Depression era recipes

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Oddcaliber

Oddcaliber

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Hoover stew was very popular in the Depression. Actually found a recipe for it. When time permit I just might have to whip up a pot of Hoover stew and see if it's good. Many people say its very good cheap and filling. Several other Depression era recipes are on the net as well. If the economy keeps going the way it's going this dish will be renamed Biden stew! LOL.
 
I have a bit of a sad story. My wife and I grew up 2 miles apart so we both consider ourselves belonging to the same set of subcultures and socioeconomic community. Both our parents grew up in the Depression. My wife's mother came from a very large and poor family during those years and the depression was much harder on her, a child at the time, than my parents who were working adults. My wife always made sandwiches with one piece of lunch meat. My family always used two. I asked her about this and this was a vestige of the Depression in which her mother's family could only afford one slice of lunch meat and it was just an ingrained habit now.
 
war years food recipes are good for compiling for any possible food shortages - both WW1 & 2 had rationing and plenty of substituting came into play >>> especially in the UK

if you've never watched thru the BBC "Farm Series" - the WW2 wartime reenactment series is really interesting for the farming and general living thru those tentative years in England ....

 
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Under Biden we may have a new depression that beats the old one, as crazy as that sounds. They are seriously talking about us eating bugs and are using more in our food now

Get ready to eat bugs! No, seriously…

Get ready to eat bugs! No, seriously… (msn.com)


With climate change and a booming population, humans may soon need an alternative food source.

A team of researchers argues that bugs — specifically the yellow mealworm — is the ideal candidate for commercial harvesting.

Mealworms are high in protein and could be used as an additive in various foods.

The world’s human population is booming and has been for some time. We already see the effects of food shortages in some less developed countries, but no nation is immune to the possibility of a mass food shortage. There are more mouths to feed every second of the day, and there’s only so much land to farm and animal life to exploit.
 
I have many many recipes from lots of folks I have met over the years and written down in a large folder.
Look for Bannock bread from Scotland, Indian fry bread, clarified butter, storing meat in crock pots, pemmican with dried fruits and making your own jerky, ( turkey jerky is low fat).
Take the time each spring to drill a 1/2 to 3/4 inch hole into a birch tree as it is blooming and sprouting leaves. A birch will pump up to 20 gallons (!!) of sap daily while sprouting leaves. Shove a small piece of hard plastic or aluminum pipe into the hole, hang a container of at least a gallon size under the pipe and get some real clean, lightly sweet, aromatic fresh water, cleaned by osmosis from the tree. You can refrigerate it for up to 3 days (if you don't drink if faster!) before it goes bad. A tap and pipe into your BOB or INCH bag is a good idea too.
 
If you have an overload of eggs, boil them and put them directly into the juice from pickles, olives, beets or other pickled food you have bought and eaten. I drop 4-5 boiled eggs into a pickle jar if it is still half full and they will get the pickle taste in about 4-5 weeks. The grandkids loved eating the pink eggs from sitting a month in red beet juice after we ate the beets. If you like anything in a vinegar type pickling, throw some boiled eggs into the juice. I take them fishing, camping or make potato salads with the spiced eggs. Throw a few jalapenos in with the eggs and get some spicy snacks too.
Sometimes we throw a few small onions into the juice instead of eggs for the flavor and use the onions to cook soups, stews or flavor in our other dinners and salads. Do not waste anything you buy, it is paid for and can be re-used very often. The empty and new jars for canning here are more expensive than the jars of food and foodstuffs in a jar with a metal lid when full of pickles, beets or corn and peas...re-use, re-cycle and save your money. Gary
 
Well, are you ready to eat those bugs?


May 4, 2021

EU Approves Sale of Mealworm for Human Consumption

Worm Cuisine Set to Hit Europe’s Dinner Tables as EU Gives Nod - Bloomberg


"Dried yellow mealworm can now be sold across the 27-nation bloc after a Monday decision from EU governments and a food safety assessment, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

EU officials suggest it could be used as a protein boost for cookies, pasta or baked goods, as they try to reassure fussy eaters that millions of people around the world already eat insects. It’s also a more environmentally friendly alternative to rearing cattle and other larger sources of protein. The market for edible insects is set to reach $4.6 billion by 2027, according to one report earlier this year."

Enjoy those cookes!


May 6, 2020

Calls for Regulatory Approval of Edible Insects
Calls for Regulatory Approval of Edible Insects | The Regulatory Review (theregreview.org)

"

The recent closures of major meat packing plants as a result of COVID-19 has restricted U.S. meat production while consumer demand is on the rise. In particular, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that between March and April, frozen pork in storage declined 4 percent and slaughter rates dropped 25 percent.

Although many news sources have commented that it is still too early to declare a food crisis, others have warned that U.S. food banks may have to begin rationing. Some economists predict that consumers will notice significantly fewer options for meat and protein beginning this month.

Because the coronavirus pandemic has directly impacted the agriculture sector and other sectors tied to food production, members of the edible insects industry have praised the promise of the European Union’s long-awaited authorization of the sale of certain edible insects, hoping that the EU’s expected ruling will “have a snowball effect."


I was reading some comments on a youtube channel I like and came across this one

" There was a guy that got out of prison about 5 years ago and started watching programs on the TV that he had not had a chance to see in prison. He made a very interesting observation. He said, "Ya know, I have come to the conclusion that 'they' want us to live in houses the size of closets and eat bugs." That is the difference between the slow indoctrination that we go through vs the sudden indoctrination a person goes through who just got back into the world after a time away from it. "


If only there was some type of pandemic, and a vaccine to finish the job the pandemic didn't do.... wait, what?
 
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Most of the accounts I've seen have preppers investing lots of money in MREs, backpacking rations, canned goods, etc. in an effort to maintain the diet they are used to now. If an existential threat manifests, my goto rations are going to be dried beans and rice. They are cheap in bulk, last a long time, are easy to prepare, and most of all it's extremely easy to transport huge quantities.
Imagine that China cooks up a COVID25 that kills half its victims and incapacitates half of the other half. Then they launch a malware attack that shuts down fuel supplies to half the country during winter. As the bodies are piling up, half the country denies that the virus exists (sound familiar)? Every city becomes a death trap, so bugging in isn't an option. 1000lbs of canned goods is mostly water. 1000lbs of beans and rice is 1000lbs of nutrition.
For most of human history, people existed on a diet of grains and a little flesh.
 
I've started making hardtack to add to my lts food stock. It may not be the most exciting thing to eat but you only need flour, water, & salt to make it and it will last indefinitely as long as it's not exposed to moisture. It doesn't even need to be stored in mylar like some other lts foods.
 

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I actually don't think it's that bad. Not something I would eat on a normal basis but I certainly prefer it to going hungry. I've also never been very good at rotating my food preps so stuff like hardtack and rice that last pretty much indefinitely are a good choice for me to use as a staple in my lts food.
 
if you don't want to mess around making hardtack or survival crackers >>> matzah can be found at discounted ethnic food sections of your bigger store chains ....


  1. Matzah Recipe | Allrecipes
    www.allrecipes.com › recipe › 213682
    • 5/5 (66)
    • Servings: 8
    • Category: Bread, Quick Bread Recipes
    • 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour for dusting
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • ⅓ cup water, or more if needed
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or as needed (Optional)
 
Ram619 said:
It may not be the most exciting thing to eat but you only need flour, water, & salt to make it
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Not really true Ram619...you can add other spices to make it interesting. I add boullion, acorn flour, pollen from corn and cattails and such. Just make sure to bake it up to 3 times to get it really dry. With the boullion, you just add some hot water and let it all get soft enough to eat and it tastes like a small soup with chewy pieces in it...try different things, test eat and improve your storage preps with better tasting hardtack.
 
GaRp58 said:
Not really true Ram619...you can add other spices to make it interesting. I add boullion, acorn flour, pollen from corn and cattails and such. Just make sure to bake it up to 3 times to get it really dry. With the boullion, you just add some hot water and let it all get soft enough to eat and it tastes like a small soup with chewy pieces in it...try different things, test eat and improve your storage preps with better tasting hardtack.
Click to expand...

Not sure what part of what I said wasn't true? I'm aware you can add different ingredients to give them a little extra flavor. I was just saying that it can be made using only those ingredients as that is the original recipe.

I've made hardtack with added garlic, herbs, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, etc. to experiment with different tastes. You just have to make sure that whatever you add to it isn't going to affect it's lts. Some ingredients will dramatically reduce how long it can be stored for while others will not.
 
Ram619 said:
Not sure what part of what I said wasn't true?
Click to expand...
My mistake Ram, thought you only had tried to make the only salt type of hardtack and had not yet tried other ways. Sorry. Glad you reported back in to me!
Done the pemmican thing also with nuts, berries and chocolate? I have some in the fridge that is 2 years old now and still good with chocolate. Cranberries, raisins, cashews and pecans are my favorites with pemmican. Live free, Gary
 
GaRp58 said:
My mistake Ram, thought you only had tried to make the only salt type of hardtack and had not yet tried other ways. Sorry. Glad you reported back in to me!
Done the pemmican thing also with nuts, berries and chocolate? I have some in the fridge that is 2 years old now and still good with chocolate. Cranberries, raisins, cashews and pecans are my favorites with pemmican. Live free, Gary
Click to expand...

No worries. I probably should have mentioned adding other things for people who may read this in the future.

I haven't made any pemmican yet but it is on my list and I do have a few recipes I'd like to try.
 
Ram619 said:
I haven't made any pemmican yet but it is on my list and I do have a few recipes I'd like to try.
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Good for you. Start with your normal Beef Jerky and when you get the taste right for your needs, bake the jerky till it cracks and can be pulverised in a mixer and further workings. Don't forget to try some jerky with tequila, Jack Daniels or Jim Beam or you favorite to get some fun flavor in it...
 
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