About

Hi!

I’m Shawna.

I’m a folklorist, historian, and writer with a passion for women’s history. Join me as we journey back to the early 1940s to explore the kitchen life of a home front housewife. We’ll recreate recipes from vintage menus and discuss war time kitchen conveniences and struggles. We’ll delve into rationing and canning and ingredient substitutions. We’ll look at the war time government’s role in American kitchens, and American housewives’ role in winning the battle on the home front. Plus, we’ll talk about fun things like entertainment, clothing and shopping–all from the home front housewife’s point of view.

All recipes will be from sources published in 1940-1945. I’ll use a variety of sources and we’ll chat about why they were important or useful to American women. I also have a collection of dishware, cookware, and related kitchen items that I’ll showcase as we go. Not all of them will be from the war years, but I truly believe that they need to be used and shared. That lets everyone enjoy learning about vintage kitchen food preparation and cooking activities, even when they might not be from quite the correct year.

Thanks for coming along! There’s lots of fun ahead!