SURE, YOU CAN use commercial egg-dyeing kits to color eggs for Easter baskets Sunday, but you probably have everything you need already in your vegetable drawer and spice rack. Here are some tips:
_ Boiled onion skins are probably the best known way to add a natural color to your eggs.
_ Vegetables such as beets, red cabbage and spinach can be cooked down until most of their color is extracted into the water. Depending on the time the egg is left in the colored water, beets will color pink to red; red cabbage conveys a slightly blue tint, and spinach makes eggs green. Leave the eggs submerged in the water overnight in the refrigerator for a deep, rich hue.
_ Make a superstrong brew of herbal teas such as hibiscus for pastel shades.
_ Turmeric creates a beautiful amber yellow.
_ Coffee will make an egg brown, but why not just start with a brown egg!
_ Add a little salt and vinegar to dyes to make hard-boiled eggs absorb color better.
_ As with any dye, the longer you soak the egg the deeper the color.
_ Use glass bowls for dyeing. Metal will give off-colors and plastic will absorb the dye.