By the time I finished coloring these eggs yesterday, it was almost sundown. The light was low and dimming and I hurriedly took a picture with my point-and-shoot. I prefer taking pictures in the daytime when it's bright and sunny; sundown (I, otherwise, love the fertile hours that follow ) gives me the creeps. I've already saved a foldable light tent box on my Amazon wishlist and plan to order it soon or, better still, get someone to order it for me – my birthday being due in May.

I drew on the hard-boiled eggs freehand with blue and turquoise ink. For drawing out the thicker lines, I used felt/sketch pens. My designs are inspired by blue porcelain pottery and Persian tiles. I absolutely adore the intricate patterns on traditional Ukranian Easter eggs or pysanky eggs which uses a technique that goes by the name 'wax-resist dyeing' or batik. The process involves drawing patterns on the surface of an egg with hot beeswax and then dipping it in dye (you'll find a tutorial here ).

I hope to learn it someday.

 

And, here's the deviled egg (topped with mozzarella, crushed peppercorn & lemon zest) we had for breakfast:

Where I live, cream cheese is hard to find. However, I made some at home with cottage cheese, yogurt and heavy cream for this silky, decadent fruit dip:

For the homemade cream cheese (which turned out surprisingly well), I used the following:

a. 250 gms cottage cheese (either store bought or prepared at home by adding vinegar/lemon juice to hot [but not boiling] milk)

b. 1 heaped teaspoon yogurt (you can play with flavors here; I used flavorless store-bought yougurt for this recipe)

c. 1 teaspoon heavy cream (optional)

d. 1 tablespoon caster sugar

e. A few drops of vanilla extract

Blend the cottage cheese and the yogurt thoroughly in the blender. Add cream. Blend again until smooth. Transfer the cream cheese to a muslin cloth, knot up the ends of the cloth letting it hang from a peg for abour 2-3 hours (or until well drained).

In a mixing bowl, add the sugar and a dash of vanilla to the cream cheese. Blend evenly. Serve chilled with the fruits of your choice.

Happy Easter, people!