Time for another edition of Cooking Cute with La Carmina! As you know, I love to Japan-ify Western foods by decorating them as kawaii characters. Today, we'll make hard-boiled cuties will put a smile on the grumpiest morning-face.
Ingredients: 6 eggs, food coloring, 6 teaspoons vinegar, a few sprigs of rosemary, mixed salad greens, small carrot
† HARD-BOILED EGGS: Place six eggs in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover the eggs by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately place in a bowl of cold water to chill.
† DYING THE EGGS: For each color, fill a small cup with 1/4 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, and 20 drops of food coloring. Immerse one hard-boiled egg per cup to dye the shells. To color the egg whites, peel the boiled egg before placing it in the dye. Let sit for 30-60 minutes.
Peel three hard-boiled eggs and prop upright on bottlecaps.
1. MOUSTACHE MAN. With a sharp paring knife, cut a moustache and facial features from a few leaves of purple lettuce. Press the pieces onto the egg.
2. SLEEPY DUCK. Carefully poke a small hole in the peeled boiled egg and remove the yolk. Fill the hole with salsa or sauce, and re-insert the yolk so that it protrudes from the hole. Cut out eyes and nostrils from rosemary or dark salad greens.
3. NEWBORN CHICK. Immerse a peeled egg in yellow food dye. Crack a raw egg and save half of the shell. Place the yellow boiled egg in the shell. To make the eyes, cut out two circles from purple lettuce. A small piece of carrot forms the beak.
Here's the obligatory photo of Basil Farrow admiring my egg creations. All together now: one, two, three, awwww!
4. LOVERS IN HATS. With a black marker and pink highlighter, draw a smiley face and cheeks on the shells of two hard-boiled eggs. Make hats out of salad greens. Form a heart out of two sprigs of rosemary.
5. KAWAII ANIMALS: For an Easter egg effect, dye the shells of three eggs yellow, pink, and green. With marker pens, draw the faces of a chick, pig, and bear. Serve with salad greens.
Unlike with last time's cheeseball, no taste testers were injured in the making of these eggs. Next up: an 80s-era meal and a frog-tastic dessert!
