I enjoy listening to food and cooking shows on the radio while driving. Once again, NPR was on my radio. This particular morning , while on my way to my monthly bookclub meeting, the host was talking with Rick Bayliss, a well known Chef who specializes in Mexican dishes.

Rick was explaining the use of ‘Artisanal Rocks’ for a soup he made while in Mexico. They had used some small pieces of rocks from a Mayan stone calendar. Rick went on to describe in great detail the ‘earthy’ undertones, the aroma, herbs that were used and other attributes of the soup.

Needless to say I was thinking, Rocks in a soup? Weird. Maybe I had missed something about what Artisanal Rocks were and how to use them. I even pulled over to the side of the road to write ‘Artisanal Rocks’ on my note pad. I didn’t want to forget and would research this later. I continued to listen as I had not yet arrived at my meeting.

A french chef was next to explain the ‘Artisanal Dirt’ used in one of her popular soups, ‘Fifi’s Potage.’ “Oui”, she said. “We have found that the most flavorful bits to add to our soups are those precious little droppings left behind by some owners while they are out walking Fifi.” The chef went on to express the wonderful added characteristics contributed to her dish made by these special ‘Artisanal Dirt’  samples.

The host made a coughing sound and stated that he would take her word for it and maybe stay away from soups while in France. Yes, I certainly wouldn’t be eating any ‘Artisanal Dirt’ soup!

Having arrived at my bookclub, I turned off the car and radio. The story stayed with me though. After the meeting while driving home, it hit me . . .

There is no such thing as ‘Artisanal Rocks or Dirt.’ Today was April 1st! I’d been fooled!

That was a good one! I bought in to the entire story, hook line and stinker.

I was on guard for a friend of mine to try to fool me as she has gotten me every April 1st for a number of years now. I called her and told her about the radio story and ‘Artisanal Rocks etc’. She laughed, said she thought that was funny.

Later, around 8:30, I got a call from Linda. We were scheduled to cook the next day for the Ronald McDonald House. She talked about a few things and then slipped in that our other friend would not be able to make it. ‘Okay, it will just be the two of us then’ I said.

“Got you” she laughed into the phone. “We will all be there! Hahahahahah” her laughter continued.

It appears that one must remain on guard until the last minutes of April 1. Sigh. Maybe I’ll have better luck next year.

Frances Graziano Copyright 4/3/2017 All Rights Reserved