Friday, March 12, 2010

Great Depression Cooking with Clara



I just discovered this fascinating, real-life Upstate New York Great Depression-era cook and blogger, Clara, whose blog is Great Depression Cooking With Clara.

From her Blogger profile:

"Clara is a 94 year old cook and Great Grandmother. She is 100% Sicilian-American and grew up in a Chicago suburb, Melrose Park. She survived the Great Depression and claims to have actually gained weight during America's worst state of financial despair. How did she accomplish this? Check out her cooking show and discover her secret!"

From Amazon's description of her cookbook, Clara's Kitchen:

"Clara Cannucciari is a 94 year-old internet sensation. Her YouTube® Great Depression Cooking videos have an army of devoted followers. In Clara’s Kitchen, she gives readers words of wisdom to buck up America’s spirits, recipes to keep the wolf from the door, and tells her story of growing up during the Great Depression with a tight-knit family and a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” philosophy of living. In between recipes for pasta with peas, eggplant parmesan, chocolate covered biscotti, and other treats Clara gives readers practical advice on cooking nourishing meals for less. Using lessons she learned during the Great Depression, she writes, for instance, about how to conserve electricity when cooking and how you can stretch a pot of pasta with a handful of lentils. She reminisces about her youth and writes with love about her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Clara’s Kitchen takes readers back to a simpler, if not more difficult time, and gives everyone what they need right now: hope for the future and a nice dish of warm pasta from everyone’s favorite grandmother, Clara Cannuciari, a woman who knows what’s really important in life."

Here is a commercial for her cookbook:




Enjoy this wonderful sample of Clara's cooking genius:



And here is a charming sneak peek into her retro-furnished kitchen, her stories, and her amazing arm-wrestling with one of her great grandsons:



You can purchase the Season One DVD of Great Depression Cooking with Clara here. This swanky lady also twitters! And you can buy her cookbook here.

Share/Save/Bookmark

16 comments:

Oklahoma Granny said...

I've seen Clara on tv and YouTube before. She's quite the lady!

Little Messy Missy said...

Thanks for sharing your find. I will have to go watch Clara.

Barbara said...

Seen her before! She's great!

Ms. B @ Millie Deel said...

What a wonderful lady! Thank you for featuring her!!

Shauna said...

Thanks for telling us about Clara!!

Anonymous said...

I will be checking Miss Clara out, she sounds wonderful. Your blog is fun, I love it. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Mary @ Vintage Comfort

Toronto Yardsaler said...

Super cool blog. I could seriously get lost in all this pink eye candy goodness (not pink eye - you know what I mean).
Thanks for following my humble blog. I will link you.
Cheers,
Erin from Toronto

Laura said...

What great information. I LOVE cookbooks so I will be checking this out.
Thank you for visiting my blog.

Laura

Unknown said...

I am huge mad men and Matthew Weiner fan. This is the first site i have seen that has so much fun with the show. I have also seen Clara on youtube and she is wonderful. Anybody know where to find retro Shower Doors they are really hard to find especially from the fifty's and sixty's.

Sherrie said...

I so have to go watch this amazing character. Good for her. I also wanted to stop by to say hello and thank you for joining me on my journey into the wonderful world of blogging. It has been so amazing to meet so many great folks and to share in their stories, dreams ans aspirations and their treasures. Your blog was one of the very first ones that I found to follow. With a name like Retromodgirl, I knew I would like it. Have a good day.

Unknown said...

oh yes, I just love her :)

MrFilthyRotten said...

Wow I love this! I never heard of Clara before! I'll be keeping my eye on her thanks to YOU! Smoochies!

Mary RC said...

following you from blog rock. what a great source, I LOVE HER

MomWaldsPlace said...

Clara proves that you can grow up without having to grow old!

Silver said...

Thanks for sharing. when you see a full of life 94 year old who cooks on U Tube.. you'll follow her lead.

;)
Silver

Anonymous said...

Nice blog. You have some really interesting posts.

If you like come and check out my blogs

Night Clubs In New York
Night Clubs In New York
Toni Kostelac | Personal Blog
Night Clubs In New York
Night Clubs In New York
Night Clubs In New York

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend