Photo by ronnie44052 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Nope, nothing to do with Matt Harding this time. The Big Picture’s latest photo essay showcases an eclectic collection of dancers worldwide. I can’t even pick a favorite.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/23/2009 0 评论    

Photo by stu_spivack via Flickr (Creative Commons)

I flew into Vancouver International Airport last week with a craving: I wanted pad Thai, or some vaguely similar, spicy, wok-fried noodle dish, and I wanted it bad. On the five-hour flight from Toronto, as images of tofu bits and crushed peanuts danced in my head, I didn’t fret—I was confident I’d be able to satisfy the urge during my one-hour layover. After all, I thought, where better to find some airport noodles than in a foodie city that’s home to one of the most vital Asian immigrant communities in North America?

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/23/2009 0 评论    

The first time I ate pizza with my New York friends, I learned that Texans have a special relationship with buttermilk dressing. When the pizza arrived, I pulled a jar out of the refrigerator, grabbed a slice of pizza and drizzled some of the creamy, tangy dressing all over it.

"What are you doing?" said my friends.

"You don't put buttermilk dressing on your pizza?" I said.

"No! That's disgusting!" said my friends.

I shrugged and then continued to eat my buttermilk-dressing soaked pizza. And it was good.

When it comes to buttermilk dressing, Texans don't just stop at pizza. We, of course, put it on our salads. But we also use it as a dip for our steak fingers, onion rings, fried okra, cheese fries and leftover fried chicken, among many other things.

Buttermilk dressing has long been a popular staple in a Texan's larder. Its presence harks back to a time when dairy was ubiquitous and cheap, so it made sense to craft a dressing out of buttermilk and eggs rather than oil, which was scarce.

In the 1960's, buttermilk dressing became branded as ranch dressing, but I prefer to call it by its proper name, especially as the stuff you buy in a bottle has almost no relationship to what you can make at home. And yes, buttermilk is indeed the star.

I was reading recipes for buttermilk dressing from almost 100 years ago, and back then it was a boiled dressing made with eggs, vinegar, buttermilk, herbs and spices. In the late 1930's, however, both vegetable oil and commercial mayonnaise became more available and so people started using those ingredients to make their buttermilk dressing instead.

I have to say that the latter method is how I've been making my buttermilk dressing for years as it takes minimal effort to achieve maximum flavor. But I was curious about the boiled method. My grandma has no fond memories of the boiled dressing my great-grandmother made and perhaps the use of mayonnaise indeed marks progress. That said, I decided to make a batch of buttermilk dressing the truly old-fashioned way.

In researching recipes, I discovered that Craig Claiborne (the longtime New York Times food editor and fellow Southerner) also found his mother's boiled dressing distasteful. No matter, I decided to persevere in making a batch.

Well, after boiling together a concoction of eggs, apple-cider vinegar, mustard, cayenne, buttermilk and butter, I was left with a thick, acidic custard that smelled so bad I had to throw open the windows and leave my apartment for a spell. (Note to self: if both your grandma and Craig Claiborne hate something, you will probably hate it, too.)



So indeed, progress has been made by the advent of widely available commercial mayonnaise. And thankfully, making buttermilk dressing is a snap, which means that you can have it whenever the occasion arises. So go on, what are you waiting for? You just know that slice of cold pizza sitting in your fridge needs an embellishment, and nothing makes leftovers, fried foods or salads sing like a good dose of creamy, tangy, spicy buttermilk dressing.

Buttermilk dressing, extra spicy
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 serrano pepper, finely diced
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh chives
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together and let chill for an hour.
Makes 1 cup, keeps for a week in the refrigerator.
Notes: If you don't want it to be so spicy, feel free to omit the Serrano or substitute a jalapeno pepper instead. Also, you can use parsley instead of cilantro if you're one of those "Cilantro tastes like soap" people, I won't be insulted.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/23/2009 0 评论    

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/23/2009 0 评论    

The subject of our latest up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world: World Hum contributor Lynne Friedmann. She wrote the essay All the Flowers in Amsterdam and contributed to our Top 40 Travel Songs of All Time. 

Where in the world are you?

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/22/2009 0 评论    

Christina Davidson departed Washington DC 11 days ago to “travel the back roads and State highways through the 48 contiguous United States, uncovering stories of economic survival and endurance,” she wrote in her debut post at The Atlantic. “In diners, bars, bingo halls and coffee shops, I seek those Americans who have lost everything—except hope.”

She’ll also tweet during her four months on the road.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/22/2009 0 评论    

David Farley meets a guy in Berlin who sells sausages from a grill strapped to his body

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/22/2009 0 评论    

Photo by markhillary via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Slate’s Tim Wu reflects on travel as a medium for some great sleeps, and looks back on his best. The winner? A night in a snow shelter: “After snowshoeing to our snow homes and burrowing in, I remember falling into what must be the deepest state of dreamless sleep humans are capable of. It was the mythical supersleep, deeper than any other, the Atlantis of the unconscious. It was a heavy dose of what scientists call slow-wave sleep. I’ve been trying to find it again ever since—but the question is, where?”

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/22/2009 0 评论    

Houghtaling invented the coin-operated vibrating bed, which delivered 15 minutes of “tingling relaxation and ease” and, according to the New York Times obit, “shook postwar America, or at least those Americans who stayed overnight in midprice motels.” He was 92.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/22/2009 0 评论    

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/22/2009 0 评论    

Day Tripper

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/21/2009 0 评论    

Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.

Eva Holland

I loved touching down in Whitehorse, the capital of Canada’s Yukon territory, and being surprised by some of its more “worldly” touches—pho, sushi, Starbucks—and the way they sit comfortably alongside a definite frontier vibe in this onetime Gold Rush boomtown.

发贴者 healthlifeblog 时间： 6/20/2009 0 评论