創意茶葉蛋 來自復活節彩蛋的靈感

每年到了四月，住在西方國家的小朋友總是有吃不完的兔子巧克力跟水煮蛋，因為 Easter 復活節到了！復活節原本是紀念耶穌基督的復活日，但後來民間紀念復活節的習俗卻不完全源自於基督教，而為什麼是「兔子」？wiki 上說兔子表示多產，彩蛋代表兔子的蛋 (兔子是胎生ㄟ)，象徵新生命，風俗嘛，無需太嚴肅探究合理性，就像我們吃湯圓、粽子、月餅，也都有其典故所在。非常感謝巴西辣媽 whosjaja 跟我們分享她詳細的製作過程，雖然台灣很少有人過復活節，但天天有人買茶葉蛋吃，所以復活節彩蛋的製作創意，咱們也很適用的喔！

whosjaja: get ready, the totally organic dye project for last minute crafters. i hope you are ready with the preparations, you will need:
-white eggs (raw) 生雞蛋
-an old pair of tights 一雙舊絲襪 (要乾淨的喔)
-onion peels 洋蔥皮 (或是茶葉蛋滷包)
-herbs or mini plants, leaves 具特色外觀的葉子
- strong yarn 強韌的紗線
- a needle 一根針


whosjaja: first put all the herbs (little leaves, flower, plants) in a bowl with cold water, also all the onion peels in another bowl with cold water, leave the peels there soaking. 葉子跟洋蔥皮都先浸泡在冷水中。


whosjaja: take one leaf or plant out of the water and lay it with the face side on the egg, it will stick on egg because it's wet. 前葉面水分較多，才能有效貼緊蛋殼。


whosjaja: cut a piece of tights and pull it over the leaf around the egg stretching carefully the tights. 放慢動作將絲襪緊緊包覆著整顆蛋表面。


whosjaja: and tie it on backside with a strong yarn. 結尾處再以紗線綁緊。


whosjaja: use the needle to straighten the plants if necessary. 過程中如果葉子被絲襪壓擠到，再用針慢慢挑出完整的葉形。


whosjaja: do the same with all eggs. 有點費工喔，不妨找幾位親友一起加入，速度會更快。


whosjaja: transfer the peels and the already colored onion water in a pot and carefully add the eggs into this mix. let all this cook for about 10 minutes. 洋蔥皮在此主要是染色功能，你也可以用茶葉蛋滷包，煮個 10 分鐘，蛋殼變色就差不多了！因為今天不是要教大家如何滷茶葉蛋，而是要分大家分享如何在蛋殼上滷出創意，所以 10分鐘差不多，滷太久葉子會爛掉，造型會出不來喔。


whosjaja: under cold water cut the tights and take off the plants from the eggs. aaaand - surprise! 有沒有看到色差呢？


whosjaja: it looks so pretty, especially where the filigrane delicate plants were. 很漂亮吧！蛋殼上呈現出優雅的植物浮水印，還真有點捨不得吃它呢。


whosjaja: if you like it glossy, you can grease them with a little butter while they are still hot. 如果你想讓它們看起來更油油亮亮更美味，記得趁熱時塗些奶油喔。


whosjaja: arrange them in a bowl or basket. 擺盤很重要喔，拜託大家找塊好看的餐墊，都花時間 DIY 了，再墊報紙整個就沒 feel 啦。


whosjaja: i used my special palm leaf and moss, but it looks pretty with other natural elements like straw or grass too. 這麼具有南洋風的餐盤要去哪買？其實這是風乾後的棕櫚葉喔，一切取自天然，這也是鄉村風的精神喔。


whosjaja: happy easter! 復活節快樂！


無論現在是不是復活節，這招都很適用，其實生活中加點巧思，真的很簡單，也不用花大錢，咱們就可以輕鬆享受居家生活的樂趣囉！