Great Depression Cooking – Italian Cook Clara Cannucciare – Pasta and Peas

Clara Cannucciari was the host of the web series Great Depression Cooking with Clara and author of the bookClara’s Kitchen.

Born in Melrose Park, Illinois on August 18, 1915, she went on to live through America’s Great Depression. During these difficult times, her freshly emigrated Sicilian American parents (Giuseppe and Giuseppina Bonfanti) were hit especially hard by America’s economic woes. Clara’s mother found inventive ways to stretch the family’s meals and they emerged from the Depression safe and healthy.

In 2007, her grandson Christopher Cannucciari began filming Clara preparing her mother’s Depression meals and assembled the footage into the YouTube series Great Depression Cooking with Clara. She retired shortly after her 96th birthday and her last video was posted on November 10, 2013 (Twice Baked Potato) and died November 29, 2013, aged 98. She is survived by one son, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.