Hi everyone, Hope you are having a great weekend. Drum roll please the winners of last weeks competitions (chosen using random number generator) are:
Lilly Von Pinks Sleep Easy Rollers
The winner is Bette on toast
Congratulations Bette. Please send your address here and I shall arrange delivery.
The Complete Guide To Customising Your Clothes
The winners are Mrs D and Lia Kelly
Congratulations to you both . Please send your address here and I shall arrange delivery
All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Bee unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog.
With times tight for so many and our food bills so high I wondered if there was anything to be learnt from the 1940's and 50's about making our food go further. Rationing during the Second World War meant that wasting food was not only considered unpatriotic (posters of the time declared "Wasted Food is Another Ship Lost") it was also illegal. The Merchant navy risked their lives to bring food across the Atlantic so what little got through was very precious.
Unsurprisingly Women cooking throughout this era really had to make what they brought earn its keep. The Ministry of food provided leaflets and books at the time full of tips on how to make meagre supplies go further. The basic principle was to use food wisely and certainly not to waste it like a "Squander Bug" a cartoon used by government to encourage thrift.
Much of the advice given to those wartime families can help us keep our food bills low today.
Doctor Carrot-The Children’s Best Friend
As meat was scarce having more vegetable based dishes was an inexpensive way to keep families full. The children’s characters "Dr Carrot" and "Potato Pete" encouraged little ones to view vegetables as tasty alternatives to sweets and the tradition of having meat with every meal was for a time unachievable.
Reducing the amount of meat you eat and replacing it with vegetable based dishes is still a great way to cut your food bill whilst ensuring your family stay healthy. As a nation we have never been healthier than during the second world war and the years of rationing which followed and the change to a predominately vegetable based diet had a lot to do with that.
If you are someone who feels a meal is incomplete without meat it can take some readjusting so introduce your vegetable bases dishes slowly with just a few in each weeks menu plan. Beginning with more hearty dishes such as spaghetti bolognaise and chilli made with meat substitutes may ensure it’s less of a shock to your taste buds. You will be surprised at how quickly you can adapt your culinary expectations and by buying inexpensive seasonal veg and working them into recipes how much lower your monthly food bill will be.
Recipes issued by the Ministry of food to wartime housewives still hold up today. They included classics such as cauliflower cheese and the infamous Woolton Pie Created by the Chef of the Savoy hotel and named after Lord Woolton, head of the Ministry Of Food. As the recipe shows it’s still a tasty alternative to meat pie.
Woolton Pie Recipe Ingredients:
1lb diced potatoes
1lb cauliflower
1lb diced carrots
1lb diced swede
3 spring onions
1 teaspoon vegetable extract
1 tablespoon oatmeal A little chopped parsley Method:
Cook everything together with just enough water to cover, stirring often to prevent it sticking to the pan. Let the mixture cool.
Spoon into a pie dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Cover with a crust of potatoes or wholemeal pastry. Bake in a moderate oven until golden brown. Serve hot with gravy.
Creating A Two Day Wonder
Planning meals which would "work in" for a second days dinner was popular throughout the 1940’s and home management books of the time encouraged housewives to ensure that when they made shopping lists they included the "etceteras" which would stretch out something like a lamb neck or rabbit to make a second meal. This is still a great approach and one wartime tip I have really taken to heart. A chicken makes a delicious roast on a Sunday and a pie or curry, the next. Sausage and mash is a great winter warmer the leftovers of which make Bubble squeak for next days lunch. Planning your menus this way takes only a little practice and can quickly become second nature. I always thought my Nan was strange when I would open her fridge to find a single boiled potato on a plate or a quarter can of baked beans in Tupperware now I realise she had all the ingredients to make a fab potato and bean hash for her lunch. As a war baby thrifty food habits were ingrained in her and now I try to follow a similar approach. Using leftovers is something of a lost art and is such a simple way to save money. With a little imagination we can start to view our food in a totally different way, less shopping, less waste and less spending
The Big Freeze
Modern cooks have a great weapon in the war against waste, the like of which the wartime homemaker could only have dreamt about. I’m talking of course about the freezer. If you are watching the pennies then the freezer should become your new best friend. Freeze leftovers so you have enough for a second meal. Tupperware may not be the sexiest of kitchen storage but it will save you a fortune. Don’t just use your freezer for pre-cooked goods either. If you don’t use up a whole loaf before it gets stale split the bread and put half away, if you have a glut of soft fruits from the garden or make a huge vat of soup-freeze it. Your freezer will be an absolute godsend when you get to the end of the month and are waiting for payday.
Take A Flask save A Fortune
Apart from fish and chips fast food wasn’t available in the 1940’s so taking a packed lunch to work or on outings was essential. The contents of a wartime packed lunch would probably not suit current palates (I’m happy to avoid spam sandwiches) but you will be amazed how much money you waste on things like take out coffee or grabbing a sandwich from a deli. Making a packed lunch and a flask of coffee will create probably the most noticeable saving in your day-to-day expenses (If you can use a microwave to heat up yesterdays leftovers so much the better)
The saying "Haste Makes Waste" could have been invented for the take out sandwich. Paying over the odds for something you can bring in from home makes no economical sense regardless of what era you live in. If mornings are too rushed, prepare something the night before. You can apply this approach to other outings as well. Buy popcorn from the supermarket and avoid paying over the odds at the cinema (or make your own-its so easy and very cheep) If you eat out find restaurants which allow you to take your own wine (home brew even the better) It can be difficult to overcome the feeling that this is stingy or petty but if you can overcome the modern aversion to sensible spending you will have more disposable income and less debt. Yet again it seems we can learn something from our grandparents generation to help us navigate the choppy waters of recession. What old fashioned tips do you use to keep bills down?
This weeks giveaway is The Complete Guide To Customising Your clothes published by Bloomsbury is available to order from Amazon for £13.59
If you fancy getting your hands on a copy I have two to give away.
To enter:
Leave a comment on Wednesdays post and join my blog if you haven't already.
All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Bee unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog.
Easter is such a good excuse to try your hand at a few crafts. I love creating big displays here at BB Towers and every year they get sillier and sillier.
As I always like to have candles burning in the evening (especially scented ones) I thought it might be nice to make some Easter themed candles and what better than one made from a real egg.
You will need:
Soya wax Jug Wicks Scented oil (geranium is nice for Easter) Candle glitter eggs Food colouring Bowl of water jar with paint brushes brushes in Scissors
Step One
Use a small sharp knife or scissors to make a hole at the top of your egg. Empty it and give it a rinse to get rid of any egg residue.
Step Two
Take your bowl of water and add a few drops of your preferred food colouring. (I did a few different colours)
Stick your egg onto the end of a paintbrush and dip in the water until it is coloured all over. Stand in jar until the eggs are completely dry.
Step Three
Use your scissors to cut a jagged edge around the egg (almost as if a chick has hatched out of it)
Step Four
Place a wick inside each egg
Step Five
Put two cup fulls of soya wax into your jug. Place on a high heat in your microwave for approximately two minutes-caution be very careful when working with hot wax. Use a cloth to take the jug out of the microwave.
Put a few drops of your scented oil in the melted wax and pour into each egg. (I used an empty egg box to sit them in or put them in an egg cup. they need to stay upright.
Step Six Once they are nearly dry sprinkle some glitter on the top. Snip your wick to size.
Six Seven Enjoy your lovely scented Easter candles.
For more projects takes a look at my How To Craft Projects page. Full of lovely items to make.
More Craft News! The Complete Guide To Customising Your clothes published by Bloomsbury is available to order from Amazon for £13.59
If you fancy getting your hands on a copy I have two to give away.
To enter:
Leave a comment on Wednesdays post and join my blog if you haven't already.
All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Bee unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog.
When I received this book last week I was initially underwhelmed as the cover is seriously uninspiring. Proving that that the saying never judge a book by its cover couldn't be more true when I finally got round to looking through it I instantly thought it was great.
Describing itself as "The only book to cover customising all of the essential garments and accessories from head to toe" The Complete Guide to Customising Your Clothes covers every aspect of embellishment you could wish for. From applique, batik, bleaching and my favourite "deconstruction" its packed full of really clear step by step tutorials on how to transform your clothes.
One of my favourite projects-the permanent marker circle dress
I was particularly impressed that it tackled screen printing because as a screen printer myself (me and Mr Bee hand print our tee shirts) I know that its a fairly fiddly process and not the easiest technique to break down into bite size pieces. As well as having clear photographs and nicely written instructions the book also features some lovely gallery sections with examples of each technique used by designers such as Jil Sander, Martin Margiela and NOKI
This book feels like the author Rain Blanken has really put her heart and soul into it. As well as offering project guides there are chapters on upcycling, sustainable fashion, sketching designs and research. there is also a great "Resources" section at the back which features everything from magazines to suppliers to get you going.
Overall its a cracking book, very inspiring (I am so going to try the bleaching technique) and a good addition to your crafting library especially if you are interested in turning your hand to various printing techniques which tend to be less covered on craft blogs. I also loved the more quirky deconstruction projects such as the zip fasinators. Very cool indeed.
The Complete Guide To Customising Your clothes published by Bloomsbury is available to order from Amazon for £13.59 If you fancy getting your hands on a copy I have two to give away.
To enter: Leave a comment on this post and join my blog if you haven't already. Sign up to Bloomsbury's Newsletter The winner will be announced on the 4th of April.. For more book reviews go to my Booky Wook Page
All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Bee unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog.
So now that my book has been written I needed to get a suitably glamorous photograph taken for use on the inside jacket. Being married to a top pin up photographer and having make up artists and hair stylists counted amongst my best friends sometimes pay dividends and last week I spent the whole day being made up, preened, lit and photographed. I had a handmade dress by designer Deborah at Shameless originals and a very lovely tiara so felt very princess like. Throughout the day we filmed a little of the process and took lots of photographs so you can see the hard work that went into making me look like a vintage siren. The Make Up For a photograph like this I was definitely going for a "more is more" approach and asked my lovely friend Lilly Von Pink for quite dramatic eyes with false eyelashes (I used the Vintage Cosmetic Company's Nancie ones) For my base I used Maybellines Dream mousse foundation and my lipstick was Rockette Red by Vintage Pamperbox sponsor Rockalily
Here's a video clip from the beginning of the day
The naked truth-pre make up
Eyeliner being applied
False eyelashes being applied
The Hair
having not been blessed with the thickest hair I always need a lot of help to have a full mane. Lena curled my hair with a curling iron, spraying each section with elnett hairspray and then pinning It up until it was ready to be finished. Once I was fully made up and in my dress she gave me a classic victory roll in the front of my hair, lightly backcombed it at the roots and applied a hair piece to give me long mermaid style locks.
Here I am having had my eyemake up and brows done-about to have some hair magic applied.
Lena taking out my pinned hair which has already been curled
Hair piece added
Hair is sprayed to ensure it stays in place
Hair is ready-now what is it missing?
A tiara of course
And I'm ready for my close up
Strike a pose-and so the shoot begins
Here I am at the end of the shoot.Unaware of what the finished pictures will look like.
And here is one of the finished pictures!
I'm so pleased with them. I was channelling Barbra Cartland chic and think its worked very well.All I need is a white fluffy dog and I'm away!
We are still running a great giveaway. A fab set of Lilly Von Pink easy sleep rollers. Please note fabric may differ in the set you receive
To enter
Join this blog if you haven't already
Spread the good word about this giveaway on Twitter, FB, your blog, or whatever choice of social media you prefer
And don't forget Dolly Mixtureare offering all my blog followers a 10% discount which is valid until the 18th of April 2012. just put in the discount codeBetty10when you check out.Happy shopping.
All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Bee unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog.
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