h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Frenchbean,

Very nice entry! I was very interested in hearing about the songs and slogans. I remember seeing posters with wartime slogans on them when I was a kid (and one memorable one with a girl with long hair next to some machinery, warning women to be careful around the factory).

Years and years ago, my roommate had an old cookbook her mother had given her, with a Wartime supplement in it, from 1942. It had a lot of recipes tailored to what was available in England (and presumably the US) during the war. Don't remember the title of the cookbook, and my friend lost it somewhere in one of her moves between Berne, Switzerland and Los Angeles, CA.

We were poor students looking for inexpensive meal ideas, so we tried quite a few of the recipes. There was one which is so good, I still use it.

I think that it is exactly as it was printed in the cookbook, but I'm suspicious of the paprika, don't know if it was available then or not. I'm not even sure how someone would make some, from powdered peppers of some kind, maybe? Anyway, here is the recipe.

VEGETABLE CHOWDER (from Wartime Supplement, dated 1942) Serves 6 ? (illegible on recipe card)

2 cups corn kernals
2 cups celery, chopped
1/2 cup green sweet pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup butter (I use unsalted)
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup pimiento (isn't that just roasted red pepper?)
1/4 teaspoon paprika (available during the war??)

Place vegetables in pot, and add water, salt and pepper; simmer for 1/2 hour.

Make white sauce with butter, flour, and milk: Melt butter, on low heat, stirring in flour until smooth. Add milk gradually and stir until thickened. Add to soup.

Mix cheese, paprika, and pimiento and add to soup, stirring at a low heat until cheese melts.


SC