WWII Homefront

I put a lot of books up on here for you to look at today, then of course I had to go look at what I wanted to make for dinner tonight.

Silly me… Of COURSE you want to see what rationing cookbooks are out there!   You’re in for a treat, because there are some great ones!! Pick one up, and spend a week trying to eat only what was allowed!

Now then, folks. Before you start to think that I am off my rocker, lets give you a little history on the wonder that is Spam.  (which is short for “shoulder of pork and ham”, or “spiced ham” depending on who you talk to)
Spam debuted in 1937, and in 1940 had what was believed to be the very first singing commercial. ‘SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM, Hormel’s new miracle meat in a can, Tastes fine; saves time, if you want something grand; ask for SPAM’   From 1941-1945, more than 1 million pounds of Spam were shipped worldwide to support US and Allied troops.  In 1943, they even had a black and white ‘economy’ label for the war effort!

Spam is currently sold in 41 countries worldwide, the most usage being in the USA, the UK, and South Korea.  It was introduced to Hawaii and to Guam during WWII, where fresh meat was difficult to come by… and Spam is still exceptionally popular in these areas today, where the average citizen consumes 16 tins per year!  That’s a LOT of Spam.

While people of means refer to Spam as “poor people food”, places like Hawaii refer to other varieties of tinned meat as “poor people’s Spam”.

So…. here’s what to do with it when you have it!  These recipes, and many more, can be found at SpamRecipes.net and information on Spam can be found at Spam.com (which is where these fabulous images are from!)

Cabbage Apple Spam Supper

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup honey
2 cooking apples, sliced 1/4″
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 cups shredded cabbage 1/4 tsp clove
12-oz can SPAM, cubed 1/2″

Directions:
In skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients; toss to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples and cabbage are tender and SPAM is heated through (10 to 12 minutes).

Hawaiian Spam Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 can Spam luncheon meat (12 oz)
4 slices American cheese
1 can Pineapple rings (8 oz); drained
4 Hamburger buns; split

Directions:
Brown SPAM slices in skillet. Place 2 SPAM slices on each bottom half of hamburger bun. Top with pineapple ring and cheese slice. Cover sandwich with top half of bun.

Cool Cucumber Avocado Spam Sandwiches

Ingredients:
8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 medium cucumber, sliced 1/4″
12-oz can SPAM, sliced 1/8″
1/4 cup sour cream
2 ripe avocados, cut into 1/4″ wedges
1/4 cup chopped fresh dillweed
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
8 slices rye bread

Directions:
In small bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, dillweed and pepper; stir to blend. Spread 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread. Reserve remaining cream cheese mixture. Arrange cucumber slices on bread slices; or with 3 slices of SPAM. Dip avocados in lemon juice; Arrange on sandwiches. Garnixh with remaining cream cheese mixture.

Spam Salad

Ingredients:
1 can of Spam, regular or low-salt
1/4 cup diced white onion
1/4 cup diced sweet or dill pickle
1 large hard boiled egg, diced
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
Kraft Sandwich Spread or Salad Dressing to taste

Directions:
Decan the Spam. Either grind or use a food processor to reduce it to consistency of coarse hamburger. Mix with other ingredients using enough Sandwich Spread or Salad Dressing to get the spreading consistency you desire. Chill thoroughly. Serve as dip with chips or crackers or make into sandwiches.

These are courtesy “The American Woman Cookbook” copyright 1941, from Consolidated Book Publishers.

First printing of this fabulous cookbook was 1938. One of my favorite things about it is that it seems everything is edible, if properly prepared…lol.   When was the last time you saw a cookbook that had directions for cooking Peafowl? (yes, as in peacocks and peahens)  Apparently they should be prepared like turkey, and rubbed with bacon fat prior to cooking. But I digress…. read on!  I will focus on things you just hadn’t thought about making for dinner:

VIRGINIA BEEF TONGUE

1 fresh beef tongue

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. stewed cranberries

1/4 c. butter

1 T. whole cloves

1/2 lemon, sliced

Scrub tongue and simmer in water to cover until tender, 3-4 hours.  Remove skin and trim root end.  To 1 cup of liquid in which tongue was cooked, add remaining ingredients.  Simmer tongue in mixture 15 minutes. Serves 6.

OPOSSUM ROAST

Opossum is very fat with a peculiarly flavored meat. To dress, immerse in very hot water (not boiling) for 1 minute. Remove and use a dull knife to scrape off hair so that skin is not cut. Slit from bottom of throat to hind legs and remove entrails. Remove head and tail if desired. Wash thoroughly inside and out with hot water. Cover with cold water to which has been added 1 cup salt. Allow to stand overnight; in the morning drain off the salted water and rinse with clear, boiling water.

Make stuffing as follows: Brown 1 large, fine-chopped onion with 1 tablespoon butter. Add chopped opossum liver and cook until tender. Add 1 cup bread crumbs, and little chopped red pepper, a hard-cooked egg, finely chopped, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, salt, and water to moisten.  Stuff opossum with mixture, fastening the opening with skewers or sewing.  With 2 tablespoons water roast in moderate oven (350 degrees F) until meat is tender and richly browned. Baste constantly with the opossums own fat. Remove skewers or stitches, serve on heated platter. Skim fat from gravy and serve with baked yams or sweet potatoes.

BRUNSWICK STEW

2 squirrels

1 T. salt

1 minced onion

1 pint lima beans

6 ears corn

1/2 lb salt pork

6 potatoes

1 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. sugar

1 quart sliced tomatoes

1/2 lb butter

This dish is named for a county in Virginia and is a favorite dish in that section of the country. It is served in soup-plates.

Cut the squirrels into pieces, as for fricassee. Add the salt to four quarts water and when boiling add the onion, beans, corn, pork, potato, pepper, and the squirrels.  Cover closely and simmer for two hours, then add the sugar and the tomato, and simmer for one hour more.  Ten minutes before removing the stew from the fire, add the butter, cut into pieces the size of a walnut and rolled in flour.  Boil up, adding salt and pepper if needed, and turn into tureen.

There are generally two types of “event” coffee- purchased and brought in, or made over a campfire and atrocious.   This article will teach you how to brew your own coffee at events that will have the neighbors in your tent city coming back for more.

First method up- a campfire percolator.   Now, keep in mind that I love coffee… but like many adults, coffee that is too strong give me an acid stomach.  This particular ratio of coffee to water works for me, and is quite tasty.  KNOW HOW MUCH YOUR PERCOLATOR HOLDS.   If you don’t, then break out a measuring cup and find out. You can’t make this blindly, or you will wind up frying your taste buds from too much bad joe.  Use a coarsely ground coffee, not a finely ground one that would be used for espresso.  Make sure your pot and all of the parts that go on the inside are clean prior to adding clean water to it.  Use 1 heaping teaspoon (dessert spoon, really) of coffee for every two cups of water in the pot- level it out in the basket, perch it on the stem, and put the basket lid on. Heat the water to JUST boiling BEFORE you put the basket and stem into the pot.  Once you put the coffee basket in, let it boil for FIVE MINUTES.   Then it’s done. Take the coffee off the heat, and serve it up.  For authentic 1940′s appeal, serve with evaporated milk. You can leave the can out if you have removed the label, and/or replaced it with a reproduced label.   Adjust the amount of coffee you use to suit your own tastes.  If you are not going to use all of your freshly perked coffee right away, remove the basket and stem, or the grounds will make the coffee bitter.

Now, for campfire “cowboy” coffee.  The easiest method is to boil two quarts of water in a pot, then remove from heat and add two handfuls (seriously… handfuls. This will obviously differ, depending on your hand size) of coffee to the boiling liquid. Use a FINELY ground coffee for this method. Let it steep for four or five minutes.  Add a few tablespoons of cold water to the mix to settle the grounds, and serve up.  I recommend using a ladle, and an open pot, because you’ll get less grounds in your mug that way.  Remember that there are grounds in the water, and the longer it sits, the stronger, and consequently more bitter the coffee will become.

So go make some coffee!   Bring extra mugs- you’re going to be popular, when it’s lousy weather and you have made something to smile about!

Alright, you’ve all heard of Bisquick… but how many of you know that Jiffy Mix has been around since 1930?   Jiffy was the FIRST all-purpose baking mix, and they now offer 22 varieties of mixes!  It is made by the Chelsea Milling Company, in Chelsea MI, which has been in operation for about 120 years.

We used it around the house when I was growing up, because there were so many of us kids that wanted to learn how to cook, and you can make a great, quick coffeecake with Jiffy.  The distinctive blue and white box has always made me think of something new and inventive I could be creating in my kitchen!  I’ve got my box, so get on out to your grocery store, and pick it up in either the baking aisle, or the pancake aisle, and go bake something!