Saturday 7 April 2012

Confession Time

"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."  Proverbs 16:18


I had a plan, I mean, I actually worked this out on Boxing Day morning when I was planning what I would make this year.  Easter, I thought, that is going to be easy... I am going to dye eggs and decorate them... they will be marbled, painted and sponged to within an inch of their lives.  I can do this.


I had done this as a child, I knew it was possible, in fact in my mind's eye I could see my set of four food dyes and the colour mixing chart.


I got myself ready:
I blew the eggs through...  I have a freezer full of beaten eggs... I have a head full of egg recipes, scrambled, omelettes, quiches and cakes...
Then the first disaster struck, the eggs were a sort of reddy brown and the dye just would not take, no matter how much food colouring I put in.  I then had a cunning plan... I would go to the Co-Op and Tescos and swap the brownish eggs for white ones... 


I am not sure if you now this but there are no longer the white eggs that there used to be, they are all an amorphous reddish brown colour... plan abandoned, nothing to do with the odd looks that I got from the assistants.

Well, dear reader, I did what any self respecting muppet would do, I retired to the pub to regroup.

Then on Thursday, I had a lucky break... duck eggs in Sainsburys... they were driven snow white,  I knew these would work.


WRONG!  I left them soaking overnight...  is it the Essex water, I wondered... or is it the organic dyes?  Because yet again, it would not work.


So this year there will be no tutorial on colouring eggs for Easter... mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa


But I do promise you that next year I will have cracked it... maybe :)

10 comments:

Carl Ott said...

There is a yolk in there somewhere I know there is.

Michelle said...

I have a dozen snowy-white Danish eggs, all ready to be hard boiled and decorated tomorrow! Never mind blowing them. Then we shall EAT them.

Abi said...

Ros - at least you *had* a plan. Easter snuck up on me this year. I didn't bake a simnel cake in time so assumed there'd be one in Sainsbury's or Waitrose .. or Co-op .. but no.

Would onion skin work on your eggs - or have I made that up? I mean wrapping onion skins round the eggs and soaking in .. um something?

Lyn said...

I hadn't noticed the disappearance of white eggs, or pale beige ones, from the supermarket. Must be something to do with 'what the customer wants'. I checked my cupboard and sure enough the eggs are a reddish brown. Actually mine seem darker than yours do.

I have no idea why the white duck eggs wouldn't take the dye though.

However, you did have a plan, and you did try, so you get a Brownie point, and a bonus point for an entertaining post!

KC'sCourt! said...

Just found your lovely blog. I am a "local girl" now living in Somerset!
Anyway.....try wrapping the eggs in Onion Skins and boil, always worked for me as a child.
Julie xxxxxxx

Dawn Ruth said...

This made me chuckle as I too had such plans that came to naught. I was going to make a simnel cake like Jeanie B, but no, and hot cross buns, another no. Oh yes and I also intended to spend some time making up some little bags to put little eggs in for my friends children but that too was some what hurried and not really what I'd had in mind. Still I say to myself its the thought that counts and I did think a lot just didn't get passed the thinking stage this time. Never mind there is always next year.
http://dawntheconstantcrafter.blogspot.com

CarolC1 said...

AY and a good yoke was had by all. lol. How odd that they would not hold the colour. I had got some poster paints for the Grands to have a go but we didn't have time in the end. I wonder if they would have worked. Think I will have a go.

The mum of all trades said...

I've never actually tried dying eggs. It all sounds very complicated!

French Nanny said...

Do you think the eggs are 'treated' in some way? Coated somehow in something? Or maybe the hens' food has a dye in it to make the shells that shade of reddy-brown...

stylesofcooking said...

First of all i cannot believe you were planning Easter on boxing day, that is far too organised in my book!! Secondly how annoying that your well thought out plan didnt work out, sounded so interesting too. Still at least there are plenty of recipes that you can use your frozen eggs in!!!