Sear it in an oiled pan. Theyre so much more interesting and more delicious if you ask me! My parents were also kids during the dust bowl era which pretty much ran during the depression era, Dad said the ate saltine crackers soaked in milk, made with powered milk fir dinner ore beef both soaked bread. View Recipe. Um yikes. If an EMP is such an effective weapon; why hasnt anyone done it yet? You can also save and freeze veggie scraps. Hey there! Instructions: Add . Every time you prepare another dish, save the scraps of veggies and peels, and add them to the soup with more water and re-boil it. Cold Milk Soup is simply milk, bananas, and sugar, served cold on a summer day. Egg Drop Soup. Its as basic as basic can get, yet very yummy. Here's Clara's recipe for Egg Drop Soup: Peel and dice a potato and an onion. Add fruit. As Garden & Gun reports, the peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich took hold of America in the 1930s, during the peak of the Depression. This led to some pretty inventive dishes. This is a long shelf-life plain, hard big cracker. With the addition of spices, we can imagine this as a savory dish. It is supposed to slow the absorption of caffeine so you are not wired, and give you slow burn energy. The ham is salty and gives the soup such great flavor. Continue cooking until beans are tender and sauce thickens. Simmer over low heat until warmed, and thickened. Punch dough down and cut into two pieces and roll each piece into a loaf. The most notable is Great Depression Cooking with Clara, a 92 year old grandmother who cooks recipes from her youth. Made with bacon, peppers, onion, canned pork and beans, canned chili and beans, cheddar cheese, and of course, bologna, this casserole recipe was hearty and had flavor and thats saying a lot for Depression-era meals. I think its a good idea to have plenty of dried herbs on hand to enliven whatever vegetables and meat one does manage to have on hand. Related: Canning Amish Poor Man's Steak. People in Tibet drink a strong, smoky tea with pink Himalayan salt and yak cream. 3. Rinse beans and add to large pot with onion, pepper, bay leaf and ham hocks. Weve been growing, storing and preserving our own food, foraging, fishing and hunting, and bartering for a very long time. You wont believe how great this recipe is with only three ingredients. This not Haute Cuisine; these recipes are for rough, crude simple dishes designed for sustenance. This recipe includes whipped heavy cream, vanilla extract, milk, sugar, and raspberry Jell-O. Add butter before serving. This pudding-like dessert has a delicious flavor and consistency. In this video, Clara explains the fiddly process of cleaning up the greens and making them ready to eat in the above video. Slowly brown them in a pot with oil until soft, then add bay leaves and salt and pepper. ", 25 Weird Foods People Ate During The Great Depression, 10 Weird Canned Foods That Are Surprisingly Good, 13 Forgotten Lessons from The Great Depression, 22 Ways People Saved Money During The Great Depression. There are different British, Irish, and Scottish versions. Lots of families made meat dishes with fish because meat was scarce during World War II. This can be eaten as is with butter, salt and pepper. The peanut butter flavors in the bread itself enhance the flavors of whatever you add to it. Here is a little more nutritious but still simple version. You'll even find bread, cakes, pies, and custards that are delightful additions to frugal cooking. Usually Clara said she and her family would eat bread and butter with coffee for breakfast every morning. 6. Potato Casserole. Add seared meat if desired, and toss in some potato chips to serve. You may need to flip it over and bake for more time. Its frozen. Mix cornmeal with bone broth or water and allow to sit overnight. Emmy from emmymadeinjapan made a version and, although its an odd mix of flavors, said that the garbage plate is not too bad.. 2 cups corn meal 4 tablespoons butter 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups flour 1 to cups water or milk. In particular, sandwiches of all kinds became the norm for workers lunches, for snacks, tea parties, lunches, and even for dinner. Serve with cream, either plain or whipped. It was the era of such makeshift sandwiches as butter and sugar, onion, and ketchup so its not surprising that some of the sammies in Ms. Cowles book had some unusual contents by todays standards. But back then, they were favorites among families who needed to keep things cheap, yet nutritious. The odds are probably 1,000,000,000,000,000 1. Similar to macaroni with hot dogs, our modern-day guilty pleasure, Hoover Stew was made with macaroni, canned tomatoes, hot dogs, and canned corn or beans. Stir in the onions , potatoes, and other root vegetables, and saut until browned. I still cannot fry potatoes properly but remember cooked dry beans (what my dad called golden nugget beans), potatoes and cornbread for many meals. To make this recipe you grind walnuts and mix this with the whites of hard-boiled eggs. As were the boiled carrots, for that matter. She was born in 1911 and her mother died when she was 9 from the flu epidemic. Spread these with same mixture as used before and combine slices crosswise, white and whole wheat squares alternating. Via: YouTube. Progressives wanted to help children from poor families by providing them with at least one nutritious meal per day. Quickly mix using cold liquid (milk or water) and form into soft dough. This goulash recipe is super comforting, and the leftovers are so tasty! They couldnt afford the sauce and cheese, but we were happy with the plain pizza, Clara said. Corned beef luncheon salad was made by combining a can of corned beef, a can of corn, and a can of peas. Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Contact Us, 30 Great Depression Era Recipes for a Taste of the Past, 20 Plantain Recipes for a Taste of the Islands, 23 Gluten-Free Bread Recipes That Actually Taste Good. Now, get out there and forage for some dandelions! Put whole, unpeeled potatoes into a skillet and add sliced onions. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a32a0a14a115a9571bf51a1a165d177b" );document.getElementById("d55fec7b51").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Depression Era Recipes (Paperback or Softback) "This dish was inspired by my love for chicken wings and a popular Filipino dish called Kare Kare [pronounced kar-eh kar-eh]," says the chef. Serve warm with cornbread. Its a take on the classic marshmallow fruit salad, sometimes known as ambrosia. 1 Corned Beef Luncheon Salad. Spread one of the white slices with cream cheese or with one of the butters described in that division. Potatoes and onions were a side dish for beans or eggs. Rub hot bread with water and wrap in a lightweight towel to make crust softer. I mean, when do fresh rolls not taste good? Hamburger SOS is a cheaper version of chipped beef that is a classic depression era recipe. I have also included some recipes that meet the Depression era criteria for simple food, though they are not from the actual Depression era. The batter is loaded with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. ! So apparently this is a thing! "The traditional Kare Kare dish is a stew made with slow-cooked oxtail in a peanut sauce. Breakfasts during the Great Depression Era varied widely according to socio-economic status of the household and what was available at the time. Add salt, pepper to boiling water, and simmer peas until tender. Garbage Plate. Its a unique flavor that makes this pie special. Take cold butter and use a knife to integrate it into the mixture finish by rubbing it in with your hands. The recipe calls for cut up boiled potatoes with the skins left on. On the other, this actually seems like a genius way to feed a group of people with minimal effort. Go to Recipe. A Great Depression-era recipe for "water pie" is going viral on TikTok, and it's almost too weird to be real.. I think this might be my new favorite dessert. But something just aint right, he continued, before putting the plate away, leaving this cake in the past where it belongs. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and sugar. Stuffed peppers are one of my favorite classic dishes. Eggs can also be added to the skillet to poach in the milk. Butter. Add salt and pepper to serve. Then pour boiling water over the bread, making sure the slices are soaked. Rationing of items such as dairy and eggs during the Great Depression and through WWII made bakers get creative. (Check out our other vegan dessert recipes .) Many Depression-era cookbooks featured gelatin as a base for such cutting-edge recipes as corned beef luncheon salad and other congealed salads. 4 cups flour 2 cups warm water 2 tbsps. 3) Cornmeal Mush with Milk. Slice and fry in bacon grease. Depression Era Recipes. My favorite part is the ketchup spread on top. However, now being able to afford all the good stuff, Clara makes her pizza with tomato sauce, anchovies, mozzarella, and basil. Hoover Stew from Time Traveler's Kitchen. This is a modernized and more hopefully more palatable version. Im Kim. And just like the name suggests, hot water pie is made from simple ingredients like butter, sugar, and flour for the crust, and butter, sugar, eggs, and boiling water for the custard filling. Its still served at some breakfast places in the Mid-Atlantic today. Place a skillet over medium heat. You can use crappies or perch for best results, though trout or walleye are also very good this way. This is the most basic form of bread. It was not bad, and with black coffee, (I used up the last of the half-and-half in the cake) it fueled me so I could go to work and earn more money. 16. It is made with a layer of sugar cream, followed by a layer of custard, and then topped with meringue if you wanted to get really fancy. In large bowl, pour milk over bread (let stand until milk is absorbed). Add water and bring to a boil. According to Living History Farm, the main foods rationed during the Great Depression were sugar, coffee, meat, fish, butter, eggs, and cheese. by Patricia R Wagner Paperback . These recipes use some uncommon combinations! People cooked what they already had or what was inexpensive. Corn is fried up in drippings along with onions and then tomato sauce is added. If you love salty snacks, this recipe is perfect for you! If youve never repurposed them into something tasty, this isyour time to start! Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C) and grease a loaf tin. Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour 1 1/4 tsps. Soak half of it in water for 60 minutes. Its a simple recipe, and you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry! In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. This recipe makes seven whole loaves of bread. You do not need to spend a lot of money or prepare elaborate and pretentious dishes to eat well. Following an EMP or other SHTF event, shipping, trucking, and commercial food manufacturing will again be at a standstill. Mulligan stew was reportedly first created by the homeless population during the Depression and was a total mish-mosh of whatever food the neighborhood had. This pie has a flaky crust and a creamy filling. My favorite topping for these latkes is applesauce but you can top or dip them with anything you prefer. Its unclear if this one is simply a product of make the best of it cooking or if this was considered good food. Without electricity, storing of dairy and other perishable items will need to be done in something like a zeer pot fridge in hot weather. Also served during both World Wars, creamed chip beef was (and still is in some parts of America) made with dried beef that was rehydrated in a roux of butter, flour, and milk. But the kind of pizza Clara and her family ate during the Depression looked nothing like the pizza were used to today. Leftover mashed potatoes (about 2 cups) 1 large egg. It uses lard as the fat, and is spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. can be a challenge. Serve as is, or over rice or potatoes, and with buttered biscuits, hardtack, or bread. Potato pancakes or potato latkes are so much better than they sound. This loaf was made with peas, oatmeal, peanuts, rice, and/or cottage cheese depending on the recipe. Mashed potatoes were either made into cakes and fried for breakfast or mixed with some fish to make fish cakes. Dip in flour and brown with onion in about 3 tablespoons of fat. I personally like my glop thick. In a large bowl, use your hands to gently combine the grated potatoes and onion with the egg, flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder. This cabbage and noodle dish is made with buttery noodles and crispy pan-fried cabbage. These were foods I prepared when there was no $ for anything else but the kids did not know they were on rations. Hot water cornbread almost reminds me of a cornbread donut. canned pumpkin, or canned acorn squash). to keep the soup fresh. We may once again have to shop like our ancestors did during the Depression Era. The flavor of this pie is buttery, almost like a cookie fresh out of the oven. Instructions. Potatoes were easy to grow and affordable to buy. Add more water as needed. Growing your own herbs for seasoning and vegetables to eat will be crucial. 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