green is universal

By Mary Beth Gonzalez, iVillage.com

The upcoming Holiday Season provides a great opportunity for all of us to enjoy the bounty of the earth and celebrate our green way of living. In past years, my husband and I have done our best to celebrate a natural Christmas, but this year we intend to go all out. We "dark Greenies" will be traveling to my parent's home in Florida for the holidays, not necessarily the picture postcard locale of snow colored New England hills we associate with the season. But we will be nonetheless making this Christmas if not white, very very Green. We plan to give my wonderful "light Green" parents the Gift of Green so we've offered to help prepare the Christmas feast and celebrate with an organically Green spin on traditional holiday favorites. I've worked hard thinking up the following menu.

Harvest Holiday Centerpiece:
- Acorn squash, yellow squash, butternut squash, persimmons, mangoes, green apples, chestnuts, kumquats and red pears on a bambu oval serving platter

Christmas Eve Dinner:
- Four raw milk cheeses with 7-grain toast points, organic Adriatic fig spread and homemade membrillo quince paste
- Organic mesculan salad with red and yellow organic heirloom tomatoes and Emma's organic balsamic and herb vinaigrette dressing
- Wild salmon roll with lobster stuffing
- Organic green kale sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and fresh organic garlic
- Organic strawberries, blueberries and raspberries topped with Amish raw cream

Christmas Breakfast:
- Organic fresh squeezed carrot, apple, celery juice
- Dr. Nick's wild smoked salmon scrambled eggs with yellow organic onions and raw cheddar cheese
- Organic smoked bacon from local farmer Elmer King
- Homemade organic whole wheat toast with raw butter and organic blackberry fruit spread

Christmas Lunch:
- Organic spinach salad with hard boiled organic eggs
- Emma's grass-fed natural beef and organic sausage 3 bean chili
- Raw sour cream
- Organic 7 grain French bread with raw butter

Christmas Dinner:
- Wild smoked salmon and capers on 7 grain toast points
- Diamond Organics Dried Organic Fruits
- Organic, grass-fed, 16 pound roast turkey
- Mom's organic sausage and herb whole wheat stuffing
- Nana's whole berry cranberry sauce
- Dad's creamed pearl onions
- Dad's organic yukon gold mashed potatoes with cream cheese and chives
- Steamed organic brussel sprouts and baby carrots
- Sparkling organic apple cider
- Emma's homemade organic whole wheat crust pumpkin pie with raw cream fraiche

Come join in the planning and share what good Green things you are cooking up this Christmas.

Mary Beth Gonzalez
iVillage.com
Please join my Going Green group and read my Green Blog