Wartime Blackberry and Apple Jam

I think I chose the hottest day of the year so far to start canning.. but needs must and I began with one of our favourites..and a great way of using up some of the gifted apples... Blackberry and Apple Jam. This is a great recipe from the Ministry of Food and uses no added pectin.. the apples do a great job

Now... I only had one pound of blackberries... but as long as your fruit makes a total weight the same as your sugar you will be just fine. I have made this recipe many times and it always comes out well... tick..rich and delicious. It made three pint jars.. with a little extra to have on my toast for breakfast this week. A great start to my canning season

2 lbs. blackberries
¾lbs sour apples;
¼ pint water

About 3 lbs. sugar.

• Place the blackberries in a pan over a low heat 
• Adding half the quantity of water, and stew until tender. 
• Peel, core and slice the apples 
• Add the remaining water, and cook in a separate pan until the fruit is quite soft. 

• Add to the blackberries, and cook all together until thick. 
• Weigh the pulp, and add an equal weight of sugar. 

• Stir, bring to the boil, and boil until the jam sets when tested (about 220°)

The recipe doesn't call for the jars to be processed but I did anyway... water bathed for 10 minutes.

Dehydrating Apples

The Victory Garden is coming to an end and the 105 temperatures are not helping. The cucumber plants havent survived although we enjoyed their coolness through most of the summer.

As soon as it was light.. I went outside to water the garden before the heat hit. We may not have anymore cucumbers growing, but we still have some tomatoes... 

and the peppers are loving the heat.

We are particularly enjoying a new (to us) 'Lunchbox Red' which are lovely and sweet.

So thoughts are turning now to preserving the harvest. Its time to start washing some jars

Yesterday I filled five trays of apple peices... sprayed the them with a little lemon juice to prevent browning..

Fourteen hours later they were done.. and even though the five trays had been full.. once dried they only filled a quart and a pint jar

I will use them on top of cereal or in stuffings through the winter

Now... what shall I make tomorrow?

Ham and Cheese Baked Potatoes

I have a very busy week ahead so when MrD left for work just after midnight. I quickly showered and got ready for the day. And I must say... we had the most glorious sunrise

Monday....  As well as being laundry day... giving the bedrooms a good clean.. and general house work... is also bread making day... The house always smells delicious! So armed with my first cup of tea for the day, I got the bread ready for its rise. 

While the oven was being used for the bread.. I put half a dozen potatoes in to bake too. mainly to save on fuel but also to avoid a hot kitchen later in the day. A few hours later two lovely loaves were ready. This week I used black treacle in the National Loaf mix.. and it smelled like Christmas! 

After the Monday chores were done..  I started to tackle the box of apples from Miss Amy and Uncle Joe. First on the list.. dehydrating apple chunks.... which once in the dehydrator could be forgotten about for the rest of the day.

So for dinner we had a couple of  the baked potatoes I cooked this morning and were reheated on the barbeque when MrD cooked our chops

These potatoes.. which have hundreds of recipes.. but are illustrated here from the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine September 1948... are so easy and versatile. This recipe says to use ham and cheese... but I also added a little sauted onion and spinach and topped with a little chopped green onion. Now, I with the cheese and sauted vegetables the mix bound nicely so I omitted the milk (saves the ration) and the mix was still lovely.  

What we didn't eat for dinner.. we stored in the refrigerator for later in the week 

• Wash and prick the potatoes all over
• Bake in a hot oven (400°) for 45 to 60 mins
• Scoop out the centres into a bowl   
• Mash with hot milk and season to taste
• Fold in ham and grated cheese, and any other ingredients
• Pile into potato shells and top with a little more grated cheese
• Brown in a hot oven

Better Homes and Gardens Magazine
September 1948

Potato and Green Pea Cakes

Well the Victory Garden is looking very scraggy.. but is still giving us plenty of produce. This year I will have lots and lots of tomatoes to preserve!

The rest of the garden is still looking very pretty..despite the 100 degree weather. This heat cant go on for ever.. can it??

Inside the house.. the dreaded weekly ironing chore was accomplished with the help of cups of tea... and Kay Kyser and his Orchestra

Jingle Jangle Jingle ~ 1942

Kay Kyser and his Orchestra

Vocals by Harry Babbitt  and Julie Conway 

For dinner..  I found this recipe from The Ministry of Food.. and as a lover of green peas... and potatoes.. I thought how yummy... and it looks very simple to make.. what could possibly go wrong?

Well... I always share my recipes.. whether they turn out great... or not.  And this recipe was a great big NOT!!

Dont get me wrong.. flavour wise they were very tasty. But.. having made the mixture.. trying to fry them was a  massive failure. They just fell into a great mushy mess. I tried twice with various amounts of oil (in my case bacon fat) but they would not get crispy ... or stay firm. So I saved the rest of the mixture.. and we will have it as a mashed potato dish with some sausages later in the week. They really needed some sort of binding agent..like flour or and egg.. which if I make them again.. I will use. 

Although I must say.. Green Pea Mashed Potatoes is quite delicious

Stuffed Eggs

It was a pleasantly cooler morning.. so after hanging the laundry on the line.. I took my cuppa outside and sat with the chickens for a short while.

Making sure Prince was locked out of the back garden.. I let the Ladies out of the coop for a bit and let them peck at some fresh grass for a change.They are not fans of this very hot weather either.. but its hasn't affected their egg production at all... giving us plenty of eggs for tonight's dinner.

Housework was completed in a timely fashion... including giving the bedrooms a good clean.. which meant I could spend the afternoon on my knitting.. Im determined to finish the little matinee set I'm making for our grandbaby due in December.

This evening.. MrD and I settled down and listened to a new radio show "Eyes Aloft" dedicated to the volunteers of the Aircraft Warning Service, which consisted of civilians who volunteered their time to look for enemy aircraft along the Pacific Coast. 

Photo: Signing up at the

Newport Beach Aircraft Warning Volunteer Center c.1942

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, 150,000 citizens volunteered to look for enemy aircraft headed for the mainland. Many of the volunteers were women and retired persons who lived along the Pacific Coast. The broadcast commended Aircraft Warning Service volunteers and dramatized their true stories of service, patriotism, and courage. 

So for dinner.. we had a lovely meal of leftover cold chicken, salad from the garden, and courtesy of our ladies, Stuffed Eggs. The recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, July 1941, and are a spin on Devilled Eggs, which are made the same way, but with different additives.

Although they were flavourful and we enjoyed them.. both MrD and I agreed we prefer the original Devilled Eggs taste

6 hard cooked eggs

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon vinegar

1½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1½ teaspoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Original Magazine Cutting

• Cut eggs lengthwise
• Remove yolks and mash.
• Add mayonnaise, vinegar, and seasonings
• Beat until smooth and fluffy. 
• Fill whites with teaspoon or put through a pastry tube. 
• I like to garnish with a littke paprika

Better Homes and Gardens agazine
July 1941

 

Broiled Ham Sandwiches

Another busy Saturday at our Little Blue House. After a breakfast of vegetable omelettes.. courtesy of our ladies and the Victory Garden.. MrD started a new house project.. replacing the floorboards in our hallway. 

He made a good start.. but will have to finish it next weekend. As with many jobs that we try to do in this old house... we always manage to open a can of worms!!

As for me I thought MrD needed a bit of a treat.. so I made one of his favourites 

Fanny Farmers Banana Bread.. 

with a few chocolate chips sprinkled on top

For lunch I tried a new recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, July 1940.. and it used a 1940s staple.. Spam!

Broiled Ham Sandwiches  were supposed to be an open faced and you toast the topping and put on bread. But I had some National Loaf that was a little stale as its coming to the end of the week. So, I ended up making a glorified cheese on toast. I halved the recipe as it was only the two of us.. and the leftover Spam will be used in breakfasts and in sandwiches this week

Original Magazine Illustration

To be honest.. it was really flavourful.. and added to a little fresh salad from the garden.. made a lovely filling lunch. I will be making it again

¼ cup chopped cucumber pickle 

1 cup grated American cheese (or any melting cheese)

3 tablespoons mayonnaise. 

12 ounce can pork-ham luncheon meat 

• Toast bread slices and spread with butter
• Combine grated cheese, mayonnaise and chopped pickle 
• Cut Spam Luncheon Meat ¼ inch thick slices
• Place a slice on each piece of toast
• Spread with cheese mixture. 
• Broil until cheese puffs. 
• Serve hot. 
• Makes 8 open sandwiches

Better Homes and Gardens Magazine 
July 1940

Sunday Supper Sandwiches

It was a very Happy Sunday today...

our beautiful friend Clara celebrated her 80th birthday

After church MrD and I, Clara, her husband Henry, their granddaughter Betty and great grandchildren Richard and Joanie had a lovely lunch at the Maple Leaf Family Restraunt in town

On the way back to their house.. MrD and I stopped at our house to pick up the cake I made yesterday which I had left in our refrigerator... because the weather was so hot.. and luckily the mocha icing had firmed up beautifully.  We all enjoyed a slice to celebrate this lovely ladies special day

After all the lovely food we had today.. we only needed a very light supper to get us through til tomorrow. The aptly named Sunday Supper Sandwiches from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine July1941. fit the bill perfectly. Very easy to make.. and is basically a tuna fish and cheese toasted sandwich... and the added pickle gave a bit of a tang. I made no changes.. except next time I will probably toast the bun first to make the bread a bit firmer. Very nice.. especially with some fresh chunks of cucumber and radishes from the garden!

Original Magazine Illustration

1 can (7 oz) tuna fish, flaked
2 Tbsp chopped onion
2 Tbsp chopped pickle
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
6 round, flat buns
American cheese slices
Pimiento for garnish

Magazine Clipping

• Mix flaked tuna, onion, pickle, and mayonnaise.
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Split buns and spread the tuna mixture on them.
• Top each with a slice of American cheese.
• Broil for 3 minutes until the cheese melts.
• Garnish with pimiento stars 
• Serve immediately

Better Homes and Gardens Magazine
July 1941