Matron's Munchies

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Here is the weekly ration allowance for one adult in the 1940’s…Rationed food was the food you were GUARANTEED to be able to get. (remember that in addition to this people were encouraged to incorporate lots of fruit and veggies into their diets and grow even more in their back gardens!)

Weekly ration for 1 adult

• Bacon & Ham 4 oz
• Meat to the value of 1 shilling and sixpence (around about 1/2 lb minced beef)
• Butter 2 oz
• Cheese 2 oz
• Margarine 4 oz
• Cooking fat 4 oz
• Milk 3 pints
• Sugar 8 oz
• Preserves 1 lb every 2 months
• Tea 2 oz
• Eggs 1 fresh egg per week
• Sweets/Candy 12 oz every 4 weeks

In addition to this a points system was put in place which limited your purchase of tinned or imported goods. 16 points were available in your ration book for every 4 weeks and that 16 points would enable you to purchase for instance, 1 can of tinned fish or 2lbs of dried fruit or 8 lbs of split peas.

Does this sound a lot or little to you? When you try and produce all your own food from scratch using the above ingredients and realize just how precious or even how difficult it was at times to obtain other necessary food stuffs like flour, oats etc it really makes you appreciate how difficult and how IMPORTANT the role was of the 1940’s housewife to feed her family and keep them healthy. It was for sure a long and hard job..

Lentil Sheperds Pie – Recipe No. 183 (Pandemic Pantry Submission)

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Makes 6 generous serves

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked brown lentils, drained
• 1 tblsp oil
• 1-2 chopped onions
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 cups any minced, grated or finely chopped vegetables (eg mushrooms, carrots, sweet potato, celery, eggplant/aubergine, zucchini/courgette, capsicum/peppers – just use what you have)
• 400g tin crushed tomatoes or a jar of tomato pasta sauce
• 1 tsp beef flavoured stock powder or a tsp of vegemite/marmite
• 2 tsp dry mixed herbs
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tblsp tomato paste

For the topping

• 3 large potatoes plus an equivalent amount of other suitable mashing veg (carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, turnip, parsnip, celeriac, cauliflower etc)
• salt & pepper
• butter and a little milk

Method

– Peel the root veg and cut into large chunks. Simmer in salted water until just tender and then drain well. Add some pepper and butter and mash. If the mixture is dry add a little milk (this will depend on which veg you’ve used).

– Heat the oil in a large saucepan or stockpot and soften the onions. Add the minced vegetables, garlic and herbs and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, worchestershire sauce and stock powder and simmer for 30 minutes.

– Remove from the heat and add the lentils and tomato paste and stir through.

– Heat the oven to 180C.

– Pour the lentil mixture into a large rectangular casserole or roasting pan. Top with the mash and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned.

frogmorton

That really makes interesting reading Kath. Those poor women it must have been a real daily worry for them how to feed the family. I bet you didn't get so many fussy eaters in those days!

Thanks for the shepherds pie - LOVING it!😛

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Return to the 1940s- Wartime Loaf

Here is the 1st of 100 recipes which will be recreated and photographed over the year of my blog…

Nothing Fancy Wartime Loaf

* 600 ml (1 pint) of warm water

* 5 teaspoons of quick rise yeast

* couple pinches of sugar

* 2 lb of wholewheat (wholemeal) flour

* 1.5 teaspoons salt

* 1 tablespoon rolled oats (for top)

* spoonful or butter or margarine (or a drizzle of vegetable oil)

Method

Place flour in large bowl

Mix in all dry ingredients except the rolled oats

Add fat (or drizzle in vegetable oil)

Pour in warm water

Mix thoroughly

When dough comes together knead for 10 minutes until dough is silky

Place back in bowl and cover

Let dough rise somewhere warm until doubled in size

Knead dough briefly again

Place dough into 4 x 1/2 lb tins (or 2 x 1 lb tins) that have been floured

Brush top with a little water and sprinkle on some rolled oats

Leave to rise for around 20 minutes

Place in oven at 180 0C for around 30-40 mins (depending on the size of the loaf)

Remove from oven

Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting

PS Note that the original recipe called for old fashioned yeast but I replaced with quick rise yeast (it simply is very hard to get hold of those little squares of yeast that would have been used)

NATIONAL MARGARINE

Special Margarine. April 1943

United States Office of War Information,

Overseas Picture Division.

• 1 Nutrition
• 2 History Notes
• 3 Literature & Lore
• 4 Sources

National Margarine was a national margarine commissioned by the British Ministry of Food during World War Two. There were actually two kinds of National Margarine: Special, and Standard. Both came in waxed-paper wrapped blocks.

The Special cost more, 9d a pound, compared to Standard, 5d a pound.

The Special was the more popular as it was felt to be the better grade, but the flavour and texture of it, some felt, wasn’t “special enough” proportional to its almost doubled price over the Standard, and didn’t improve any as the better quality ingredients required to make it got in shorter supply and lower level ingredients had to be used owing to wartime shortages. Sales of the standard slowly declined, and it appears to have been discontinued by 1953, so that only the “Special Margarine” remained.

The oils used to make the margarines varied depending on what was available when. Sometimes they contained fish oil, euphemistically referred to as “marine oils.”

There was also a version which was both kosher and vegetarian.

Some would mix the National Margarine ration with their butter ration, to try to improve the taste (though some said it just made the butter taste worse.)

NUTRITION

All versions of the margarine — Standard, Special, and kosher/vegetarian — contained added Vitamin A and D, to bring it up to the nutritional value of butter.

HISTORY NOTES

British consumers were “lucky”, in a way, to have access to margarine as a butter substitute during the war. In other Commonwealth countries such as Canada and New Zealand, consumers did not, as margarine was flat out illegal, to protect dairy monopoly interests.

LITERATURE & LORE

“Mr. Peter Freeman wanted to know the proportion and content of each ingredient in each variety of margarine. Dr Charles Hill informed him on March 2 that the main variety, known as “special” margarine, contained hard and soft vegetable oils and marine oils in proportions which were frequently varied according to the supply and the time of year, as well as milk, salt, flavouring and vitamin. The only other variety on sale to the public was kosher and vegetarian margarine, which contained no marine oil, milk, salt or flavouring.” — British Medical Journal. Medical Notes in Parliament: Margarine Content. March 14, 1953. Page 627.

 

SOURCES

Hammond, Richard Hames. Food and agriculture in Britain. Stanford University Press, 1954. Page 151.

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Hummus, Cheese & Carrot Sandwich

This combination of ingredients works suprisingly well together... kids and adults alike will love this sandwich! Perfect for lunchboxes or enjoy as a meal in itself. 

Ingredients: 

• 4 slices bread with vegan butter/spread 
• 4 tbsp hummus
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 4 slices vegan cheese (eg Violife, Tofutti, Applewood, Follow Your Heart, supermarket own-brands)

 

Method: 

1. Spread the hummus over two slices of the buttered bread. 
2. Add the carrot and cheese slices then sandwich together. 

frogmorton

What an interesting story about the bread and the marge part especially Kath!

Lard I thought they lived on lard! We seemed to when we were kids🙄

The loaf looks quite nice though don't you think? I have a stand mixer which can knead so maybe I could have a go🤔

Thanks for the butty that I will DEFINITELY have😛

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Toni, I could almost smell that delicious looking bread. I used to bake all my own bread when younger. Maybe not lard, bit this will interest you - although you won't try it. 😘

Wartime Dripping is Yummy

So OK I hear you saying…..gross!!!!

 

But I can tell you something, after a few weeks on rations, when you realize just how little fat is in your diet from cheese & butter (rationed) and of course no longer able to consume potato chips or high fat snacks, dripping soon becomes a tasty and desirable addition to your diet..

 

A little dripping mixed in with those boiled veggies or a blob smeared and melted into your baked potato livens up those blander dinners at the end of the week when rations are running low.

 

How to collect dripping

• Bacon dripping is the best
• Fry bacon in pan until slightly crisp
• Remove bacon
• Pour left over fat into heatproof bowl (strain if you wish)
• Place somewhere cool like in your fridge where it will harden
• Use like butter for cooking or smearing on hot foods

I know it doesn’t seem possible that you can have dripping in your diet and lose weight but it’s true!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Traditional Irish Soda Bread is part of my younger childhood memories. Granny Hyland used to make Irish Soda Bread most days of her life and our annual holiday to Ireland to visit her and Grandad Hyland, in their gatekeepers cottage in the Wicklow countryside, allowed us to enjoy its flavour once again. The taste and smell of food has very powerful associations don’t you think?

Irish Soda Bread was the most popular homemade bread in Ireland in the earlier part of the 20th century. The climate in Ireland produced softer wheat rather than hard wheat with a high gluten content (best suited for using yeast as a raising agent). There were two common types of soda bread, one was ‘cake ‘ (where the loaf is baked as a round shape with a cross cut into the top to allow the bread to expand) and ‘farl’ (more common in Northern Ireland- the dough was flattened to 1/4 inch thick, cut into 4 pieces and cooked on griddle).

It’s the quickest & easiest bread recipe ever, it involves only a very light knead (the less the better) and no waiting for the dough to rise… I always pay a couple of dollars more for an organic non-gmo flour and even then, this loaf is a fraction of the price it would command in your local store..

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

• 1 lb of wholewheat flour (4 cups)
• 500 mls (2 cups) of buttermilk (1 teaspoon of vinegar added to fresh milk <<I used almond milk>> makes a good fake buttermilk)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

Method

1. Place 2 cups of milk into a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes before using in recipe. Buttermilk is a necessary ingredient because it helps activate the baking soda to produce a rise
2. Meanwhile sieve your flour into a large bowl with the salt and baking soda
3. After 15 minutes whisk up the buttermilk with a fork to make sure it is mixed well and pour into a well in the centre of the flour
4. Mix up with a spoon until formed into a dough
5. Briefly knead to ensure it is mixed well (knead as little as possible)
6. Form into a round, very slightly flattened shape, place on baking tray, and with a sharp knife mark with a shallow cross in the middle (this allows for the dough to expand)
7. Oven should be pre-heated to 200 c (400 F) and the loaf placed in the middle to top half of the oven for around 45 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil if it begins to brown too quickly
8. Loosely wrap in a clean t-towel once removed and place on a cooling rack (wrapping in a tea-towel ensures a softer crust although you can wrap in cling film after it has fully cooled to achieve a similar result)

Try it spread with dripping (above)

Each loaf is about 1600 calories

frogmorton

I'll try my soda bread without the dripping kath, but this stuff is just so interesting!

I love bread - all bread!

Thank you ((()))

frogmorton

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Vegetable and Oatmeal Goulash

I made this authentic wartime recipe today. I have to admit I dismissed this recipe several times simply because it sounded so dull… BUT let me assure you it is anything but! If you are like me and love vegetables and love comfort food and it’s cold outside… this will hit the spot.

Looking in my fridge I could see root vegetables staring back at me, purchased before Christmas, that needed putting out of their misery, so I used them. This is an incredibly frugal recipe and for lunch will feed four served with a big chunk of fresh bread…

Enjoy!

Vegetable and Oatmeal Goulash

• 1 lb of mixed root vegetables ( I used 1 large potato, 2 parsnips, 2 large carrots)
• knob of dripping (I used a vegan shortening)
• 2 oz of coarse oatmeal (porridge oats will do)
• 1 tsp of meat extract (I used Marmite)
• 1 pt of vegetable stock
• mixed herbs, salt and pepper

Method

1. Prepare and dice the vegetables
2. Fry in dripping until slightly cooked
3. Add oatmeal and keep stirring until fat is absorbed
4. Cover with vegetable stock until covered and simmer until vegetables are soft and mixture is real thick (about 45 mins)
5. Mix in meat extract when cooking
6. Mix in herbs, salt and pepper to taste when cooking

Serve with a nice big chunk of fresh bread. I served mine with Irish Soda Bread.

frogmorton

A lot of Hungarian food is frugal. My own Dad (Hugarian) used to say peasant food and there is no shame at all in cooking it. It looks YUM Kath and so simple too.

Thanks for posting😘

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Toni, I included Pom in my prayers last night 💝

Carolyn’s ‘Everything IN’ wartime stew

I have to confess, I have never seen this recipe in any of my WWII cook books..

Everything IN wartime stew

• 1 lb of mince beef or a mixture of leftover meats
• 1 small cabbage
• 1 onion or 1 leek
• Any veggies that need using up
• Several soft tomatoes that are no good for anything else
• Oxo and marmite (marmite is optional)
• Salt and pepper
• Water

Method

Brown the mince or leftover meats and onions

Chop up the remaining veg into smallish pieces

Chop up the soft tomatoes and add to meat and onions and then add water (about a 1000 ml)

Add the oxo and marmite and stir

Add the chopped veggies

Cook and occasionally stir adding salt, pepper and some dried herbs like thyme to your own taste

Cook on medium heat in the saucepan for about 20 further minutes

Enough for 8 served with mashed potatoes or bread and butter.

I'm sure Vegans can replace the mince with more veg.

Toni, my dad says they had bread and butter with everything during the war. Even with tinned fruit and evaporated milk. I was expected to carry on the tradition, only I got bread and marg, which tasted disgusting in the 1950s. 🤢

frogmorton

Thank you very much Kath. The prayers seem to be working. Today she has been on the phone planning for Christmas fundraising!!!!

I love the look of this stew (I can use veggie mince) ESPECIALLY the idea of cabbage in it. I LOVE cabbage.

Not so sure about having bread and butter with tinned fruit🤭

Kitty

Daily Recipe (we are still in the second world war. I love these recipes. They almost all include carrots. I love carrots).

Corned Beef Fritters

Corned Beef was a popular part of the meat ration due to it’s availability. As it was already cooked it could be eaten cold or used in a variety of recipes. In my 1940’s culinary journey (ha!) I will allow myself 1 can of corned beef (or spam) every 4-6 weeks so I can at least re- create some of the typical recipes of the time.

You can serve corned beef up, hot or cold, several different ways..

Corned Beef Fritters

• 2 oz self raising flour or plain flour (I used wholemeal/wholewheat)
• pinch salt
• 1 egg (fresh or dried)
• dash of milk
• pinch of herbs (I used Thyme)
• 2 teaspoons grated onion
• 6 oz corned beef finely flaked
• a little dripping or margarine (or cooking oil)

Method

Mix and blend the flour with the salt, beaten egg and dash of milk.

Beat until a smooth batter is achieved

Add corned beef, onions and herbs

Melt the dripping or fat in a frying pan

Drop in a spoonful of the mixture and press down to form a small patty (mixture should be enough to make 8)

Fry on either side until crisp and brown and serve with veggies or salad while warm.

Makes enough for 4 people

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

 

• 10 ounces of stale bread (you’ll have to use your kitchen scales!)
• 2 ounces of margarine or butter
• 1 ounce of sugar
• 2 ounces of dried raisin sultanas
• 1 egg (fresh or dried)
• milk to mix
• cinnamon
• extra sugar for topping

Method

Put bread into a basin and add a little water. Leave for 10 minutes.

Squeeze bread out until fairly dry

Return bread to empty basin and add all the other ingredients (except spice) adding a little milk to make a sticky consistency

Add cinnamon a little at a time until your own taste

Place mixture into a greased pan (like a lasagna pan)

Cook at 160 degrees C for an hour or so until edges are browned and centre is hot

Sprinkle sugar on top 10 minutes before end of cooking

Allow to cool a little, slice and serve

Serves 8 to 10  

frogmorton

Corned beef Kath!

If you ate meat I bet people relied on the tinned stuff like that and ham. I know as kids we used to love Corned beef hash 🙂

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Toni, it will be vegan today I promise, but sadly not war time.

Aubergine and chickpea penne

The harissa/chilli sauce gives this recipe just enough heat - gorgeous! Serves 4.

Ingredients 

Large pinch of saffron threads

2 cups (450ml / 16 fl oz) vegan stock

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed

1 1/2 cups (350g / 12 oz) aubergine, diced

1 large red pepper, deseeded and chopped

400g (14 oz) canned chopped tomatoes with garlic

1 tsp ground cinnamon

5/8 cup (30g / 1 oz) fresh coriander, roughly chopped

400g (14 oz) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups (280g / 10 oz) vegan dried penne

Salt and pepper

Harissa or chilli sauce, to serve

Method

1. Toast saffron threads in a dry frying pan set over a medium heat for 20–30 seconds. Place in a small bowl and crumble with your fingers. Add 2 tablespoons of the hot stock and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and fry for 5–6 minutes. Add the cumin and fry for a further 20–30 seconds, then stir in the aubergine, red pepper, tomatoes, cinnamon, coriander stalks, saffron liquid and remaining stock. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add the chickpeas to the saucepan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for a further 5 minutes, removing the lid to reduce and thicken the sauce if necessary.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta, return to the boil and cook for 8–10 minutes, or until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain and transfer to a warmed serving bowl. Add the sauce and half the coriander leaves, then toss. Garnish with the remaining coriander and serve immediately with the harissa or chilli sauce.

This recipe is taken from Vegan: 100 Everyday Recipes, part of Parragon's range of Love Food cookbooks. 

So have a war time pud to go with it.

Pear Crumble

• 6-8 cored pears (ripe for eating). Leave skins on
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• handful of sultanas
• lemon juice/zest if available
• 1/2 cup of wholewheat flour
• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon all spice/mixed spice
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• custard powder, sugar and milk (for custard)

Method

Take the 8 ripe to eat pears and core them and chop them up (leaving the skins on)

Squirt a little lemon juice in and zest if available

Mix together with sultanas and place in a greased 7 inch cooking pan for teh oven

Mix the sugar and the all spice together and sprinkle evenly over the top of the pears in the pan

Mix 1/2 cup wholewheat flour and 1/2 cup of rolled oats together in a bowl

Rub in the margarine until mixture resembles bread crumbs

Sprinkle this over the top evenly

Place in pre-heated over at 200 centigrade for about 40 mins

Make a nice thick custard as per instructions on the can and serve hot crumble on top of hot custard

YUM!

Serves 4

frogmorton

Oh yes Kath

Pasta is my absolute favourite food any day! I would happily have it 4 days a week with baked spuds the other 3!!!!

and pear crumble too.

I have some alpro custard which is lovely thank you for these lovely recipes.

😋😋😋

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Chunky chips with fruity chip shop curry

In the mid 1970s, curry sauce became a popular accompaniment served in fish and chip shops. Why not rediscover its super fruity flavour by making your own at home? It’s the perfect partner for warm, comforting chips

• Preparation: 15 mins
• Cooking: 10 mins
• Serves: 2

What you need:

• 2-3 medium potatoes e.g. Maris Piper
• Oil for deep frying

For the sauce

• ½ small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp medium curry powder
• 2 tsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp flour
• 150ml apple juice
• 25g sultanas

For the chips

• ¼ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp dried oregano

What you do:

1. Cut 2-3 medium peeled potatoes into chunky chips. Place in a saucepan and cover with cold water.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, drain well. Heat oil to deep fry to 150°C and blanch the chips for 3 minutes until softened but not coloured. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a small saucepan and gently fry 1 chopped onion and 2 tsp medium curry powder for 4-5 minutes, stir in 2 tsp tomato purée and 1 tbsp flour and cook for 30 seconds.
4.  Off the heat, gradually blend in 150ml each apple juice and water and add 25g sultanas. Return to the heat, bring to the boil, stirring and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Place the chips back in the hot oil heated to 180°C and deep fry for 9-10 minutes or until golden.
6. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper and coat with ¼ tsp paprika, ½ tsp oregano and seasoning.
7.  Serve with the curry sauce.

Danish Apple Pudding

First of all SORRY for the quality of the photo- if you stare at it for too long you’ll be heading to the nearest ‘Vogue Optical’ for an eye test…… I really miss the Canon Eos Digital (that used to take incredible photos).

So here is the recipe for ‘Danish Apple Pudding’ that I cooked yesterday. It tasted really nice and was very easy to make.

Danish Apple Pudding

• 2lbs apples (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 2 tea cups of breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons of golden syrup (uk) or table/maple syrup (North America)
• 1-2 level teaspoons sugar per apple used (according to taste)
• 1/2 oz margarine
• several drops of almond essence

Method

1. Place apples in saucepan with a couple tablespoons of water and cook over medium/high for 5 minutes or so until apples become soft.
2. Add in the sugar and almond essence and mix thoroughly with fork until mixture is pulpy.
3. Grease a pie dish with the margarine
4. Add a layer of breadcrumbs to the bottom and then cover with a layer of applesauce. Continue like this until all the mixture is used up and finish with a layer of breadcrumbs (you can always make more breadcrumbs if you run out of these)
5. Drizzle the syrup over the top
6. Place in a moderate over (about 180 C) for 45 minutes or until the top is golden.

Serves 4 – 6

TIP: Make sure the breadcrumbs used on the top layer are quite fine. If you use larger chunks they can resemble croutons!

frogmorton

Ooooooooooooooooh! Yes I love chip shop curry!

and mushy peas too and the chips! Seasoned . I never do this with normal chips, but if they are chip shop ones😛

The apple pie looks fab too avoided looking to long so didn't permanently damage my eye sight😂 Just getting the custard

Kitty

Daily Recipe (well 3 actually).

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread was the most popular homemade bread in Ireland in the earlier part of the 20th century. The climate in Ireland produced softer wheat rather than hard wheat with a high gluten content (best suited for using yeast as a raising agent). There were two common types of soda bread, one was ‘cake ‘ (where the loaf is baked as a round shape with a cross cut into the top to allow the bread to expand) and ‘farl’ (more common in Northern Ireland- the dough was flattened to 1/4 inch thick, cut into 4 pieces and cooked on griddle).

It’s the quickest & easiest bread recipe ever, it involves only a very light knead (the less the better) and no waiting for the dough to rise… I always pay a couple of dollars more for an organic non-gmo flour and even then, this loaf is a fraction of the price it would command in your local store..

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

• 1 lb of wholewheat flour (4 cups)
• 500 mls (2 cups) of buttermilk (1 teaspoon of vinegar added to fresh milk <<I used almond milk>> makes a good fake buttermilk)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

Method

1. Place 2 cups of milk into a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes before using in recipe. Buttermilk is a necessary ingredient because it helps activate the baking soda to produce a rise
2. Meanwhile sieve your flour into a large bowl with the salt and baking soda
3. After 15 minutes whisk up the buttermilk with a fork to make sure it is mixed well and pour into a well in the centre of the flour
4. Mix up with a spoon until formed into a dough
5. Briefly knead to ensure it is mixed well (knead as little as possible)
6. Form into a round, very slightly flattened shape, place on baking tray, and with a sharp knife mark with a shallow cross in the middle (this allows for the dough to expand)
7. Oven should be pre-heated to 200 c (400 F) and the loaf placed in the middle to top half of the oven for around 45 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil if it begins to brown too quickly
8. Loosely wrap in a clean t-towel once removed and place on a cooling rack (wrapping in a tea-towel ensures a softer crust although you can wrap in cling film after it has fully cooled to achieve a similar result)

I served a chunk of this with vegetable and oatmeal goulash yesterday but it is wonderful with soup, cheese and ‘Branston Pickle’ or just with butter.. (I remember this from my pre-vegan days!)

Each loaf is about 1600 calories

TRADITIONAL IRISH FADGE RECIPE

Are you looking for something good that is authentic Irish to serve on St. Patrick’s Day? Traditional Irish Fadge is a time-honored Irish potato bread that is fried in butter. In this recipe, to save time, the potatoes are microwaved until tender; they are then quickly mixed with butter, salt and enough flour to either roll or pat out. Sometimes the more simple a recipe, the better it tastes in the end, and that applies to this fadge.

I like to serve fadge with bacon and fried eggs. It’s also good with Irish sausages or ham. Fadge is also good as an accompaniment to soups or salads – it’s the ultimate quick bread.

If you’re inclined to go all out and prepare a full Irish breakfast, Fadge is perfect – it can be added in addition to or instead of Irish soda bread.

8 Servings

1 pound potatoes, Idaho or russet work well as opposed to waxy potatoes

1/4 cup softened butter (preferably Irish)

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 to 1 cup flour

2 tablespoons butter, for frying

1. Wash the potatoes, poke them with a fork in several places, and place them on a microwave-safe plate; microwave until tender.
2. Remove the potatoes from the oven, and, using a potholder to hold the hot potatoes, peel them with a sharp knife.
3. Mash the potatoes, add the butter and salt, and mix in enough flour to make the mixture stiff enough to roll.
4. Transfer to a floured surface.
5. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each to a circle 8-9" in diameter and 1/4" thick; cut the circle into quarters.
6. Heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon butter and add four of the quarters.
7. Let cook until golden brown on the bottoms; turn and let cook on the other side until golden brown and cooked through. Serve immediately with extra butter.

Amount Per Serving

Calories 181 Calories from Fat 79

Percent Total Calories From: Fat 44% Protein 6% Carb. 50%

Nutrient Amount per Serving

Total Fat 9 g

Saturated Fat 5 g

Cholesterol 23 mg

Sodium 383 mg

Total Carbohydrate 23 g

Dietary Fiber 0 g

Sugars 0 g

Protein 3 g

Vitamin A 7% Vitamin C 14% Calcium 0% Iron 5%

Lentil sausages

Lentil sausages were pretty tasty and have LOTS of protein in them and complex carbs (the good ones). Would be nice with gravy and vegetables…

Lentil sausages

• 4oz of split lentils
• finely chopped leek or onion
• lots of seasoning- salt and pepper
• fresh sage finely chopped (I used dried mixed herbs generously)
• stock/water

Method

1. Cover above ingredients in a saucepan with stock/water
2. Simmer until lentils become a thick puree (stir frequently)
3. Mix with a couple of dessertspoons of flour (soya is best) and 8 oz of very smooth but stiff mashed potato
4. Form into sausage shapes
5. Brush with reconstituted egg (or a little liquid if vegan) and coat in fine breadcrumbs
6. Fry or grill or bake in oven (220 C until browned)

Makes about 8 sausages. I would recommend doubling the quantity to make a larger batch

frogmorton

Straight away I want to try the Irish fadge recipe Kath it looks yum. I love potato pancakes my Dad used to make them Hungarian ones.

Soda bread too with a vegan option and lentil bangers. Back in my early gevvie days (some 35 years ago) that is what we had to do - make everything from lentils and if you were lucky TVP.

Thanks very much me duck!!

Kitty

Daily Recipe

Bubble and Squeak

This is so very delicious…

My mouth watered during and after cooking this dish from yesteryear (after because I kept half by in the fridge and had to go back and scoop a large spoonful out to shove in my mouth before I exploded)

Bubble and Squeak was typically a dish used to use up leftovers. There is no right way to cook it except that it has to have mash potato in it (it holds together all the leftover veggies) and you fry it in a pan until it just starts to brown on the edges..

Cabbage seems to be a popular ingredient for bubble and squeak as does a little onion too and leftover meat such as diced sausages or bacon. (I’m a vegan so when making recipes like this I use a sausage or bacon alternative as part of my rations) The “squeak” gets it’s name from the squeaking sounds emitted as the mash and vegetables are pushed down with a spatula to brown in the hot frying pan.

Here is how I made mine. (PS- I have now returned to the fridge and am eating the remaining portion as I type)

Bubble and Squeak

• Mashed potatoes
• Left over boiled cabbage, carrots, parsnips, sausages or vegan alternative (chopped)
• Mushrooms and onion (chopped)

Method

1. Put a large knob of margarine (dairy free margarine for vegans) in a frying pan and heat until it bubbles
2. Drop in the onion and mushroom and saute for a few minutes
3. Add the leftover chopped veg and meat and mix for a minute or so
4. Drop in the mashed potatoes and mix with veggie mixture already in pan
5. Press down the mixture with a spatula to brown and heat through
6. Turn over and keep heating through and until the edges brown

Wartime Bara Brith – Recipe No 110

I love the word “Bara Brith”. During my years of living in Wales, the language and the Welsh accent rapidly became one of my favourites in the whole wide world. It’s a very musical language and I do miss hearing it around me..

“Bara Brith” means speckled bread. The traditional recipe calls for lots of dried fruit, soaked in tea overnight and orange zest to give it a little zing. This recipe was quite easily adapted during war years by using marmalade instead of orange juice and orange zest and finely grated carrot could be used to replace some of the fruit. I did just that..

The recipe also only requires one egg (or dried egg) too. Being vegan I used a scoop full of ground flax seed instead which seems quite a good replacement for eggs in baking.

I have only one thing to say on the outcome of this wonderful Welsh fruit bread..

“LUSH”

Bara Brith

• 1 lb of self raising flour (I used plain with 5 teaspoons of baking powder)
• 1/2 pint of tea
• 1 lb of mixed dried fruit (substitute 1/3 rd with finely grated carrot to save on rations)
• 6 oz of light brown sugar
• 1 medium egg (I used no egg but used one small scoop of ground flax seed)
• 1 or 2 teaspoons of mixed spice
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon or orange juice
• 1 tablespoon of orange zest ( or use 2 tablespoons of orange marmalade to replace the honey, orange juice and zest)

Method

1. Make 1/2 pint of strong tea and add the dried fruit and grated carrot to the tea, place in fridge overnight
2. The next day mix the honey, orange juice and zest (or marmalade) with the sugar and egg and then add that to the fruit and tea mixture
3. Sift the flour and spice into a large bowl and add the fruit/tea mixture
4. Mix until all flour is mixed in and place in two small greased loaf tins or one large one and cook at 160 centigrade or 320 F for about 1 to 1.5 hours (use foil to cover if getting too brown)
5. Remove and cool for a while then glaze with honey or a sugar water mix
6. Remove from tin and cool thoroughly before storing in a tin
7. Slice and serve with butter (or a lactose free margarine if vegan)

Toni, I had to include both pics of this. It reminds me of Tea Bread/

frogmorton

Bubble and squeak!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE the stuff! Always have Monday's dinner 🙂 My Mum made the best bubble and squeak ever.

Kath yes the pic reminds me of tea bread and ought to taste similar too🤔 😛 if teh fruit is soaked overnight in tea which it is.....

Maybe we should try it?

Kitty

Daily Recipe (after turning my nose up and spam recipes, I actually like spam but didn't think you would, I opted for this).

Potato Rarebit – 1940s Recipe

It was too warm today to be eating hot stodgy food but somedays you just need something big inside you- this filled me all up for sure.. my youngest hobbit (Em) and I had two slices each for lunch and this was a substantial meal. Something lighter tonight for sure.

Potato Rarebit

• 1 medium potato and 1 oz cheese per slice of toast (although I used just 1/2 oz of cheese to be really frugal)
• Use mash potato as a basis for a rarebit. Beat the mashed potatoes until soft and smooth (add a little butter and milk if too stiff). Potatoes should be like a thick whipped cream..
• Put in as much grated cheese as you can spare with plenty of seasoning to your own taste.
• Spread on hot toast and brown under the grill

Carrot Cookies

Carrots were the home fronts secret weapon. The Ministry of Food propaganda machine convinced children that carrots on sticks were just as tasty as ice-creams, that eating lots of carrots helped you ‘see in the dark’ during blackouts, and that Dr Carrot would make everything better.

Carrots were also used to sweeten cakes and biscuits (cookies) replacing some of the sugar used in many recipes..

Carrot Cookies (makes 12)

• 1 tablespoon margarine (Earth Balance for vegans)
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 6 tablespoons of self-raising flour (plain flour add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder)
• 4 tablespoon of grated raw carrot
• 1 tablespoon of water

Method

1. Cream the fat and the sugar together with the vanilla essence
2. Mix in the grated carrot
3. Fold in the flour adding water as it gets dry
4. Drop spoonfuls onto greased tray and press down a little
5. Pre-heat oven to 200C
6. Sprinkle tops of cookies with extra sugar
7. Place in oven for 10- 15 minutes

PS Cinnamon added would be rather nice

Glory Buns

Recipe for Glory Buns

• 12 oz of wholewheat flour (or white)
• 2 oz margarine
• 2 oz sultanas/currants/raisins (optional)
• 2 oz sugar
• 8 fl oz warm water
• 3 teaspoons of quick rise dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon dried cinnamon powder
• pinch salt

To glaze:

• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Method

Place all the dried ingredients in a bowl (apart from dried fruit) and stir

Rub in the margarine

Mix in the dried fruit

Add in the warm water

Knead well (use extra flour if mixture is too sticky)

Divide dough into 12 balls

Place on greased deep sided tray (I like to use the 8 x 8 inch foil trays and place 4 balls in each)

Cover with plastic film or plastic bag

Leave to rise somewhere warm for an hour or so

When risen place in oven at 180 C for 15 minutes or so until golden brown

When cooked remove from oven onto a wire rack to cool

When cool prepare glaze by heating the water and sugar together until dissolved

Using a pastry brush apply the glaze generously

frogmorton

I'll have some of those buns please Kath....

Not so sure about potato rarebit sounds very dubious to me - am yet to find a good vegan cheese that melts ok yet too🙄but i do like potato cakes....on bread though?? maybe need to try it???

Carrots on sticks like ice lollies?? Nah🤢 Can't imagine that, but since I love carrot cake the biscuits do sound a possibility too🤔

Kitty

Daily Recipe (tell me if you get fed p of these wartime recipes).

Marmite Mushrooms (how can you resist?)

• Small punnet of mushrooms
• Marmite
• A few florets of broccoli
• A blob of butter (or Vegan spread)
• Toast

Method

Wipe clean the mushrooms and slice

Heat up frying pan and add a generous blob of butter

Chop up some florets of broccoli

Throw ingredients in the pan

When the mushrooms start to brown add in the rounded teaspoon of Marmite

Continue frying until mushrooms are browned sufficiently

Serve on top of toast

Top with a little grated cheddar cheese and pepper for extra taste!

Potato and Carrot Pancakes

Ingredients

• 4 med/large potatoes (diced)
• 2 med/large carrots (diced small)
• a little margarine or butter (I used my vegan spread which is a margarine made from soy)
• thyme and parsley (I just used dried herbs)
• plenty of salt and pepper
• a little butter or oil for frying (or brush with butter or margarine and put under grill)

Method

1. Whip mashed potato to a soft creamy consistency
2. Season well with plenty of pepper and salt and add some diced cooked carrots (I boiled and mashed them up together!)
3. Shape the potato into a pancake shape ( 1/2 inch thick)
4. Pan fry in just a little fat so it develops a deliciously crisp crust.
5. It can be cooked in the oven to a good brown if preferred. (just brush pancakes with some melted margarine or butter first)

Note: I finished mine off under the grill (broiler)

Makes 2-4 depending on size of pancake

Uncooked chocolate cake

This is a recipe from “We’ll Eat Again” by Marguerite Patten OBE and it was something children could make themselves if they were old enough to melt the margarine in a saucepan.. it tastes nice and chocolatey and could be topped by chocolate icing once it has stood for a few hours to cool and harden. It really isn’t like cake but more like squares and this is how I served mine… not bad at all!

Ingredients

• 2oz margarine
• 2oz sugar
• 2 tablespoons of golden syrup or corn syrup (3 tablespoons if using North American measures)
• 2 oz cocoa
• 6 oz crispy breadcrumbs
• few drops of vanilla essence

Method

Put the margarine, syrup and sugar in a pan and melt gently over a low heat until the margarine is fully dissolved. Mix well

Remove from heat and add the vanilla essence and the cocoa and mix thoroughly

Pour in breadcrumbs and mix until all coated with the mixture

Press down into 7 inch square greased tin.

Place somewhere cool for at least a few hours until firm

A topping can be added such as chocolate icing

Once set cut into squares

Makes 16 squares