Good Eggs: Color Them Naturally

There’s nothing particularly natural about bunnies bearing eggs, but there is a more natural way to color your eggs this Easter.

According to Heinz, all you have to do is place 6 to 8 eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and add 1 quart of water, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar (to prevent cracking) and your choice of ingredients to produce the following colors (or experiment with your own combinations):

Purple: 3-4 cups blueberries.

Pink: 3-4 cups raspberries.

Blue-green: 4 cups red cabbage.

Copper: 4 cups yellow onion skins.

Yellow: 2 tablespoons turmeric.

Bronze: Use brewed coffee instead of water.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to dry. For deeper shades, strain the cooking liquid into a bowl and refrigerate the eggs in it overnight.

But before you go to all the bother, consider this: a national survey for Nestle showed that kids aged 6-12 prefer chocolate candy eggs over hard-boiled eggs at Easter, 2 to 1.

Grill talk

In case you need further proof that spring has officially arrived, experts at the Weber Grill-Line will begin dispensing barbecue information by toll-free telephone starting Tuesday.

Callers to the Grill-Line (1-800-474-5568, daily from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST) will receive a new, free booklet, “All-American BBQ Entertaining.” A new video, “Great Chefs Grill-Out Boston,” is also available for $5.99 shipping and handling.

And lest you think that we out West are the barbecue kings, American Demographics magazine reports that 36 percent of households in Northeastern states own an outdoor grill, compared to 31 percent in the Midwest, 26 percent in the South and a mere 23 percent in the West.

Au revoir, Laura

Today marks the end of an era - the Dorothy Dean era.

Dean, as you may recall, was the fictitious figurehead of our food section for many years. And correspondent Laura Carnie, who was the last person to write under the Dorothy Dean name in the mid-‘80s, has ended her 13-year association with the newspaper to pursue professional opportunities in Texas.

While Laura’s last Cook’s Notebook appears today, we’ll continue the column to answer your requests for recipes and cooking questions. And although there will no longer be a column called The Seasonal Cook, we’ll continue to bring you plenty of timely, tasty recipes every week.

After all, Dorothy would have wanted it that way.

, DataTimes