Easter egg colouring made easy
To be honest, I almost like Easter better than Christmas. Plus point number one: Mother Nature dances around us in her colourful garb, chirping and cheering and bathing our senses in her sea of flowers and leaves. Advantage number two: Easter starts in the morning and the focus is not on presents, but on finding nests.
Plus point number three: even if the shopping shelves are teeming with chocolate bunnies and eggs, the consumer frenzy is not quite as intense as at Christmas.
One tradition that I still love today is egg colouring. Set aside a few hours for this. That way you don't have any stress. In my family, we always used natural colours and conjured up the most beautiful patterns with wild flowers and herbs. I would be happy to show you how to do this.
Red eggs with onion skins
You can collect the onion skins throughout the year or buy them in packs in any large shop before Easter. The basic principle is always the same: prepare the stock (don't be stingy with the amount of natural materials) and leave the boiled eggs to infuse overnight.
It's particularly fun to decorate the eggs with flowers, grasses or herbs. It works like this:
- Collect flowers, grasses or herbs
- Moisten lightly and staple to both sides of the eggs or just one side of the shell, depending on your preference
- Cut the garter into pieces, pull it over the egg and lace it up at the front and back (makes great random patterns just from the lacing!)
Colouring blue and yellow eggs
A beautiful freak of nature is that red cabbage turns into blue eggs. Be careful: it also colours your fingers blue. Use half a red cabbage for one litre of water. Cut it into small pieces and boil for 45 minutes. Soak the eggs overnight and you're done. Add a little vinegar to the broth to create a particularly beautiful blue colour.
You can achieve yellow eggs with the colouring agent for yellow curry: turmeric. Two tablespoons of turmeric to one litre of water is sufficient. A dash of vinegar will also help the colour to last longer. You can either hard-boil the raw eggs directly in the stock or leave them to infuse in the cooled stock later. Just as you like.
- Choose eggs with a white shell
- Stay away from cheap eggs: organic eggs have a stronger shell and do not crack as quickly
- Rub the eggs with a little vinegar before dyeing so that they take the colour better
- Use plenty of natural materials (i.e. onion skins, red cabbage or turmeric). Make sure that the eggs are completely covered with the brew
- Rub the coloured eggs with a little vegetable oil (rapeseed oil or sunflower oil) at the end for a nice shine
Bathe in a sea of flowers
The eggs have been dyed, the Easter nests prepared and the Easter brunch organised. Now leave everything behind and bathe in the unique sea of flowers that this time of year brings us. A few budding trees for inspiration.
In case you were wondering what is meant by flower bathing, a brief clarification: take a stroll through the woods and meadows, stop under any flowering bush or tree that takes your fancy and let yourself be enchanted by the colourful blooms.
Feel your energy levels rise immediately, thank the good plant and move on with a smile on your face when you have a full battery.
