This article was originally published by Lara Rutherford Morrison on www.bustle.com
Many of us are trying to cook on a budget these days, and who better to teach us than someone who lived through the Great Depression? In a series of videos filmed between 2007 and 2013, Clara Cannucciari, grandmother of four and certified awesome lady, demonstrates how to cook delicacies of the Great Depression, the economic recession that left millions of Americans in poverty between 1929 and the late 1930s. Clara, born in 1915, was a teenager when the depression hit; in her videos, she recounts how her parents, having just emigrated from Sicily, used simple ingredients and a little creativity to feed their family during the lean years.
In the clip below, Clara shows us how to make a “Poorman’s Meal,” a concoction made up of potatoes, onion, and sliced hotdogs that manages to be hearty despite its small price tag. The resulting meal actually looks tastier than you might expect (and Clara proudly declares that her grandson and his friends love it), but the real reason to watch the video are Clara’s stories of her life in the 1930s. For instance, she describes, “I had to quit high school because I couldn’t afford socks, couldn’t afford anything to wear, but we survived.” According to her website, she went on to work for Hostess, filling Twinkies, in 1935.
Clara passed away in 2013, at the impressive, inspiring age of 98. Her videos share a wonderful legacy of food and memories from a difficult period in America’s history. To see more of her recipes and reminiscences, check out her YouTube channel.
Our grandfathers had more knowledge than any of us today and thrived even when modern conveniences were not available. They were able to produce and store their food for long periods of time. The Lost Ways is the most comprehensive book available. All the knowledge our grandfathers had, in one place.
Here’s just a glimpse of what you’ll find in the book: Table Of Contents:
Making Your Own Beverages: Beer to Stronger Stuff
Ginger Beer: Making Soda the Old Fashioned Way
How North American Indians and Early Pioneers Made Pemmican
Spycraft: Military Correspondence During The 1700’s to 1900’s
Wild West Guns for SHTF and a Guide to Rolling Your Own Ammo
How Our Forefathers Built Their Sawmills, Grain Mills,and Stamping Mills
How Our Ancestors Made Herbal Poultice to Heal Their Wounds
What Our Ancestors Were Foraging For? or How to Wildcraft Your Table
How Our Ancestors Navigated Without Using a GPS System
How Our Forefathers Made Knives
How Our Forefathers Made Snow shoes for Survival
How North California Native Americans Built Their Semi-subterranean Roundhouses
Our Ancestors’Guide to Root Cellars
Good Old Fashioned Cooking on an Open Flame
Learning from Our Ancestors How to Preserve Water
Learning from Our Ancestors How to Take Care of Our Hygiene When There Isn’t Anything to Buy
How and Why I Prefer to Make Soap with Modern Ingredients
Temporarily Installing a Wood-Burning Stove during Emergencies
Making Traditional and Survival Bark Bread…….
Trapping in Winter for Beaver and Muskrat Just like Our Forefathers Did
How to Make a Smokehouse and Smoke Fish
Survival Lessons From The Donner Party
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