a blog entry about gasoline usage and hoarding...or how I won't let him hoard as much as he wants to. Look for that to appear within the next week or so.
Last week we used all 59 of our reduced 59 red points and 88 of our (incorrectly calculated) 178 blue/green points (we went out on Tuesday, hence the reduce points).
For those of you who missed the post a few days ago, we have since learned that we are allowed only 48 blue/green points per week!
The good news is is that this week we have only one scenario:
Canned soups and sauces are scarce and only available at half the normal purchase/recipe quantity.
With that in mind, here's this week's menu:
Saturday: Homemade pizza (pepperoni, mushroom and onion)
Sunday: BBQ pork country-style ribs, cheesy potatoes and (canned) green beans
Monday: Carrot soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
Tuesday: Thai chicken thighs, rice and baked cabbage
Wednesday: Buttermilk pancakes and bacon
Thursday: Chicken broth soup (made with the thigh bones from making Tuesday's chicken boneless) and corn dumplings
Friday: Dinner out
Yes, I realize that said "Dinner out" for Friday night, even though we had our official "one dinner out per month as a family" last week. We've been gifted two dinner theater tickets to see some of our two best buddies in a play on Friday. Since dinner is included, and since the girls will be having a sleepover with their aunt that night we've reduced our allotted ration points for the week to 59 red (rather than 64) and 45 blue/green (rather than 48) accordingly.
I also purchased our allotted 2 pounds of sugar and finally purchased our second one pound coffee allowance for the month.
On Tuesday of this week we'll officially mark one calendar month of the project, so I'll work on a little recap for you. I'm also scheduled to give a presentation at out church next weekend, so when the text for that is finalized I'll post it as well.
Thanks for all your support!
--Rational Mama
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
And Then Things Became REALLY Interesting...
Tonight I was working on menu planning for next week, deciding which meals sounded yummy and their corresponding point values. And something kept nagging me...we have too many blue/green points - you know, the points used for canned and frozen foods (I know that you knew what blue/green points were used for because you are all rationing experts now). 192 points is too many - I have a hard time using that many per week and that doesn't seem right.
So I went back to my research I did during the initial phase of the project and looked at my notes.
And I compared it with my research I did last weekend at the Kansas Historical Society.
My suspicions were correct. Apparently, there was an error in my original notes...we do not have 192 blue/green points per week.
We have...are you ready?
We have 48 blue/green points per week. That's it.
Take a look at the handy-dandy point chart again, my friends.
Things just got substantially more interesting.
Oh. Boy.
--Rational Mama
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
OMG
We went out to eat tonight (a rarity for rationing year).
I had a salad.
A nice, crispy, juicy, green, leafy salad.
With cucumbers.
And a small, decent-tasting tomato.
Compared to this, that "heaven" label for last night's SPAM is just crazy talk.
Goodness, how I miss lettuce!
--Rational Mama
I had a salad.
A nice, crispy, juicy, green, leafy salad.
With cucumbers.
And a small, decent-tasting tomato.
Compared to this, that "heaven" label for last night's SPAM is just crazy talk.
Goodness, how I miss lettuce!
--Rational Mama
Monday, January 18, 2010
"It Tastes Like Heaven": A Historic SPAM Recipe
Well, here we are, about 1 month in to our rationing year and we're finally getting around to our first SPAM recipe.SPAM was around before WWII, but didn't become really popular until the War - and subsequent rationing - began. At 5 red points a can SPAM is definitely a "bargain" meat. Plus, it's precooked and quite versatile - contributing it's salty meatiness well to many recipes.
Now, I have only had SPAM on a few occassions, and all before I turned 6 years old. As a child I liked the idea of tinned meat. There was a sort of beautiful precision in the geometric shapes that appealed to me. As far as taste, I vaguely remember a certain squishy, salty flavor similar to lower quality ham products. The Man of the House remembers eatings SPAM a few times as a child as well.
But our girls had never had anything of the sort.
It seemed a good idea to initiate them with the most simplist of SPAM recipes: Fried SPAM Burgers. It doesn't get any easier than this, folks.
Ingredients
1 can SPAM (I used the "lower sodium" variety)
4 hamburger buns
Assorted hamburger toppings (cheese, mayo, pickless, ketchup, etc.)
4 hamburger buns
Assorted hamburger toppings (cheese, mayo, pickless, ketchup, etc.)
- Slice SPAM loaf into 4 slices.
- Fry SPAM slices in a non-stick skillet on medium/medium-high until lightly browned and crispy, approximately 5 minutes per side.
- Place in buns and garnish as desired.
And the girls? Prior to the cooking they marveled at the way it schlopped out of the can and landed on the plate with a splat. They spent a good two minutes poking and prodding the meat cube before I sliced it. And for a while Sissy did a song and dance around the kitchen implying that SPAM was, in fact, octopus meat.But after the cooking? They finished their SPAM burgers in record time! Really - it was gone in a flash! When I asked them to give a review of their SPAM burgers they both agreed on the same four words, "It tasted like Heaven."
So, it seems likely that SPAM will be a regular visitor in the Rational Living household.On note: we served our SPAM burgers with the oven-crisped cabbage recommended by Rational Living reader Carla. It's very simple: thinly-sliced cabbage tossed with olive oil and salt/seasonings, roasted on a baking sheet at 400 degrees until slightly crisped (about 20 minutes or so). My review? "It tasted like Heaven." The roasting imparted a lovely, sweet taste to the cabbage, reminiscent of roasted Brussels sprouts. It also will most definitely be repeated during the year.
All in all, a successful rationing dinner this evening!
--Rational Mama
Historic Recipe: Banana Cake
Greetings!Well, we all survived Sissy's birthday party and the food seemed to go over well. The two big hits for the day were both Fannie Farmer recipes - one for homemade macaroni and cheese (using cream, milk, butter and cheese - really, how could it not be good?) and the other for banana cake (also using cream and butter). There is no way we could have pulled off such good eats for all 15 attendees if we had not been saving up butter, sugar and cheese over the past few weeks!
The banana cake has been a family favorite for years and years. The Man of the House's mother received a Fannie Farmer cookbook on her wedding day and the banana cake recipe has been a regular staple in their family ever since. Here's the recipe:
Banana Cake
- Set oven at 350 degrees and butter your pan (recipe calls for a 9" square pan but we always use our Bundt pan)
- Cream 1/2 cup butter until light and fluffy
- Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar in gradually
- Add 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- Beat thoroughly and add 1 cup mashed banana (it's okay if it's a little more than 1 cup) and 1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract (we always use vanilla)
- Sift together 2 cups pastry or cake flour (often times we use all-purpose flour and it turns out just fine), 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with 1/2 cup milk or cream
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until surface is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
In keeping with the rationing tradition we have not been buying bananas regularly, but when we have I always set a few aside in preparation for Sissy's birthday. Also, I did not ice the banana cakes but instead sprinkled them with confectioner's sugar, since frosting (loaded with sugar and fat) was a rarity during WWII.Yum! Tasty and a worthy platform for a nine year old's wishes!
--Rational Mama
Saturday, January 9, 2010
This Week's Scenarios and Menu
Mr. Bowles' Amazing Marketplace Scenario Randomizer has spoken! Our scenarios for this week are:
Processed Meats - no new purchases available
Coffee - limited availability, only 1/2 the normal purchase amount available
We'll be fine with the processed meat we have on hand (leftover pepperoni from last week's purchase) and since we're not big coffee drinkers we're doing quite fine with the 2 pounds I purchased at the beginning of rationing.
We have a few left-over anachronisms in the refrigerator and cupboard that we'll get rid of this week to put us on the up and up. Hence, the tortillas and wonton wrappers mentioned in the menu below:
We have a few left-over anachronisms in the refrigerator and cupboard that we'll get rid of this week to put us on the up and up. Hence, the tortillas and wonton wrappers mentioned in the menu below:
Saturday: Homemade pizza (pepperoni, olive, onion and pineapple for the girls)
Sunday: Homemade tacos and (canned) corn
Monday: Mushroom and barley soup with fresh-baked bread
Tuesday: Out for Rational Mama's birthday!
Wednesday: Egg puffs and (frozen) mixed vegetables
Thursday: Turkey wontons and (frozen) broccoli
Friday: French toast casserole and (frozen) blueberries
For this week's menu we used 62 of our 64 red points on ground beef for the tacos, canola oil, turkey for the wontons and cheese and butter for Sissy's birthday menu.
We used 125 of our allotted 192 blue/green points on canned pineapple and other fruit, canned corn, spaghetti sauce and beef broth. Mostly, though, our blue/green points were used for frozen produce; we are desparately missing the variety of fresh produce normally available to us. Everyone in the household agrees that this is the hardest part of rationing so far.
I also purchased an additional 2 pounds of sugar.
Tuesday night's dinner out with family will be the first time we've eaten out since at least December 26th. Not a new world record, I know, but a good change. We have a no-rules policy towards eating out during the rationing year, since we will be doing it so rarely. This gives our modern souls a little break and is still in line with the historical example. Early in the rationing period purchases at restaurants were not included, but the government quickly decided that wasn't in the best interest of the general food supply. Folks still ate out in restaurants during the war although selections were often, but not always, limited and ration points were usually recorded.
As for the gasoline ration, last week we used 73 of our allotted 193 miles. Pretty impressive, but the horrible weather we've had has made us more home-bound than usual. I expect that number to increase significantly once warmer weather is the norm.
It will be interesting to see exactly how lunch and dessert for 17 people will work out on the 15th. I've got one more week to prepare and plan and calculate ration points.
Oh, and there's at least two more historical recipe posts on the way! One was nice and comforting, the other was...well...you'll see. If points allow then next week we will try our first SPAM recipe!
--Rational Mama
Saturday, January 2, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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
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
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