Easter Eggs au Naturel

Holidays are serious business at my house (and for the record, they were BEFORE the arrival of my son). Now I use the fact that I have a 3-year-old as my holiday-insanity-excuse. People that know and love me accept me for who I am; they are fully aware that when "Holiday Susie" arrives on the scene that craziness shall quickly follow. Fool? Maybe. All I know is that I happily cling to that bit of magic from my childhood...and you should, too.

Easter egg time is here. Yes, I know Easter isn't necessarily about eggs, but let's face it: making Easter eggs is fun. This year I decided my son and I would do something different. With all the fantastic herbs, teas and spices around me, I figured it'd be fantastic to make NATURALLY DYED Easter eggs - and WOW...SO. MUCH. FUN!!! Besides, is it just me or are those crummy Easter dye kits at the supermarket getting cheaper and cheaper? That's a different blog. I know. So, I thought I would share my Natural Easter Egg Wisdom with the world - it is less harmful all 'round and as it turns out, it ends up being a pretty fun time spent with the kidlets. Here's what we learned:

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

White eggs (quelle surprise!)
Egg Cartons (for drying)
Alum Powder (found at the grocery store, probably near spices)
White vinegar
Dye materials (more on this below)
Stovetop
Saucepans
Measuring Spoons
Wooden spoon & slotted spoon
Vegetable oil
Optional: rubber bands, stickers, etc. (for making 'fancy-schmancy' eggs)

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1: Choose which colours you'd like to dye your eggs:

a. BLUE: Hibiscus Tea (ya, you'd think the eggs would turn red, but they don't!)
Red Cabbage
b. RED: Whole beets
c. TAN: Strong black tea
Cumin (Ground)
d. YELLOW: Turmeric
Chamomile Tea
e. PURPLE: Frozen Blueberries
f. GREEN: Spinach Leaves or Fresh Herbs
g. ORANGE: Chili Powder
Paprika

Step 2:

For each colour, fill a saucepan with at least 3 inches of water. Add in your vegetables, spices or teas. It’ll take a lot…around two cups, packed (for veg) - not as much for spices (we used 3 tbsps of spices/teas) - you'll have to play to get it to the colour you want.

Step 3:

Bring the water to a boil, and add 2 tsps. alum powder (this allows you to get deeper colours).

Step 4:

Boil for 30 minutes.

Step 5:

Remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool slightly. You don’t want to add the eggs to boiling water, because the shells will likely crack.

Step 6:

Return to heat, and stir in two tbsps. of white vinegar. Add the eggs and bring mixture back to a full boil. Reduce heat slightly, and cook for 10-12 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, and let the eggs cool in the dye.

Step 7:

Remove the eggs from the dye. If you’re satisfied with the color, then allow them to dry. For deeper, richer colors, strain the liquid, and allow the egg to continue to soak for up to eight hours. (Any longer, and the vinegar will start to disintegrate the shell.) If you plan to eat the eggs, put them into the refrigerator. We used the egg cartons as drying racks!

OPTIONAL STUFF:

• When the eggs are dry, you can use a cotton ball to rub a little vegetable oil over the eggs for added sheen - pretty!
• If you want a striped look, wrap your egg in rubber bands before dying - when they are dry remove the bands and voila!
• We got cute little Easter stickers from the dollar store and fancied up a few eggs
  

We really had a lot of fun making our Easter eggs. We are going to make a batch this week to keep in the fridge..and we can eat them without fear of turning flourescent green! There's something extra satisfying about using what Mother Earth gives us to make these...and somewhere in here was a lesson for my son. I'm sure of it. Happy Easter to all my tea and spice-adoring friends. May you be surrounded by friends, family...and naturally-dyed Easter eggs, of course!