Last night was a busy time. We boiled 36 eggs and made pickled eggs and beets (have you heard of them? Recipe to follow.) The boys made Easter Bunnies for me to take to work so I could decorate my cubicle for Easter. How thoughtful! Need some quick bunny (or kitty) whiskers? Recipe to follow!
Easter Tradition: Pickled Eggs and Beets
You know how it is, there are just some things that you expect at each holiday -- a tree at Christmas, hearts for Valentine's Day, shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, etc., etc. Well...for us it just wouldn't be Easter unless we had pickled eggs and beets. It's a treat that my grandmother made for all the Easter dinners I can remember (and there were a bunch of them). She passed away several years ago and I vowed to keep the tradition alive.
You know how it is, there are just some things that you expect at each holiday -- a tree at Christmas, hearts for Valentine's Day, shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, etc., etc. Well...for us it just wouldn't be Easter unless we had pickled eggs and beets. It's a treat that my grandmother made for all the Easter dinners I can remember (and there were a bunch of them). She passed away several years ago and I vowed to keep the tradition alive.
[Boiling lots of eggs, making pickled eggs and beets.]Here's the (simple) recipe for Pickled Eggs and Beets:
2 cans of sliced beets (including liquid)
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of white vinegar
10-12 hard-boiled eggs (peeled)
In a large non-reactive pan, cook the beets, eggs and vinegar. Bring them to a boil and stir occasionally. If you feel the mixture is a bit too vinegar-y for your taste, you can add another 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to boil and stir for about 10 minutes.
Place the peeled eggs in a large glass container (we use Grandma's jar that has a screw-type lid.) You can use a class cookie jar or canister, as long as it has some sort of lid that fits nice and tight.
Carefully add the beet/sugar/vinegar mixture to the eggs. Beet juice stains, so be aware!
Stir the mixture to make sure the eggs are as far down in the jar as possible. You want them to become nice and reddish-pink. Leave the lid off until the mixture comes to room temperature, then stir again and place the lid on. Open the jar and stir the mixture every hour or so to make sure all surfaces of all the eggs has a chance to become dyed.
We like to make them a day or two before we eat them as the 'pickling process' takes awhile to penetrate the eggs.
When your ready to eat them, just slice the egg and give it (and the beets) a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Try them! They are WAY better than the rubbery ones you see in the deli counter at the supermarket -- trust me.
2 cans of sliced beets (including liquid)
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of white vinegar
10-12 hard-boiled eggs (peeled)
In a large non-reactive pan, cook the beets, eggs and vinegar. Bring them to a boil and stir occasionally. If you feel the mixture is a bit too vinegar-y for your taste, you can add another 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to boil and stir for about 10 minutes.
Place the peeled eggs in a large glass container (we use Grandma's jar that has a screw-type lid.) You can use a class cookie jar or canister, as long as it has some sort of lid that fits nice and tight.
Carefully add the beet/sugar/vinegar mixture to the eggs. Beet juice stains, so be aware!
Stir the mixture to make sure the eggs are as far down in the jar as possible. You want them to become nice and reddish-pink. Leave the lid off until the mixture comes to room temperature, then stir again and place the lid on. Open the jar and stir the mixture every hour or so to make sure all surfaces of all the eggs has a chance to become dyed.
We like to make them a day or two before we eat them as the 'pickling process' takes awhile to penetrate the eggs.
When your ready to eat them, just slice the egg and give it (and the beets) a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Try them! They are WAY better than the rubbery ones you see in the deli counter at the supermarket -- trust me.
Easter Bunnies for Dad's Cubicle
The boys wanted something to do while my wife and I boiled eggs, so I suggested they make some Easter bunnies for me to take to work. They took the idea, hook-line-and-sinker. We figured out a really fast way to make whiskers: run a plain piece of paper through the paper shredder (sorry folks, cross-cut shredders won't work). Our shredder made perfect little whiskers that only needed some trimming. (See them on the table below?) A little bit of rubber cement (I love that stuff) and the boys had some great-looking rabbits.
[The boys making Easter Bunny decorations for my cubicle at work.]
[Son No. 2's Creation - The Easter bunny in his bedroom.]
[Son No.1's Bunny Rabbit - A Basic Bunny]Edited 4-18-07: The boys' artwork is now on display in my cubicle at work. Click here to see it.
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