An affectionate and informative look at women on the Home Front in the 1940s, Grandma's Wartime Kitchen presents more than 150 classic recipes (updated for today's kitchens) along with anecdotes, advertisements, advice, and archival recipes from a unique and defining period in America's history. With details and personal voices that make the material come to life, the book covers: * The U.S. government's food rules and ration books * Substitutes for rationed sugar, and the delicious dessert recipes they inspired * Stretching butter, meat, coffee, and other staples * Cooking and baking for the troops abroad * Wartime entertaining including Defense Parties, progressive parties, and a traditional Thanksgiving dinner using wartime commodities * Monday Meatloaf, Mother's Fried Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, Apple Dumplings, Vermont Johnny Cake, Honey Apple Pie, and many other recipes. At a time when America is saluting the soldiers who fought in World War II, this one-of-a-kind collection offers a portrait of the courageous (and delicious) contributions of the women who stayed behind.

While the country’s soldiers were fighting in World War II, the women who stayed behind were making their own courageous—and delicious—contributions. Across the nation, women learned to do jobs formerly held by men while their husbands and sons served overseas. But on top of the extra responsibilities, they were still expected to cook hearty meals, set an attractive table and appear perfectly coiffed for dinner. “In essence, women were asked to work harder and harder, and they rose to the challenge,” author Joanne Lamb Hayes writes in this fascinating book. Grandma’s Wartime Kitchen shows us how our mothers and grandmothers coped with shortages and strict rationing of meat, sugar, butter, cheese and canned foods—all without electric dishwaters and other appliances we take for granted today. Quotes and reminiscences reveal a wartime world where families scrimped, adapted recipes, and even foraged for food. Part cookbook, part fascinating history, this collection contains more than 150 classic recipes that have been updated for today’s kitchens, as well as plenty of anecdotes, advertisements and advice from the time. You’ll find: · Recipes for Monday Meatloaf, Victory Pudding, Mother’s Fried Chicken, Apple Dumplings and more. · The U.S. government’s food rules and ration books. · Substitutes for rationed sugar and the recipes they inspired. Social life during wartime, including Defense Parties and a Thanksgiving dinner made with only wartime commodities. Lovers of traditional American fare will also want to check out Joanne Lamb Hayes' companion cookbook, Grandma's Wartime Baking Book.

- Rediscover the famous wartime gardening broadcasts by the original gardening media celebrity - Taps into the thriving market for books on allotments and growing your own produce; there are 300,000 allotments in the UK - WWII nostalgia books continue to be successful; Eating for Victory [978-1843172642] sold 12,000 copies - Recent BBC series Grow Your Own Veg was hugely popular with viewers - Perfect nostalgic impulse buy for xmas '08

Enter a realm of ancient herbal wisdom with The Herb Grower's Grimoire, and discover the transformative power of the Earth's most enchanting plants. Journey back in time as you explore the magical virtues of thirty garden herbs in a collection of herbal legends, charms, recipes, and hands-on growing advice. This beautifully illustrated volume reveals the botanical magic of herbs and will allow you to deepen your connection with nature. Curated from vintage herbals and trusted writings, The Herb Grower's Grimoire transcends time by bringing centuries of herbal knowledge to your fingertips. Unearthing wisdom from the ancient writings of Pliny the Elder as well as the esteemed works of John Gerard and Nicholas Culpeper, this anthology provides insight into the rich history of herbalist practice. This unique book will enchant and inform, serving as both a practical guide and a doorway to the world of herbalism.

Get out in your garden and discover the history hidden in the hedges. Did the Romans have rakes? Did the monks get muddy? Did potatoes seem really, really weird when they arrived on our shores? Drawn from Jenny Uglow's own love for plants, this lively 'potted' history of gardening in Britain takes us on a garden tour from the thorn hedges around prehistoric settlements to the rage for ornamental grasses and 'outdoor rooms' today. Tracking down the ordinary folk who worked the earth - from weeding women to florists - as well as aristocrats and grand designers and famous plant-hunters, A Little History of British Gardening is brought to life by gorgeously vivid illustrations and Uglow's insightful wisdom. Not only dealing with flowery meads, grottoes and vistas, landscapes and ha-has, parks and allotments, Uglow explains, for example, how the Tudors made their curious knots; how housewives used herbs to stop freckles; how the suburbs dug for victory in World War II. With a brief guide to particular historic or evocative gardens open to the public, this is a book to put in your pocket when planning a crisp, winter's day out - but also to read in your armchair with a well-earned glass of red, after a hard day's graft in your own garden. 'Enchanting, stirringly evocative and fascinating' Daily Mail 'This book will be a joy for any gardener' Independent