Stale Bread for Dessert?!

Today we celebrate the 75th anniversary of VJ Day (Victory over Japan), the end of the Second World War. My uncle served in Japan and never recovered from what he experienced, some of my relatives lost their lives. Yet not all wartime memories were bad, and today I would like to share a wartime recipe that has lived on as a family favourite.

Imagine your bread has gone stale – solid - what to do? In wartime England, my grandma knew exactly what to do, she turned it into a dessert, or pudding as we call it. When most of the men were away fighting, women took over the jobs, but despite the added income, food was scarce, and every person was issued a ration book. Our family still have one, and despite it bringing back memories of war and death, it holds deep sentimental value and is kept in the family photo album.

The only photo of my father with my grandfather who died in the war months later.

The rations allowed per adult a week, unless stated otherwise:

•        Bacon/Ham: 4oz (100g)
•        Meat: to the value of about 6 pence (10 pesos)
•        Butter: 2oz (50g)
•        Cheese: 2oz (50g)
•        Margarine: 4oz (100g)
•        Cooking fat: 4oz (100g)
•        Milk: 2 pints (1.2lt)
•        Sugar: 8oz (200g)
•        Jam/Preserve: 1lb (450g)
•        Tea: 2oz (50g) [How English, remember to stick out your pinky finger.]
•        Eggs: 1 every two weeks
•        Dried Egg powder: 1 packet every 4 weeks
•        Sweets: 12oz (350g) each four weeks

Rationing did increase and decrease, but imagine having to live on this?

In this time of Covid-19, we remember the stories of how our grandparents served, and we quote John Milton, “They also serve who only stand and wait." My gran would recount daily bombing, my dad sent to live with stranger and all her male relatives fighting on the frontline.

London suffered the Blitz, nightly bombing. Before all children were ordered out of London, my father remembers the smell and fear of the garden bomb shelter, then only a young child. One night they felt something hit the shelter, in the morning they dug up an unexploded bomb! He also remembers having a luggage label attached to him and being sent alone by train to live with farmers out of London, strangers who did not treat him well.

My grandmother worked on the London buses, even the Queen, then in her late teens, had a job. The Queen has recently addressed the nation about Covid-19 and her speech echoed wartime advice:

 

Amid todays panic buying, quarantine and fear of contagion, my family have a daily devotion where we read a chapter from the New Testament. However, old memories often take my parents on a journey back to times of war austerity and rationing which continued in England until July, 1954. My grandmothers (both my grandfathers died), would often talk about the sense of community, looking out for one another, singing to keep their spirits up. And the recipes used to make sure all food was used. One of my father’s favourites is Bread and Butter pudding, and I would like to share it with you. It is also my birthday treat for him.

Stale bread was no disaster, compared to what they were coping with, but nothing could be wasted, so it was made into dessert, or as we would call it, Bread and Butter Pudding.

This recipe has been adapted for a microwave and modern times:

Preparation time: 3 mins

Cooking time: 2 mins

Serves: 2 to 4

Ingredients:

•   1 cup (50g) cubed bread, fresh, or stale; about 1 1/2 to 2 slices bread

•   1 large egg

•   1/3 cup (74g) evaporated milk

•   1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

•   2 to 3 tablespoons (25g to 35g) sugar

•   1 to 2 tablespoons of dried fruit, cinnamon, or nutmeg, or jam

Instructions:

Put the bread in a shallow, microwave-safe bowl.

1.  Whisk together the egg (this would have been powdered), milk, vanilla, and sugar. Pour over the bread in the bowl, stirring slowly to combine.

2.  Stir in dried fruit/jam. Then sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg.

3.  Microwave for 1 minute, uncovered. Check and see if it is still liquid. If it is, microwave again in 30-second bursts, until the pudding is cooked all the way to the centre.

As I reminded my father before he ate his; official government advice was, “Children should be encouraged to finish their vegetables before being allowed the treat of bread and butter pudding.”

We may be suffering amid death, fear and our front liners are now medical staff, not soldiers, but the words from our Queen say all we need; “Better days will return, we will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again.”

It is my father's birthday this week, so this is part of my gift to him: 

In this time of Covid-19 - remember - one day we may tell stories to our grandchildren, we may even have fond memories, despite all we are living through.