Sunday, July 31, 2011

Making Do

Hello Chaps, Evie here. Now, someone said to me the other day 'I can't believe how well you girls are eating.' He wondered how on earth I'm managing to rustle up Boeuf Bourguignon, Steak and Kidney Pudding and so on with our rations. I could tell from the cut of his jib that he thought I was lying, or worse, buying on the black market. I've always maintained that shopping by personality is the secret - Leo taught me this. Treat people well, show genuine interest and it pays dividends. I get on terribly well with our local tradesmen and they always keep something special for me under the counter. Between Meggie digging for victory in the garden, and a super butcher in the village we are doing well. Daddy has always had his contacts too, and is forever sending Ross round with a pheasant or a fish. Even dear old Jean manages to come up trumps with her son's bent tins on the market.
Frankly it's all a case of making do, and making small changes. Our Boeuf Bourguignon may not be quite as you're used to, but as you can see from these wonderful wartime recipes, it's perfectly possible for a girl to cook and eat well on wartime rations, (and to be honest with sitting around on your bottom all day flying planes, it's just as well to be a little hungry all the time).
Toodlepip,
Evie x