Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Wait: Overnight

Makes: 4 dyed eggs

1 quart water

One of the following coloring agents:

3 cups (about 4 whole) grated raw beets (for pink)

3 cups (about 1/2) grated red cabbage (for blue)

2 tablespoons ground turmeric (for yellow)

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

4 hard-cooked white eggs (recipe follows)

1. Boil: Settle water and one coloring agent in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until intensely colored, 30 minutes.

2. Fix: Let cool to room temperature. Strain out beets or cabbage (no need to strain turmeric). Stir in vinegar.

3. Dye: Add hard-cooked eggs; turn once to eliminate bald spots. Chill overnight. Pretty, right?

Hard-cooked eggs: If you’ve got a two-tiered strainer pot (the kind often used to boil noodles), this is a good time to find it. Settle cold large eggs in a single layer in the strainer portion or in a saucepan. Pour in cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring just to a boil. Pull pan off heat, cover and let rest 16 minutes. Pull out strainer (or scoop out eggs with a slotted spoon) and submerge in a pan of ice water. Cool 10 minutes.