perfect buttermilk dressing

Ok, well it's possible that this ISN'T perfect but I made it for the first time today and really believe it to be true.  I'm generally not a fan of creamy dressings at all, but this one ended up having just the right tartness to cut through any heavy feel.  It's quick to make and full of nummy flavor and will probably be dressing my market greens for the months to come.

Having never made this before, I found a couple of recipes that sounded interesting and riffed on them.  But I will say that this is shaping up to be one of those recipes that you can modify to your heart's desire.  The other typical herb is tarragon (though I'm not a huge fan myself) but I also saw a version with lots of fresh basil that sounded delish. I actually measured it all this time!

1 small shallot, finely minced

1 garlic clove, minced and then mashed into a paste with a bit of salt (use the flat edge of your knife blade and just work it around on the cutting board)

1-2T cider vinegar

1/4 t white pepper
1/4-1/2t salt, if you didn't get too crazy with your garlic paste; taste first and adjust later

1/4 t dry mustard powder

1/2 c. low fat buttermilk, well shaken

1T mayo (I love the eggy Japanese mayo that you can get from Asian markets)

2T sour cream (though I only had Mexican crema and went with that instead)

1T dried or 3T fresh chopped chives

Let the shallot and garlic mingle in the bottom of your bowl with the cider vinegar to "bloom" for 5 min or so while you get the rest of the stuff together.   Add the rest, whisk together.

Or, use a jam jar and shake everything together while dancing around the kitchen.

Particularly if you're using dried chives, try to let this dressing sit for 10 min or so once it's mixed, just to let them soften and let the rest of the flavors come together.

You really only need about 2-3T of dressing per LARGE serving of greens; the idea is lightly dressed not swimming in goo.  I served this (to myself!) with a leek & goat cheese frittata and a crispy glass of white wine and thought myself quite fortunate.

reconnecting

I’m not sure how it happened, but I lost touch with my food.

I didn’t put two and two together until I was giving myself a stern talking to about why my food cravings intensified and my will-power crashed proportionately. It would have been easy to slip into that mode where I beat myself up and make excuses, but the reality is, I just lost my way for a bit. And I was trying to put my finger on how, where and why that happened.

I love food. I love reading about it, eating it, cooking it, taking illicit iPhone photos of it, twittering about it, sharing it and writing about it.  I truly – in the most basic sense of the word - honor food.  Which is why it's so perplexing when I recognized some iffy eating behaviors that had taken over my life.  So what happened?  Well, generally speaking, life happened.  But along with the usual and expected effects of a too-busy, too-frenzied, too-blessedly-full life, I completely lost touch with food.

When I'm disconnected in the food department my fridge is empty and my visits to the co-op are further apart.  My kitchen stays clean, sure.  But it's a little sad and lifeless too.

When I'm connected I spend more time thinking about food.  I devour my Bon Apetit and Cooking Light magazines (ahem, amongst several others in the cooking vein).  I'm watching more of my favorite Food Network shows.  I'm picking up fresh veggies and experimenting with new grains.  The kitchen is humming.  People are dropping in after last-minute invites to nosh.  It's fantastic and it feeds my soul.

What happens, I think, is that the further I slide away from these engaged habits and connected practices, the less mindful I become about what moves from my fork to my mouth.  Even the effort of cooking (a practice which I really do enjoy) becomes less enticing.  Then I revert - as so many people do - to eating more packaged and what I call "quick fix" foods.  I'm pretty well-wired now to keep these foods organic and unprocessed as much as possible.  But when I'm on my 6th day of living on cereal and almond milk and nothing green has passed my lips, well then.  Houston, we have a problem.

So I've chosen to go back and dabble more.  Play mad scientist.  Try some new things that I normally wouldn't attempt.  I've turned May into "mostly vegan May" and am cooking out of my two new-ish cookbooks:  The Conscious Cook and The Kind Diet.  I made a somewhat scary (read: $140) trip to the co-op and have visited the St. Paul Farmer's Market.  I'm digging out the past few months of my cooking magazines and revisiting them, looking for inspiration.  And most importantly, I've invited a few people round for dinner, cocktails, brunch.  An excuse to cook and maybe even wow people a bit always inspires me to attempt new things.  And I can't wait to see how the month plays out. 

Also, stay tuned for vegan, vegetarian and unabashed meat recipes as I experiment through out the month.  And please, share your knowledge.  If you have some other great ideas for inspiration, recipes, mindful food habits, anything...please comment. 

Happy nibbling!