Easter Eggs Dyed With Natural Food Dyes

Since having children, I’ve been obsessed with eliminating as many harmful things possible from my family’s diet. Food coloring just instinctively seems like a bad idea to me. And then recently, I read that studies are showing food coloring linked to ADHD in children! So it seems my instincts were right since for the past five years, I’ve shied away from using the store-bought Paas Easter Egg Dye Kits and instead chose to make my own dyes using real food. Yes, Real Food! Yes, dyes from foods we eat! It can be done!

Eggs Dyed Yellow With Turmeric

Here’s a few more reasons I choose to make my own dyes:

• One is that I like to show my children, many things people buy at the store can really be made at home. I believe this empowers them to be resourceful and self reliant, to know that they are capable of making anything.

• It also teaches them to think sustainably, think for themselves, not to be a consumer just by default, not to blindly follow what everyone else does.

• It also connects them with nature and is a process that they can conceptually follow– food is grown from seeds in the ground; we harvested the food from the garden and then cooked it to make dyes.

• Another reason is because it is sort of a cooking adventure. It’s fun to see what color each food dyes the eggs… It is not always what you might expect!

Easter Eggs Dyed With Natural Food Dyes

You can try dyeing Easter eggs the natural way by following the directions (recipes) below. Note: When using natural food dyes, color intensity will depend on how long you leave the eggs in the dyes. The longer you leave them in, the more vibrant and intense the colors will be. We soaked our eggs for just a couple of hours during our Easter egg dyeing party, so they are fairly light in color, but you can leave them in the refrigerator over night if you want more intense colors. You can also experiment with other foods to make dyes. Here are some of the foods that we used to make our dyes:

Boiling Purple Cabbage Water For Dyeing Easter Eggs

Eggs Dyed Blue With Purple Cabbage Water

Egg Dyed Green With Purple Cabbage Water + Baking Soda

Green Dye Made With Boiled Purple Cabbage + Baking Soda

Boiled Beets For Easter Egg Dyeing

Eggs Dyed Pink With Boiled Beet Juice

Eggs Dyed Yellow With Turmeric

Boiling Yellow Tumeric Powder For Dyeing Easter Eggs

Yellow Eggs Dyed With Turmeric

Eggs Dyed Orange/Rust With Boiled Onion Skins

Orange Dye Make From Boiled Onion Skins

Easter Egg Dyed Lavender Using Boiled Bluberries

Eggs Dyed Grey Using Boiled Hibiscus Flowers

Eggs Dyed Brown Using Boiled Black Tea

Black Tea Boiled For Dyeing Easter Eggs Brown

The next day after our egg dyeing party, I made egg salad with the eggs we dyed. My kids loved picking out their favorite colors and I felt reassured knowing that these colored eggs were safe to eat.

Wishing you a healthy and happy Easter!

Your Sensible Girlfriend

Natural Food Dye Recipe (For Easter Eggs)
Adapted from what’scookingamerica.net

How to make natural egg dyes:

Wash hard-cooked (boiled) eggs in warm soapy water to remove any oily residue that may impede the color from adhering to the eggs. Let eggs cool before attempting to dye.

If desired, before dyeing the eggs, draw shapes, pictures or inspiring words on them with crayons or a piece of wax. Or make designs by using stickers or tying rubber bands around the eggs.

You need to use your own judgment about exactly how much of each dye stuff to use. Except for spices, place a handful (or two or three handfuls) of a dyestuff in a saucepan.

Add tap water to come at least one inch above the dye stuff. NOTE: This will be about 1 cup of water for each handful of dyestuff.

Bring the water just to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Let simmer about 15 minutes or up to an hour until you like the color obtained. Keep in mind that dyed eggs will not get as dark as the color in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.

Pour mixture into a liquid measuring cup. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of white vinegar for each cup of strained dye liquid. Pour the mixture into a bowl or jar that is deep enough to completely cover the eggs you want to dye.

Use a slotted spoon to lower the eggs into the hot liquid. Leave the eggs in the water until you like the color. NOTE: Allow the egg to sit in the tea for several hours or overnight. The longer the egg soaks, the deeper the final color will be. If you plan to eat the eggs be sure to do this step in the refrigerator.

When eggs are dyed to the color you desire, lift the eggs out with the slotted spoon. Let them dry on a rack or drainer. NOTE: An egg carton works nicely as a drying rack. Be careful to handle the eggs gently and minimally as some of the colors can easily be rubbed off before the egg has dried.

For a textured look, dab the still wet egg with a sponge.

Eggs colored with natural dyes have a dull finish and are not glossy. After they are dry, you can rub the eggs with cooking oil or mineral oil to give them a soft sheen.

In my house, cute goes a long way. These two-inch crispy yum nuggets went over very well with my three and four year-old (and my husband who saw them and literally said, “Wow! Yum!”)  Within minutes their plates were clean!  I’m loving this because in each two-bite morsel, they ate a well-rounded meal– protein, vegetables and grains.  And on top of that it was so easy to make!

I was inspired by the cooking show called Chopped where two chefs battle against each other to make the best dish using whatever ingredients are in their basket.  The chef from Portland made some kind of potato cakes out of random ingredients and they looked fabulous.

My battle was similar, using whatever I happened to have in my refrigerator, I found purple potatoes, a tiny bit of leftover chopped green onion, a yellow onion, cilantro, leftover cornmeal/panko that I had mixed for a past meal, and three salmon filets in the freezer.  Sure, I could have just baked the salmon, boiled the potatoes, and enjoyed a simple meal.  But the Portland chef’s potato cakes popped into my head and I knew this combo could work.

While my kids and I were making a pirate ship out of a milk carton, I boiled the potatoes and stuck the frozen fish fillets in hot water. (These were the kind that come sealed in plastic soaking in a red pepper marinade.)  This hot water immersion is the quickest and easiest way to cook this type of fish.  No pans to clean afterward!  Once the fish was cooked, I tossed it into a large bowl with egg, chopped cilantro, both green and yellow onions, the purple potatoes smashed and added some cumin, cayenne, chili powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Next, I formed little patties and dusted them with the cornmeal/panko mixture.

The little cakes turned golden brown in coconut oil cooked over medium heat. From start to finish (with child interruptions) it took about an hour to prepare and cook.  I dropped a dollup of marinara sauce on each cake, placed in on a lettuce leaf and voila!  Dinner is served!

The next time you don’t know what to make for dinner, think about throwing your random odds and ends into a potato pancake! You could use almost any meat ground, chicken or fish; most vegetables diced small, and a variety of herbs and spices which could range from Mexican flavors to Italian Flavors to New American to East Indian or Asian Flavors.  It is definitely the cutest, most versatile, easy dinners that I’ve conjured up while cleaning out the leftovers in my fridge!  Now that is a sensible meal!

Bon Appetit!

Your Sensible Girlfriend

When it comes to birthdays, I go all out, especially with the cake. I tend to push the limits of my creativity. So when my younger son said he wanted a “tiger cake”, I envisioned a cute little tiger sitting on top of the cake in a green forest.  I was inspired by watching a television show called The Cake Boss. They tend to use a lot of fondant (which is a sweet dough-like substance made of corn syrup, glycerin, powdered sugar, shortening and gelatin), not the healthiest stuff to say the least.

So instead, I made my own moldable sweet dough– a “healthy marzipan” using ground almonds, honey and spelt flour. I didn’t have a recipe to follow, so I just made one up. (You’ll find my “Healthy Marzipan” recipe in an upcoming post.)

Molding the marzipan into the shape of a tiger was surprisingly quick and easy. I started with a square for the head and a log roll for the body and just sculpted using my fingers.

I painted the face and stripes using royal icing and a black gel food coloring (I wish I had a healthier way to make the paint.)

I made two cakes with pieces of pear baked inside and sandwiched whipped cream and berries in between. (The cake recipe is from my professional baker uncle which I can’t reveal.)

My children always help me bake.

The birthday boy rolled out a log that I wedged into the middle of the cake to give it a smooth shape.

We rolled out the forest green marzipan flat, large enough to cover the cake.

I cut off the excess and smoothed in down close and tight.

I made extra colored marzipan for the decorative parts of the cake.

My amazingly, creative husband rolled these bees wax candles and made them into mini palm trees! How cute is that!

The birthday boy loved his cake and wanted the tiger all for himself.

And I let him have it. Just almonds and honey, how sensible is that? He can have his cake and eat it too!

Your Sensible Girlfriend

How cute and convenient is this idea!  …And so easy to make!  Mini, muffin-sized crustless quiches were a hit in my house.  I served them for breakfast.  I packed some for my brother-in-law’s eight hour plane flight.  Put some in my kids lunch boxes and sent some with my husband for work. I also gave some to the family that I am a personal chef for.  Everyone loved them.
I can’t take credit for the idea.  I found it online from Cooking Light… but I did not follow the Cooking Light recipe of course since I don’t believe in cooking light.  I believe in cooking delicious!

Here’s how you make these Mini Crustless Quiches:

• Scramble 8 eggs (cooking light suggested 5 eggs and 3 egg whites)

• Add heavy cream.  I used half of an egg shell and filled it 8 times.

• Mix in Cheddar cheese or any cheese you like.

• Saute anything you want inside of them.  I sauted onion, garlic and mushrooms then later added crisp bacon and freshly chopped chard.

• Pour egg mixture into a dozen count muffin tin.

• Add sauted veggies.

• Add freshly chopped chard.

• Top with crisp previously cooked bacon (or sausage)

• Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, until toothpick comes out clean.

• Cool slightly before eating.

Voila!  Gourmet on the Go!

Enjoy!

Your Sensible Girlfriend

Flame-Charred Steak Using A Propane Torch

I love a charred steak.  The problem is that I have an electric stove and an outdoor gas grill neither of which will give you that tasty charred crust.  The saying is true– necessity is the mother of invention.  That persistent “need” to have a charred steak got me thinking… why not bring the flames into the kitchen with a portable welding torch?   Unconventional, sure, but fire is fire, right?  Why would the outcome be any different whether the flame came from a charcoal grill or a hand-held torch?  And as we know, searing meat keeps all the juices inside, so in theory, it should work great, right?  I asked my husband (who is always supportive of my “unconventional” ideas) to buy your standard torch with the screw-on propane tank from Home Depot.  I figured this would be a more serious task than creating a delicate crust on creme brulee.  Charring steaks would require absolute brute fire-power.

Here’s how it went…  I took my marinaded steaks (recipe adapted from foodandwine.com, found below) and placed them on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Then, using my tongs, I fired each piece of meat turning all sides toward the flame until I was satisfied with the charred results.  It took a few minutes to get each piece good and charred.  Next, I tested for doneness by pressing my tongs against the meat.  My steak-loving ex-boyfriend taught me the “eyeball doneness technique” — that is, when the meat feels like it would feel if you were pressing on your eyeball, your steak is done to a medium temperature.  (If you want medium-rare, cook it slightly softer than “eyeball texture”.)  Since these steaks were a little too soft after the charring, I popped them into the oven until they passed the eyeball test.  I drizzled herb butter over the steaks and served them with creamy mashed potatoes, sauteed greens and extra herb butter on the side.

The results were fantastic!  The meat had that tasty charred crust that you get from fine dining restaurants like Arnie Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris while the insides were perfectly moist and juicy.  I would have seared all of the steaks to a total wrap-around hard char, but my husband had fun playing with the torch before I got to it, so we used up all the propane before I could get them all crusted over.  I think if it were a full tank, I could have seared all five steaks completely.  The bottom line for me is that I can now fulfill that craving for a charred steak without having to buy a charcoal grill or a gas oven.  Pretty sensible, huh?

Your Sensible Girlfriend

Below is FoodandWine.com’s recipe (I didn’t have time to do the roasted garlic and of course, I used a welding torch instead of using the grilling instructions:

We do a lot of things to amuse our children.  This frivolity is no exception.  I saw this cool looking cupcake on the Disney family site and thought it would be a great Saint Patrick’s Day party food… and that it would amuse the children.

I worked as predicted; the kids and even some of the parents loved it.  One thing I didn’t expect though, it was more labor-intensive than I expected.

I was up until 1:30am (starting at 10:30pm cleaning dinner dishes after getting kids to bed and waking from a mini-nap myself) making a white cake batter from scratch so that I could make it with mostly spelt flour and less sugar. 

Using spelt gives it a nuttier flavor and makes it more dense, so it doesn’t rise quite like white flour.  Even though it was probably flatter than a white flour cupcake would be, I’d use spelt again because the affect turned out well anyway and it is a little more nutritious.  White flour and sugar for kids is a “recipe” for blood sugar spikes and kids bouncing off the walls possibly into temper tantrums.  I’m not opposed to sugar for children in limited amounts especially if it is tempered with wheat, spelt, oat or some flour other than white flour.

All in all, I might make this recipe again if the occasion calls for it.

Anything to amuse the children, right?

Here’s the original recipe (below is the cake batter recipe that I altered with spelt:

Rainbow Cupcakes

Instructions

1. Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. Following the chart below, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.
   

   RAINBOW COLOR	DROPS OF FOOD COLORING
   Purple	9 red and 6 blue drops
   Blue	12 drops
   Green	12 drops
   Yellow	12 drops
   Orange	12 yellow and 4 red drops
   Red	18 drops

2. Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.
3. Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Before serving, remove the paper wrapping, and if you like, top each cupcake with a whipped-cream cloud.

(I used many more drops of red and blue to make a darker purple)

Spelt Flour Cupcakes

(Original Cupcake Recipe courtesy Cheryl Day/Foodnewtwork.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk (I used goat milk)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.

(Here is where I divided the batter into six bowls and added food coloring, then layered in rainbow colors)

Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

Cool and top with whipped cream and sprinkles, Yum!

Enjoy and hope you find that pot of gold at the end of your rainbow,

Your Sensible Girlfriend

I grew up celebrating Chinese New Year with my family by watching the lion dances in streets of L.A.’s Chinatown and eating a huge feast at our “family association” (this was a meeting place for four lineage families where they handed down martial arts and cultural traditions to the younger generations).  The amount of food that came out of the kitchen was not only impressive, it was mind blowing.  You would eat one delicious dish after another and when you thought that was it, there was more!  And then when you thought, this must really be the end, there was still more!  I always staggered away from the table so sickeningly full, but not sorry that I tasted everything there was to be tasted.

When I had a family of my own, I decided to create that same tradition of the big feast with loved ones gathered around the table with dish after dish coming steaming hot off the stove filling up those eager bellies.  Every year, I serve a steamed whole fish because the fish is a symbol for prosperity and abundance.   Also, eating a fish served whole is supposed to make your wishes for the year come true.

I used two recipe books to come up with my way of making Chinese New Year Steamed Fish.  (Martin Yan’s Chinatown Cooking and Essentials of Asian Cusine by Corrine Trang)  I typically cook a 3 to 5 pound fish, so instead of steaming in a wok, I staple the fish into parchment paper.  I use a temperature probe with an alarm so that my fish is perfectly cooked and doesn’t get too dry– that’s if I take the fish out promptly and have the garlic oil hot and ready to be drizzled on top.   The fish is beautiful and impressive brought to the table stuffed with ginger, scallions and shiitake mushrooms.  It’s really simple to make, so you really don’t have to wait around for Chinese New Year to feast on it.

Steamed Whole Fish Stuffed With Scallions, Ginger and Shiitakes

One whole fish scaled and gutted (I like to use Onaga because of the  good luck red color; you can use sea bass or snapper)

1/2 cup White wine or sake

For the stuffing:

3/4 c thinly sliced ginger

6 scallions cut into one inch long strips

a large handful of sliced shiitake mushrooms

For the sauce:

3/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons sugar

3/4 c vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 clove smashed garlic

For the garnish:

A handful of sliced scallions

A handful of cilantro

1. Prepare fish for steaming: Cut diagonal slashes 3/4 inch deep into both sides of fish.

2. Place parchment paper on oven-proof serving dish.  Place fish on top of parchment paper.

3. Stuff the slits in the fish and the cavity with the ginger, scallions and shiitakes.

4. Staple 3 sides of parchment paper shut.  Insert temperature probe and pour in wine or sake.  Staple closed remaining open side of parchment paper.

5. Place fish in preheated 350 degree oven.  Take fish out when internal temperature registers 140 degrees.

6. Stir soy sauce and sugar together in a small bowl and pour over steamed fish.

7. Heat sesame oil and vegetable oil on high heat.  Add smashed garlic and swirl around pan.  Pour hot oil over steamed fish and garnish with cilantro and scallions.

Serve with steamed rice.

Chow down!