Cooking by the ration book.

Byline: Candace Renalls

DULUTH, Minn. _ Meatless Victory meals. War cakes sweetened with molasses instead of sugar. Homegrown vegetables.

They all were part of life for American homemakers during World War II because sugar, meat, coffee, butter, cheese and canned goods were rationed from 1942 to 1946 and other foods were in short supply.

"For the most part, people tried to stretch their ration points, stretch their meat and their butter," said cookbook author Bea Ojakangas of life on the homefront during the war.

Ojakangas took a look at these culinary challenges recently as part of a program at the Richard I. Bong World War II Heritage Center in Superior, Minn. The event was part of the preparations for the 70th anniversary of D-Day_June 6, 1944 _ when Allied forces launched an invasion of Europe on the shores of Normandy in France.

Using ration books, stamps and tokens, the typical allotment for each American was 2.5 pounds of red meat and 12 ounces of white granulated sugar per week.

Cooks substituted brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, honey and maple syrup for sugar. Sometimes they used sweetened condensed milk, like that used in a chocolate frosting that Ojakangas prepared.