Maw Books Blog

I recently reviewed Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Ann Rodman (read that book review here) and was fortunate to have Mary Ann participate in an amazing interview.  If that review and interview doesn’t convince you to go out and read Jimmy’s Stars than perhaps this second interview will.  Or maybe, it will just gross you out instead. Who knows.

Maw Books:  Welcome back Mary Ann!  Yesterday, you gave us great insight into Jimmy’s Stars, from details about how you research a historical fiction novel to it’s appropriateness for those who have family members serving in the military. 

Today, I want to have some fun and talk about food!  During World War II food was rationed, so many households had to get pretty creative with their meals.  How did you create the meals that are mentioned in Jimmy’s Stars?

Mary Ann Rodman:  Although I am a horrible cook myself (and my husband is addicted to both cooking and FOOD TV) I collect weird and vintage cookbooks and read them like literature.  My two cooking bibles for this time are two books by Joanne Lamb Hayes; GRANDMA’S WARTIME KITCHEN and GRANDMA’S WARTIME BAKING BOOK .   I found them fascinating in a disgusting sort of way.  They told me everything I needed to know about rationing and “making do.”   Since so many cooking staples were rationed, it was strictly make do with what was at hand.   As I read on, I realized that these were some of the same recipes my mother tried to make me eat as a child.  My maternal grandmother ran a boarding house for war workers in Pittsburgh, and she had the problem of providing three meals a day (she packed lunches for her boarders as well) for up to 32 people at a time!

I like including specific foods in my historical fiction books because it says a lot about the time and place to young readers.  In an era where parents think nothing of making three different entrees for their family, I rather like shocking my readers with the idea that there was ONE meal made, and if you didn’t like it, then you were hungry.  Hence the tongue sandwiches.  Wait until my next book, where I introduce head cheese (made from a hog’s head), pigs feet, etc.  (My grandfather always said that at his house, they ate every part of the pig except the squeal!)

Maw Books:  I think I shuddered when I read about the kids trading sandwiches around and one of them was a tongue sandwich.  I’m shuddering again, just thinking about it.  Ugh.   In Jimmy’s Stars, Ellie makes Salmon Pea Wiggle.  Care to elaborate?

Mary Ann Rodman:  The salmon pea wiggle recipe was one I concocted from two things I loathe above all others…salmon and peas. I then took one of my husband’s less popular casseroles that involves canned chicken, peas and egg noodles, substituted the chicken with salmon and voila! Salmon pea wiggle.

Maw Books:  Umm. . .. one word:  gross.  How about Tomato Aspic, which I figured was some kind of Tomato Jello.

Mary Ann Rodman:  The aspic recipe is a real one, though. Not only did I find it a number of WWII era books, but in a cookbook my parents were given as a wedding present in 1946.  We have been renovating here at my house for the last year (seems like forever) and about half my books are packed up, and I can’t find Joanne Lamb Hayes; GRANDMA’S WARTIME KITCHEN and GRANDMA’S WARTIME BAKING BOOK.  However, I was blessed to have yet another flea market find as a backup, THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING COOK BOOK (Farrar & Rinehart, 1943). I am not sure if this is now in the public domain and can be used without permission, but here it is, in all it’s tomato-ey glory..

2 1/2 cups of canned tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
Stalk celery, cut up
Dash cayenne pepper
I envelope of plain, unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup of cold water
1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
lettuce
mayonnaise

Combine first four ingredients; boil 10 min. Soak gelatin in cold water for 5 min. Add to hot mixture with vinegar; stir until dissolved. Pour into 6 small wet molds, and chill. When firm, unmold on lettuce. Garnish with mayonnaise.

Serves 6.  (Unless five of them are already gagging…MAR)

Just be glad I didn’t include the Sterns’ “Victory Prune Pie”!

Maw Books:  Okay, seriously gagging myself.  It wasn’t sounding very good, but it got worse on the “Garnish with Mayonnaise.”  For about two seconds I considered trying to make this one just so I could post a photo of it, but then I thought that would be a terrible waste of tomatoes.  How about anything yummy?

Mary Ann Rodman:  This one wasn’t in JIMMY’S STARS, but I grew up thinking that this WAS chocolate cake (my mom made it as a birthday cake every year, because she refused to use packaged mixes).  Low and behold, I found this in the WWII section of Michael and Jane Stern’s SQUARE MEALS (Knopf, 1985) after years of thinking my grandmother invented it! It was apparently a popular holdover from WWI rationing.  It’s a good cake, if a little on the heavy side.  We called it “Wacky Cake” because it had no eggs, and only 1/2 cup of shortening.

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup milk
1 3/4 cup of cake flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of shortening (my mom substituted cooking oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375. Combine chocolate and milk in top of double boiler over rapidly boiling water for 5 min.Blend with egg beater. Cool.
Sift flour once. Add soda, salt, and sugar, sifted together. Then sift all these ingredients together three more times.

Cream shortening, add flour, vanilla and chocolate mixture until the flour is dampened. Beat vigorously for one minute. Bake for 20-25 minutes in an eight inch square pan that has been lightly greased and buttered.

Icing

1 tbsp of butter or shortening
3 tbsps of milk
1 1/2 cups shifted confectioner’s sugar
dash salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat shortening with milk until melted.  Mix together sugar, and salt. Add hot milk. stirring to blend. Add vanilla and beat one minute.

Maw Books:  Thanks so much Mary Ann!  I wish you the best of luck  in all of your future endeavors.   Hmm . . . Now I’m hungry for some Victory Prune Pie . . . .

If you enjoyed my review and interview, you may want to check out these fellow bloggers who are also all hosting the Jimmy’s Stars tour today:

01 Charger, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction
A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, By the Book Reviews, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Home School Buzz, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Small World Reads, The Friendly Book Nook

P.S.  Stay tuned tomorrow for a three day feature with Sara Zarr, author of Story of a Girl and Sweethearts.  If Mary Ann Rodman didn’t give you your fill of recipes (in which case, I’m sure we could ask about the victory prune pie), Sara shares a yummy smoothie recipe.  And if that’s still not enough for you, I’ve also got a two day feature with J. Scott Savage, author of Far World, Water Keep, coming up next week.  He shares a recipe for strawberry soup.  Um, yes, that would be strawberry soup.