I have been watching the 93 year old lady, Clara, share depression era recipes on You Tube. She has ten videos. The recipes are interesting and as cheap as they come. I can make the recipes, but she has some pretty scary knife skills - she never uses a cutting board. I don't think I can do that! I am anxious to try her recipe for pasta and peas though! She also tells interesting stories about growing up during the depression.
She cuts things up like my mom did. My mom never had a potato peller let alone a cutting board. She cut things perfectly though! I cant cut potatoes for fried potatoes like she did to save my soul. She cut them like for french fries but thinner.. perfectly!! She never ever cut herself once.. and she held them in her hand to cut them they never touched the counter.
I am giggling so hard at anhopegels' post because my grama used to make the creamed hamburger with peas (and sometimes carrots) on toast and called it SOS (s**t on a shingle) LOL !!!
And I agree with chef4u about non fancy gadgets and cutting skills :-)
I viewed three of Clara's videos and started crying when she talked about having to quit high school on one of them :-( Even though I am 55 and heard many, many stories from that generation I can never completely realize just how hard that decade of the depression was. Videos and stories like this should be mandatory especially for the young ones today who haven't a clue and who complain so much about not getting name brand clothing & shoes, DVD's, electronics, etc. they want 'right now'. And then using credit to buy things one can't even afford!
Thank you so much for sharing Clara's information and video!
What a priceless video. Notice that she didn't have a bunch of fancy gadgets like we think we have to have today. Her pots were aluminum and she lived to be 90+ yrs. old Today, we'd be screaming that aluminum causes altzheimers. Nonsense. Her knife skills? Excellent. She doesn't waste any time. What memories her relatives are going to have. I think it's a great idea to video tape your relative cooking tradition foods. That way you'll always know the techniques on how to make them. I wish I would have done this with my mother.
I want Clara's recipe! We were a large family so Mom always had to stretch her food. Creamed hamburg and peas on mashed potatoes or when no potatoes it was called s--t on toast. lol We love it to this day. Bread pudding was often supper. We survived and Mom always made sure that if someone showed up at supper time they were offered supper even if she had to take a little off each of our plates. It taught us to share and never let anyone go hungry!
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