Preparing for Rationing

I am currently just back from holiday and working out how to alter rations that look like the above painting, to foodstuffs that as a vegan I will be happy to eat.  

I first thought that I would simply change the meat rations, which in the war years were valued by shillings and pence rather than pounds and ounces, to the modern equivalent in meat-free alternatives. In 1942, the year I am using for my rationing period this was 1s 2d, which in today's money is equivalent to £3.13.  This would have been fine and enough to buy me a pack of meatless mince or perhaps a meat-free burger or steak each week, but in recent months I have been moving away from this sort of eating.

I had a re-think and decided that I would instead use the 1942 wartime rations for a vegetarian, keeping it simple and taking the cheese ration as dairy-free cheese, vegetarians got an extra 3oz in place of their meat ration so I will be able to have a total of 4oz per week.  But taking the egg ration, vegetarians also got one extra egg ... so two each week as the meat-free meat replacements which I do still eat, sausages and occasionally ham for a 'bacon butty'.

It's all been a bit confusing hence my slow start to this.  What I want to do next is to check what fruits and vegetables are in season where I live during September and October, and these will be the only ones that I will be buying for myself during my rationing period.  I will be taking a list of what should be available out with me when I do go shopping and only buying what is in the shops marked 'Grown in the UK'.  Of course, I can also use what I have growing in my tiny garden as a guide, and these will be available to me too.  At the moment I have courgettes, tomatoes, cucumbers, salad leaves, baby leeks and soon there should be more potatoes.  

I need to go and register my Ration Card.  🙂

Vegetables were never rationed ... well apart from onions as supplies of these quickly dried up as they were at the beginning of the war mostly imported ... and although fruits were pretty scarce, if you grew your own or they were in season they did become available.  I have a few apples on my own tree and there should be plenty of apples in the shops at the moment as this year has been a bumper fruit year in the UK, but I am going to miss my bananas!!  I need to see if there are any blackberries left in the few places that I know of in this area ... oh how I am missing my old hillside at the moment and the copious brambles growing the length of the paddock that I used to pick to turn into Bramble Jelly.

Anyway, I thought I would just quickly come on and do a post to let you know that I am still planning this and once I have finished the holiday washing and have gotten back to normal, I will be starting my minimum of a Month of Modern Rationing.

Sue xx