Tuesday is St. Patrick's Day, and many Americans will celebrate by drinking green beer and eating green snacks.Reuters
You don't have to be a leprechaun to enjoy green food for St. Patrick's Day. This Tuesday, try some recipes that play up their ingredients' natural verdant coloring. Clean out your vegetable drawer and make pesto or a smoothie before satisfying your sweet tooth by whipping up matcha pancakes.
The possibilities are endless, but here are a few of the best green food recipes from around the Web:
Artificial green beer: Squeeze 4 to 6 drops of green food coloring into a beer mug. Slowly pour in beer -- use an IPA or pilsner so the color takes -- and enjoy.
Natural green beer: Pour a tablespoon of powdered wheatgrass into a light ale and stir.
Pesto pasta: Puree 2 tablespoons of pine nuts, basil leaves, a garlic clove and 1/2 cup of olive oil in a food processor. Throw in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and pulse again, then toss with angel hair pasta.
Avocado fries: Slice 2 avocados into long strips and dredge in breadcrumbs, beaten eggs and the breadcrumbs again. Then fry in hot vegetable oil until golden brown.
Shamrock smoothies: Blend together frozen kiwis, green grapes, green apples, kale and yogurt for a healthy alternative to beer.
Matcha green tea pancakes: Whisk together an egg, some melted butter, 1/3 cup milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Then add 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon of matcha powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder plus a pinch of salt. Cook in a skillet over medium-low heat and serve with syrup.
Bailey's fudge with pistachios: Melt together three bags of white chocolate chips with 1 can of condensed milk and 1/2 cup of Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur. Stir in chopped raw pistachios and let it set in a square baking pan lined with wax paper. Cool and enjoy.
Shamrock chips: These are super easy. Just use a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter on spinach tortilla wraps, apply some cooking spray and add salt. Then bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes and serve with dip.
