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| ingredients for the Shrimp Curry (with trout). Photo: Elizabeth Urbach |
The Challenge: # 9 The Frugal Housewife
Throughout
history, housewives and housekeepers have kept a close eye on their budgets and
found creative ways to pinch pennies while providing delicious and nutritious
food. Create a dish that interprets one historically-documented method of
frugal cooking.
I chose to interpret frugality as a way to use pantry staples, including canned meat, to pull together an easy dish. You could also use leftover fish from another meal in this recipe!
The Recipe: (where did you find it, link to
it if possible)
Found
in my grandmother's cookbook, Burnt Toast
Recipes: Victory Edition, published in Los Angeles in 1942, this recipe for
Shrimp Curry takes advantage of pantry staples to make it economical as well as
tasty. The recipe book is a collection
of recipes put together by the Women's Auxiliary to the Women's and Children's
Hospital in Los Angeles, which took care of the wives and families of
servicemen who were stationed in the area during WW2. My grandmother worked as a candy striper at
the hospital during the summers, taking the train out from Omaha, NE where she
lived and taught school during the rest of the year.
California seemed to be lucky in comparison to other areas, because of our climate enabling food to be grown year-round, as well as the large number of dairies and poultry farms, and everyday residents who kept a cow and a few chickens around for butter, eggs and milk. Fish were being caught and canned in Monterey throughout the War, and while much of it was sent to other parts of the U.S., and overseas to our armed forces and our allies, there was still quite a bit of food available, with or without food rationing. This recipe is frugal in its use of butter and imported spices, and makes good use of canned fish. Although it calls for shrimp, any canned fish can be used. (Ignore the mushrooms in the photo above -- they were part of another recipe but mistakenly got into the photo for this dish.)
California seemed to be lucky in comparison to other areas, because of our climate enabling food to be grown year-round, as well as the large number of dairies and poultry farms, and everyday residents who kept a cow and a few chickens around for butter, eggs and milk. Fish were being caught and canned in Monterey throughout the War, and while much of it was sent to other parts of the U.S., and overseas to our armed forces and our allies, there was still quite a bit of food available, with or without food rationing. This recipe is frugal in its use of butter and imported spices, and makes good use of canned fish. Although it calls for shrimp, any canned fish can be used. (Ignore the mushrooms in the photo above -- they were part of another recipe but mistakenly got into the photo for this dish.)
Shrimp
Curry
Sautè 1 small minced onion in 2 tablespoons butter until onion is soft but not brown. Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons curry, 2 teaspoons flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer tightly covered for 20 minutes, then add 1 can shrimp (cleaned and shredded), 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve with browned rice. – recipe from Alberta Austin.
Sautè 1 small minced onion in 2 tablespoons butter until onion is soft but not brown. Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons curry, 2 teaspoons flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer tightly covered for 20 minutes, then add 1 can shrimp (cleaned and shredded), 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve with browned rice. – recipe from Alberta Austin.
