Real Homemade Easter Eggs

This was a simple, fun and cheapish activity that I did to make unique Easter eggs for Turtle and her mates at mum's group.  I also sent a couple to my niece and nephew in Adelaide.  They are real eggs that have the inside blown, they are dyed green, filled with sultanas and chocolates and then decorated and wrapped.

Wrapped and ready to go - Real Homemade Easter Egg

How to make Real Homemade Easter Eggs (Total 3 hours)

Step 1: Blow the eggs (30 minutes)

This got easier with each egg and I didn't use a scalpel as suggested in the link, just a metal skewer. It was really easy to jab a hole with the skewer and make it bigger.  I left the eggs to dry in the carton with a piece of paper towel to soak up any water.  It would make sense to dye the eggs immediately (step 2) if you want them to have colour and then dry but I did it the next day.

Step 2: Dye the eggs (30 minutes)

I made four times the the recipe provided in the link to immerse eggs completely and gain better coverage in half the time.  Using blown eggs made it easier because they fill up with dye water and sink... so no stressing about them bobbing around in the dye and getting a patchy coverage.  I could fit three eggs into the bowl too so that cut down on the time it took considerably. The dye is quick to take but I decided to keep each egg in for about 5 minutes on each side (as suggested) to get a good effect.  The plain eggs seemed to absorb the dye much better than the speckled eggs.

Step 3: Fill the eggs with treats, decorate and wrap (up to 2 hours)

This was the most creative part of the project. I found it quite hard to cover the holes at the end of the eggs with stickers as suggested in the link. They just wouldn't stick! I luckily bought some stars that seemed to stick down the bigger stickers that struggled to grip around the egg curves - especially on the speckled eggs which have a rough surface. I decorated a couple of the eggs in egg cups which meant I got much better coverage for the decorations. However if I waited until each dried (around 5 hours) then it would have taken forever to do 8 (ahem, after my accident - 7!) eggs. So I laid out newspaper and decorated the eggs lying on that. They stayed in place really well and dried without smudging. I found using glitter paint pens really easy.

To wrap I cut up the egg carton into individual holders and wrapped the eggs with recycled cellophane and ribbon.

Lessons learnt

I would probably glue stickers or decorations over the holes next time to make sure they stick properly.  I didn't want to get out glue this time since I thought it might get too messy but I think it is worth doing it so they stay on.

Be careful and don't forget you're working with fragile materials! Haha, lesson learnt by dropping and smashing one of the eggs.

Costs

I had the eggs in the fridge already and was, coincidentally, planning to make Japanese omelettes so that meant they were all eaten straight away.  I had to buy the metal skewers (~$7) but they will definitely be useful for many barbecues and meals to come.  I had green dye in the house (from a St Patricks Day party a couple of years ago) and so decided to keep things simple and make all of the eggs green.  Granted they did look like big olives until they were decorated but that didn't worry me.

I bought some stickers to cover the holes in the blown eggs and some glittery pens to write names and decorate the eggs for a total of $17.50.  The glitter paint pens will definitely be used for many more craft activities to come.  I also bought some mini chocolates (M&M's) for $2.50 to put into the eggs with sultanas that we already had at home.

In total the project cost me just less than $30 for 7 personalised eggs (originally 8 but I dropped one) and took a total of three hours.

Sustainability

I am happy that I saved on waste by not buying prepackaged chocolate eggs or foil wrapped ones. The sultanas were organic so that is a healthy and wholesome treat. I think the mini M&M's need to be changed for another treat that is more sustainable if I can find one. I will have to think about what I could do instead.  Suggestions are welcomed!

Overall I was quite happy with this little project, the treats are pretty healthy and the egg is quite exciting to crack into.  I highly recommend you give it a try at some point.

What do you think? Do you like the idea of real homemade Easter eggs?

Lizzing Lightly

Kale and Celery Soup Recipe

This soup was born from trying to use up some of the veggies in the garden, which were predominantly kale and celery of course! It was refreshing to have celery as the key flavour of a soup. I know summer isn't really the season for soup but it has cooled down a bit (it is early autumn after all) and the celery flavour made it feel right somehow.

Coarsely chopped kale, celery and potatoes in the pot

Since the soup was green and tasted so healthy it felt like a bit of a detox.  We really enjoyed it with a good sprinkling of pepper.

Kale and Celery Soup Recipe

Total time to cook: 1hr 15 mins
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 mins
Time to blend: 5 minutes

Kale and Celery Soup Recipe Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 whole celery
1 bunch kale
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 x 8 cm ginger (use more if you really like ginger)
7 potatoes

Method

Chop vegetables coarsley, cut ginger finely so that it blends properly.  Add olive oil to a large saucepan and heat on high.  Add ginger, garlic and onions and fry until onions are soft and translucent.  Add the rest of the vegetables all at once.  Add pre-boiled water to just under the level of the vegetables.  Bring to the boil and then keep bubbling gently for 30-40 mins or until the vegetables are all soft.  Blend (I use a hand stick mixer) until smooth and season to taste.  Serve with crusty bread or toast.

Have you got any recipes that you have created to use up vast amounts of vegetables from the garden? Were they a success?