Instructions: Dyes from simple kitchen ingredients produce eggs in surprising variations of soft, subtle hues, as a change from the more commonly seen bright colors.

You can use almost anything edible in your kitchen to color eggs, Chiarello has found.

Try beets for beige to bright pink eggs; coarsely chopped red cabbage for pale to royal blue; blueberries for lavender shades; brewed coffee for deep mocha color; cranberries for pale pink; turmeric for bright orange; or yellow onion skins with black peppercorns to produce beige to mauve tones.

Use 2 to 4 cups of the ingredient per pot, more for onion skins (about 4 to 6 cups) and less for spices such turmeric (start with about 1 tablespoon).

A warning: Use just one ingredient per batch to avoid muddy colors.

Instructions:
Place eggs in a deep, non-reactive saucepan. Add your coloring ingredient, then cover with a quart of cold water and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to fix the dye.

Gently simmer the eggs for 20 minutes or up to 3 hours, until you like the color.

For a beautifully delicate, shattered look, remove a few eggs and gently roll each in a soft towel. Return eggs to the pot for another half-hour.

You can eat the eggs so long as you havent used anything toxic in the dye.

If you dont eat them right away, you can store them, unshelled or with uncracked shells, in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

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