Posted on 11/18/2011 7:47:54 PM PST by blam
This Is What People Ate When They Had No Money During The Depression
Vivian Giang
Nov. 18, 2011, 12:25 PM
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
If you've ever visited anyone's house for dinner and a big, sloppy "secret family recipe" dish is flopped down in front of you, chances are high that the messy goodness could have originated from the Depression era.
Families were taught to creatively stretch out their food budgets and toast, potatoes and flour seem to be the popular, inexpensive ingredients. Expensive meat was typically eaten only once a week.
Some foods were invented during the Depression, such as spam, Ritz crackers, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Kraft macaroni and cheese, according to livinghistoryfarm.org.
We've compiled some simple, easy recipes from 90-something Clara who shares her childhood dining memories during hard times. They may help you save money during our own Recession.
Click here to see what people ate>
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Here’s another fun list of what words people use for the same thing.
http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/maps.html
Being in the desert I think we are fairly safe from the Green Acres crowd.
Not too long ago a city feller passing through was trying to visit with me. He asked me if we had birds and insects here, when I informed him yes we have all kinds of birds and insects here he said he didn’t expect to see any living creatures here since it was desert. He could not figure out how they could exist without water. Mind you we don’t even live in full desert as in all sand or sand and cactus- we are in high desert with tall grass, yuccas, mesquite- that type of vegetation. I was speechless- this yahoo doesn’t seem to know there are critters everywhere, even in the absolute desert...I tried to explain to him that there was water here, and we do get rainfall he seemed skeptical since he didn’t see lakes and streams.
That’s ok, folks like him won’t be coming here expecting to live off the land; though they easily could if they had a clue.
Poor thing will last about 3 days if his iPhone goes out.
;)
Oh the stories I could tell about city people out of their element. What amazes me is most don’t have any idea what they don’t know and act like country folks are so stupid.
Just today dealt with one at work that had no idea you couldn’t stack cardboard boxes in the hot water heater room when the hot water heater is propane. That room has barely the legal clearance and he filled that clearance with cardboard boxes- some had shredded paper in them. The boxes were less than 4 inches from the flame- which was open because another idiot left the cover off. Lucky I found out what he did before the building burned down. He said he thought the hot water heater room was a storage room. I hate to admit this guy is LEO and of course is armed. Scary thought. I was so mad at the stupidity while we were moving the boxes and his supervisor was defending him- “oh he probably just didn’t know” WHAT- didn’t know you can’t put boxes next to an open flame? Are you kidding me?
Folks these are the people that some are worried will come to the boonies and take our food and such when things fall apart. I think there will be more that just won’t make it at all if they have to do any thinking on their own.
Are you a native?
It is so interesting to talk with my neighbor. She learned, and taught her eight children, how to be self reliant and sufficient. She commented to me just last wk that her grandchildren and great grandchildren live in a different world with computers, smart phones and the like. I can even see a difference in the mtns since we moved here in ‘88.
Thanks for your info. I’ll pass it on to my neighbor.
I have a book on Medicinal Plants and it said chickweed is used to curb obesity. I’m gonna use it tomorrow! LOL
I’m in the Sams Gap area. Came here from Miami in 1981...30 years ago. Several of the old-timey mountain folks took a shine to me and taught me “living-skills”. My sophisticated city relatives think I’m nuts, but they’ll be knocking on my door when the bottom drops out.
Thanks for telling us about your mother and the Ritz crackers. Glad the store owners understood.
Lay out the chicken skins on a sprayed jelly roll pan or a baking pan (not an edgeless cookie sheet because of the grease that renders out). Sprinkle on whatever seasonings you like. Bake at 400. After about 10 minutes keep checking them. Some pieces crisp up faster than others so take those out and leave in the others. Drain them on a rack or paper towels.
Thanks, I've heard of cracklings but never knew what they were. I learned something new. I like pork skins and love crispy skin on a piece of chicken so I probably would really like cracklings. They sell pork skins but I have never seen cracklings being sold. Maybe down south they sell them but not here up north, at least that I know of.
WTSHTF reference BTTT
You really were a Jesus Freak, weren't you?
LOL!
PINGing your thread, seems timely to do so.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.