Celebrate with great green veggie dishes

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If ever there's an opportune time to coax your kids to eat more green veggies, this is it.

Take full advantage of the wee 'uns excitement for St. Patrick's Day and serve them some healthy green goodness. These favorites from our archives are by no means Irish, but that's besides the point.

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Pesto, that magically delicious favorite, gets a delicious twist as Popeye Sauce: spinach and cream cheese pack a powerful nutritional punch, and kids will adore coating pasta and gnocchi with this festively green sauce.

Baby spinach makes an understated guest appearance in one of my favorite spreads, Spring Pea Dip. You can whip it up in under 10 minutes with frozen peas. Set it on the table with crackers or baby carrots while you prepare dinner — and watch it disappear.

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Finally, for an quick and easy side, toss together the Minty Armenian Cucumber Salad pictured at the top of this post. It's simply delicious, and a lovely addition to a packed lunch.

We'll feature a few more of our favorites for this very lucky holiday throughout the week!

Leprechauns and Hass Avocado Kiwi Muffins

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This time it's a sweet treat, light green and it can be the perfect company for a St. Patrick's Day high tea party. Or maybe just to help the leprechauns to mess up with crumbles ... But a warning: It's not your grandma's traditional muffin and it might take some bites for you to come to like it!

As you might have noticed, I am slightly obsessed about the idea of coloring food with natural ingredients. And one of my ideas was to get rid of the tons of kiwis I have in my seasonal organic delivery and use a reference from my childhood. In Brazil, avocados are served mainly with sugar. Guacamole was not very popular when I was growing up, so we used to have this delicious cream made of avocados, a dash of milk, drops of lime juice, and a pinch of cinnamon ...a nd shameless spoonfuls of white sugar folded in.

Leprechaun Cake

I found few recipes for avocado cakes on the Web, and finally mixed my own blend. I don't yet consider it perfect — but I am close to making these cakes more similar to the taste I remember from my childhood. Avocados should be really ripe! 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh Hass avocados, mashed to a creamy texture
1 kiwi, mashed
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons milk (or milk substitute)
Cinnamon to taste (optional)
dried mint (to sprinkle on top)

Glaze
1/2 cup lime  juice
Enough powdered sugar to make a thick glaze

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin pan lined with paper cups. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside.

Remove flesh from ripe avocados and kiwis and mash or blend them with a electric hand blender in another bowl. Add eggs, lemon juice and oil and whisk.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, folding delicately, until it's a moist batter. Spoon into prepared muffin cups and bake for about 30 minutes or until the tops are golden and the center is dry.

Patrick-crepes with (or without) Wild Arugula and Balsamic Reduction

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If you are enjoying the luck brought by leprechauns this March, this recipe will help you bring more greens to the table. This good-looking crepe (with no artificial colors)  is a delicious way to wrap up even more greens inside it.  It is also a chance for your kids to get acquainted with different tastes. Another possibility is to fill it up with cream cheese or ricotta seasoned with pesto or simply cheese and turkey ham.

My boys gave mixed reviews about it: With arugula and balsamic reduction it was a 10 out of 10. Without the pretend "shamrocks" these crepes were a 100 out of 10, if you know what I mean ... They rolled the crepe-pancakes and just ate them.

This is the first of a mini-series with some green food  that we will post up to March 17. As you know by now, Darienne and I can't resist celebrating holidays with food.  This is a great and inspiring one: If food has to be green, that's the most beautiful occasion to take advantage of!

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Patrick-Crepes With (or Without) Arugula and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

1 cup milk
1 cup cooked or 2 cups raw baby spinach (if cooked simmer with olive oil and a tablespoon of water)
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 to 3 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon dried savory or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Kosher salt to taste
Balsamic vinegar reduction, to taste (optional, see note below)
Arugula (optional)

Mix ingredients with an electric hand blender. Let the mix stand for 10 minutes at room temperature and then blend it again.

Preheat griddle to 300 F (or use a skillet over medium heat), and coat it with a thin layer of olive or canola oil. Ladle the equivalent of 1/2 cup of crepe mix onto the griddle, and cook each side for about three minutes.

Pile cooked crepes on a plate to retain moisture and temperature. After about five minutes, plate them with arugula, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar reduction, or your favorite filling.

Note: To make balsamic vinegar reduction, simply bring vinegar to a boil over medium heat. Continue to cook over low heat until vinegar is reduced by at least half.