Depression Era Cooking

[Pag36]

No I did not hear of the White House having a garden hmmm! wonder if she will actually work in it any. I miss not being able to have a garden

[ellenmelon]

I saw an interesting idea for a raised bed garden, the tomatoes were in tin tubs and metal garbage cans with holes drilled int he bottoms, it might have been in a Martha Stewart magazine

Our depression food was homemade spaghetti and sauce (the flour was cheap and made a lot and the sauce was from home grown tomatoesa) it was a luxury to have the grated cheese on top -- I am not old enough for the depression but my mom was -- they always had a garden, goats, and eggs from chickens, they went to a neighbor who had a cow for milk to make cheese -- anyways when my dad died and things got tight income wise, we ate a LOT of spaghetti (I dont' like it much today but I eat it)

[MKS]

My dad was a child during the depression. He ate all variety of veggies & the chicken neck. His dad would eat the chicken neck & wing so the good pieces could go to the rest of the family. But usually the dad was the one who was given the best peice. So, he (my dad) & his sister thot those WERE the best peices & they wanted them.

[apricot]

My parents grew up during the depression. My mom used to make spaghetti and cheese, which was good the first day but the cheese would get stringy the second day, so not good for leftovers. I think it was probably from block cheddar cheese.

She also made white navy beans with ham, yellow hominony with bacon bits added, meatloaf with tomato sauce on top, and white gravy with some type of meat chunks on slices of bread. She called it "rabbit stew" but I don't think that it was actually rabbit.

[barbszy]

Apricot, that sounds like Welsh rarebit stew.

MKS, that is so sweet that your grandfather saved the best pieces of meat for the rest of his family. (And cute that his kids wanted the ones he had, thinking they were the best!)

[apricot]

Apricot, that sounds like Welsh rarebit stew.

Barbszy, You got me curious and I did a search on "Rarebit" stew and found several different versions, some with beer and/or cabbage added, which my mom didn't put in ours. My husband said he also had something similar when growing up but I can't post what his dad called it.

[Bilby]

My favourite parts of the chicken are the necks and wings, you actually get a fair bit of meat off both.

My Nana came over from Germany after WW11 she had the garden and swapped with people up and down the street as different people grew different veg made thier own sausages etc. Like a little garden market with in the neighbourhood.

Unfortunately I don't remember any stories from her only that back in Germany you were rich if you had chickens and to have an egg, wow you had the food from the gods! Also my dad was caught stealing a loaf of bread and he was lucky he didn't lose his hand. My Nana came over here in 1950's

[Pag36]

Bilby I heard the same stories from my Nana only she was not my g-mom but our Housfrau over in Germany when EX and I were stationed there. And this was in the 60's and eggs were still a very important thing likewise the chicken. If some one like a GI ran over a hen then he had to pay a fine according to how many eggs they figured that hen would have laid the rest of her laying time. Don't think it is like that now tho'
I remember well my beloved g-parents not eating sugar in their coffee or cereal to leave it for my cereal or ice tea. And to make Rice Pudding as that was my fave still is if it is made right. They did not smoke so traded their cig ration coupons with others for sugar etc. We may not have had fancy stuff but we did not go hungry

[seleach]

My grandparents had chickens and a cow. My grandmother had 2 hugh garden beds for veggies. She planted corn, potatos, lettuce, tomatos, beans, radishes, squash, cucumbers. She had strawberries, rasberries, grapes, plum trees, apple trees. I remember those gardens from when I was a kid as she kept them going well into her 60's before she cut down on her planting. They had a chicken coop and a small barn. My mom and dad grew up in those years. They often talked about those days and also about WW11 when things like gas and sugar were rationed. My step-father fought in that war as did my uncles.
People would go door to door, and to farms asking if there was any work they could do for a meal. My mom said, my grandpa never turned anyone away. If he had no work for someone to do, they still got a meal.

[Sueanne]

Remember when I was younger my Dad liked to make beef hearts that were breaded. He also cooked beef kidneys. Today we frown on eating organ meats. Then they were cheap and nutritional. We ate beef liver too. We were four children and Mom always took in anyone in the family that needed a place to stay. A large folding bed with a cover on it was a permanent fixture in the living room. I guess I was born near the end of the depression but the things I was taught helped me marrying young.
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Sueanne