Editor’s note: This is the 10th and final installment in the West Hills Gazette’s nine-part series that looks at life in Robinson Township during World War II. This series, written by Janet Gonter of the Robinson Township Historical Society, originally ran in the Suburban Gazette in 2017 but is timely now, as the 80th anniversary of the end of the war was observed Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Part 1 of 10 | Part 2 of 10 | Part 3 of 10 | Part 4 of 10 | Part 5 of 10
Part 6 of 10 | Part 7 of 10 | Part 8 of 10 | Part 9 of 10 | Part 10 of 10
In response to to the Robinson Township in World War II series, a reader recently suggested that we look into how people cooked during the war. With so many restrictions on food due to rationing — meat, sugar, butter and more — what kinds of recipes did people come up with?
Creative recipes materialized everywhere, in magazines, newspapers, and pamphlets. Here are two that appeared in Mary Moore’s Windsor Star newspaper column during the war. Everyone was eager to share their recipes, and each of the following was chosen from hundreds of weekly submissions.
Since nearly every family in Robinson had a Victory Garden or access to one, recipes using home-grown produce were ubiquitous. Vegetable soup was always a popular one. Bacon rinds or scraps provided flavor without actually using a precious allotment of meat.
And finally, who could do without dessert? Servicemen overseas and their loved ones at home loved these patriotic cookies. Lard (Spry) was substituted for fat, which was hard to come by during the war.
Even in the grips of World War II rationing, homemakers turned limited pantry staples into hearty, economical meals for their families.
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