Coloured Easter Eggs

As I child I loved colouring Easter eggs. As an adult I love having these brilliant harbingers of spring in my kitchen but actually colouring the eggs does not excite me in the way it used to. So, I pack up the coloured eggs each year and bring them out the next. These came out yesterday. Believe it or not, if you're careful not to crack the shells, these hard boiled eggs will last forever. A couple of these eggs ( the red ones) even made the flight from Greece to Canada intact.

Ingredients:

- hard boiled eggs, as many as you want to colour

For each different colour of egg:

- 2/3 cup very hot water
- 2 tablespoons of white vinegar
- 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon ( 15 drops) of food colouring

Use glass or metal cups and bowls for the colouring process since the dye can permanently colour china or plastic. Use a separate disposable plastic or stainless steel spoon in each color. Cover the egg completely and rotate it with the spoon if you want an even color. You get the best result if you dye the eggs hot, straight out of the cooking pot. If bubbles form in the container you are using to dye the eggs, stir gently until the bubbles let go so you can get a more even color. Leave the egg in the dye until it reaches the hue or depth of colour that you want to achieve. Remove from the dye and allow the egg to dry thoroughly . I use an egg carton as a drying container.