Egg Basket Project

My mother let me have her grandmother's little wire egg basket. It's easily over 100 years old--a clever little basket that collapses down on the eggs to hold them in place and keep them from breaking. Beyond utility and charm, it is a timeless toy. A child (or adult) can play endlessly with the basket, opening and closing, folding and unfolding, watching the woven wire bloom out and fold back in. The egg basket has withstood the test of time and generations of grandchildren working its hinges. The wire is a little misshapen, but it has not fatigued.

My Grandmother R tried to spiff it up with some white paint, and we have gotten nearly most of it off. One of these days I will try to work the rest of the paint and the rust off with a light sandpaper or wire brush.

I have it displayed with The American Woman Cookbook, another heirloom from the same (I think) great-grandmother. If you want to cook pigeon or suspend anything in aspic, this is a great reference. Googling the title provides some entertaining results. My copy looked much better when I first got it, but an Afghan Hound I had ever so briefly chewed it (hence the brevity). The spoon, if I have my history correct, belonged to my Dad's grandmother. I bought the bowl at an antique store. It is unquestionably old, but has a machined appearance.

The eggs are real. I stained them a more "farm-fresh" ecru color with a coffee/vinegar mixture. I can't stand real "farm-fresh" brown eggs, with their yucky, gamey, orange yolks. And the notion that they could be fertilized. Gag. But the brown ones give the basket a more authentic look.

After staining and rinsing, I blew the egg contents out through a tiny hole punctured in each end. My Grandma D showed me how to do that with Easter Eggs. She and I would blow out the yolks and whites which she would mix into a recipe, and we would dye the empty shells.

H was both mortified and highly entertained by the egg blowing process. It was harder to do with all the giggling and commentary, but he got either bored or grossed out by the third egg and went to watch football, so the rest were easier.