Bacchus Wine Bar

I was pleasantly surprised by my meal at Bacchus Wine Bar. I picked this restaurant purely for its location. I was in Carroll Gardens, Sarah was in Bed-Sty and Samantha was in Lefferts Gardens, and I had to find a place that was relatively easy to get to for all of us. I was expecting decent french bistro food, but our meals were really good, above and beyond what I was anticipating. The restaurant is tiny - only around 7 tables. We went on a Thursday night and place was pretty much empty, but don't let that deter you. I recommend the escargots, scallops, mussels and the skate. Bacchus Wine Bar is located on Atlantic btw Bond and Nevins.

Baked

Down the street from Hope and Anchor is Baked, a bakery that serves
the best hot chocolate. It has a perfect consistency - not cloyingly
thick and not too watery. Their cupcakes, which rival those from Sugar
Sweet Sunshine, are also highly recommended.

Hope and Anchor

Hope and Anchor in Red Hook serves classic diner food, with less
grease. They have an expansive burger menu, all-American dinner
entrees and a fun snack menu. I have my eye on the mac n cheese
fritters. I went there Saturday morning for brunch and my meal was
lovely. I got the vegetable hash, which comes with mushrooms,
tomatoes, spinach, potatoes and a few other unidentifiable veggies.

The food is simple, nothing crazily inventive, but very satisfying.
Prices are very reasonable!

Tortilla Soup

Thanks Molly for the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce
1 14 oz can of black beans
1 14 oz can of chicken stock
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 package of frozen corn
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 corn tortillas, ripped up
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 handful of cilantro, diced (optional)
lime juice (optional)
avocado (optional)
salt, lots of it
water, lots of it
1-2 tablespoons of cumin, adjust accordingly
1-2 tablespoons of ground coriander, adjust accordingly
1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
1 teaspoon chili powder (optional)

Instructions:
Heat up a good amount of olive oil in a large pot, saute the garlic and onion for about 5 minutes at medium/high heat
Chop up one chipotle chili, take out seeds if you don't want the soup to be too spicy
Add the chopped chili to the pot, stir for a few minutes
Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, black beans and frozen corn in all at once
Add water to dilute the mixture. Add as much or as little as you want, depending on how thick you like your soup. I added about 2 14 oz can's worth of water to the soup
Add the spices and the salt
Add the chopped zucchini
Continue to salt to taste
Put a lid on the pot and simmer at low/medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
Take the tortillas and cut/rip them into thin long strips
Add the tortilla strips to the soup, stir and simmer for another 10-15 minutes or so.
Optional: Garnish soup with cilantro, lime juice and avocado

Picture of my Saturday lunch soup

Saturday Lunch

This past Saturday, after blowing all of my cash on take-out, I had to make myself lunch. I've been so spoiled over the past week...my parents made me three meals a day! Whenever I come back from a trip home, I get really lazy about cooking and don't make myself anything for 3 or 4 days. Anyway, I looked in my mostly bare cupboard and fridge and this is what I found: 1 old lemon, 1 can of chickpeas, 1/2 a bag of red lentils, 2 cans of tuna, a couple of tomatoes. Not all that much I could do with this stuff, so I went on a quick trip to the grocery store to supplement what I had to make a decent soup and sandwich combo. I ended making an italian-style tuna sandwich and a lentil, tomato and chickpea soup (an adaptation of a Rachael Ray recipe.) Turned out surprisingly well given I was just trying to eat whatever I could find in my house. Recipes below (serves 2 with some left over):

Italian-Style Tuna:
2 cans of tuna packed in water, drained
a handful of pitted kalamata olives, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped (try to get rid of as much juice and seeds as you can)
a handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt & pepper
Combine all of the ingredients, spread on a roll and add a few large basil leaves.

Lentil, Chickpea and Tomato Soup:
1 can of chickpeas
1/3 cup of red lentils
1 can (28 oz) of fire roasted tomatoes (or just regular whole tomatoes)
1/3 cup of chicken stock
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin

Puree the chickpeas and onions in a food processor
Cook the garlic in olive oil at medium heat
Add the chickpea and onion puree, combine with the turmeric, cumin and salt(liberally)
Stir for about 5 minutes
Add the can of tomatoes (juice included), chicken stock and lentils, stir and combine
Simmer the soup at medium heat for about 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils are mushy
Stir occasionally, use your stirrer/spatula to break up the tomatoes if necessary
Taste and add salt if needed.

Easy Sorbet

I just made a sorbet (recipe courtesy of Mark Bittman/NY Times) that was ridiculously easy and really tasty. It only requires 3 ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to make. Also! It tastes any overpriced sorbet that you would buy at a place like Ciao Bella. Now that I've made my own home-made version, i don't think I'll be going out to buy sorbet anymore.

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen fruit (I used strawberries)
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/4 cup of sugar
A few tablespoons of water

Instructions:
1. Combine ingredients in a food processor
2. Blend until the fruit is broken down and the ingredients form a smooth consistency
3. Serve