Out of necessity, White learned to both economize but also cook with ingenuity and creativity. She noted in her autobiography that she made her family a hot-bed of garden rubbish to grow vegetables, and that their being "frightfully poor" necessitated her care in the kitchen where she "learnt to make savoury dishes out of very little, and not to waste anything. At that time we could get a sheep's head and pluck from our butcher for ninepence. This included the head with tongue and brains, the heart, lights, and liver. A very good bargain. We always had this once a week, the lights being afterwards boiled up and mixed with mash for the chickens." White, always an avid walker, likewise took full advantage of the edibles that grew in the lanes and hedgerows in their vicinity, particularly the blackberries that White used to make puddings, pies, and jam.
