Cooking with the Home Front Housewife
I went through my collection of vintage magazines and found several ads that were aimed at the home front housewife in charge of packing lunches during rationing. A few of these ads also included recipes, and I thought they might be a fun way to continue our discussion about packed lunches this month. Today I…
The home front housewife had many new challenges when World War II began. Shortages and rationing made cooking challenging due to having to learn new recipes with new ingredients and new ways of cooking. Those changes also led to changes in how packed lunches were planned and prepared. Leftovers from meals the night before were…
Read More "Victory Lunch Boxes: Introduction and Chili-Peanut Sandwich Filling"
This recipe is next in the "Baking without...Sugar" series. It's difficult to make sweet desserts and treats without sugar, but home front housewives did their best using the resources they had at hand. These spicy raisin cookies are from a December 1944 Woman's Day Kitchen recipe. The recipe would have cost 27 cents and it…
Sugar was first rationed in 1942. It was the first consumer commodity rationed but was soon to be followed by items like meat, coffee, and processed foods. Beginning on May 5, 1942, each person could receive a half pound of sugar a week. A pound of granulated sugar contains roughly 2 cups. In 1942, this was…
Music has long been a way to help us process strong emotions about important events, not just for happy days like birthdays and weddings, but also for difficult times. During World War II, music took a patriotic turn as we first watched and then participated in the fighting overseas. Since today is a day of remembrance…
This will be my last drink post for a while. It's a good drink for those warm first days of fall. I'll be continuing the "Baking without..." series and I want to visit some lunch box recipes and wartime lunchbox packing tips. I also have few non-recipe posts coming up. I hope you'll enjoy what's…
One of the challenges during the war years was creating menus that were varied, healthy, and appealing. As time went on, more and more commonly eaten foods either became scarce or were subject to rationing. Women's magazines, newspapers, and cookbooks frequently contained articles or chapters with information and tips for meal planning with changing food…
