Chocolate Bit Butter Cookies

These cookies are a perfect retreat from the day to day: tasty, buttery and light, they encourage you to slow down and have a snack. Adapted from 101 Cookbooks. Instead of rolling these into a log and cutting, also try chilling them in discs, rolling them out and cutting them into shapes. Just make sure they're still 1/4 inch thick.

Chocolate Bit Butter Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dark chocolate, coarsely chopped to be just smaller than chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Whisk the all-purpose and whole wheat flours together in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl, with the back of a large spoon or with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar and salt for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy but not fluffy. Mix in the chocolate bits and vanilla. Add the flours and mix just until incorporated. Scrape the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead it with your hands a few times, just until smooth.

Form the dough into a 12 by 2 inch log. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or, preferably overnight.

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets.

Bake until the cookies are just beginning to color at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking. Cool the cookies in the pans on a rack, or slide the parchment liners carefully onto the rack to free up the pans. Let cool completely. The cookies are delicious fresh but even better the next day. They can be stored in an airtight container forever.

Makes forty-eight 2 1/2-inch cookies.

Lemon Yogurt Poppyseed Cake

I snagged this golden recipe from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs these days. The beauty of this recipe lies in its flexibility, its superb use of yogurt and its stunning color. The zest of the citrus fruit you're using (in my case, Meyer lemons) goes into the batter but the juice is saved to make a glaze with for pouring on top of the cake just as it comes out of the oven. When you bite into the moist yogurty citrusy goodness, your tongue's also met with the subtle tasty sweetness from the glaze. It's just amazing.

Substitute the lemon for any other citrus (blood oranges, grapefruit, lime) and poppyseeds for a fruit filling (blueberries, raspberries) and you've got a new brunch dish every week. It might even be interesting with almond slivers.

Lemon Yogurt Poppyseed Cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from Ina Garten

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (+ 1 tablespoon if you’re adding fruit)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (I used Erivan yogurt, could also use Greek for a different texture)
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup poppyseeds
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

If using fruit: 1 1/2 cups berries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed (miniature wild blueberries are great for this, and pose the least risk of sinking)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. If adding berries, mix them with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in (a pastry brush works great for this, as does using a toothpick to make tiny holes that draw the syrup in better).

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

A Learning Process: Stir Fry

My first post is already in shambles. I have no photos to show for my brilliant "So Sweet, Yet Hot Orangey Stir-Fry". Yep. I made a stir fry to inaugurate this blog the proper way. Stir Fry was taken from the latin Stirfryus; to fry while stirring. Basically, I thought I would start out simple and build from there. Not to say that this dish tasted simple, by any means. I just wanted something that I knew would be successful and near fool-proof. And it was... until I ate it before I got a picture of it. At least I know how to amp up my post for the next go-round.

On to the goods. "So Sweet, Yet Hot Orangey Stir-Fry"

My inspiration for this meal was the plethora of veggies in my fridge. I had a couple beautiful sweet red peppers, a zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, and onions. I even decided to try out the canned bamboo shoots that had been sitting in my pantry for quite some time. Basically, you can cook these things together and add some seasoning, and you've got yourself a meal. I decided to kick it up a notch by making a different sauce.

So Sweet, Yet Hot Orangey Stir Fry Sauce
Juice of 1 orange
4 T. Honey (personal preference)
2 Crushed red pepper flakes packets left over from last week's pizza order
1 T. Vegetarian vegetable bouillon ("Better than Bouillon" brand)
3 T. Soy sauce
2 cloves Garlic
1/2 c. Diced onion
Lots of Black pepper
Cooking Spray

Stir Fry
1 pkg. Extra firm tofu cut into cubes
1/2 c. Diced onion
Whatever other veggies catch your eye and look fresh

Start with a hot wok and a couple squirts of the cooking spray to saute the onion and garlic. Then add the rest of the ingredients in no particular order. I would recommend stirring the vegetable bouillon a lot to make sure that the clumps go away. Heat for about 3 minutes on medium to make sure the flavors have a chance to make each other's acquaintance. Place the sauce in a dish and set to the side.

With the residue of sauce still left in the wok, turn up the heat to high and brown the tofu. Add veggies next. I usually start with the hardest ones first and let those get going before I add things like squash or zucchini (ie; broccoli before the bamboo shoots). That way you make sure that everything has a chance to get tender. Once the veggies look like they are near ready, go ahead and stir in the sauce. Once mixed, you are finished!

Et voila! A magnificent dish... especially served over brown rice and eaten with chop sticks.