Chocolate angel food cake made simple

Growing up my birthday cake was always angel food cake. One year when I was about 10 I wanted it to be chocolate so I found a recipe and learned how to make it from scratch. Eventually I took that cake to the county fair, and won a purple ribbon plus the change to take it to the state fair. At the state fair I got a blue ribbon. Yum! Its a lot of work to make an angel food cake from scratch so after that I searched for a faster way to get that chocolate taste. After much experimenting with cake brands and cocoa powder brands I came upon the correct solution. I am not a "brand loyalty" person for many things, however, for this cake you must use these brands to get it to work correctly and taste great!

What you'll need:

1 box Betty Crocker white angel food cake mix

1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa powder

water (as directed on box)

What to do:

1. Mix cake mix with water according to package directions. (hint start with a little water and little mix and work your way up to all of it being added this will give you maximum cake "lift")

2. Add in 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Mix your cake until it holds a stiff peak (this is hard to get with box kinds, do your best so that if you lift a bit of the batter up it makes a "mountain")

3. Pour into un-greased angel food cake pan. "cut" through with a knife to ensure no air bubbles. Tape lighly on the counter to make the top even.

4. Bake according to package directions.

homemade vegetable broth

Buying vegetable broth can get expensive when you cook a lot. A few years ago my husband decided to research and figure out how to make it. It turns out that it is really simple and really inexpensive to do and it tastes so much better then store boughten stuff. A lot of things I've been making latley require broth so I thought it would be a good time to share how to make it.

What you'll need:
A large ziplock bag of vegetable parts such as carrot peels, potatoe, peels, onion skins, pepper tops, etc
           -note I often gather my veggies in a Ziploc and freeze them until I have enough or need to make broth














Water
Something to strain the broth with when you are done such as cheese cloth

What to do:
1. You'll have to gage the amount of water verious how much vegetable "parts" you have. I reccommend 3 cups of vegetables to about 8 cups of water

2. Heat your water and vegetable parts on the stove until you reach just below a boil.

3. Let the vetables and water soak at just under a boil for about an hour or until broth starts to change to a carmel color and vegetables lose most of their color

4. Store broth in the refridgerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer 6-7 months

(sorry this doesn't look very appetizing I am trying to show more the color you are going for, it tastes good in things promise!)

notes:
storage you will want to very based on how you use the broth. I typically store in a cleaned out 1/2 gallon milk container or in 1-2 cup portions in ziplock bags.

chocolate-chipotle chili

CHOCOLATE-CHIPOTLE CHILI
Adapted from http://urbanvegan.blogspot.com

What you'll need:
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced

2 cans beans of your choice (I used pinto and  navy)
½ cup textured vegetable protein
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 28 oz can tomato puree
1 cup red and/or green pepper, chopped
1 cup corn (frozen is fine)
1 T dried parsley
1 T dried cilantro
3 T olive oil
1½ -2 tsp chipotle chili powder (Start with less and add to taste)
2 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
Water or veggie broth to add, as needed 

½ cup dark chocolate buttons or chips, minimum 60% cocoa

Optional ingredients to add if you like:
¼ tsp of cayenne pepper
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1½ T agave nectar

What to do:
1.Heat olive oil to medium in a frying pan. Add onions and garlic and cook until glossy—a few minutes.

 2. Mix onion and garlic with all vegetables, textured vegetable protein, and seasoning in a large crock pot (the only thing you should not add at this point is the chocolate)
3. Cook in your crock pot until veggies are semi-soft and all ingredients are mixed well, stirring occasionally. The recipe should reach a boil before you move on.
4. You may want to add water or veggie broth if you allow the chili to cook for a while. You may also need it if the chili is to thick. Keep your eye on it in the crock pot and stir occasionally.   
5. Add chocolate, mix in well. Add seasonings to taste

6. Cook chili until everything is well mixed and soft. This could be a an hour or longer deepening on how hot you cook and how much time you have. I often times like to start this on Friday evening let it cook until I go to bed, refrigerate over night, and then reheat Saturday morning and serve for lunch.7. Serve 6-8 people

Notes:
This works well for lunches during the week
The longer you cook the chili the better the flavors blend together. This is why I offten cook chilis like this for 2 diffrent days.

Brown Rice Flour Bread

Brown Rice Flour Bread

(for the bread machine)

From the Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger

What you’ll need (1 ½ lb loaf):

1 ¼ cup water

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Honey

1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white bread flour

¾ cup brown rice flour

1 ½ Tbsp nonfat dry milk

1 ½ Tbsp gluten

1 ½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp yeast

How to make it:

1. Place all ingredients in the bread pan according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Set crust to dark and use the whole wheat cycle. You may make this recipe with your delay timer setting. Press start
2. When the baking is done remove from the bread pan. Let cool to room temperature for the best slicing. Enjoy!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Notes: 
   *This bread is amazing for sandwiches.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Blue chesse pecan salad

This recipe was inspired by my trip to Lanesboro, MN this last summer. What did I learn, salad is what you make of it. This salad's ingredients hit on many of the food groups you need each day and will also fill you up. It makes a great weeknight super or is easy to pack for a quick filling lunch.
Blue cheese pecan salad
What you'll need:
*Your favorite lettuce or spinach mix (note this could be as simple as a head of iceberg chopped up)
*Blue cheese
*Pecans chopped into bite sized pieces
*Raspberry walnut vinaigrette
*Optional: raisins, and/or an apple chopped into bite sized pieces

How to make it: 

1. Add all ingredients together, with as much or little as you like. Enjoy!

Notes:

*This is a Kristel original salad combination.

*When taking salad in your lunch take a separate container for the dressing so your salad doesn't get soggy. Add in right before you eat.

Cina-Beer French Toast

Sometimes in life you randomly discover really tasty things. Last Sunday I had one of these days. I had wanted some French toast for a few days and when I woke up before my husband Sunday it was a good time to surprise him with some fresh breakfast. My house is typically stocked for baking as I love to bake, especially bread. So I didn't think twice about having what I needed for ingredients. It turned out I had barley any milk or eggs so I got creative and saw the beer in my fridge and created this:

Cina-Beer French Toast

This recipe makes about 3-4 pieces of French Toast so you may want to double depending on how many you want to feed.

What you'll need:

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup beer (dark flavorful ones work the best)

1 tsp cinnamon

3-4 pieces of your favorite bread- sandwich size

Oil for frying

Optional toppings: real maple syrup, fresh or frozen fruit

How to make it:

1. Heat frying pan on a medium heat with about 2 Tbsp oil

2. In a shallow dish big enough to dip your bread into mix: egg, milk, beer, cinnamon. You will want to mix this very well to get all the ingredients thoroughly distributed, a fork works well.

3. Take a piece of bread and quickly dip it in, flip and transfer right away to the hot frying pan. It is not good to let the toast sit in the egg mixture and longer then it takes for both sides to get wet with the mixture.

4. Fry each side of the bread until it is golden brown.

(this is an the un-fried side)

5. Remove from heat and serve with the optional toppings

Notes:

This is a Kristel original recipe created October 2009.

It is best to eat the toast while it is still hot.

The beer adds a new interesting flavor to this traditional breakfast food. Try experimenting with different types and flavors of beer to see what kind you like best.

Falafel "burgers"

Falafel

Adapted From:  Joy of cooking all about vegetarian cooking pg 44

By Irma S Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker

You’ll need:

1 can pre-cook chickpeas

½ cup chopped onion

¼ cup fresh parsley leaves

2 tsp garlic

2 tsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp ground red pepper

2 tbsp flour

Some vegetable oil for frying

Pita bread (1/2 pockets work nice)

Optional toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, and/or sour cream

How to make it:

1.       Chop the following ingredients in a food processor: Chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, cumin, salt, coriander, baking soda, ground red pepper.

2.       This mixture should be processed until it is coarsely pureed.

3.       Remove to a bowl and mix in the flour

4.       Wet your hands and take a handful of the mixture and form into “patties”. The mixture will make about 4 about 3 inches in diameter.

5.       Let them stand for about 15 minutes.

6.       While the patties ‘stand’ preheat a frying pan with about ½ of oil in it. At this time also pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

7.       Fry the patties until they are golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side. P

8.       Place on a paper towel to drain

9.       Heat pita pockets in oven for about 10 minutes

10.       Make your pita sandwich with the toppings you have chosen and your falafel burger

Notes:

Falafel is the original "veggie burger". 

It is a popular food that originates in the Middle East.

This recipe take around an hour to put on the table. 

It doesn't make a lot of left overs but the cold falafel patties are very good.

totellini casserole

You’ll need:

*1 bag frozen cheese tortellini

*1 jar alfredo sauce OR 1 jar tomatoe based pasta sauce

*You favorite vegetables such as bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc chopped into bite sized pieces

*16 oz shredded cheese (your favorite white cheese such as mozzarella)

In a 13X9 casserole dish layer your ingredients in this order:

        *All frozen tortellini

        *Your chopped vegetables

        *Your chosen sauce either alfredo or tomato based pasta sauce

        *Your cheese

Make sure to spread all of the layers out so you get an even taste of all ingredients

Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and brown

Notes:

*Thanks to Jenny who gave me the idea to get started creating this one!
*This is a Kristel original recipe.

*It makes great left overs for lunch.
*It is an easy weeknight meal as you can go from making to table in about 30-35 minutes

Kristel's herb veggie pasta bake

Here is a concoction I came up with a few weeks ago when I was craving some warm Italian dish. Of course I didn't want to store so I made due with my I had on hand.  I'm going to call my creation:
Kristel's herb veggie pasta bake

1. Boil pasta noodles of any shape or size- (package sizes depending on how much food you want)
-I used about 1 large package of corkscrew pasta
2. While the pasta is boiling find a baking dish that will fit your pasta plus room for the extras you will add.
-I used a large casserole baking dish
3. Add in: Herbs (to your taste, fresh or dried), cheese (to your liking in both kind and amount), pasta sauce (also the amount depends on how sauce you like it and how many noodles you have)
-for today I used fresh basil, parsley, and oregano; Colby-jack cheese (2 cups) and pepper jack cheese (1 cup in cubes); 1 jar of Barilla three cheese pasta sauce (a little more expensive but the taste is worth it)
-other add in ideas chopped veggies (peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms), or fried tofu
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees
5. Cook pasta till it is just shy of being ready to eat (still a little tough to chew)
6. Mix all ingredients into your greased casserole pan


This is pre-baking picture
7. Bake a 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melty
(It is good to stir the dish 1/2 through baking so it does not get to dry on top)

Recipe notes:

*Make it your own! Add in your favotire herbs and cheese to get the taste you really like!

Fiesta Tamale Pie

Today's recipe:

Fiesta Tamale Pie

This recipe is from John's Uncle Brent Taylor. Originally a 'meaty' recipe I have changed it to be veggie friendly. I do this with lots of recipes as most recipes are easy to change if you know what to sub.

What you'll need:

*2TB cooking oil

*1 medium sized onion, chopped

*1 clove garlic, minced or pressed (or garlic seasoning to taste)

*1 12 oz can black beans (also you can add tofu crumbels as an additional protein)

*1 cup cheese (of any kind that you like)

*1 can (28 oz) tomatoes

*1 can (1 lb) whole kernal corn, drained

*1 TB chili powder

*½ teaspoon oregano

*½ teaspoon ground cumin

*2 eggs, lightly beaten

*1 cup milk (regular or soy)

*1 cup corn meal

*1 ½ cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat.
   
2. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft.
   
3. Add in beans
   
4. Stir in tomatoes (break up with a spoon) and their liquid, corn, chili powder, oregano, cumin.
   
   
   
5. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cheese.
   
6. Spread mixture in a shallow 3 pt. casserole or 9x13 baking dish.
   
7. In a bowl, combine eggs and milk. Stir in corn meal.
   
8. Sprinkle top with cheese.
9. Spoon evenly over bean mixture, making sure corn meal is well distributed.
   
10. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is set and lightly browned.
    

Makes six servings

Notes:
*this makes great lunch leftovers

My vegetarian story

I became a vegetarian at age 7. At such a young age most kids do not understand were their food comes from. I was unique in this as I grew up on a farm and was constantly reminded were my food came from, my "pets". At age 7 I had a pet lamb, named LaVar, that I had raised from a baby. One day my parents told me that he was going on a ride. When he came back from the ride my parents showed me the box of meat and said this is your lamb. This was shocking and to much and I then began to understood any time I was eating meat I was eating something that had been alive and been a "pet" to me. From that point on I no longer wanted to have anything to do with meat.

At that time vegetarians were few and far between. My parents didn't know how to deal with my new diet and forced me to eat meat for a while until they no longer could deal with my stubbornness. From then on till I graduated from high school and "left the nest" I was relegated to eating side dishes such as corn, potatoes. My parents were of this generation were super was meat, vegetable, and bread. It made for a pretty boring diet and when I left for college I was excited to finally begin to learn to cook meals. Because while my mom let me cook she only allowed me to bake- cookies, cakes, etc.

In those years since I left the nest I have continue to broaden my horizons about food. I experiment constantly and love to try new foods. I feel that my knowledge needs to be shared with the world as most vegetarian cooking is quite in accessible with "strange ingredients" and complicated directions. Its not hard to be vegetarian, its not a boring diet, and it is so tasty!

I decided to start this blog because I am always being asked well what do you eat? Tofu?
Sometimes yes, I do eat tofu but I eat so much more then that. You don't have to be vegetarian to enjoy my recipes you just have to like good food. I hope you enjoy what a vegetarian eats!