USE THE FORKS!
Star Wars Cooking
by Kathy Bejma

Ahhh… Doomed romance. The cornerstone of any space opera.
Who would have thought that the love between a slave and an elected queen wouldn’t work out in the end?
He hates sand, she believes in democracy.
He wants more power over people, she’s fighting for liberty.
He gets a super sophisticated gold fake arm, and she never even gets an ultrasound from an OBGYN.
Yet we were all hoping these two crazy kids would find a way to make it work.
Too bad he choked her into unconsciousness when she was like 8 months pregnant.

But let’s focus on the happier days when Anakin and Padme first met. Stranded on Tatooine, Queen Amidala’s (familiar-looking) handmaiden, Jar Jar Binks and Qui-Gon Jinn wander into Watto’s junk shop looking for parts to repair their ship. And who do they meet? Ani, little Ani, who genuinely wants to know if Padme is an angel because they are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. Isn’t that sweet? And she wasn’t even wearing all her queen stuff!

So even though it didn’t work out so well in the end (their kids are pretty great though), here’s a recipe to commemorate happier times, and a killer opening line.
Are you an Angel… Food Cake?

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Hershey’s Special Dark (side) chocolate syrup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray your Vader Pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg whites, salt, vanilla and almond extracts.
Beat until the mixture is just frothy, then sprinkle the cream of tartar on top and continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks forms.
Add the remaining sugar, a little at a time and continue to beat.
Using a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients in 3 additions.
Spoon the batter into the Vader pan, leaving about 1/2 an inch from the top, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven, and allow it to cool for a full hour.
After the hour is up, loosen the edges of the cake with a knife, then remove it from the pan by inverting it onto a cooling rack.
Pour a large pool of chocolate syrup in the center of the cake, and using an off-set spatula, spread the syrup all the way to the edges, allowing it to drip over the sides.
Cut into slices, and enjoy while ignoring the age difference between you and your angel.