Valley Bounty: Easter Eggs

As a kid, I remember the pop-culture trappings around Easter being kind of confusing. Why was there a giant rabbit that hid eggs in the yard? Where did the Easter Bunny live? What did he do the rest of the year? Santa Clause’s rules are clear, at least: good kids get toys, bad kids get coal. The Easter Bunny seems to just goad children into a Darwinian struggle over the eggs he has inexplicably hidden in their yard — but to what end? I still have no answers to these questions. But, perhaps, we can beat this bunny at his own game …

It’s easy to make your own colored Easter eggs without using dye. Simply boil eggs in water along with about a tablespoon of white vinegar and something to add some color, like beets (pink), turmeric (yellow), spinach or collard greens (green), or onion skins (rust color) — or do some experiments with things you can find at the farmers’ market, and see what colors you can discover! The longer you let everything cook together, the darker the color will be. You can eat eggs colored this way, too – just be sure to peel the colored shells off first!

Valley Bounty is written by Brian Snell of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture)