Venus Rising

Food for SoulIssue: Aries 08

Eggs, Glorious Eggs

Today, children create their own masterpieces by dying hardboiled eggs in colored vinegar. PAAS has made this an easy craft for 125 years. One can envision the coffee cups of different colored dyes spread across the newspaper covered table waiting for the egg, lightly nestled in its wire dipper, to enter and soak up the colors blue, green, yellow, and pink. Long before PAAS came along, however, people dyed eggs the old fashioned way, with dye made from a food source. While it is worth a try, especially to avoid the red dye number such and such or blue, number this or that, be forewarned that eggs dyed naturally may take on the flavor of the food that dyes them. For example, for golden yellow use turmeric, for blue try red cabbage, for deep pink use beets or cherries, and for light green boil eggs with spinach. While they may create beautiful colors, kids would be hard pressed to eat a cherry or spinach-flavored egg.   

Decorating eggs with bright spring colors and hiding them for kids to find on Easter Sunday is all well and good, but when they are recovered from their destined games, waste not the egg! Don’t wait long to crack and peel your bounty. Now is the time for egg recipes, including deviled eggs and egg salad. Spring herbs may also be about, including dill or early chive, both delicious additions to the post-Easter egg salad. Early French breakfast radishes, diced fine, are a great ingredient in deviled egg filling. Quiches are best with fresh eggs and can be the epitome of spring with asparagus and goat cheese. For the fanciful, use spring eggs to create the best cheesy soufflés or maple drizzled custards.

In their simplest rendition, fried, eggs are a nearly complete food. Full of easily-assimilated animal protein and amino acids, eggs are low in carbohydrates and supply all the essential vitamins, except vitamin C, and most of the essential minerals. Two lightly fried eggs, served with wheat toast and a glass of orange juice is not only nearly nutritionally perfect but is also a complete delight when the eggs are fresh. 

Maple Custard

1 ½ cups of 2% (or more) milk

2 eggs and 2 egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

4 tablespoons maple syrup, separated

½ tsp vanilla

Pinch salt

Preheat oven 325˚. Combine milk, sugar, and salt until well blended. Add eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla. Mix well. Pour 1 tablespoon of maple syrup each in the bottom of 4 individual custard cups. Turn cup to coat bottom with maple syrup. Gently pour custard mix on top of maple syrup. Place cups in a baking dish filled with one inch of water. Bake for 1 hour or until knife inserted at the edge of custard comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack. Refrigerate until cold. When ready to serve, run a knife around the outside edge of each custard. Quickly dip the bottom of one cup into a bowl of hot water to loosen the maple syrup. Invert the custard on a plate and drizzle any remaining maple syrup over the top. Repeat with the remaining custards.