Try some wartime recipes to celebrate VE Day 75th anniversary

Friday 8th May will be the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe (the war in the Pacific still had 3 months to run). Many people held street parties to celebrate the end of the 6 year conflict. I was involved with plans to mark the day with an exhibition at Sunniside Methodist Chapel Hall along with a “street party” for local children. Sadly, the pandemic lockdown has stopped these plans in their track.

Instead, many people are holding “street parties” in their own gardens and homes on Friday. It may not be possible for people to invite around friends but Friday does give us the opportunity to learn about what it was like to celebrate the end of the war.

So why not try some wartime recipes for your at-home street party? I’ve tried out a number of the more popular ones and made videos about how to make each one.

Homity pie

Homity pie was popular with the Land Girls and is vegetarian, allowing people to save their precious meat rations.

Scotch egg

How about making scotch eggs without a sausage meat casing? Use mashed potatoes instead.

Crisps

Easy to make crisps made from potato peelings and curry powder. Better than anything from a packet nowadays!

Wartime salad

The Ministry of Food in wartime Britain encouraged people to eat salads to stay healthy, use locally produced food (saving on transport) and reduce the amount of energy used on cooking.

Fish-free fish pie

Fresh fish was in very short supply during the war years so try this alternative – mock fish pie made using artichokes and mashed potatoes.

Try out these recipes and enjoy VE Day!

Until 2009 I was working in London, UK, but I gave it up to pursue a life of self-sufficiency. My aim is to grow or forage for all my food, produce my own power and live a healthier and greener lifestyle. I left London to return to my home village of Sunniside, near Newcastle, in the North East of England. I have a couple of plots of land there as well as the garden of my house. Our village is a commuter area for Newcastle but we are surrounded by countryside which we use for picking wild foods. My mission in life is to show that it is possible to live well without destroying the planet in the process. I am also keen to ensure knowledge of historic recipes and cooking is kept alive. I regularly try out recipes from old cookbooks using the food we have grown. I make videos about our progress and about how to cook home-grown foods. These can be viewed on www.youtube.com/jonathanwallace.
www.self-sufficientinsuburbia.blogspot.com