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  In October 1929, Wall Street crashed and plunged the American economy and society into an era of hardship and poverty known as the Great Depression. With the economic downturn, food supplies dwindled and rising unemployment plagued the nation. As such, many Americans tightened their purse strings to tide over an extraordinary period of scarcity. In this difficult period, they also learned to become more resourceful and innovative, coming up with many interesting food creations that were cost-effective and easy to make.   1. The Great Depression Cake A recipe for “War Cake” published in the Woman’s Home Companion magazine, 1918. Source: University of Minnesota   One of the most popular cakes during the Great Depression boasted an eggless, butterless, and milkless formula. The origins of the Depression Cake go all the way back to World War I when it was also called the War Cake. Defying almost every traditional cake recipe, the Depression Cake became popular in the 1930s due to its fuss-free ingredients list. This was extremely helpful for families struggling to buy active and fresh ingredients in a time of economic downturn. The Depression Cake was made using flour, sugar, and cocoa powder for the chocolatey taste. At times, recipes also recommended the use of cinnamon or nutmeg for extra flavor. Without using eggs, homemakers relied on vinegar or baking soda for the leavening process to create the ideal fluffy texture. Sometimes animal fats such as leftover bacon grease would be used to avoid having to buy butter.   2. Water Pie The Water Pie was also called “Hard Times Pie” during the Great Depression. Source: Atlas Obscura   Water Pie, as its name suggested, referred to a peculiar pie made up almost entirely of water. It constituted the base filling and after adding sugar, flour, butter, and some vanilla, the result was an amazing pie with a custard-like texture. While traditional meringue or custard pies typically depended on eggs to set, the Water Pie did not. As the pie heated up, the melted sugar, emulsified butter, and leached starch formed the most unexpected binding agent. With a bit of ingenuity and thinking out of the box, Depression-era bakers managed to transform the most ordinary water into an extraordinarily tasty treat.   3. Hoover Stew United States President Herbert Hoover signs a bill to ease the rising unemployment rates, December 1930. Source: National Archives   Named after the United States President Herbert Hoover, the Hoover Stew was one of the most popular soups during the Great Depression. It typically consisted of cooked macaroni, hot dogs, stewed tomatoes, and canned sweetcorn or peas. Simmered in a large pot and packed with flavor, the Hoover Stew was a hearty meal that could feed a family for days.   Stews have been historically popular as an economical dish. Here a few men are preparing the Mulligan Stew comprising potatoes, carrots, and some meat, 1910s. Source: Library of Congress   Since Hoover’s presidency was largely defined by the Great Depression, the Hoover Stew became the go-to meal for working-class families. As economic hardship was largely blamed on his presidency, Hoover’s name was used for many everyday items or places in the 1930s. For example, shanty towns used by the homeless that sprouted across America were called Hoovervilles and cardboard used to cover shoe holes was called Hoover Leather.   4. Meatloaf The meatloaf became a classic dish loved by generations of Americans, 1973. Source: Vintage Recipe Cards   Widely believed to have arrived on American shores alongside Italian immigrants in the late 19th century, the humble meatloaf is a perennial American favorite. It combines ground meat, usually beef, with salt, pepper, and eggs, and is molded into the shape of a loaf. The meatloaf’s easy-to-make recipe made it a popular choice during the Great Depression, allowing families to stretch it across multiple meals. Cereal grains and breadcrumbs would also be added to further bulk up the meatloaf for bigger portions. Meat grinders had become increasingly common by the 1930s which contributed to the popularisation of the meatloaf. An endearing family favorite since the Great Depression, the meatloaf has left its imprint on the hearts of Americans across generations. A poll by Good Housekeeping magazine in 2007 ranked the dish as the seventh most well-loved American staple.   5. Corned Beef Luncheon Salad Corned Beef Luncheon Salad, 1981. Source: Vintage Recipe Cards   Made up of canned corned beef, gelatin, canned peas, and vinegar, the Corned Beef Luncheon Salad sounds gross just from its ingredients list. In the words of Andrew Coe, co-author of A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression, it was “wrong in every way possible.” However, for the impoverished and desperate, the Corned Beef Luncheon Salad contained just about everything palatable.   An advertisement for Jell-O in The Indianapolis Star newspaper promoting the new lime Jell-O and the recipes for savory salads, November 1930. Source: Indy Star Archive   Furthermore, gelatin was considered a novelty ingredient and very cutting-edge for the 1930s, which explained the popularity of this dish. In particular, Jell-O, the well-known gelatin brand in America, introduced the lime Jell-O in 1930 which quickly became a staple in savory salads and desserts.   6. Tomato Soup Cake Campbell’s advertisement featuring a tomato soup cake recipe, 1962. Source: Quaint Cooking   The Tomato Soup Cake was quite possibly the most incredible invention of the Depression era as few would associate a savory soup with a sweet treat. The familiar Campbell’s canned tomato soup contained gelatinized starch from thickeners and pectin from tomatoes, which were the prerequisites to a perfectly moist cake. A Campbell’s recipe from 1922 instructed home bakers to mix the canned soup with butter, flour, sugar, and lard to create the most delectable cake. After its heyday in the 1930s and 1940s, the recipe has continued to enjoy lasting popularity ever since. It was said that American writer Sylvia Plath baked the Tomato Soup Cake on the same day she penned her poignant poem Death & Co. in 1962.   7. All Things Potatoes The humble potato soup was best enjoyed with biscuits during the Great Depression. Source: Savor Tooth Tiger   Cheap, hardy, easy to grow—potatoes are one of the most accessible and versatile foods available. This was particularly so during the Great Depression when food supplies were scarce. In the mid-2000s, an elderly woman in her 90s named Clara Cannucciari became a YouTube sensation after sharing many of her Great Depression recipes. According to Clara, potatoes were a very important staple during those days of economic hardship: “We ate potatoes every day; potatoes with pasta, potatoes fried, potatoes with eggs.” Potato soups and potato pancakes were also highly favored for their heartiness, making them popular meal staples adored across generations.   8. Mock Apple Pie Ritz Crackers were widely used as the main ingredient for the Mock Apple Pie. Source: Savannah Morning News   Imagine a delectable pie that looked, tasted, and even smelled every bit like the classic American apple pie. Except it did not even contain a single apple to begin with. In its place were soda crackers or Ritz crackers, which had just made their debut in 1934. Shaped like a disc and lightly salted, the Ritz crackers became an instant hit when they were first introduced to the American public. Almost five billion units of crackers were sold by 1935, just a year after their debut. The thrifty nature of Depression-era Americans led them to discover that Ritz crackers, when combined with lemon, cinnamon, and sugar, created the most perfect fake apple pie. The timing could not be better as this Mock Apple Pie recipe gained popularity when apples were costly and in short supply.   The Great Depression-Era Dishes: Delightful or Disastrous? Two laborers eating beans for dinner near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, United States, 1939. Source: Library of Congress   In a time when economic hardship was a reality, these recipes provided variety and even comfort for the everyday man in the street. During the Great Depression, people did not have the luxury of choice nor the purchasing power to consume whatever they wanted. As such, they often had to make do with the existing ingredients they could get. Taste was of course secondary to quantity. In fact, many of these common dishes were known to be bland as people could not afford a variety of spices to spice up their cooking. Even if they did, they used them very sparingly. To our modern ears, many of the Depression-era recipes might sound incredulous as our taste buds are accustomed to the increasingly sophisticated food preparation methods. However, some of these recipes did manage to mimic fanciful dishes, to varying degrees of success.   The Depression Cake, for example, allowed those with a sweet tooth to indulge in the delectable chocolatey goodness, whereas colorful Jell-O desserts brightened up the gloomy moments of economic hardship. While our predecessors might have been glad to leave the grim days of the 1930s behind, Depression-era recipes enjoyed a brief resurgence in the 2020s. In part due to the uncertainty and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, self-styled home bakers resurrected many Depression-era recipes such as the Water Pie and the Depression Cake. Many recipes went viral on social media as people gained a newfound appreciation for the resourcefulness and ingenuity of their predecessors in similarly dire circumstances.

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A federal court ruled last week that an Ohio school district violated the First Amendment rights of a Christian teacher, which experts are hailing as a victory for free speech and religious liberty. Hired as a full-time English teacher at the end of the 2021 academic school year, Vivian Geraghty had resigned from her position in 2022 after being told to use a student’s “preferred pronouns.” The argument she gave in her lawsuit was that the use of pronouns that didn’t reflect the child’s biological sex “would force her to embrace the concept of gender identity against her religious belief that God created two unchanging sexes, male and female.” According to district court Judge Pamela Barker, the Jackson Local School District “compelled Geraghty to use the students’ preferred names and pronouns.” In doing so, it forced the teacher “to utter what was not in her mind about a question of political and religious significance.” Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, posted on X that the court’s decision is “good news for freedom of belief.” “Schools cannot force teachers, administrators, or students to use ‘preferred pronouns’ when doing so would violate their beliefs—religious or otherwise,” she added. “Gender identity makes a rotten foundation for case law. More victories like this one are certain to come.” Thomas Jipping, also at The Heritage Foundation, further noted that this is “further evidence that … these gender policies are NOT related to curriculum or administration where schools receive deference. These are ideological policies schools are choosing to impose on kids and families.” Arielle Del Turco, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, shared with The Washington Stand, “It’s good to see the court affirm this teacher’s First Amendment rights in this case.” Ultimately, “Teachers should not face compelled speech in favor of one ideological perspective which violates their deeply held religious beliefs. This is what the school did by trying to force a Christian teacher to use preferred gender pronouns that did not correspond with students’ biological sex.” Schools are meant for learning, Del Turco contended, so they “should stay out of the business of forcing ideological conformity.” Thankfully, she added, “religious freedom has consistently won in the courts.” But “it is discouraging to see school districts keep putting that to the test. We need a restoration of respect for religious freedom and freedom of speech in the culture, not just the courts.” David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview, gave a biblical analysis to the situation Geraghty found herself in. “The pernicious lie of LGBTQ ideology is causing irreparable harm amongst so many young people today,” he said. “I commend Geraghty for her bold stance against an ideology that is destructive and responsible for sowing harm and confusion amongst children in classrooms.” Since the case is not the first of its kind, and it likely won’t be the last, Closson emphasized the importance of dissecting the case from a biblical worldview to better prepare for when it comes up again. The fact is, he observed, “God created male and female and the idea that someone can change their gender is not only nonsensical from a scientific perspective but has no grounding in the Bible or Christian theology.” And while “it is never easy to take a stand for truth, the consequences of not taking this stand could potentially cost many lives of the next generation.” As such, he contended, Christians need to be fervently praying. With the start of a new school year, “Christians everywhere should be in prayer for teachers and especially believers who are serving in the classroom”—particularly believers who teach in public or non-Christian schools. For them, Closson pointed out, “the pressure to conform to gender ideology is stronger now than it ever has been.” And so, “We need to be praying for teachers to have the courage of their convictions.” Not simply so that “their own civil rights are protected by school administration officials, but also so that they may “be light and salt in the environment that the Lord has them in.” In addition to praying for teachers, Closson emphasized the need to pray for the students. “It’s important to remember that between kindergarten and 12th grade, a student will spend 16,000 hours in a formal classroom environment.” This means believers need to pray “for the Christian students facing thousands of hours of instruction that often undermines a biblical worldview,” he urged. Pray, Closson concluded, “that they will be able to separate truth from lies and take a stand for God’s Word when everything around them is going to be encouraging them to embrace unbiblical ideologies and worldviews.” Originally published by The Washington Stand The post Court Rules in Favor of Christian Teacher Forced to Use Trans Pronouns appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Former CNN host Chris Cuomo might be no longer employed by one of the country's premier liberal propagandists, but he's proving one thing: He can't handle the truth. And conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly speaking the truth about Vice President Kamala Harris was a case in point. In a clash after...