Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

Ideas by Erika Wilson

Creating festive eggs without synthetic dyes is good for you and the environment. It is also economical, because many of the ingredients are refrigerator staples. The process takes longer than traditional dye tablets, so start a day or two ahead (it's worth the wait).

Instructions:

1. Wash eggs with mild soapy water to remove the oily coating (the resulting colors will be more vivid).

2. Hard boil the eggs, then cool completely.

3. Align six small bowls on the counter, and create the individual dyes using the following ingredients:

• Red/pink/purple: 1/2 cup shredded beets or 1 cup red grape juice

• Brown/orange: one of the following: 1 cup loose onion skins, 2 tea bags, 1 teaspoon coffee, 1 teaspoon dill seeds.

• Yellow: 1 teaspoon of one of the following: saffron, turmeric, lemon peel, celery seed, cumin or paprika.

• Green: 1 cup fresh spinach

• Blue: 1/2 cup red cabbage or 1/2 blueberries

4. Fill six mason jars with 2/3 cup with near-boiling distilled water. Add one coloring ingredient to each jar, stir until dissolved and add ¼ teaspoon vinegar (omit vinegar if using onion skins). Then add an egg or eggs to each jar and let stand overnight in the refrigerator. You may intensify the colors by adding more coloring ingredient and by leaving the eggs in the dye longer.