NEXT MEETING:
Come and hear the 2010 Hastings Teachers Delegation to Guilin share their experience and insights after their visit in September last year. These classroom teachers visited city and rural schools, kindergartens and Guangxi Normal University and tried their skills at calligraphy and basketball.
The Branch AGM will be held at 7.30pm sharp and is expected to last 30 minutes.
Date: Friday 1 April
Time: 7.30pm
Where: Hastings District Council Chambers in Lyndon Road.
MARBLED EGGS – (an idea for Easter)
The Chinese use black tea in making marbled or porcelain eggs, as they are also called – an unusual snack to be eaten with a cup of tea.
For 4 persons, you need 8 eggs, 3 tablespoons black tea, 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce and 1 teaspoon salt.
Place the eggs in a large saucepan, add 2 litres water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs and place them in a dish of cold water. Do not throwaway the water in which the eggs have been boiled. When the eggs are cool, remove them from the water and tap the shell of each egg with the back of a spoon until the whole shell is covered with a network of cracks.
Return the eggs to the saucepan of water in which they were boiled. add the tea, soy sauce and salt, bring to the boil. and then simmer for 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow the eggs to cool in the liquid. Remove the eggs from the cold liquid and gently detach the cracked shells. On each egg, there should be a handsome web like pattern with the appearance of weathered marble or porcelain. Cut the eggs in halves or quarters and serve as an accompaniment to other cold dishes, or as a garnish for a hot dish. The eggs can be stored, unshelled in the liquid, preferably in a refrigerator, for up to 2 days.
FESTIVE EGGS The above recipe can be used to create eggs for festive occasions. Use less tea and replace the soy sauce with natural pigments. Here are some suggestions: tomato puree, scarlet; beetroot juice, pink or crimson; blackberry juice, mauve; blackcurrant juice, pale blue; mushy peas, pea green; and cocoa, fawn.
