Dyed eggs are as synonymous with Easter as chocolate bunnies, colorful baskets and lambs made out of butter. And the egg-dyeing process can seem like a simple one: mix, dunk, dry, done … right?! But the wrong technique can lead to splotchy eggs, stained fingers, and dye-splashed counters, turning a fun activity into a frustrating mess.

To help you really nail the egg-dyeing thing this year, we colored dozens of eggs and tested all of the buzzy hacks, so we could assemble a step-by-step plan for dying Easter eggs with food coloring. (You absolutely don’t need to buy a kit to produce rich, saturated colors. But we do have a few favorite egg-dyeing kits, if that’s your thing.) Now, let’s hop to it!

How to dye Easter eggs

What you need

Step 1: Clean and boil eggs (or don’t!)
Step 2: Mix the dye bath
Step 3: Gently add the eggs to the dye bath
Step 4: Pull eggs out and lay them out to dry
Step 5: Give them a roll
Step 6: Display and enjoy!

Egg dye

Liquid food coloring is the easiest to mix and produces bright, bold colors. We’re now seeing it marketed as “liquid food color and egg dye.”

White vinegar

Adding an acid to the dye bath helps the color adhere to the egg shell, making the color more saturated. If you don’t have any white vinegar in your pantry, lemon or lime juice will work just as well in a pinch.

Cups

Wide ceramic mugs or glasses make removing eggs easy, and the dye shouldn’t stain the vessels. You can also use disposable cups, if you prefer. No matter the material, to help prevent overflow, mugs or glasses should be large enough to hold at least 1 cup of water.

Gloves

Disposable gloves make handling eggs easy, and they also protect your fingers from stains.

Table covering

To prevent getting stains on your work surface, place thick craft paper, a piece of cardboard, or a plastic tablecloth under your dye cups.

Cooling rack

Metal cooling racks with slats can be a convenient place for your eggs to drip-dry. If you have a griddled rack, like the Sur La Table Stainless Steel Cooling Grid, you can flip it over so the eggs will nestle on the underside. Just make sure it’s elevated so the dye doesn’t pool. Not a baker? Small plastic bottle caps can hold eggs upright while they dry.

Baking sheet or cutting board

Line an unrimmed baking sheet or a plastic cutting board with a rag or paper towels, to catch the drips off the cooling rack. (Note: Dye can stain surfaces, so now is not the time to pull out a fancy wooden charcuterie board.) It’s not completely necessary to line a rimmed baking sheet, since there’s less risk of the dye running off the rack and onto your table.

Step 1: Clean and boil eggs

After checking your raw eggs to make sure they’re clean and not cracked, give them a good washing (this helps the dye adhere better). Then follow your favorite hard-boiled egg recipe, to prep eggs for dyeing.

Step 2: Mix the dye bath

Food coloring can stain porous surfaces and fabrics, so you need to protect your work surface. Dyeing eggs with kids? Expect curious fingers and a couple of inevitable spills. Play clothes or aprons are a must.

If you’re using a kit, follow package directions.

If you’re using liquid egg dye, line up your cups and add liquid food coloring, plus white vinegar or lemon juice (see quantities below), and mix together completely. Then add room-temperature water so the cup is no more than half-full. We repeat: half-full. You can always add more water once the eggs are in, but starting with less prevents your dye bath from overflowing. Before you dunk in an egg, be sure to stir the water into the vinegar coloring mixture.

The food coloring–to–vinegar ratio is not an exact science, but the vibrancy of your eggs depends on how much you add at the start.

For pastel eggs: Start with 3 or 4 drops of food coloring, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, and ½ cup water, and soak for at least 5 minutes.

For bright eggs: Double the food coloring, vinegar, and soaking time, but stick to ½ cup water.

Step 3: Gently add the eggs to the dye bath

Once the eggs are cool, it’s time to lower them into the room-temperature dye baths. To avoid doing a balancing act, skip the spoon or egg dipper tool, and put on a pair of disposable gloves so you can use your hands. You’ll have more control, which means less splashing, which means less cleanup. Keep a rag or paper towel nearby so you can quickly wipe off any excess dye from your gloves as you go—essential if you want to avoid accidental color mixing.

Leave the eggs in the dye bath undisturbed for at least 5 minutes before you check them. (Remember: The longer you leave them, the more saturated the color will be, so patience is everything if you’re going for bold and bright.) Since eggs have a tendency to float on their side, it helps to rotate them at the halfway mark to ensure even color around the outside.

Step 4: Pull eggs out and lay them out to dry

When your eggs reach just the right shade, it’s drying time. With plastic gloves on, pluck each egg out of the dye bath, give it a light shake (to remove any remaining dye droplets), and gently place it on your cooling-rack-and-baking-sheet setup. Keep that paper towel from before handy—you’ll definitely want to wipe your gloved fingers between extractions, to prevent unwanted fingerprints.

Step 5: Give them a roll

Once the surface looks dry or tacky, use your gloved fingers to flip each egg over. A little bit of dye may pool at the bottom, so we found that rolling them over speeds up drying time and prevents water marks. When the eggs appear dry all around, slide the whole tray into the fridge for a few hours, to prevent the dye from smudging or transferring to another egg. No matter how hard you try, bubble dots and watermarks can be somewhat impossible to avoid. But we think they can be kind of cute and fun, like on our red egg above.

Step 6: Display and enjoy!

Once the dyed boiled eggs are completely dry, you can display them in a ceramic egg crate, a decorative basket, or a kitchen bowl, without worry of transferring colors. Just remember to return eggs to the fridge after two hours, and eat them within a week of boiling, for food-safety reasons. If you’ve dyed uncooked eggs, you should keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to cook with them. nytimes.com

Consider when, how and where you’ll be riding.

To find the motorcycle that suits you best, you’ll need to think about what you want out of riding in general. Think about the key characteristics you’ll look for in a bike by asking questions such as:

• Do you want to ride your bike as part of your daily commute? Many commuter riders choose agile bikes with smaller engines that get excellent gas mileage.
• Do you want to test your skills on a track? A bike built for sensitive handling such as a sport bike or cafe racer might be what you’re looking for.
• Do you want to take your bike on long road trips? Look into bikes built for long-haul comfort and extra cargo capacity such as cruisers and touring bikes.
• Will you be riding mostly on urban streets, rural roads or a mix of both? Urban riders typically favor smaller, lighter bikes for navigating traffic, while rural riders may opt either for something a little bigger or for an adventure bike that can tackle dirt and gravel roads.

Research is your friend.

It’s a good idea to go into the buying process with a list of models you’re interested in and features you’re looking for. Do some digging on the Internet to learn about the reputations of different brands and models, including which are known to be reliable and good for beginners. There are plenty of great guides available online to help you sort out the differences between brands and models, as well as to help make sense of the complex performance specs you might encounter.

Your friends who ride motorcycles are a priceless resource here, so make sure to ask for their opinions and learn in detail about what they like about various models–and don’t be afraid to ask them to come along when you make your purchase. Motorcycle forums and social media groups are also often rich with information, and many seasoned riders are eager to share their experiences with new riders. (As always, take anything an anonymous stranger on the Internet tells you with a grain of salt.)

Make sure the bike is a comfortable fit for your body.

Your body has a much closer relationship with a motorcycle than it does with a car or truck. A motorcycle needs to be comfortable for your particular body shape, so spend some time sitting on the bike and feeling out its height and weight. Due to liability issues, you may not always be able to test drive a motorcycle (particularly if you’re buying it from a private seller), but you can at least get an idea of whether or not the bike is comfortable to sit on.

Seat height and saddle shape are particularly important, as these features are usually hard to change without significantly modifying the bike. Newer riders will usually want a bike with a low enough saddle that they can plant both feet flat on the ground at a stoplight. Even motorcycle styles with higher suspensions such as sport bikes have beginner-focused models that often include lower seats.

It’s also key to get a bike that’s not too heavy for you. Many cruisers and touring bikes are on the heavy side, making them potentially tougher to handle for beginners and easier to drop. And while any experienced rider will tell you that dropping a bike is something that will happen to you eventually, no matter your skill level, it’s really helpful to have a bike that you feel confident handling.

Make sure the motorcycle’s paperwork is in order.

If you’re buying a used motorcycle, you’ll need to do a little extra due diligence on your paperwork, particularly if you’re buying a bike directly from its owner. Take the time to ensure that all of the bike’s essential paperwork is squared away, including:

Make sure the seller can present you with a title and that the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the bike matches the VIN on the title.

Write up a bill of sale and make sure that you and the seller both sign and date it. (You can find easy-to-use motorcycle bill of sale templates online.)

Check with your state DMV to ensure that the motorcycle is legally registered to the seller. Be wary of anyone selling a bike that isn’t registered in their name, as the bike might be stolen.

Use your state DMV’s website or another VIN search engine to ensure that the motorcycle has no liens against it from creditors and that its title is not a salvage title.

If a private seller seems evasive about the bike’s history and records, stay on the safe side and move on. You don’t want the hassle and risk of buying a bike that may get you tied up in legal troubles when you try to register it, or one that’s been previously wrecked and is no longer safe to ride.

Get your new baby tuned up.

Once you’ve made your purchase, it’s always a good idea to invest in a tune-up for your new bike. You’ll want to develop a relationship with a trusted motorcycle mechanic, so now is the perfect time to find a shop you like. Ask your rider friends to recommend mechanics they trust or look up reviews online to find a great mechanic.

A good motorcycle tune-up should include an oil change, plus a check of other fluid levels and brake pads. It’s also a good time to ask the mechanic any lingering questions you have about the bike mechanically—although hopefully, you’ve gotten clarification on any major points before making the final purchase.

Insurance is a must.

Remember that you’ll need a motorcycle insurance policy on your new bike before you take it out on the road. Most major auto insurance companies also offer motorcycle insurance, so you may be able to find a great policy through the same company that ensures your primary vehicle.

Motorcycle insurance policies cover most of the same things that typical automobile policies do. At the baseline level, that will include liability insurance for bodily injury and property damage, but it can also be a good idea to get collision insurance that will help repair or replace your bike and/or underinsured motorist insurance that will protect you against drivers who aren’t carrying a sufficient insurance policy.

Contact Lallis & Higgins Insurance.

Source: cardosystems.com

St. Patrick's Day is almost here! What's more Irish than a traditional recipe for corned beef and cabbage? Serve with mustard or horseradish if desired.

If you're looking for the best corned beef and cabbage recipe on the internet, you've come to the right place. You won't believe how simple it is to make this top-rated recipe. It's perfect for St. Patrick's Day, but you'll want to make it all year long.

What Is Corned Beef?

Corned beef is salt-cured beef. Before electricity paved the way for refrigeration, meat was preserved in salt. Brisket (the tender meat from the lower breast) is traditionally used to make corned beef in the United States.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Origins

So how did corned beef and cabbage become such a dynamic duo? It's actually an American invention. Historically, cabbage was paired with pork bacon in Ireland. Irish immigrants in 19th-century New York City, who often lived in the same neighborhood as Jewish butchers, noticed flavor similarities between the corned beef of NYC delicatessens and the pork bacon of their homeland. Thus, corned beef and cabbage was born. These days, it's commonly associated with St. Patrick's Day.

Corned Beef vs. Pastrami

Corned beef and pastrami are both deli staples, but they're not the same thing. Corned beef is salt-cured beef that is cooked by boiling, while pastrami is seasoned and smoked beef.

How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 (3 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet
10 small red potatoes
5 medium carrots
1 large head cabbage

Directions:

Gather all ingredients.

Place corned beef in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Add spice packet, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until corned beef is just about fork-tender, about 2 hours.

While the corned beef is simmering, cut potatoes in half. Peel carrots and cut into 3-inch pieces. Cut cabbage into small wedges.

When corned beef has cooked for 2 hours, add potatoes and carrots; cook until vegetables are almost tender and meat is fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Add cabbage and cook until tender, about 15 more minutes.

Remove meat and let it rest for 15 minutes. Leave broth and vegetables in the Dutch oven.Slice meat across the grain. Serve with vegetables and broth.

Enjoy!

allrecipes.com

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