Reality Check

I was at one of those mega-market grocery stores the other night.

That night (and all during rationing) my cart contained basic staples like flour, sugar, butter, cheese, bread, a small amount of meat, beans, cereal, maybe a frozen or canned vegetable and seasonally appropriate fresh fruits and vegetables.

This seems very normal to me.

The person in line behind me the other night had three economy-sized packages of frozen burritos, frozen blueberry waffles (artificially flavored), frozen tater tots, several frozen dinner entrees, a few bags of chips and two flats of bottled water.

I have to admit I stared a little; I was simultaneously amazed at how different our two purchases were and by how little real food was piling up on the conveyor belt behind my purchase. I was very aware that a significant portion of the volume of their purchase consisted of artificial colors, artificial flavors, bulking agents, salt, high-fructose corn syrup and other quasi-food substances.

If that's what life after rationing looks like then I don't want to leave rationing.

--Rational Mama

Review: Rationing is a Gas! Gas! Gas!

One of the first posts about the rationing year project concerned gasoline and mileage rationing. In it, we described how gasoline was rationed during WWII and the issues we were wrestling with in trying to come to some sort of modern equivalent. In the end, we came up with a self-imposed mileage ration of 193 miles per week combined for our two vehicles.

So...how's it been? Well, once we project out an average weekly mileage for the last few weeks of rationing (plus the mileage for a holiday round trip visit to Wichita) and add it to our already documented mileage we will have traveled (in our personal vehicles) roughly 10,007 miles during the rationing year, which is just slightly under the total miles of 10,036 allotted to us during rationing (193 miles per week x 52 weeks).

We're all pretty happy that we stayed within our limit and didn't fall into the trap of going farther (literally) even though we knew there wouldn't be any real consequences for us if we did go over our rationed amount.

In order to stay within our ration we definitely had to be mindful about how and when we were driving. We became pros at combining/consolidating trips and had to be extra careful with miles when the girls had out-of-town swim meets every other week during the summer. Our "vacations" consisted of two short getaways to Kansas City and one trip to Wichita to see family. Our mileage allowance did not permit a more grand vacation even if we incorporated some carpooling and I occasionally walked to work.

And to be honest, we were all feeling the lack of big getaway by the time autumn arrived.

As a family we have to decide how we will handle mileage after rationing is over. All of us agreed that we didn't want to remove mileage off the radar completely, especially once we reviewed the math.

During the rationing year our 10,000 miles were considerably below the national average; the average adult American drives 12,000 miles per year, which means the average for a two-driver household like ours is 24,000 miles per year. By following our rationing limits we drove 14,000 miles less than a comparable family.

Fourteen thousand less miles means fewer gallons of gasoline (and more money in our pocket). Using a very modest estimate of 20 miles per gallon, 14,000 miles equates to 700 less gallons of gasoline. Each gallon of gasoline creates 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, so by travelling 14,000 miles (or 700 gallons of gasoline) less than the average two-driver household we avoided dumping 14,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air.

That's seven tons, or the equivalent of 1,400 10lb bags of potatoes, or roughly four mini-vans! After that kind of a realization, we can't just abandon mileage/gasoline rationing completely.

So we've decided to keep tracking our mileage but give our family a slightly higher allowance so that more frequent weekend trips and a decent vacation (likely to involve driving) can be incorporated. We are also aware that we will likely be using more miles next year for basic errands (more on that development in a later post). Taking all these things into consideration we have decided that our new, post-rationing family limit for mileage will be 15,000 miles combined for the year. This gives use a weekly allowance of 288 miles - nearly 100 miles more per week than during rationing! The trick will be to not squander those miles but to save them up for the fun stuff.

Pondering all those extra miles and the possibilities seems like a luxury. Where will we go first?

--Rational Mama

Randomizer Breakthrough

This is what happens when you use Mr. Bowles' Marketplace Scenario Randomizer every week for nearly a year.

I used some sticky tape to fix the hole - it will have to do for the final three weeks.

The good news is that the randomizer is completely biodegradable and will be composted after the experiment.

I have to admit, though, that I think we'll miss the Wednesday night ritual of rolling the dice and pulling scenarios. We'll have to find something to fill the void.

--Rational Mama

Ponderings

A few weeks ago one of the readers at church read a passage that really struck a cord with me. I thought it was a succinct, well-written outline of some of the thoughts we're pondering as we start making decisions about life after rationing.

I asked the reader for a transcript of the text and I received the following excerpt from Beyond Guilt, by George S. Johnson. My apologies for taking some liberties with the text, as all emphases are my own.

--Rational Mama

....................

Guilt, powerlessness and fear are three dragons that paralyze many people in efforts to move beyond charity toward oppressed people.

The appeal for charity, feeling sorry and sharing our resources is the beginning, a good starting place, but it is only the first step.

There is a saying that helps to explain the challenge to work for justice, not just for charity. “If people are hungry, you can give them some fish and they will live another day. This is called relief, [or charity]. But if you not only give a fish, but teach them how to fish for themselves they will be helped to feed themselves in the future.” This is often called development.

That sounds good, but it can be misleading if it is not followed with the next step.

There is a third part of that saying that is critical to our efforts to move beyond guilt. We must not only offer the fish (relief) and assistance in learning how to fish themselves (development), but we must move over in the pond and GIVE them a place to fish. And, we must stop polluting the pond where they fish … And we must give them a fair price FOR their fish.

This third step clearly has many facets to it. It is called working for justice, fairness. Justice includes efforts to end oppression and unfair practices of the domination system.

Moving from charity to justice is difficult, because it calls for careful listening, increased awareness, and critical thinking about the attitudes and values that have brought us to this current crisis.

To avoid feeling guilty, we may stay at surface-level analysis. Guilt may be preferred to making changes or facing the pain and uncertainty of solidarity with those who cry for justice.

Could it be that, while we complain about guilt, we actually prefer it to enlightened analysis and action?

To get involved may lead to changes we’re not ready to make. Beliefs and values may be challenged. Systems that have blessed us may be examined and found wanting. Our security and prosperity may be jeopardized.

We can surely sleep better at night when we are ignorant of the reality of human suffering and its connection to our acceptable lifestyles.

The Return of Artisan Bread

Crispy fall leaves. Brisk north winds. Stew on the stove.

And the return of artisan bread.

Nom, nom.

--Rational Mama

T-Minus 26 Days and Counting

Can you believe it? We have less than a month left of rationing! The end is near!

So, how's it going?

This is traditionally a very busy time of year for us; between Thanksgiving and the middle of January we have four family birthdays, three holidays and two birthdays of very dear friends. Plus, this year we're dealing with trying to decide what life will look like after rationing and all of the house stuff. Luckily, by now we're whizzes when it comes to rationing and it doesn't take much brain power to come up with a ration-friendly menu and point total.

In fact, we've gotten so accustomed to rationing that lately we're using only a fraction of our points. During previous months I tried to use up all our ration points as best I could without crossing that fine line between maintaining a surplus and hoarding. After all, ration points seldom went unused during the 1940s. But at some point that tactic seemed to contradict the idea behind rationing - focusing instead on wants rather than needs. And so I've been trying to "shop" the freezer and cabinets, so to speak, and use what we already have on hand.

As a result we will be ending the month of November with a surplus of 95 red and 45 blue/green points (!).

We are starting to make some headway and consensus on what life will be like after rationing. Some small changes, some big changes, some things dropping to the wayside and some things status quo. Over the next month I'll be revisiting some of the original rationing project posts to bring you up to date.

In the meantime, thanks for sticking with us!

--Rational Mama

So THIS is What We've Been Saving All That Butter For!

I hope everyone out there had a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving holiday!

We had a pleasant dinner with TMOTH's family. It was potluck style and we were in charge of the relish tray and desserts. I wanted to do something quasi-traditional but easy for the desserts, since I was working both the day before and the day after Thanksgiving. The following are the two dessert recipes I made for the day -both are do-able on rations as long as you've been saving up your sugar and butter (luckily, we had). They were both divine, especially when paired with homemade whipped cream.

Sorry for the lack of photos - neither dessert survived more than 24 hours past the big meal and we were all too busy stuffing our faces to take pictures. I think that's a sign of a successful Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Ingredients

1 package yellow cake mix (yes, these were available in the 1940s)

4 eggs

16 TB butter, separated

1 8 0z package of cream cheese, softened

1 15 0z can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz powdered sugar (if not available granulated sugar will do)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Directions

1. Prepare the cake layer by mixing together the cake mix, 8 TB melted butter and 1 egg.

2. Evenly press cake mixture into the bottom of a well-greased 9" x 12" baking dish.

3. Prepare the filling by beating together the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.

4. Add the remaining 3 eggs, vanilla and 8 TB melted butter to the pumpkin mixture and mix well.

5. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to the pumpkin mixture and stir thoroughly.

6. Spread pumpkin mixture over the cake layer.

7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes (center will still be slightly gooey).

8. Let cake cool completely before serving (a few hours in the refrigerator will help).

Pecan Pie Bars

Ingredients

2 cups sugar (divided)
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 3 TB butter

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups Karo syrup

2 cups pecan halves or pieces

Directions

1. Prepare cookie crust by combining 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt and 1 cup butter (softened).

2. Beat until mix is crumbly.

3. Press cookie mixture into well-greased 10" x 15" baking pan.

4. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

5. While cookie crust is baking, prepare filling by beating together the eggs, 3 TB butter (melted), vanilla and remaining syrup and sugar until well-blended.

6. Pour mixture over the hot cookie crust and top with the pecans.

7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

8. Cool completely before cutting into serving sizes.

--Rational Mama