I’ve come to age some bread… stuff is FANTASTIC when it’s fresh, but it ages quickly. This past weekend I went out and bought it- FRESH. It included olive loaf and sundried tomato bread because of company we had staying over. Since then this bread as become hard as a rock.
I’ve been saving it for the birds. My grandmother in Liverpool used to feed the birds with left overs from every meal. During war time, food was very difficult to come by and every scrap wasn’t wasted. My father told me they’d get Catsup and make tomato soup from it. Although the war ended in 1945, they remained on food rations till 1950 or a little after that.
I presume as a kid, this is why I was forced to clean my plate. I once told my Dad I couldn’t eat string beans, and by God he wouldn’t accept it…. until I threw them up… he told me I was excused from eating them further.
I continue to try not to waste food by throwing it in the garbage. I remember when I worked in a restaurant as a teenager the dishwashers used to take the half eaten meats and left overs, put them in a pail and feed the racoons and opposums with it. It’s like the great saying goes, one man’s junk (or garbage) is another man’s treasure. Food is a treasure.
I was told French toast was something which emerged during WWII as the result of stale bread. The French would bathe stale bread in a solution of milk and egg to soften the bread, then they’d bake it. I’d imagine it must be like putting water into “space” food to revive something which seems impossible to eat. In India, curry was the result of trying to mask stale meat, which because of the heat- would age quickly.
I like to think we all make do with what we’re given, and in an ideal world food would be used without waste, but we all know that’s impossible. The thing is- bread is essential. How many of you have heard, “Better be good or you’ll be on a diet of bread and water!” Well…. maybe not THAT many of you, but it does occupy space inside and fills the hole.
I’m watching a series I received for Christmas titled, “The World at War”. It was a documentary on World War II which ran on BBC in the 1970’s. In the US I remember as a kid my parents watching it. I distinctly remember the introductory music for the program- very dramatic and powerful. I thought to myself about my parents trying to teach us what it was like in Liverpool during WWII as kids- of course speaking to my brother and myself as kids. We had no clue, and only mild interest.
As an adult, it’s engrossing. The series contains some 26 episodes, extensive research, and last night I watched the producer as he explained the details of making it. It tried to give an unobstructed view, from both sides with real film footage. I found out the British Imperial War Museum had something like 200,000 miles of film (or something outrageous like that) in it’s archives, much of which was never looked at. Anyways, it’s facinating AND important.
At the time they were doing this, they’d already realized many of the survivors were starting to die off. The main leaders like Churchill, Montgomery, Roosevelt had died, and they did their best to get people tied in with the leaderships. The producer even told of one of the researchers who was able to meet with a high ranking SS official to get his take on things in the Gestapo. It was an exhausting attempt to put to light the events, the hardships and the social ramifications of the War.
I regress…. this whole blog was about bread.
Those of you who know my background, have heard me talk about WWII before. It was an unavoidable subject because of my upbringing and it’s powerful effects on my parents, which directly corelates to the raising of family- the values.
I’ve always been lucky to have strong family ties. These remain even though we’re not a stone’s throw away from each other, when we’re together… we’re TOGETHER. We still remain in touch with a few aunts and uncles in Liverpool and will always be. You know, there’s nothing to escape the sense of humor. It’s humor that makes you survive under difficult circumstances- it “lightens” the load. Perhaps, the sharp Liverpudlian wit evolved out of constant bombings and despair. Either way, it lives pretty healthy in my family.
We’re expecting severe temperature drops in the next few days. I know Illinois and Minnesota have the worst in decades, I saw one trucker had a problem with his oil freezing. The tri-state area is only getting a taste of what they have. Do remember the essentials in life: a roof over the head, food on the plate- BREAD, and big cozy blankets made of goosefeathers- oh yea, and the sense of humor doesn’t hurt either. Be well all and if you’re cold find yourself something funny to read or watch- warmth comes in many ways….