Great Depression Cooking - Making Espresso with Sweet Crema

Nonagenarian cook and great grandmother, Clara, recounts her childhood during the Great Depression as she prepares meals from the era. Learn how to make simple yet delicious dishes while listening to stories from the Great Depression.

No one who knew Clara ever saw her drink a single glass of water. We all used to marvel at how she would only drink coffee. She drank American coffee in the morning and Italian espresso in the afternoon. Occasionally, she would add a special sweet froth to the espresso, a kind of crema cheat for stovetop espresso pots, and here's how she did it.

This Video was filmed way back in 2010. Nana and I were just goofing around, making coffee, so we never thought to make it into an episode. It was nice to rediscover this recently and it brought so many fun memories of drinking Espresso with Nana. Hope you enjoy it too!

[minorchord]

I'm (gladly) surprised there's still unreleased content from her after all this time❤️

[MajesticWHOO]

An absolute legend of a women leaving us a gift from before her passing, for us to have in a terribly difficult holiday

[nicolesilvestre]

Miss your mom. She was the sweetest on the internet. She is smiling down from Heaven. Love to rewatch her from time to time. Thank you

[DesertNebula]

"I should of given her the Sicilian eye" omg I'm laughing 🤣🧿🧿🧿

[oli]

Is it odd to miss someone you’ve never met? Because.. I miss her so much...

[mademoisellechoko]

In the last 3 days; I met Clara, drank lots of strong Italian style coffee, made the dandelion salad, the pepper and eggs and the delicious almond chocolate biscotti. All so very delicious… I now think of Clara every time I make myself a good strong coffee. Thanks for sharing Chris the wonderful life and spirit of your favourite person. She was indeed so wonderful.

[doxiemom]

I just love this woman and wish I had known her.

[AliciaNyblade]

"The first thing I love is my family. The second thing I love is my coffee."
Okay, if a line of Clara merchandise is ever made, I want that on a coffee mug!

[summerangelmartinez]

The part at the end was hilarious. Her laughing hysterically was the highlight of my day. This really made my day better she always does! I really love her

[cloiecoon]

Awww I'm on the verge of tears i needed her today

[sarahlynn]

My nanna was just like Clara. Born in 1913, from Malta (which is right next to Sicily and very close in cultures), lived through the depression, married in Malta like Clara married in Sicily, and cooked from scratch with everything. Both Catholic and both had Mother in laws that didn't like them! 😆 They both express themselves with their hands and talk loud. I miss the old ways so much and these videos bring back so many memories.

My Nanna was born in Malta and came to America with my Maltese Nannu in 1939. My mother was the baby, so I am the youngest grandchild and I feel like I'm the last generation to grow up with these old traditions. I was born in the late 70's. My Nanna died at 93 in 2006 and I was so lucky to have her as long as I did. I miss her much!

Thank you for these precious videos! I went and bought an Italian Bialetti Moka Pot today and can't wait to try this! God bless! ❤️

[kimsrurallife]

I’ve watched and rewatch Clara for yrs. It’s like my own grandma reaching out to me to say, “you can do this, I did.” Love you Clara ❤️

[DEEZENUTZ]

The original grandma of YouTube never left us.

[vsysved]

I only know her by watching her on YouTube. When I found out she passed away I cried. "She was the salt of the earth". Google that phrase. So many good stories and lived through anything and everything. Rest In Peace Clara. My June 2023 comment.

[valeriestrickler]

My grandmother-Clara would always correct people when they referred to her as Italian. She was Sicilian and very proud of it. My grandmother also cooked "depression style". I love watching this special lady😍🥰

[VRodz-]

"Don't go cheap on the coffee " 🤣
Truer words never spoken!! 🥰

[Mistyeyez]

I'm 12 years old and I watched the Depression Breakfast video earlier and now I'm in love with this lady! I'm going to teach myself (with help!) to cook these recipes.

[KittySkeed]

I see Clara was making whipped coffee before the TikTok trend. What an ICON!

[blupyxi]

Yay, she came back. She must have seen how pathetic we still were with our coffee making skills.

[sr.]

I just came across Claras videos a few month ago. Many, many thanks to her grandson for convincing her to make these treasure videos! I have been watching them over and over.
Clara reminds me much of my German Oma. She passed away many years ago but I always remember the nice times we shared. I am in my 50's and live in the US. Back then, my Oma used to make baked apples, just like Clara. Soon when the weather gets colder, that will be a nice treat that I had forgotten about for many years!
Today I went and bought a freah pack of espresso and made it just like Clara showed, with crema! ❤ Oh, it was so good! I watched Claras video and had my espresso with Clara in spirit! ❤😊

Many thanks to the family for sharing lovely Clara with us! What an absolute joy it is to watch her! 😊