Saturday was my last full weekend at the store for a bit; May is going to be crazy-busy, so we decided to scale back classes so as not to overlap with all the graduation parties, welcome spring events and the start of the pre-farmers' market. So, I get a bit of a rest (to start planning the summer).
Charles Haynes talked about Green Building--whether as a new structure or, perhaps more importantly, for renovation projects. His thinking is that you are probably doing the environment a bigger solid by working with an standing structure, rather than starting from scratch...less trash, using existing resources, etc. He also said the most important elements to consider when trying to be more sustainable in your home improvement is to focus on the envelope; how do you keep heat in the house during the winter (fix air leaks), how do you keep it cool in the summer (insulation keeps air conditioned air in), and preventing high moisture situations--my problem right now--by making sure water runs away from the structure, whether on the ground level or off the roof. He also suggested making sure your appliances are as energy-efficient as possible, especially when replacing big ticket items, such as furnaces, hot water heaters, dish washers, etc.
Charles is also working on an interesting idea. He'd like to organize some sort of a builder's group, by using the LEED standards for green building to help identify reputable contractors who take these issues in consideration when working. It would also help homeowners find builders who can assure quality work and are well-versed in this kind of construction.
With all that food for thought, I needed some food for the tummy...Paul Dionne was ready to provide that with a delicious, egg-centric breakfast cooking class. He created a menu that could be executed easily and in a timely manner so everything was done at the same time. Oatmeal pancakes were delicious, with rolled oats soaked in the batter for 20 min.s before cooking so these crepe-like cakes have a little texture to them. Bacon cooked in the oven to get it (and its splatters) out of the way. Scrambled eggs in butter. Omelets with just parsley and parmesan (nothing more needed).
To top it all off, we drank full-sized Bloody Marys and Mimosas to celebrate b&p's new liquor license (now we can serve). Bottom's up!
Well, I can say this for E. Bunny: if he uses natural dyes, I sure hope he gives himself a head start before Easter. These suckers take forever! Still, there are some really pretty and intense colors (also unusual) that you can get using various fruits, veg, and spices. I've been practicing for a couple of weeks now, because I had a class in natural egg dyes at the store on Saturday.
Here's the basic recipe for the dye:
1. Collect enough of your dye source, so you have at least 2 cups worth (this will probably be enough dye for 3-4 eggs).
2. Put it in a pan that has a bit of room, but not so much that the source is floating around loosely.
3. Cover with water so that all the material is submerged, but, again, not so much that stuff is floating.
4. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 30 mins.
5. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
6. Let dye sit overnite and then strain out the bits and pieces (you could leave them in, but they might make marks on your eggs).
To color eggs:
1. Have hard-boiled eggs ready. Any color eggs are fine, but brown and green eggs will change the color a bit (altho you can use the starting color for various resist effects).
2. Place eggs into dye gently, so as not to crack them.
3. Let sit 30 mins. to 24 hrs., depending on how dark you want the eggs. If leaving overnite, put them in the fridge.
4. Let them dry completely before handling, or you will get fingerprints and lift off spots of dye. An effect, I suppose, but sort of messy-looking.
5. If you want a bit of shine, wipe the egg with a little bit of vegetable oil (a Latvian website suggested bacon rind--you may find your basket full of bugs, if you choose that greasing option).
I had the best luck with red cabbage (turquoise in basket), red and yellow onion skins (deep orange in basket), grape juice (dark purple-grey), and tumeric (bright orange-yellow). I had less luck with beets and carrot tops (the basically white egg in the basket). I didn't try blueberries, spinach, cherry juice, coffee, tea, or raspberries.
So, that was my experience. You can do some cool things with these dyes and don't have to worry if they get into the egg itself. This is Slow Dye, for sure, but not entirely unsatisfying...
There was a totally cool TV show on PBS in the 1970s called Zoom. These groovy kids ran around in striped shirts and bare feet and did all kinds of outasite activities made you want to go out and create. There were lots of artsy crafts like making a giant trashbag balloon-person and filling it with air to float over your backyard, writing plays, cooking and drawing elaborate Aquarian murals on the sidewalk with chalk. I used to pretend I was a cast member and would spend lots of time at the sink re-creating recipes using water as a main ingredient for my audience, sometimes some salt and pepper, old eggshells, and cinnamon, if my mother wasn't looking.
So, when a hole came up in the Bushel&Peck cooking class schedule, I decided it was time for my close-up. I've had lots of teaching experience with other subjects, surely I could lead a class on some of my favorite food topics. So, last week, I did a class on sandwiches, which was really an excuse to demo my favorite no-knead bread recipe and zip up a bunch of spreads in the food processor (who can't use a good recipe for Hummus?). We passed chopped veggies and a plate of cheese and coldcuts and made Dagwood-esque creations (altho not so tall). It was a lot of fun, I wasn't too nervous, and everyone got excited about chickpeas and tahini.
Now, I'm researching an egg-dying class for Easter. There are a lot of tantalizing recipes for natural dyes out there, but they are very slow to work. I'm trying to figure out the timing for everything, but we may have to resort to sending eggs home in jars of dye. I'm back at the sink, again, messing around with water; at least this time I can sprinkle ingredients with abandon. Tumeric makes an awesome yellow-orange, btw.
Zoom-a-zoom-a-zoom!
Saturday was my last full weekend at the store for a bit; May is going to be crazy-busy, so we decided to scale back classes so as not to overlap with all the graduation parties, welcome spring events and the start of the pre-farmers' market. So, I get a bit of a rest (to start planning the summer).
