Egg-cellent Eggs

Rachel here: I hadn't dyed eggs since I lived with my parents, I don't think, and though there is absolutely zero recognition of Easter in my house, it just seemed like so much fun that I called John at work and asked him if he'd join me in dyeing them when he got home. He was game, as he usually is for art projects/things that involve making messes. Anyway, figuring there was no way in hell I'd find Easter egg dye kits at this late date, I decided to employ food coloring for our dyeing experience. There are directions on the back of all food coloring packages and it was really quite simple. We used brown eggs because that was what was in the refrigerator and though this affected the end color, neither of us felt it was a problem. We had fun and, though I had intended to use the eggs to make egg salad, we ended up eating all of them (I only boiled six) promptly. Oops! Hard-boiled eggs are such a good snack and dyeing them is so satisfying that I'm considering extracting this tradition from the confines of Easter and dyeing eggs year round. They're so bright and pretty on the refrigerator shelf!



Janet here: In contrast to Rachel, who dyed her first Easter eggs, it's very possible I just dyed my last batch with our youngest heading off to college next year. Maybe we'll do it with the grandchild, although it's just as possible it won't happen. Anyway, the main reason to dye all these hard-boiled eggs is to make delicious deviled eggs and egg salad. I remember the first time I had deviled eggs. It was at my grandmother's house and I was amazed a hard-boiled egg could taste so good. Instead of sticking to the roof of my mouth the way plain old hard-boiled eggs do, these little wonders featured mayonnaise and dill. Delicious!

ingredients
hard-boiled eggs
mayonnaise
catsup
dill weed
salt/pepper

method
Boil the eggs. Once the eggs are cooled, cut them in half and scoop out the yolk. Put the white halves aside. Mash the yolks and add 1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, about 1 tablespoon catsup and dill weed/salt/pepper to taste. The amounts are an approximation, depending on how mushy you want your innards. Mash it all together some more and then scoop back into the eggs. Voila!