Egged On

Prema over at River's Grace has been encouraging me to post projects. This might make an interesting start. We'll have to do it in stages, though. It takes a long-term outlook, as they say on Wall Street.

In February and March, I save egg shells when I cook. By the time Easter rolls around, I've got a stash of shells to make little pastel, egg-shaped candles for the dinner table. (Stop rolling your eyes back there. They're really cute!) I also dye some of them to hang from branches in a big vase. Maybe later I'll show you how to use silk fabric to marble eggs.

Oh, dear, Prema. See what you've started?

Back to the shells. Maybe you've blown eggs before. (You in the back. Pipe down.) Well, blowing eggs...blows. It's much easier to cut holes and shake out the contents. For most projects, a bigger hole doesn't matter.

Use kitchen shears to snip a hole in the top (small end) of the egg.


Gently push in the point of the shears to poke the hole. If you have trouble, use something smaller—maybe an ice pick or one of those turkey clips. Once you've got it started, snip the edges until the hole is about the diameter of a pencil. Shake out the contents for your recipe and set the shell aside.



While whatever you're making cooks, wash out the shells. First, rinse them with warm water. Make sure you get rid of all the egg slime. Most years, I soak the shells in bleach water, but I'm trying to use fewer chemicals around the house. Last night I poured boiling water in each shell and let them all sit in the carton until the water cooled down. I think it will work fine. The point is, you've got to kill any salmonella germs lurking inside and you've got to get the shells clean so they don't smell later.

Get to baking! We're gonna need lots of shells pretty soon.



Today's Bit O' Beauty: Antique crystal in my china cabinet.