A Satisfying April Fool's Day Meal

You know what to expect here, right? I mean... really. So here's a couple little tricks that you can play on your friends if you want. :)

Jello Juice 
Okay. This is the easiest "prank" ever.

1 package strawberry or lemon flavored Jello
miniscule amount of either strawberry or cranberry juice (for the strawberry) or lemonade (for the lemon)

Follow the package directions and then, instead of pouring the Jello into a mold or tin, pour it into a clear juice glass with just a tiny bit of juice poured in on top of it. Insert a drinking straw and put in the refrigerator to set. Then, when someone asks for something to drink, pull out the glass and watch them try to get that juice out. :) [If you're concerned about top texture, you can add a little more juice on top the jello before you serve it.]


Protein Cupcakes
This one could be really mean, so don't pull this on your veggie or vegan friends... Remember, April Fool's is about playful pranks and is not an excuse to be recklessly cruel to people.

"Cupcake":
2 lbs lean ground chuck
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

"Icing":
Either Velveeta or blue cheese, melted, and mixed with a cheerful food coloring. Spread liberally on top.

Set your oven to 350F. Place opaque muffin papers into a muffin tin.

Mix the "cupcake" ingredients together in a large bowl - if you have a food processor, blend them first. Then divide the "batter" into the muffin papers. Bake for about an hour, or until the meat reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees. Take out and allow to cool to room temp, then place in the fridge.

Next, make your icing. If you use the blue cheese, you'll want to blend it so that it's a smooth texture. I'd use something innocuous like pink or blue for the coloring so it's more innocent looking. Once it's nice and gooey, spread it liberally on top of the "cupcakes" and return to the fridge to cool again.

Serve with pride. :)

April Fool's Day

Everybody loves April Fool's Day. Personally, I love it because it's my uncle Johnny's birthday. Everybody say 'Happy birthday, Danielle's Uncle John!'

I've gotten off topic. Let me start again. Everyone mischievous loves April Fool's Day. It is the one day a year (other than Halloween) where pranking your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers is socially accepted and even laudable. But where did this very odd holiday come from?

Well. There's no real answer to this one. Here's a few options.

In 1392, Chaucer wrote 'The Canterbury Tales'. In the 'Nun's Priest's Tale' (a tale about two foolish fools), a vain cock called Chauntecler is tricked by a fox when "March bigan thritty dayes and two" - a statement which some take to mean April 1 or March 32nd. However, most Chaucer scholars take the quote to mean 'thirty two days after March', which would, in fact, be May 2nd - the anniversary of Richard II's engagement to Anne of Bohemia. Either makes about the same amount of sense to me.

In 1508, a french poet - Eloy d'Amerval - wrote a poem entitled "Le Livre de la Deablerie"(trans. The Book of Mischief) in which Satan and Lucifer have a chat about their wickedness and laud each other on their mutual evil deeds. The poem includes the line "maquereau infame de maint homme et de mainte femme, poisson d'avril," which according to my translation means to "the man who prays is a loathesome mackerel [could be slang for pimp] and the woman who prays is an April fish." [If I got that wrong, please let me know, but that's what my internal French compass guided me to.] The term 'April fish' is the french term for 'April fool' (Don't give me that look. They call each other potatoes on the freeway!), but whether Eloy was talking about April 1st or not could be anyone's guess.

In 1539, Eduard de Dene (a Flemish writer) published a comical poem called "Refereyn vp verzendekens dach Twelck den eersten April te zyne plach." I know. I laughed too. This translates, according to the internet, to "Refrain on errand-day which is the first of April". Judging from the poem's description, it sounds more like the plot to a commedia dell'arte play than a poem, but here you are: a nobleman hatches a plan to send his servant back and forth on absurd errands on April 1st. And ends with the line "I am afraid that you are trying to make me run a fool's errand." [This information comes from the Museum of Hoaxes, if you're curious.] Whether he intended it or not, it does look like Eduard has the first solid reference to April 1st pranks in literature. Congratulations, Eddie!

There is a legend that the Duke of Lorraine and his wife used the tradition of April 1st to their advantage by disguising themselves as peasants and escaping their prison at Nantes in the guise of peasants. When people saw them and recognized them and rushed to tell the guards, the guards simply shrugged assuming this was an April Fool's joke.

The first historical note on April Fool's Day as a holiday is noted in John Aubrey's "Remains of Gentilism and Judaism", written in 1686 - "Fooles holy day. We observe it on ye first of April. And so it is kept in Germany everywhere." And so it was.

And so it is. Now if only I were better at sneaky pranks. Hmm....

What a Weekend!

Thanks to those of you who sent me supportive calls and texts yesterday and today. It's been an interesting weekend. Though this was not, by any means, the first time I've been injured as the result of acting, it was the first time I landed an ER visit from an audition. My first concussion that I know of. :) Huzzah to my over-excitable demeanor!

I also haven't written up a fun recipe for you guys in a while! Shame on me! I will do so this week! My friend Renata who works at Farm Fresh To You is hooking me up with some fruits and veggies tomorrow, and once I see what I'm getting, I'll come up with something yummy. In the meanwhile, here's a fun little picture of my aunt Carolyn's rendition of my Garbanzo Poppers:

That's me!

Also, if you live in the LA area, my show Heartsgaard is going up for the next few Sundays at Cafe Muse, which is an awesome little cafe on Santa Monica Blvd. with fabulous sweet potato fries and iced chai. Showtimes are on the website. :)

Back with regularly scheduled programming soon!

Have a peace!

Black Velvet and Colcannon (St. Patrick's Day feast)

Now, I know, I usually do food recipes for the holidays, but I mean... it's St. Patrick's Day! C'mon!

So I'm switching it up a bit and starting with a drink.


Black Velvet
A Black Velvet is my favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick's baptism of the Irish. This recipe makes 2 pints.

1 pint Irish stout (Guinness, Murphy's, or Beamish - not Harp)
1 pint champagne

Chill both. Combine in a large glass jug. Stir. Pour into pre-chilled tall glasses. Drink. Repeat.

Slainte. :)

Colcannon
Now, colcannon is traditionally Halloween fare in Ireland, but it's my favorite "pub-at-home" food so here you go. :) Makes about 4 servings.

1 lb kale (or green cabbage if you can't find kale)
1/2 pt water
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1.5 lbs potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup skim milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Simmer kale (or cabbage) in the water and oil for 10 minutes.
Drain thoroughly, chop finely.
Boil potatoes and carrots in the same pot until tender.
Put milk and onion into a saucepan and cook lightly.
Drain the potatoes and carrots and mash them together. Add the onion, milk, and cooked kale to the carrot/potato mash. Mash and mix some more. :)
Serve warm. Enjoy!

[These recipes are from a book called "The Feckin' Book of Everything Irish", with alterations.]