Oatmeal Cheese Rarebit
Make a sauce by combining the flour and water; stir until smooth and add the cheese, oatmeal, salt, and pepper. Cook for a minute or two over medium-high heat until cheese is melted and sauce is somewhat smooth. Pour on to toast. Place under the broiler until brown. Sprinkle with parsley just before serving.
Lord Woolton Pie
Frederick Marquis, Lord Woolton, was appointed Minister of Food in April 1940. Lord Woolton was a former managing director of Lewis, a chain of stores in northern England. Lord Woolton created “The Kitchen Front” radio show, and he became very popular with the public while stressing the importance of meat-free dishes and making desserts without sugar (grated carrots were used as a sugar substitute to provide sweetness). The Official recipe for Woolton Pie was reported in “The Times” on 26 April 1941. The pie was the invention of Francis Latry, the head chef at the Savoy Hotel in London. This was one of many recipes introduced to the British people by the Ministry of Food to ensure that a nutritional diet could be maintained despite so many food shortages. People either hated or loved it! Note: Swedes are rutabagas, and spring onions are scallions. Kitchen Bouquet can be used in place of the “vegetable extract.” The crust can be made of mashed potato or an easy pastry (a wartime pie crust) of 8 oz of wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 3 oz of margarine (or butter if you have saved your ration), and enough water to make the dough roll out easier. A moderate oven is about 350-375 degrees.
Lord Woolton, Minister of Food
The distribution of ration books, and depending on the category in which a person was classified, determined how much food was allowed. By 1943, typical rations for one adult for one week included:
Fruits and vegetable weren’t rationed, but a person was usually limited to about two lbs per week. What one could get from the grocer also depended on what was available. Citrus fruits and bananas were scare as the enemy was sinking almost any ship; a lot of food ended up at the bottom of the ocean!
