Rainbow Fruit Tart

A bird flew out of the wreath on my front door and right at my head. It almost missed, and, thank goodness, only fluttered its wings in my hair before flying away. If you can believe it, this is not the first time I've been hit in the head with a live bird. One time when I was in a cafe, there was a black bird that had flown into the building and, sadly, thought the large window immediately to my right was its escape. It hit the window and bounced off the glass, down the back of my head and onto the floor. I'm happy to report that the bird survived, though I cannot provide you with a current update as to its condition.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with the rainbow fruit tart I'm posting today. Just felt like I had to share that with someone before I forgot.

Okay, so this is the crowning finale to your St. Patrick's Day menu. It's the same recipe as the Ina Garten fruit tart I posted about last month, except that this time I used totally different fruit, a greater variety of fruit, and I turned it into a rainbow! Serve this tart with the rest of Menu #4

Here's the various colored fruit I chose and some alternate options as well.

• RED- Raspberries (or strawberries; blood oranges)
• ORANGE- Oranges (or apricots)
• YELLOW- Pineapple (or mangos) 
• GREEN- Kiwi (or green grapes)
• BLUE- Blueberries
• PURPLE- Blackberries (or purple grapes; plums)

Again, here are the RECIPES for the crust and pastry cream.

William of Orange Water

Unless you're a historian or a particularly smart smarty-pants, you're probably wondering why my St. Patrick's Day drink is called "William of Orange Water." It has to do, once again, with the Irish flag. A brief history lesson for you from the beloved Wikipedia on King William III, who was also known as William of Orange, and the meaning of the flag:

"The green pale in the flag symbolises Irish republicanism dating back to the Society of United Irishmen in the 1790s. The orange represents the minority who were supporters of King William III, who was of the House of Orange and originally the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, had defeated King James II and his predominantly Irish Catholic army at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. His title came from the Principality of Orange in the south of France that had been a Protestant bastion from the 16th century. It was included in the Irish flag in an attempt to reconcile the Orange Order in Ireland with the Irish independence movement. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the two cultures and a living together in peace. "

Wake up! Not mind-blowingly interesting, I know, but I thought I owed you an explanation. I do love that the white represents peace between two once-conflicting parties.

Anyway, this water recipe is pretty tough. Ready?

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William of Orange Water

Ingredients:

Lots of ice

Cold filtered water

1 pretty naval orange, sliced evenly

Directions:

Fill a clear pitcher halfway with ice. Add lots of water. Add orange slices, arranging some between the ice and inside walls of the pitcher for looks. 

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That's it! Honestly, it's simple touches like this that make something special. The majority of the time when when have guests over, I just serve water dressed up a bit. Refreshing and subtle flavors like fresh orange enhance rather than compete with the other flavors in the meal. 

Golden Greek Yogurt Parfaits, Pistachios, & Carrots

A little bit of salty, a little bit of sweet, a little bit of snap and crunch, a bit of chewy, some soft creaminess, lots of great flavors, and tons of nutrients make this trio of side dishes complete and totally satisfying. Know what else makes them desirable? They're gloriously easy. And another plus? Once again each of the ingredients is a color from the Irish flag making them unexpectedly festive St. Patrick's day treats!

I won't insult your intelligence by telling you how to put baby carrots or pistachios in a serving bowl, so the rest of this post will focus on the parfaits. :)

You may remember my first Greek Yogurt Parfaits. These ones are similar, but with a couple big flavor changes. You're already serving pistachios on the side, but we're putting a touch of them in the parfaits as well for some great contrast of flavor and texture.

Save some money and shell your own pistachios. The shelled kind often cost more than 2x per ounce than the ones still in the shell. 

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Golden Greek Yogurt Parfaits

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:4-6 cups Fage plain Greek yogurt
4 tbsp quality honey

3/4 cup French vanilla granola, or other sweet granola

1/4 cup crushed pistachios

Golden raisins, or sliced dried or fresh apricots, for topping

Directions:Combine the honey and yogurt and stir thoroughly until completely mixed. Divide yogurt evenly into 4 serving dishes. Combine granola and crushed pistachios together, and top each serving of granola with as much of the granola mixture as you'd like. Top with dried fruit and serve.

2 parts vanilla granola 1 part crushed pistachios

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Small ramekins are inexpensive and can do a hundred different jobs. I use them for holding yogurt, dipping sauces, mini ice cream sundaes, nuts, candy, and two have a permanent home next to my stove holding kosher salt and ground black pepper for cooking!

Healthy St. Patrick's Day Lunch Menu (No Green Food Coloring!)

Get a mini Irish Flag toothpick and stick it in the middle for added flair!

This is a time of year that I love the fact that I'm about 1/4 Irish 'cause I get to feel totally legit in this kind of odd way. I loved wearing the "Kiss me; I'm Irish" stickers as a teen 'cause I really was Irish! Me máthair's maiden name comes from Ireland and there's many a Patricia in the family line. Anyway, for weeks I've been trying to figure out how I would celebrate this spirited holiday if we weren't already planning to do something for Kate's first birthday. Especially since St. Patty's Day falls on a Saturday this year! It really opens it up for menus that can be served at any time of day.

I know for a lot of you, celebrating St. Patty's Day doesn't go far beyond wearing green and sporadically blurting out something said by the Lucky Charms leprechaun, so I'm giving you something just a step or two beyond that this year. :) I've seen a lot of green food-colored pancakes on other blogs, so I thought maybe I'd steer clear of breakfast, and I feel like I need to try more Irish main courses before I feel comfortable providing you with a St. Patrick's Day dinner menu. That left me with lunch. I knew I didn't want to use food coloring or make everything green since monochromatic meals usually turn me off. So I decided to bring orange and white onto the scene, too, in reference to the Irish flag, and before long I had concocted a very easy and nutritious lunch menu that you'll feel great about serving your family or guests!

Here's the breakdown and the first recipe:

Irish Flag Lunch Menu
Main Dish: Irish Flag Sandwich
Sides: Golden Greek Yogurt Parfaits, Pistachios, and Carrots
Drink: William of Orange Water
Dessert: Rainbow Fruit Tart

This is a non-recipe recipe because you really don't need measurements.

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Irish Flag Sandwich

Makes 4+ sandwiches

Ingredients:Loaf of quality whole-grain bread, toasted

Mayonnaise

Dijon mustard

Sharp cheddar cheese, sliced

1/2-3/4 lb Oven roasted turkey

Spinach and mixed greens

1 Green apple, sliced

Directions:
Spread mayo on one slice of bread and the dijon mustard on the other slice. On the mustard side, top with cheddar and then turkey. On the may slice, top with mixed greens and then then about 4 slices of green apple. Eat while the bread is still warm!

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And, there you have it: the Irish flag!

An alternate bread option would be a spinach wrap, which is usually more fun for kids, but it won't show off the flag colors as well. Just throwin' it out there. :)

Why this menu works:

• It's absolutely nice enough for special guests, but casual enough for those of you who tend to opt for a low-key St. Patty's Day.
• It's very, very healthy. Nearly every ingredient in the menu is pure and natural. We love the taste of organic mayo, and organic turkey blows the processed stuff out of the water. (Though the deli was closed when I went to the store, so, unfortunately, what you see in the photos is the processed stuff...)
• Besides the dessert, this menu takes virtually no prep time, so all of your energy can be spent on your guests!