I'm a little late on this one. I found Clara on Just Me and since it's right down Fat City's aisle I couldn't pass on the 93-year-old's sage advice and Great Depression recipes.
Clara Cannucciari was a sprightly 91 years old when she started making videos with her great-grandson, Christopher Cannucciari, who posted them on YouTube. Each video follows the same format: Clara makes a depression-era dish like pasta and peas or egg-drop soup, and talks about what it was like living through the Great Depression.
"What are we going to eat tonight? Pasta with garlic. What are we going
to eat tonight? Pasta with peas. What are we gonna eat? Pasta with
beans. That's all we ate was pasta and a small vegetable," she says in
one video while expertly frying up a pan of onions.
Sometimes Clara
tears up. "You know I had to quit high school because I couldn't afford
socks." And she sometimes repeats herself but she obviously knows how
to cook and commands the camera in a way that reminds me a lot of Julia
Child.
As the current recession has deepened, Clara has become busier. Of her eight videos on YouTube, five were made in the last month. She's also expanded beyond YouTube. Yes, that's a screenshot from her Facebook page below.
As
for Clara's recipes, I haven't tried any of them and frankly, I hope
not to have to. Clara emphasizes that the dishes weren't created
because they were so good but because "they were very inexpensive." I do hope I'm just as humorous and as good of a cook when I'm 93.
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I can relate! I'm (just) 62 and was born and raised in (W) Germany. We ate well, but very simple foods. I still have my mother's first cook book. It came out in 1940. I still eat simply, and I have no weight issues and never get sick. I think it's awesome that you are bringing back the simple and delicious cooking from long ago. Cooking this way is a great stress reliever.
Clara is the cutest cook I've ever seen!! She is so sweet. Clara reminds me of my grandma who passed away about 1 1/2 years ago and would talk to me about the depression and some of the foods she would make were from that era. I am an instant fan of Clara the Queen of Cooking!!
Clara I love you! You made my night, what a joy it is to watch you making those nostalgic recipes. You are the Oma that I lost so many years ago. I am going to make the pasta & peas tomorrow & I know they will taste wonderful. I'll be back to watch your other videos. God bless you & may we enjoy you for many years to come!
I love Clara! I'm inspired to do my own show now- singing and cooking in Italian.Watch out!
It�s really amazing.
I come from Czech Republic during the transition years from communism to capitalism, my granma used to do:
1) spread of curd(cheese - 250g - or 1/2 pound) with sardines:
You mix curd (cheese), 1 small can of sardines, mustard (event. ketchup) , onion (or green pepper) and you spread it on your slice of bread. It's a really cheap and excellent dinner. You can accompany it with hot tea, with sugar and lemon.
Nutritious, high protein content, low calories and quite cheap.
2) In Mexico I learned how to do soy milk:
you need 1/2 pound of soy beans, 3 Lts (1 gallon and half) of water.
Rinse the soy beans during the night, in the morning blend them with 1/2 gallon of water. Meanwhile put to boil 1 gallon (2L of water), until it comes to boil mix it with the blended soy beans, boil it aprox. 15 minutes. Then you drain it and you cool it in your fridge
You can divide it in 1.5 gallon of soy milk; the solid part you can use it for banana pancakes, or pancakes with shredded carrot, etc.
Cost (including Gas): 50-80 cents of USD
In our society that is so enamored with youth, isn't someone like Clara a delight? I've lost grandmothers and a wonderful mother-in-law but when you see someone like Clara, the memories flood back. The best to her.
My husband remembers the depression, i wasn't born until 1945 but I know hard times.I have been forced to eat nothing but dry pancakes or corn cakes, nothing more than flour or corn meal and water when I was raising 4 children with no help from anyone after a divorce. We had that for days. I can make a meal from rice,or pasta and anything. I grow my food now, so I am able to have more than some in this hard economic times.
She's something else....I make pasta with peas....
I wish she had more to share..
Best yet!!!!
Isn't there an "adopt a grandma" program out there? I wanna be first in line to put my dibs in on this sweet woman!
THANK YOU- THANK YOU- THANKYOU- YOU GIVE ME WHAT I'VE BEEN MISSING -THE GRAND MOTHER-I NEVER HAD THAT I SO WISH I DID-I LOVE THAT YOUR DOING THIS- I JUST DISCOVERED THE VIDEOS BUT AM SO READY TO TRY YOUR RECIPES-BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU AGAIN
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