Happy Easter (Eggs, Grass, and Nests) To You!

I'd like to wish all of you who celebrate, a very Happy Easter!  I will be hosting Easter dinner here on Sunday with our family and decorations and preparations are under way!



Easter and spring are a time of renewal and rebirth (although spring has been excruciatingly slow to arrive here this year!).  Eggs and nests are perfect symbols of the season.





Once again, I made natural dyed Easter eggs using onions skins, herbs and early flowers from the garden.



The next part is a little tricky. The egg and its wrapping are carefully wrapped tightly in either nylon stockings or muslin cheesecloth. You need about 3 hands to do this but perfection isn't important. Then they are lowered into simmering water and allowed to gently simmer for about 30 minutes. 



I had an unexpected surprise this year after my eggs were finished cooking.  I didn't have time to unwrap the eggs when they were done so after cooling them in an ice bath and draining them, I put them, still wrapped in onion skins and cheese cloth, into the refrigerator overnight. They turned out more vivid and colorful than ever after their overnight stay in the frig!



I also tried growing real Easter grass for another Easter table decoration this year. I lined a favorite bowl with a double thickness of plastic wrap, filled it with vermiculite and then added grass seed.  The bowl was then covered with another sheet of plastic wrap until the seed began to sprout.. I then kept it misted with water each day. It was amazing how quickly it grew in just one week!









I've wanted to try chow mein noodle nests that I've seen so often and finally did my own version yesterday. I melted a bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave and added chow mein noodles and some toasted coconut.  After stirring to coat, the mixture was pressed against the bottom and sides of a sprayed non-stick 12 cup muffin tin. They were cooled in the refrigerator and then gently removed with a knife.  Jordan almonds will fill these edible nests.