potato cabbage soup

Cook chopped bacon in pan till crispy. Remove bacon and excess fat. Chop and saute one onion in bacon fat. Add chopped carrots and celery.  Saute 5 minutes. Add 2-3 cloves chopped garlic and 2 tsp Herbs de Provence. Stir one minute. Add chicken broth, diced potatoes, and chopped 1/2 head or less of cabbage. Add can of white beans, salt and pepper. Cook till cabbage and potatoes are soft. Use immersion blender to make soup thicker but leave most of it in chunks. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with bacon bits

Carrot Cake (adapted from from Inspired Taste)

2 c flour (250 grams) 

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 c canola oil

1 c sugar (200 grams)

1 c brown sugar (200 grams)

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

3 c grated carrot (300 grams)

1 c coarsely chopped pecans (100 g)

1/2 c raisins (65 g)

Frosting

8 oz cream cheese

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar (225 g)

1/3 whipping cream

heat oven to 350.  Grease 9-13" pan. Sift together flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon. in another bowl, sift brown sugar. Whisk in sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs one at a time. Add dry ingredients in 3 parts, stirring with a spatula until smooth. Add carrots, nuts, and raisins. bake 45-55 minutes, till toothpick comes out clean. 

Using electric hand mixer, beat cream cheese one minute till creamy. Add sugar 1/4 c at a time.  add cream and beat 1 more minute.