“GREENERY bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize, greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose.”—Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.
Eiseman on Pantone’s color of the year—greenery, which is represented by kale.
Her words sound prophetic, if we go by the basic meaning of prophecy, which is a message typically involving inspiration, forecast, interpretation or revelation of events to come.
We do need reassurance, given the fast-changing events in life these days. And we need to be rejuvenated after all the weird-moving storms caused by global change, societal changes, revisions in history and macho sovereignty. We also desire to have a deeper relationship with people and to understand the whole purpose of what we’re going through—whether it’s political, social, domestic or food security change. To think that green is the hardest color to control in art and the hardest to use in fashion! How do you wear green? I asked my fashionista niece, Krystalle.
“For starters, Uncle, Pantone suggests pairing greenery with rich gold (beige); redwood (pinkish brown or faded maroon); masted yellow (yellowish beige) and sulfur (or sulphur, the color of mustard); caramel cafe (soft brown) or dull gold (kinda like faded brown) or tofu (more like dirty white); Calypso coral (pink to hot pink) and plum wine (mauve or faded mauve),” Krystalle replied.
I wondered how I could translate greenery in “Pantonic” application. I got busy in the laboratory with all the key pieces I had on hand and mixed and matched them in the crucible of genius. I thought of creating a culinary fashion statement to start 2017 with bread. They are “fabulous at every age,” right, Lila Nikole Rivera?
Meal in a Green Square
Make sandwiches while keeping in mind Pantone’s greenery color of the year to make the meal in a square.
Make Country Chic sandwich with wheat bread to get the rich gold suggested by Pantone and pair with fresh lacy lettuce for greenery, topped with sliced roasted chicken for caramel cafe and garlic-mayo for tofu as a final fillip.
To make Safari Look, use shredded greenery (arugula, iceberg and red tipped lettuces) drizzled with garlic-mayo dressing for tofu, sliced ham for redwood and grated cheese for sulfur.
With Ageless Beauty, the never-out-of-style tuna salad sits on a glistening bed of greenery (any lettuce of your choice). This is your masted yellow on caramel cafe (wheat bread) base, thinly spread with butter for sulfur and for elan, sliced semi-ripe tomatoes to get Calypso coral.
A sweet treat, Stripes Everywhere sandwich will be a big thing in 2017. I mean the stripes! Make stripes using sweet green cream for greenery; grape jelly for plum wine; peanut butter for caramel soft; marmalade for sulfur yellow on wheat bread as masted yellow.