Thursday, March 5, 2009

Depression Cooking with Clara

Full disclosure: I found out about Clara's cooking videos at The Simple Dollar and have become so enamored by Miz Clara that I just had to share her with you. Full street cred must, however, go to The Simple Dollar.

Clara is a 93-year-old survivor the Great Depression. She shares with us some of her family recipes made from simple ingredients, along with stories from those difficult days. Her mannerisms are captivating--there is a sweetness about her that reminds me of the way my own grandmother would cook (when she did, that is, which was very occasionally).

Here is one of her videos, where she features a simple Egg Soup:



It's about simple food, making your ingredients stretch, and how to make tasty meals from humble beginnings. For me, Clara's videos remind me that no matter what people are saying about today's economic climate, we've still got it pretty good.

Check out the entire series--you'll learn old-time recipes such as how to make a simple bread from just flour, water and yeast, a yummy-looking pepper-and-egg sandwich. This formidable lady even has a blog.

Thanks again to The Simple Dollar for sharing this gem with us!

7 comments:

Sara said...

Wow, so cool! I am looking forward to watching these

Amanda said...

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did, Sara!

Anonymous said...

That is so awesome! I just showed my friend this in the office, and she said that she had read an article somewhere about her. Very cool.

Mary said...

There's a dining in the Depression series going on at my local library this month that I'm totally excited to go see! Thanks for posting the video!

Amanda said...

Lulu--I think Clara is cool, too! :) It seems she's becoming quite popular!

Mary--You're welcome! I bet that Dining in the Depression series will be great. You'll have to let us know the high points.

I asked my grama today about what kind of food she ate during the depression, but she's about 5 years younger than Miz Clara and so was only about 11 by the time it was all over. She doesn't remember much about what she ate, other than a lot of oxtail soup. She definitely remembers that (with horror).

Daniel said...

She's great isn't she? A true representative of America's greatest generation.

Thanks for sharing!

Dan
Casual Kitchen

Amanda said...

My pleasure, Daniel. Thanks for coming by!

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