DIY naturally green, Irish treats for St Patrick’s Day

There is more to a St Patrick's day menu than green beer and cabbage; various food blogs and sites including Yumsugar, Saveur, Bon Appetit and Slashfood offer tips and recipes for celebrating March 17 with delicious dishes and drinks that bring out the luck of the Irish without the artificial colorings.

To give foods a green tone without changing the flavor Slashfood recommends using fresh wheatgrass juice sparingly to easily turn rice, pasta, mayo, cream cheese, pudding, dough and many more light-colored foods shamrock green.

Also try adding pureed green peas to green mashed potatoes and loads of chopped parsley to get green breadcrumbs. It is also perfectly acceptable to serve normally green dishes like guacamole, spinach pasta, pesto, asparagus, mint, basil, salad, bitter greens and many more.

Here are some classic and creative recipes for St Patrick's Day:

Beverages

Shamrock shake: milk, vanilla ice cream, and crème de menthe to taste
Stout shake: milk, vanilla ice cream, and stout
Irish coffee from Buena Vista Café in San Francisco: http://www.yumsugar.com/Buena-Vista-Cafes-Method-Making-Classic-Irish-Coffee-7695717
Bon Appetit's Malroney's Irish Manhattan: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2007/03/irish_manhattan

Dishes

Martha Stewart's cream-free asparagus soup: http://www.yumsugar.com/Easy-Cream-Less-Asparagus-Soup-Recipe-7696184#read-more
Bon Appetit's grilled corned beef and fontina cheese sandwiches: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2008/03/grilled_corned_beef_and_fontina_sandwiches
Saveur's Irish soda bread: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Irish-Soda-Bread?cmpid=enews031110
Epicurious's Grasshopper pie: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grasshopper-Pie-11030
Bon Appetit's Irish cheddar and stout fondue: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2006/03/irish_cheddar_and_stout_fondue
Saveur's Irish potato galette: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Irish-Potato-Galette