Dying Eggs with Natural Ingredients
It’s the eve of the Resurrection, and in this difficult time, we are longing for life. The egg is a symbol of spring and life (of Easter AND Passover), and has been a reliable, available, and inexpensive source of protein and deliciousness for as long as anyone can remember.
But the standard egg color kits are NOT so available right now (unless you had yours stashed away from last year). Here’s something fun and natural and healthy, using many ingredients you may already have on hand. We made five colors, dyeing a dozen hard boiled white eggs, and so the amount of material needed was reasonable. That is to say, a cup of onion skins involves a lot of onions!
And I am so happy with what became of the leftovers after dyeing … a braised onion pasta sauce (oh my gosh, so good), and a lovely little batch of borscht. Check back here in a day or so for those recipes and photos!
Start by boiling your eggs. White eggs are good, but brown ones also work and will result in a deeper, different color. Cover the eggs with cold water, bring to a boil, simmer for one minute, turn off the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes, and they will be just nicely cooked. (Some say that if you add a bit of salt to the water, it will help keep them from cracking. But I never do that.) After 10 minutes, drain, cover with cold water, and dry before coloring.
THEN get out your smallish pots. To 1 cup of water, add 1 tablespoon white vinegar and one of the following:
- 1 cup chopped red cabbage (blue eggs)
- 1 cup shredded beets (pink eggs)
- 1 cup rinsed yellow onion skins (orange eggs)
- 1 cup rinsed red onion skins (maroon eggs – I recommend one soak because after too long they start to be more of a brownish color)
- 2 tablespoons turmeric (yellow eggs – there will be some turmeric debris, so give them a gentle rinse with cool water when they are done soaking)
Simmer the water and ingredients above for half an hour. Cool, then strain. Submerge the eggs in the liquid and put in the fridge for a couple of hours. (1 cup of water plus the ingredients above will cover 2-3 eggs in a vertical sort of container. Try glasses, measuring cups, etc., so that the eggs are covered. If not completely submerged, gently swish them around occasionally.) If you wish, after a while take them out and let them dry, then put them back in for another two hours or so. For shiny eggs, massage dried colored eggs with a neutral vegetable oil and polish with a paper towel. These are so beautiful! (Show them off right away because the oil does get absorbed by the shells after a while.)
After I’ve traveled through all the online worship services, I’ll be back with the great recipes made from the leftovers! DON’T THROW AWAY THE CHOPPED COOKED CABBAGE AND BEETS AND THEIR LIQUID. I mean, it just had eggs soaking in it, right? Still good for soup!
Have a beautiful, blessed Easter, wherever you are, alone or together, online, listening to the radio, watching television, eating frozen macaroni and cheese. or a roast leg of lamb with jus and asparagus. It is all a blessing.
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Pastor's Palate 