Today I have had some successes and some failures. I have exceeded my ham and bacon allowance for two reasons. The first is that I have some left-over ham slices that need to be eaten or thrown away. The second is explained below.
I wanted to make a rabbit stew, since rabbit is good lean meat and was not on ration. However, after a diligent search around local butchers and trawling the internet I have only found three places where I can buy it for delivery. The cheapest of these has a minimum meat order of equivalent to six whole rabbits and the next best charges twice the price and I would need to order three. All of these would be previously frozen and thawed en route, so I could not freeze them again at home.
Thus it looks like rabbit stew is out. Possibly a blessing in disguise, because I remember from my childhood that rabbit stinks to high heaven during cooking. So I must find an alternative, most likely chicken breast. I did find a retailer of squirrel, but not currently available.
For today’s stew I therefore used my week’s ration of cooking bacon (120g), but I had already eaten some of the left-over sliced ham from the same allowance. The stew is enough for two good meals, the other constituents being potatoes, carrots, swede and parsnip, all off-ration. I have enough spare vegetables for another two similar meals. I may attempt a Woolton Pie if I feel brave.
Of course, I am measuring my ration against what I eat, whereas in reality I should be counting what I buy. My home is far better stocked at the commencement of this diet, but as I need to replenish food items I will be checking off my “coupons”
After two days here is my progress chart:
| Foodstuff | Ration (g) | Running total | Percentage |
| Bacon & Ham | 120 | 150 | 125% |
| Other meat | 540 | 105 | 19% |
| Butter & Margarine | 180 | 10 | 6% |
| Cheese | 60 | 37 | 62% |
| Lard | 60 | 0 | 0% |
| Sugar | 330 | 0 | 0% |
| Tea | 60 | 11 | 18% |
| Ration (ml) | |||
| Milk | 1700 | 130 | 8% |
General Whiskers' semi-historical wanderings 
An interesting way of doing it, Paul. Where does canned mackerel fit in? I developed a taste for it because no-one else would eat the canned pilchard compo ration. 🙂
Regards, Chris.
Oh, I see it … Paprika Rice and Sardines here: https://worldenoughandtimeblog.com/2022/06/26/refugee-ration-challenge-week/ worth a look if you have a few minutes to spare.
Interesting website. I plan to count one small tin of sardines or mackerel as 8 points, or half a standard sized can of fish.
Addendum: I have located a source of tinned rabbit. It comes from Estonia and costs the equivalent of £80 per kilogram. No thank you!
I bred Californian meat rabbits when we were being self-sufficient and following rations.
The local butcher would exchange one rabbit a fortnight for a bag of the cheaper cuts of meat I requested, and home made sausages, and told me how to cook them.
He gave me free stock bones.
We kept a few hens, ducks and quail, and bees, and had an allotment with abundant compost.