GREEN GODDESS

WASTE-NOT, WANT-NOT WAS THE ORDER OF THE DAY, TELLS WENDYL

Waste not, want not was the order of the day in 1932, and the same applies now

My parents were born 85 years ago in 1932, during the Great Depression, so I’ve grown up hearing about the economies that were made during that time – and some they were still making 30 years later, when I was born in 1962. They are both still alive and swear it was their healthy-if-sparse beginnings that have kept them so well.

In their day, any fat left over from cooking meat was kept in a dripping jar and used as a substitute for butter on toast or bread. You should try it, I really rather like it.

Milk puddings were a handy way to fill up the family and also a necessity for using up the milk before it went off. As was bread pudding, which used up any stale bread lying around.

In their day, nothing was wasted. Everything was reused, including sugar and flour bags, which were turned into nifty clothing, aprons or oven mitts.

And no sock with a hole was thrown out. Instead each hole was darned so it would last another winter.

Everyone had a garden to feed their family and the roles were clearly defined. Men outside doing the garden and mowing the lawns, and women inside washing the clothes. There were no washing machines in 1932 for most folk, instead washing was done once a week in a copper washtub, which was heated by a fire underneath and the clothes washed, rinsed, then wrung by hand and put on the line to dry.

And as for baths, well that was a once-a-week occasion and guess who got the first turn? The father, of course, followed by the mother, then all the kids… in the same water.

Here is a selection of recipes and handy hints I found in my old books from 1932. They are all delicious and best of all, make use of cheap ingredients.