Green Your Inauguration Party

The big day is nearly here.  In just a few short hours, President-Elect Obama will officially become President Obama as he is sworn in as our nation’s 44th president.

The 2009 Inauguration will be one for the history books.  And regardless of your politics, it’s one that you won’t want to miss.  Fortunately, the events and celebrations of that year’s Inauguration aren’t limited to the DC metro area.  Anyone with a TV or streaming online video can watch and participate.  In fact, the Presidential Inaugural Committee is urging folks to avoid the crowds and cold weather and watch the event at home.

This is a great moment to put politics aside and get together with friends, family, and neighbors to break bread and watch history in the making.  Here’s how to host a green inauguration party:

Keep It Local: Serve locally grown and produced foods. Keep it simple by making your event potluck and challenge your guests to bring a dish that contains locally grown ingredients.

Save Paper: Skip the disposables and use dishes, utensils, and napkins that can be washed and reused rather than disposables. whether your hosting a mega Inauguration Gala, consider purchasing biodegradable plates,

cups, and utensils that can be tossed in the compost bin.

Show Your True Colors: Enlist your kids’ help in coming up with dishes that show off your patriotic spirit. And no, I don’t mean red or blue.  I mean red, white, and blue.  Try red peppers, apples, strawberries, red grapes, raspberries, red kidney beans, potato salad, white asparagus, cauliflower, cheese, chick peas, navy beans, popcorn, tofu, blueberries, and blue corn chips.

Serve Up Your Roots: Add a little fun to your fiesta by serving up locally-sourced, organically grown versions of these favorite foods of our past presidents:

George Washington: Crab soup
John Adams: Hard apple cider
Thomas Jefferson: Ice cream
James Madison: Gingerbread
John Tyler: Pudding
Abraham Lincoln: Oysters
Ulysses Grant: Cucumbers soaked in vinegar
Woodrow Wilson: Chicken salad
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Fruitcake
Dwight Eisenhower: Prune whip
Lyndon Johnson: Chili
Richard Nixon: Cottage cheese and ketchup
Jimmy Carter: Peanuts
Ronald Reagan: Jelly Beans
George W. Bush: Fruit salad

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• Welcome to Reality, Mr. President-Elect

[Source] Jenn Savedge