Chicken Paprikash, easier

I tried this different recipe for chicken paprikash and it turned out to be a lot easier/quicker than the first one on this diary and still tastes pretty good, so we're likely going to use this one from now on.

Notes:

• I feel like the entire 1/2 cup of flour mixture is a lot and I didn't want the sauce to be too gloopy so I left out a couple tablespoons of the mixture and didn't miss it.
• I used a mix of dried sweet paprika (a lower quality kind, mostly for color), fresh jarred paprika (about a tablespoon each of Edes Anna and Eros Pista for some but not a ton of spicy heat), and very generous sprinkles of some nicer dry smoked paprika because I like the taste.
• I used boneless skinless chicken breast, and only simmered the dish for about 20 minutes because I knew the chicken wouldn't need 45 minutes to cook.
  
• I mixed in the sour cream off the heat so that the sauce wouldn't break.
  
• We didn't have egg noodles but I cooked some gemelli pasta and we ate it with that and liked it.
  

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RECIPE: Chicken Paprikash (Chisel and Fork)

German Plum Cake with Streusel

It's prune plum season again and I was looking for something new to try with the small cache of fruit that my partner was able to get for me. I went back to the store to get more a few days later and they were GONE. The secret is getting out!

Notes:

• The recipe called for a 27 cm (10.5 in) diameter pan but I only had a 9 in/23 cm one so I used that.
  
• I didn't end up buying enough prune plums to make this (only enough for about half) and when I went back to get more they were gone, so I used red plums for the rest. They were firmer and crisper, and did not break down as much while cooking. They let out a lot less juice than I thought they would.
  
• This is best when left to stand for at least a few hours after cooking. We ate some right away and it was kind of dry, but when I had some the next day more of the liquid had seeped into the bottom part with the bread crumbs and it tasted better.
• I think we could have done with a little more almond extract in the crust. Apparently some people make this with a shortbread type crust and I think I'd like that better, though I like the bready aroma of the yeasted crust.
• The streusel crumbles seemed to have too much butter in them -- they were really soft when I made them and especially after the cake softened they were really soggy. Maybe if I used less melted butter, or if I used cold butter to make them they might turn out better.
• I think I may have overworked the crust dough but it was really hard to knead in the butter. Maybe I didn't knead it enough? I'm bad at bread.
  

Verdict: I would try this again but make some changes. I think I'd like to try it with all prune plums first before I make too many changes, though, because the prune plums seem to let out a lot more liquid and are more intensely flavored. This is a really delicious flavor combination, especially with the little hits of lemon and almond and vanilla in addition to the cinnamon. I feel like it's awakening ancient memories in my cells.

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RECIPE: German Plum Cake with Crumbles (Sabrina's Table)

Carrot Layer Cake

I make carrot cake so infrequently that I never remember which recipe I used. This is an attempt to stop that trend :) I know for sure I have used Orangette's recipe (a lot of work but good, and has a funny memory attached because my cat stood on it and ate a chunk of it through plastic wrap while it sat on the counter overnight).

I wanted to make a carrot layer cake for my partner and me for our 10th wedding anniversary celebration at home. Me having COVID and needing to quarantine kind of limited our plans a bit (we've hit double digits and wanted to do something extra special!) but I felt well enough to want to contribute somehow. I picked this recipe because it was small enough that I wouldn't have to do any math to refigure it for the size I wanted (6 in/15 cm diameter 2-layer cake) -- many recipes I found were either a single layer or 3 layers, and three pans seemed overwhelming to me dishes wise and also because the cake is only for 2 people. Plus I was still sick and made plans to do this the same day so I didn't want to overcomplicate things.

Shout out to the Great British Baking Show for being an eternal wellspring of motivation. It always seems to be able to give me a big push to get in the kitchen and actually make what I am thinking about making.

Notes:

• I did not have fresh ginger so I used 1/2 tsp of powdered.
  
• I used a different recipe for icing than the one the recipe suggests because I had ingredients bought before I picked a recipe, and I didn't plan for mascarpone. The Cream Cheese Frosting I used is really great structurally for building a layer cake, but after having it on a couple of cakes like this I think it might be a little too sugary/rich to use in such large quantities. (Normally I use it to decorate gingerbread cookies.) I halved the recipe and it frosted this cake generously, with a little bit (maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup) left over.
• I decorated the cake with toasted walnuts and loved it, especially since there were no nuts in the cake itself. It adds something to offset the sweetness of the frosting.
  

Verdict: The cake itself baked a little funny -- parts of it looked straight up burnt when I pulled it out of the oven. Almost like the sugar started separating out from the batter. This might have been from the butter I used to grease the pans, too. However, the finished product ultimately tasted good, if a bit rich, and worked well as a layer cake. If making a layer cake will probably try a different recipe next time even if I have to do some math. And I really gotta stop using this cream cheese frosting, even though it's really good in smaller quantities on cookies.

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RECIPE: My Perfect Carrot Cake (I Am a Food Blog)

Cabbage Roll Soup

My mom made this soup and brought me some the last time she came to visit me, and I liked it so much I asked her to teach me to make it. I used some of the tomatoes she grew and gave me to make my own batch. She cobbled together a few different recipes from her collection and sent me all of them, including her handwritten version. I fleshed out the directions a bit more and added bay leaf because it sounded good. I never liked beef vegetable soup from a can very much but I LOVE this. I also love that it doesn't taste like canned tomato sauce.

There's just nothing quite like your mom bringing you homemade food even when you are a grown adult. :)

Notes:

• I used chicken and onion broth because I didn't have beef broth/bouillon when I cooked it. You can use a vegetable based broth for vegetarian/vegan soup.
  
• I used only the beef but really want to try it with beef + rice sometime. You can leave out the meat and make it with just rice for a vegetarian/vegan version. Make sure to add extra water or broth if you add rice because the rice absorbs liquid, and you want it to still have some broth after the rice cooks.
• I used about 1 tbsp dried parsley instead of fresh because I didn't have fresh.

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RECIPE:

Cabbage Roll Soup
from my mom
Serves 6

2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 large onion, diced
6-8 cups chopped green cabbage (about 1 lb, about 2/3 of a medium head of cabbage)
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp each dried basil and dried oregano (or 1 tsp Italian seasoning)
½ tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
4 cups vegetable or beef broth (more if you add rice, 5-6 cups total)
14 oz diced fresh tomato (canned is also OK)
3 tbsp brown sugar (cut down or omit if using canned tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
½ cup dry long grain white rice (optional)
1 lb ground beef (optional)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

Heat oil in soup pot. Add celery, carrot, and onion and sauté until softened and onions are translucent. Add garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Add cabbage and cook until cabbage has sweated (about 5 minutes), then add broth, tomatoes, sugar, bay leaf, and rice (if using). Bring to a boil, then turn down heat, cover, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until flavors have melded and rice is fully cooked. (If using rice, it will probably be more like 20 minutes.) If using ground beef, brown it in a separate pan while the soup is simmering, then set aside. Remove bay leaf from soup, then stir in lemon juice and parsley and browned ground beef (if using). Serve hot.