Wartime Wednesday: Honey Apple Pie

Wartime Wednesday: Honey Apple Pie

When most folks think of rationing and its impact on cooking during WWII, they assume that meals were boring and tasteless. During the research for my books, I've found many wartime cookbooks and recipes from government pamphlets as well as magazines from the period that showcase the creativity of women. Here is a yummy apple pie recipe that uses minimal sugar and butter (rationed items):

Two (2) Pie Crusts (recipe follows)
Six (6) large tart apples (or use your favorite)
Six (6) T sugar
1/3 C honey
1/8 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 t lemon juice
1 T butter

Roll half the dough and line a 9-inch pie plate. Combine apples, sugar, honey, salt, spices, and lemon juice. Fill pie shell with apples, Dot with butter. Moisten edge of pie with water. Roll remaining dough for top crust and fit over fruit. Seal edge of pie and cut a few slits. Bake in hot oven (425 degrees) 50-60 minutes.

Variation: Omit honey and use 1/2 C sugar and 1/4 C dark corn syrup or 1/2 C sugar and 3 T light molasses.

Crust:
Mix 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Measure out 3/4 C shortening and divide into two equal parts.

For tenderness: Cut in first half of shortening until as fine as meal.
For flakiness: Cut in remaining shortening until particles are size of large peas.

Add five (5) tablespoons cold water and mix thoroughly into a dough.

Enjoy!

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Midwife Pia Hertz and her mother Sabine have been delivering babies long before the Nazis came to power. Now, the Third Reich has implemented mandates that require Jewish babies and other “undesirables” to be killed as part of The Final Solution. Is Pia’s new faith in Christ strong enough to defy the laws of man?

Despite the agony of the injury at the Battle of Drøbak Sound that took his arm, Dieter Fertig is relieved he’s no longer part of Hitler’s army. He returns to Berlin and discovers Jews are being deported by the thousands. When he realizes the Nuremburg Laws require his best friend’s baby girl to be killed, he must find a way to spirit the child out of Germany before the Nazis discover her existence. 

Inspired by the biblical story of Shiprah and Puah, the midwives who saved Jewish babies during Pharaoh’s reign, Love’s Belief shows how one person’s actions can change the world.

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Wartime Wednesday: Carrot and Potato Mash

Meat was at a premium during World War II, and even when available was strictly rationed. People began to get creative in their search for inexpensive, filling meals. Potatoes were popular because they were plentiful, cheap and substantial.

Here is a simple recipe that can be made quickly and easily:


Carrot and Potato Mash

• 2 medium/large potatoes per person
• 1 medium/large carrot per person
• 1/2 ounce butter or margarine per person
• salt and pepper to taste

The original recipe called for boiling the potatoes and carrots. Much of the flavor leeches into the water that is drained away before mashing, so I recommend cooking them in the microwave.

Chop potatoes into small pieces and cook.
Grate carrots and cook.
Combine and add butter or margarine and mash.
Add salt and pepper and mash to till potatoes are smooth.

Leftovers are very yummy when formed into pancakes and fried.

Enjoy!