The Depression Chef

Yes, it may be hard to tell from the glitz and glamour of the Oscars and the long lines that seem to remain everywhere from Best Buy to Barney's, but we are in an economic recession.

It has been a long time since one of these came around, but luckily for us - not too long of a time.

Thankfully we can still look back to those who faced the tough times, and survived... like Clara, the Depression Chef

Clara was born in 1915 and grew up in Chicago during the Great Depression. Now she's on YouTube teaching a new generation how to make the simple, inexpensive food that her family used to eat during those hard times.

Clara has her own YouTube channel and online video series wherein she teaches us the hard-knock tricks of the trade that helped her family survive the Great Depression. Here are a few of her videos:

Pasta with Peas



Peppers and Eggs


Depression Era Breakfast


While not all of us are feeling the hardships (right now, thankfully, I am not) many others of us are. It's good to get the tips and secrets of someone who's seen something worse than this before. And for anyone who has no problem grabbing a table at Cafeteria or Vespa or Per Se, you should watch Clara any way because she's just so goddammed cute!

I will close this post with the inspirational words of my good friend Paul:

"If she made it through, we'll be fine."

Amen to that, sir. Amen to that.