"I never could understand egg salad. I mean, what's it made of? Eggs and mayonnaise. What's mayonnaise made of? Eggs! So why bother?"
.... Tom Eldridge, "On the Air"
 

From the moment Betty Roberts walks through the door at a small radio station in Pittsburgh, anticipating her new job—and her next meal—food references abound in the Remember WENN world. From the enigmatic Tomato Surprise to the intrusive brisket of beef to "Supper With Hilary Booth," a virtual smorgasbord awaits. So what could a 1930s cook do with that brisket of beef, what are the ingredients in Welsh rarebit (also known as Welsh rabbit, and neither Welsh nor a meat dish), and what was Rudolph Valentino's favorite meal?

This web page hereby presents to you the foods of WENN, from egg salad to corned beef hash. Scattered throughout are also typical 1930s-1940s meals gleaned from our collection of period cookbooks (modern recipes are included only if we cannot find a comparable era version) and, because had the series continued, war rationing would have been addressed, typical meal suggestions from World War II gleaned from a period cookbook are also included. These latter will be designated as "Victory Foods" in keeping with the time.

Oh, yeah, and we've created our very own "Tomato Surprise" for you.

Also visit "The 1930s Kitchen" and our links. Bon appetit!

~~~~~~~ All our best, Linda and James

¤ A 1930's model farm

¤ Goodtime Stoves - 1920-1930

¤ 1930s General Electric stove ad

¤ Lisa's Nostalgia Café — the 1930s (see Lifestyles)

¤ Lisa's Nostalgia Café — the 1940s (see Lifestyles)

¤ 1932 and

¤ 1942 prices, Morris County, NJ which includes foods, drinks, and kitchen supplies

¤ Recipes from Vintage Cookbooks

Here's a clip I found online:

     "I was doing some work in my attic the other day and I came across an old newspaper from Chicago. It is dated, Thursday, April 8, 1943 and is the Chicago Daily Tribune, The Worlds Greatest Newspaper.
     "The feature story is 'How To Get The Most Out Of Food.' It goes on to say (1) Let the family decide how the food ration points are to be spent. Daughter Susan may wish to use some of her points for the canned peaches she dearly loves, and son Jim's plea for cherries for a pie should be heard. (2) Set a night time to plan meals. A guide like the menus which appear every week in the Tribune can be helpful. It suggests ways of spending points for meats, cheeses and processed foods to achieve a balanced diet.
     "It goes on to say 'Don't spend any of your ration points for baby food unless you have a baby in the family. Little fellows like this one [drawing of baby] shouldn't be deprived of their strained vegetables by babyless families who like to use low-point infant foods for soup.'
     "48 points will buy 14 cans of baby food (2 cans a day for the week), 14 points; a bottle of catsup, 10 points, a No. 2 can of salad fruit, 16 points, plus 2 pounds dried beans, 8 points."

Appetite whetted? :-) Here's more on rationing:

¤ Photos of rationing book and stamps

¤ Vintage rationing article, from the Larchmont Gazette

¤ Rationing in World War II

Victor and Jeff may have eaten some of these items:

¤ Wartime European recipes

¤ Frugal Recipes from Wartime Britain

¤ Rationing in Britain