Natural Easter Egg Dye

I am hesitant to share this, but since I promised a few folks I would, I figured I should follow through.

This Easter (I know, it is long-past), I tried to make all natural egg dyes. I boiled onion skins (for yellow), beets (for red), and spinach (for green). I poured dark coffee (for brown) and red grape juice (for purple) into glasses. I mixed the colored liquids with white vinegar and placed hard boiled eggs in the mixtures.

And then my husband and I waited. We checked on the mostly-still-white eggs and waited some more. The eggs barely retained the color. The brown was goopy and started to peel off. The other colors, which seemed dark in the glasses, barely had an effect on the eggs.

In the end, we decided to use the back-up, chemical dyes. Within minutes we had brilliantly colored eggs. We knew that the all natural dyes would result in lighter, more matte colors, but we barely even achieved that.

I’m not sure what happened. I researched the process online and followed what seemed to be standard recipes.

For readers who make their own dyes, what’s the trick?

Yorkshire Pudding

I’d never tried Yorkshire Pudding until a friend kindly prepared it (along with a rib roast) for dinner one night. It was delicious and I can’t wait to make it myself. It seems to be one of the easiest things in the world to make. Regardless of difficulty, it was quite impressive!

I’m planning on following this recipe from Epicurious.

What are your favorite easy-yet-impressive recipes?

Dolcezza Gelato in Washington, DC

I ate gelato as often as possible in Italy while I was living there. Nothing I’ve tried in the United States comes close to the same texture or purity of seasonal flavor. That is, until my husband and I discovered Dolcezza  in Washington, D.C., a few years ago. We immediately became regulars.

Their website reminds us of the differences between Italian gelato and American ice cream:

It contains half the fat (see, you can eat it everyday like you want to.)


There is less air mixed into the treat.


It is served at slightly warmer temperatures.

When we returned to Georgetown for a spring visit, we immediately walked up Wisconsin Avenue for a dish. Between us, we tried these flavors: cinnamon, Thai coconut milk, pistachio and honey. My favorite? The cinnamon, which was both intense and spicy.

We look forward to taste-testing their gelato at each of the four Farmer’s Markets where they sell and the Bethesda location after we move to Washington. You know, just to make sure the gelato is as good as it is at their Georgetown location. We wouldn’t want to lead you astray or spend a gelato-free day.

Zingerman's Do-Over Dinner: Algerian Jewish Dinner

One approach to food writing is to always be anonymous. Eat undercover; review with a fake name. The writer will never get preferential treatment and perhaps can offer the readers a more honest review.

That said, my husband and I were invited to the Zingerman’s Roadhouse for a do-over dinner after I blogged about a less spectacular “Special Dinner.” As you might have guessed, neither of us wore Salvador Dali moustaches to twirl while ordering a drink.

Everyone was quite gracious and the food was delicious. In fact, we used the fresh bread on the table to “fare la scarpetta” after almost every dish.

The lamb in the entrée was moist and complemented the poached egg. It was a combination that I wasn’t familiar with and it worked very nicely. I’m pretty certain I’ve never had fresh dates before and the two on the salad were sweet like candy. My favorite was the Regional Chickpea & Garlic Soup. As I tasted the first bite, I heard my father’s voice joking, “There won’t be any vampires in this group!” He’s right! It was so strong it was almost spicy.

Here is the complete menu:

Appetizer: Bestel of Fresh Grilled Tuna & Potato


Soup: Regional Chickpea & Garlic Soup


Salad: Carrot Salad with Dates


Entrée: Kouski bil Ghalmi (Braised Lamb with Ras al Hanout)


Side: Chakchouka (Ragout of Chickpeas and Peppers with a Poached Egg on Steamed Cous-Cous


Desserts: Semolina Honey Cake & Almond Stuffed Cigars

I tried the Pomegranate Mojito which had Bacardi, fresh mint, simple syrup, lime juice and pomegranate syrup. Allergic to corn syrup, I was happy to discover that they make their own simple syrup and the pomegranate syrup is made with cane sugar. It would be perfect on a hot day outside.

Each dish had an interesting new taste from to the combination of flavors less common in European cooking. The flavors and the history were explained by Rebecca Wall, a graduate student at the University of Michigan who studies Algerian Jewish cuisine and history. She gave a wonderfully informative talk with slides. She ended the talk with this quote from French historian Pascal Ory:

Cuisine is one of the most distinctive expressions of an ethnic group, or, in modern times, a nation. Frequently, the last sign of an individual’s attachment to his roots before total assimilation into the host community is the consumption of distinctive kinds of food.

If you missed the dinner, I recommend this great interview with Rebecca Wall from the Roadhouse blog.

And so the saga ends. Happy eating at the Zingerman’s Roadhouse, friends! If you’d like to join me for a meal there, I have to warn you that I might wear a disguise.

The Ginger People Company

I’m not a brand-loyal kind of a buyer, but I do love almost everything that The Ginger People produce. The spicy yet sweet taste of ginger comes through their numerous products. And these are products that would take quite a while to make on your own (I know because I’ve tried to make crystallized ginger and ginger syrup. Not quick activities.) So, forget about making everything yourself and indulge in a few store-bought treats.

My husband, who loves all things ginger, first introduced me to the Original Ginger Chews. They melt down eventually, but are temporarily as chewy as gum and offer a burst of energy healthier than coffee. We’ve since tried some of the other flavors, Spicy Apple and Hot Coffee, but always come back to the Originals.

The Ginger Beer is refreshing on a hot day and the syrup works just fine anywhere you’d add honey or maple syrup, like tea, pancakes, yogurt or vanilla ice cream. This morning’s yogurt smoothie with plain yogurt and blueberries perked up with a teaspoon of the syrup.

Their regular newsletters share news about the benefits of ginger (good for athletes for a quick re-charge) and plenty of recipes from drinks to breakfast to dinner to appetizers to of course, desserts. I grew up having a ginger ale if my stomach was troublesome and these dishes offer the same relief with no corn syrup. I’ve read that pregnant women with nausea rely on fresh ginger and The Ginger People’s treats.

Their products are becoming more common in specialty and regular supermarkets. I’ve found a number of them for reasonable prices at the Ann Arbor World Market. I haven’t found the Ginger Juice, though, which sounds great for a summer mixed drink. Since squeezing a piece of ginger root myself sounds troublesome, I might just order it online.

What’s your favorite ginger recipe?

Shatila Bakery in Dearborn, MI

Shatila Bakery in Dearborn, MI serves “Sweets from the Middle East From the Heart of the Midwest.” Counter after counter of treats are available, including seemingly endless types of baklava, desserts with nuts (mamoul), and more, including French pastries. They also have savory pies, such as a chicken shawarma wrap.

You can order online, pick up at the counter or just plop yourself down with a coffee and enjoy them at one of their many café tables.

It can be overwhelming to see so many honey-sweetened treats that might be unfamiliar to you. The staff is incredibly helpful and there’s always the old fashioned pointing method. As in, I’ll have them all!

We love this place so much that it is included in the rounds of the Detroit area when guests come to town. It isn’t to be missed. If you go after dark, you can buy a tray to bring with you to the nearby Ford Wyoming Drive-In.

Italian Language Book Resources

For those of you interested in studying Italian, I’ve put together a list of suggested texts.


I primarily teach Italian to adults who are planning a trip to Italy to see the sites, taste the cuisine and maybe even visit relatives in small towns. These texts are geared towards this level of study. They are user-friendly, organized and offer exercises with answers. They are also fairly inexpensive, especially compared to college level textbooks.

If you are interested in private or small-group tutoring or cooking classes with a language component, please email me at ChloeMiller(at)gmail(dot)com. I am in Ann Arbor, Michigan through the summer and then will be relocating to the Washington, DC metro area.