Natural dyed Easter eggs..

I am seeing a lot of posts on dying Easter eggs with natural dyes apposed to the artificial dyes sold in the stores.  As I was reading I realized that I already knew how to make the most beautiful maroon colored eggs using onion peels and have been doing it for years now!

Way back in my college days I spent a couple of Easters with my bff Susan and her family.  Her mom would make these amazing eggs by boiling them with onion peels.  I was truly awe struck at the simplicity of the technique, yet the complexity of the color that was created.  Years later I started making them myself and have worked out a system that works pretty good.

It all starts for me the week after Easter when I start to save my egg skins.  Now, I have read that you can get color variations by using different colored skins, like keeping the red skins separate from the yellow. But I like just putting them all together.  I store them in a gallon size zip top bag left open in my pantry.  Every time I  get an onion out to cook with, I save the skin.  I leave the bag open so that if any of the peels have moisture on them, I won't get mold.  By the next year I have a pretty full bag and am ready to make the dye.

In a medium size pot I put about 1/2 cup of vinegar, the bag of peels and enough water to cover.  Boil over medium heat for about 30 to 45 minutes. Then cover and cool.

Once cooled you will have this amber colored dye to use on eggs, or just about anything I would imagine.  

I poured my dye back in the pot and stored it in the fridge until I was ready to color my eggs.  

Once ready, place the eggs in the pot and boil. If you do not have enough dye to cover the amount of eggs you are coloring, you can add more water. Boil as you would normally do to cook an egg, but watch for the color change. If you want to get a darker color, try leaving the eggs in the dye once cooked.

If you notice the color variation I have, it is because I left some skins in the pot. I happen to like them rustic looking. However, if you want to go for a more solid color, strain the dye of all the skins before you boil.

Another style I have seen is to take small greenery and stick it to the eggs before dying. You can also use a white crayon, wax, or stickers even to achieve the same effect. 

As a side bonus, the eggs seem to pick up an onionish taste from the dye.  I love them!

Happy dying!  

Low carb Enchiladas

Last night for dinner I made Low carb Enchiladas!

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 large yellow onion diced
1 med carrot shredded
1 can vegetarian or ff re fried beans
low fat or fat free cheddar cheese shredded
3 medium zucchini
salsa or enchiladas sauce.  I used the salsa!

Brown the turkey, onion and carrot together. In a large bowl I mixed the re-fried beans, 1/2 cup of cheese and 1/2 salsa/sauce.  Once the meat was cooked I mixed it into the large bowl.  (this does make a lot, I froze the remainder for later use).

Take the zukes and remove both ends. Next, take a potato peeler and make long, length wise passes of the zuke. (You want what looks like lasagna noodles.)

Layer the slices length wise on a piece of plastic wrap.  You want to overlap to create a sheet. Drop a large spoon full of the mixture onto the zuke and roll!  I place in a small baking sheet with about a 1/2 cup of the salsa/sauce on the bottom to prevent sticking.  I then sprinkled the top with cheese and baked for about 4 minutes on 350.  very tasty!

Asparagus Soup

1 lb Asparagus fresh or frozen
1 cup diced bell peppers ( any color)
1 Celery Stalk
1 cup carrots
1 small red onion
1 dried poblano pepper ( can use fresh)
Bay Leaf
1 large clove garlic
1 tbs smoked paprika
2 tsp dried thyme
3 cups or so of stock (I used chicken for the protein)
1/3 cup potato flakes (optional)

Bloom the poblano pepper in hot water for about 10 minutes to soften.

Chop all vegies and saute in olive oil for 5 to 10 minutes on med low heat.  Add garlic, thyme and paprika and saute an additional few minutes.  Chop up poblano pepper, seeds and all and add to pot. I add the water as well.  Now add the stock and bay leaf. Simmer for about an hour and blend. I use a immersion blender, but you can you your regular blender.  Be sure to do this in small batches as the soup is hot. I add 1/3 cup of potato flakes for consistency, but is totally optional.   

This makes 4 servings!
   
Nutrition

Calories        110
Carbs             15g
Fat                   4g
Protein             4g
Fiber                5g
Sugar               6g

Today's

At my local store they had Asparagus on sale for $.99 cents per lb. That is a great price!  So, I bought two bundles. I cooked one for soup and froze the other for later.  


How to:


Take the bunch of Asparagus and trim the cut ends. You want to cut off about 2 inches or so to remove the woody fibrous ends. Blanch in salted boiling water for a minute or two, then drop in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Dry on a paper towel and then place on cooking sheet. Plate the pan with the asparagus in the freezer until frozen. Then place in plastic bag, or freeze in portion sizes with food saver.  


Why blanch you ask?


Blanching is the scalding of vegetables in boiling water or steam. Blanching slows or stops the action of enzymes.  Up until harvest time, enzymes cause vegetables to grow and mature.  If vegetables are not blanched, or blanching is not long enough, the enzymes continue to be active during frozen storage causing off colors, off flavors and toughening. 

Now, I freeze in a single layer and then put in bags so that later I can take out what I need without them all freezing together!  This works really well with fruit too!

Smarter

Take some tests, get a score and share with the world how smart you are!

This is a fun site for the competitive among us that loves a challenge!