Sunday, March 8, 2009

This Will Cheer You Up

Welcome to Depression Cooking with Clara. Clara is 91 years old, and since she experienced the Great Depression first hand, she's decided to show the country how to cook her favorite childhood meals, you know, just in case.

With the state of the economy such as it is, and fears of another depression looming, you would think these videos would be rather disturbing, but they're not. As she cooks the food that kept her and her family going, Clara shares her memories of those very hard years, but she does it with a twinkle in her eyes that leaves me optimistic. Enjoy.

9 comments:

Dawn0fTime said...

Thanks, John! I woke up this morning thinking, "Gee, I'm just too happy today. What can I do about that?" :)

Seriously, though, that woman is hardcore! No cutting board! If I tried that, I wouldn't make it to 91 with my thumbs still intact.

Anonymous said...

a truly American dish. Even though we are in a depression being from India, the amount of foods available here in America including canned and frozen foods is over abundant. Simply going to Costco itself one can get loads of foods for a good price. The time she lived in things were different it was tough, we have it really easy in comparison. I feel people have become lazy and take any bad news to heart and do not see what they have in front of them.
/rant

SPENCE said...

I saw Clara on Good Morning America show and she is one amazing woman and I also believe she is 93 yrs old. I hope she continues to do more videos.

By the way can you do corned beef and cabbage video? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I checked out Clara on You-Tube one day. She is someone I would like to know. I'd love listen to her stories while we cooked pasta and beans, pasta and broccoli, etc. My late mother-in-law made pasta and peas but never used canned peas always frozen with a lot of grated cheese. I make it for my family plus many other meatless meals that she taught me to cook.

Just Teresa said...

Aw, she's cute. I like Clara. She makes me miss my grandma.

Anonymous said...

I dont find the video disturbing; just a bit sad. She even mentioned good whiskey going down the drain! I know thats just the Depression Talking but since its the Depression Cooking, I figure its an appropriate response. I'll be in seclusion in the west wing with the rest of my canned corned beef hash.

Anonymous said...

Clara is just so cool, I wish she was my grandma. I also hope I am doing as well as she is at 93!
Thank you for sharing that.

Unknown said...

My grandma, born in 1920, would cut vegetables JUST like Clara does. It used to freak me out! And just like a survivor of the Depression she still held on to things that we consider as trash and throw away. Thank you for posting!

Sally said...

Hell, I never even owned a cutting board until about 20 years ago! I didn't know there was any other way of cutting up vegetables. I still sometimes save a step by cutting them over the pan just to keep the board from getting dirty. My great-aunt Della would make me macaroni and stewed tomatoes for dinner. I still crave that dish. Thanks for "introducing" me to Clara. Such a treasure!