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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 0 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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Easter eggs around here have always been done using brown eggs and, to me, they make the most beautiful, warm, comforting colors. You can color them with traditional food safe dyes, but today, my niece and I decided to take it a step further with natural dyes. Read more . Some worked better than others, but the resulting time spent together was priceless. Ingredients:
6-8 brown eggs(i am a firm believer in the older the egg, the easier the peel, so...older if you plan on eating them! ;) |
various dyes(there are several sites that offer lots of choices, but also as many that don't seem to work..so, we just winged...wung... ummm... we just decided to wing it. here's what we used |
fresh blueberries(1 1/2 cups) |
12oz pure pomegranate juice |
about 1/2 cup chili powder(don't use your good stuff! just go buy the dollar store plastic containers) |
about 1/2 cup ground cumin |
10oz fresh spinach |
water |
white vinegar |
Directions:
1. For Eggs
2. Boil eggs for hard boiled your favorite way. Here's mine:
3. Place eggs in a heavy sauce pan and cover with cold water.
4. Bring to boil over high heat then immediately turn off heat and cover. Let sit 12-14 minutes.
5. Carefully drain and rinse with cold water, then drain again and let cool in fridge or on counter top.
6. For Dyes
7. Deep Blue: Heat blueberries and 2 cups of water to boiling and let boil, mashing and stirring often to break the berries.
8. Once all berries are mashed and broken and the liquid has reached a deep blue color, pour into a heat safe container to cool slightly.(I didn't drain, but you can... I let the bits stay while the eggs soaked, cus we wanted to see what texture we'd get :)
9. Lighter Blue/Lavender: Heat Pomegranate juice to boiling and let boil about 5 minutes.
10. Pour off into heat safe container to cool slightly
11. Pinkish Red: Heat 1/2 cup chili powder in 2 cups of water to boiling. Stir often and let boil about 5 minutes or longer, until a rich dark brownish color is achieved.
12. Pour off into heat safe container to cool slightly.
13. Orange Yellow: Heat 1/2 cup cumin in 2 cups of water to boiling. Stir often and let boil about 5 minutes or longer, until an ugly, split pea yellow color is achieved :)
14. Pour off into heat safe container to cool slightly.
15. Greenish: Boil spinach leaves in about 3 cups of water for at least 20 minutes, stirring often and breaking up spinach as it shrinks down. You are trying to achieve a nice green color, but the water, itself, will remain fairly clear , even as it changes color.
16. Pour off into heat safe container to cool slightly.
17. For as many eggs as you want to color, you will need small glass or disposable plastic cups or similar vessels.
18. Pour about 1-2T white vinegar in the bottom of each vessel then add an egg.
19. Pour in color of choice, making sure the egg is completely covered.
20. Repeat with remaining eggs/colors.
21. Strain the liquid before adding to the eggs, if desired.
22. Let stand in the dye at least 6 hours, but longer is better, but make sure to refrigerate them them within the first two hours, though, to be safe, if you're going to eat them.
23. When done coloring, remove from liquids and let dry in cardboard egg carton. You can rinse them, if you want, but I don't.
24. **My photo shows one of each color, and two uncolored brown eggs :)
25. PLEASE NOTE: THE KEY TO THE MUTED, SOFTER, MATTE COLORS ON EASTER EGGS IS USING BROWN EGGS. THE DYES CAN BE REGULAR FOOD COLORING DYES AND GET LOTS MORE LOVELY COLORS IN THESE SAME TONES....WE JUST WANTED THE EXTRA CHALLENGE OF GOING AU NATURAL! ;)
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