Rabbit of Seville

Fruit Salad

The month of June always gets me thinking about a certain Looney Tune. Oh, you know the one. Cartoon Network used to do a marathon in honor of the guy. What was that called? June Something. June Duck! No, that’s not right. (Who would want to watch something called June Duck?) Now I remember! It was June Bugs. I know, like I could ever forget June Bugs. Bugs Bunny is one of my favorite cartoon characters EVER, so a weekend of nothing but Bugs was kind of a big deal to me. Yeah, the days of June Bugs are long gone but that can’t stop me from celebrating the rabbit. I think it’s time for my own June Bugs marathon. I can see the drama, the music (Yeah, “see” the music.), the pageantry, the double and triple-takes, the action, and the romance now. But what I really need to be seeing is the food. Most of the time Bugs just eats plain old carrots or someone’s trying to eat Bugs, but there’s got to be something I can make. (It would be much easier if I did this after watching all the cartoons.) Well, I do have one idea.

While playing around online, I stumbled across some stuff about Bugs Bunny making a fruit salad on Elmer Fudd’s head. I wondered what cartoon that could possibly be in. I hit myself when I found out that it’s Rabbit of Seville. How did I not remember that? Rabbit of Seville was, is, and always will be my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon. I could sit there and watch Bugs shave and beautify Elmer Fudd all day. (Is that weird?) Now where does the fruit salad come in? I’m getting there. You see, Elmer Fudd was chasing Bugs (Big surprise there.) and the chase leads to an amphitheater (The Hollywood Bowl) where The Barber of Seville is to be performed. Bugs runs in through an open stage door and Elmer follows and ends up on stage. Bugs opens the curtain and the orchestra starts playing. The next thing you know, Bugs “The Barber” scoops up Elmer and gives him quite the shave. The next time Elmer finds himself in the barber chair, Bugs massages Elmer’s head and then uses it as the perfect base for a fruit salad. He piles on some lettuce, a bunch of whole fruit, some carrots (This is Bugs Bunny we’re taking about here.), whipped cream (At least I hope it is.), and tops it all off with a cherry. Bugs shows his masterpiece to Elmer Fudd, but he doesn’t seem to like it too much and goes after Bugs with a razor.

Recipe makes one fruit salad

Ingredients

This is a chance to get creative, so add any fruits or veggies that you see fit. Here’s what I used.

4 lettuce leaves

7 red apples

6 bananas

5 oranges

4 carrots

3 plums

4 lemons

3 pears

2 pale skinned white nectarines

2 small bunches of grapes

1 small pineapple

1 cherry

1-2 (15 ounce) cans whipped cream-I used one whole can and could’ve easily used another

 

Directions

Bugs starts with a ring of cream but whipped cream melts away too quickly, (It was already sliding before I got a picture.) so I started with a bed of 4 lettuce leaves. Toss in an orange, a carrot, an apple and a lemon, and two carrots, an orange, and a plum/apple. Slice one carrot and add it. Toss the fruit salad. Mysterious white and dark stuff started showing up here so that’s why I added the nectarines (They were the palest produce I could find.) and the plums. Add a pineapple and an apple.

Okay, now here’s where it gets confusing and crazy. Bugs tosses on so much stuff so quickly and the fruits change to other ones in midair or in the stack. So just stack as much fruit as you want in whatever way suits you.

This is kind of the order Bugs throws the fruit (It was different each time I watched it.), so I sort of followed that. I just used less fruit because it was already out of hand and the last thing I needed were more apples. He adds an apple and a lemon, a banana and an orange, and a pear, an orange, and an apple. Then he adds an apple and a banana, an apple, an orange, and a pear, an apple and a lemon, a pear and an apple, and an orange, a banana, and a small bunch of grapes. Then he adds an apple, a pear, and an orange, an apple and a banana, an apple and an orange, an orange/apple and a banana, and an apple, a pear, and a mystery shape that looks like a yellow bell pepper (I used another lemon). Then he adds an apple and a banana, an apple, an orange, and a small lemon, an lemon and a banana, an apple, a banana, and an orange, and an orange and an apple. (Whew!)

Then spray on some whipped cream. Place a cherry on top and there you have it!

Rabbit of Seville Fruit SaladRabbit of Seville Fruit

Ugh! You don’t know how badly I wanted to build this on someone’s head! (I did try.) But it’s hard enough to build it on a flat surface. You’d think that these “stacking recipes” would be easy, but gravity is a force to be reckoned with. So no, this is not a normal fruit salad, but Bugs Bunny isn’t a normal rabbit. And he’s definitely not a normal barber. If the fruit salad wasn’t enough to convince you, then maybe Bugs using hair restorer on Elmer Fudd’s face and using an itty bitty lawnmower to shave him might. That or Bugs using fertilizer and growing flowers on Elmer’s head. Yeah, he doesn’t like that too much either. This time he goes after Bugs with an axe. And then they have a weapons chase, and then they have a wedding, and then Bugs drops Elmer Fudd from really high up and he falls into a cake! And I just watched this cartoon five times in a row and I still can’t get tired of it. (I never will.) But if I plan on making it through all of Bugs’ cartoons in one busy weekend, I better move on. “Ehh…next?”

 

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!

A Troll in Central Park

Salad

I have no idea what I did to Gnorga, but I somehow ended up on her bad side. Not bad enough for me to be turned to stone, but for the last few months, I lived in a place of rock and steel where nothing grew. (And I wasn’t even in New York City.) Oh wait. I wasn’t feeling the wrath of the “Queen of Mean.” That was winter. But now spring is here and my little patch of green has returned. I could use some more flowers though. This wouldn’t be a problem if I had Stanley’s green thumb and I could grow some with a snap. Unfortunately, my thumb’s a little more like Gnorga’s black thumb. It won’t turn things to stone, but it’s still very dangerous. (I’m not too good with plants.) And even if I were to successfully grow a flower, it wouldn’t be a magical talking, dancing one. (Yes, I want magical dancing flowers. Did you see how happy they make Rosie?) Maybe I’m just not believing in myself enough. Or maybe I’m better off leaving the plant growing to the professionals and should just stick to eating them.

No, no, no, I don’t want to eat any of Stanley’s flowers! But I am talking about eating some greens. You see, things don’t go too well for Stanley at the beginning. He gets banished for growing flowers and is flung all the way to New York. Sure, he’s happy to see that there was some mistake and he isn’t in a land without grass, leaves, and flowers, but taking in this new world isn’t the easiest for the gentle, little troll. He gets chased by ferocious dogs and bumps into a really angry squirrel. Then he falls from a tree over a restaurant and lands straight in a large salad. He wanted green, he got it. But he finds himself in a tight spot when the salad gets dressed and served to a very hungry customer. And when the man digs in, it’s a pain in the butt for Stanley, literally. He screams and runs off and, after more trouble, finds himself a hole under a bridge. So his punishment is off to a rough start, but it’s not supposed to be nice. “It’s supposed to be punishing!”

Recipe makes one very large salad.

Ingredients

2 hearts romaine lettuce, rinsed and left in large pieces

1-2 large tomatoes, sliced into wedges

Black Olives

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Vinaigrette Or

Vinaigrette

¼ cup white wine vinegar

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of Sugar (Optional)

Salt

White Pepper

Directions

Vinaigrette:

Pour white wine vinegar and olive oil in a mason jar. Tightly secure the lid and shake it vigorously until fully combined, about 10 seconds. Season to taste. (This can also be done in a blender.)

Putting It All Together:

In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, and black olives. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad. Add freshly ground pepper. Toss the salad and serve individual portions. Enjoy!

Variations:
Obviously, smaller sized pieces of lettuce are much easier to eat than the large leaves.
For a more stable and flavorful vinaigrette, add 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard. You can also opt for black pepper if that better suits your taste.

Troll ParkTroll Park Salad

Okay, I really like salads, but I’ve never gotten as excited over one as that guy in the restaurant. (He’s licks his lips and everything.) I kind of feel bad that he doesn’t get to enjoy it. I feel even worse for Stanley for being a part of it. But without all of his scary encounters, he wouldn’t have ended up in the right place to meet Rosie and Gus. Sure, they lead to even more trouble, but when everything’s said and done, Stanley manages to create a world that’s bright and shiny and absolutely green.

Tune in next week for more Cartoon Cravings!