Natural Egg Dye

Directions

1. Michael Chiarello, founding chef and partner of Tra Vigne restaurant in St.
2. Helena, comes from a big Turlock clan. The family's roots are in southern Italy where growing, preparing and enjoying food was at the center of everything, especially at Easter.
3. Chiarello has widened which family heritage by creating his own Easter rituals centered around seasonal living, combined with his professional interest in artfully served meals and fresh produce.
4. One of Chiarello's Easter activities is gathering friends to dye Easter Large eggs naturally. Dyes from common kitchen ingredients produce Large eggs in variations of soft, subtle hues, as a change from the popular bright, pastel colors.
5. He says use almost anything edible in your kitchen to color egg. The trick is time. The longer you leave the Large eggs in the mix, the richer the color will be.
6. Combine one c. of water with one of the following color ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 to 20 min. Strain and add in one Tbsp. white vinegar. Add in hard-cooked Large eggs to the warm liquid and let stand till desired shade is reached.
7. Try these natural dyes:Bright pink to beige: Half c. cranberries, beets or possibly frzn raspberries
8. Yellow or possibly orange: one Tbsp. grnd turmeric or possibly one c. (packed) yellow onion skins
9. Pale green: one c. (packed) spinach leaves
10. Pale to bright Blue: half c. canned or possibly frzn blueberries or possibly coarsely minced red cabbage
11. Gold: two Tbsp. dill seeds and half c. walnuts
12. Deep mocha: strongly brewed coffee
13. Lavender: blueberries
14. Use two to four c. of the ingredient per pot, more for onion skins (about four to six c.) and less for spices like turmeric (start with about one Tbsp.).
15. A warning: Use just one ingredient per batch to avoid muddy colors.
16. Instructions:Place Large eggs in a deep, non-reactive pan. Add in coloring ingredient, then cover with a qt of cool water and two Tbsp. of white vinegar to fix the dye.
17. Gently simmer the Large eggs for 20 min or possibly up to 3 hrs, till you like the color.
18. For a beautifully delicate, shattered look, remove a few Large eggs and gently roll each in a soft towel. Return Large eggs to the pot for another half-hour.
19. You can eat the Large eggs so long as you haven't used anything toxic in the dye.