Clara's Kitchen Book Review

I checked out a delightful book at the library last week called Clara's Kitchen by Clara Cannucciari and her grandson Christopher. It is part cookbook, part history book, part autobiography. Clara was a grandmother that lived through the Great Depression, and she shares her recipes and her stories in this book. She has passed away now, but she left a great gift. Her grandson started videotaping her cooking recipes like her mother cooked when she was a child. You can view the videos on YouTube, Depression Cooking. There was not a lot of food during the Great Depression, yet they didn't go hungry. Clara's mother was a great cook, feeding her family from their vegetable garden. People were very resourceful and frugal during that time, good qualities for anyone today as well. I think I enjoyed this book so much because Clara was only 1 year older than my grandmother, who also grew up in Chicago.

I tried her recipe for Pasta with Escarole, although I used Kale instead because that's what was ready in our garden. I have made this dish twice for lunch, I think it's great with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese!

I did not receive any compensation for this review, I just liked the book!