I am so glad to have found this video. I have been reading a lot on the Internal Family Systems and doing the study. I used to beleive that we are of 'one' mind, but it makes so much sense to have 'parts' within us trying to protect our exile part.

Kira http://creativequesting.gaia.com/, our dear friend on Gaia, also a pioneer on Internal Family Systems, has some great blogs on IFS.

It's all over the internet...Gourmet.com, Bon Appetit..

With the weather getting chilly-even in Southern California, it is the best time to make some succulent braised short ribs. :)

Here's what I did:

-2 pounds of beef short ribs (about four pieces, depending on the size)
-3 red skined potatoes- quartered
-one yellow onion (or red onion will be great too)
-2 bay leaves
-salt and pepper (of course~and mmm...sorry, I never season my food with 'a teaspoon" of salt, or "a tablespoon" of pepper)
- 3 Carrots (peeled and cut into large sections-matching the size of your quartered potatoes)
-A bottle of Dry red wine, half to cook, and half to drink while cooking
- worcestershire sauce (again, no measurement for this one, it's worcestershire sauce! you can't go wrong with worcestershire sauce)
- 3 cloves of garlic (garlic lovers, feel free to add more)

Looks like a lot, but this really is a low maintenance dish. It does take a few hours of low heat cooking- so get it started early, and you can get on with what you have to do around the house.

SO, I first season the short ribs, salt and freshly ground black pepper. I heated up a cast iron pan (if no cast iron, regular thick bottomed deep pan will do)- olive oil in heated pan, enough to cover the surface of the pan, then put the short ribs in to sear.

*Searing is a process to brown both sides of a protein, not necessarily to 'hold in' the juices as I once believed, but to create a delicious flavor*

The shortribs are seared on both sides for approx. 3 minutes (I would usually do 2 minutes, but got so distracted by the youtube interview with Anthony Bourdain)

Now is the time to throw in the onion (oh forgot to mention that I quartered the onion too), carrots, potatoes, bay leave and garlic. I let them brown a little bit----then the fun part!

Opening the wine! A good Charles Shaw Merlot is always a good time. ;) So remember- half for cooking, and half for drinking. Pour half of the bottle over the ribs and veggies.

It sizzles! The aroma is just unbelievable. I wish you were here to smell this!

Time to bust out the worcestershire sauce- and add as much as you please to the pan.

Now, we cover the pan with a lid, or in my case (since the cast iron pan did not and normally does not come with a lid) I have foil and a smaller lid from a stock pot, lower the heat to low... and back online to blog about it.

I am giving it a few hours to simmer, but I will take the carrots and potatoes out in a hour or so (don't like them too mushy). We are looking for the meat to be able to just fall off the bone...so however long that takes.

trust me though, this comfort food is worth the wait. :)
 


Ahhhhhh~chilly Autumn in southern California (My island blood makes me a wimp even when I live in So Cal! lol, I know, it's sad!)- it's time to fall for braised shortribs.

Man, it's been nonstop since last week!!

My brain has been racing at one million miles per minute. I get like this once in a while, ideas after ideas, even when I sleep. Or, try to sleep. Does anyone else experience this??? It's enlightening at times, but a girl needs some sleep!

This is usually a result of my Aqua side taking over, thinking deeper than usual, and questioning the norm and formality of everyday activity or decisions of everything. What am I to do? I just sit back and let the voice of the thoughts talk, all day and all night.

I have been a cleaning machine too, it must be full moon

Photograph above by Henry Leutwyler

Photograph below by CNP Digital Studio

October 2008

Dear BA Foodist,

Can you set me straight on tipping? I was once told that 20 percent is for great service, 15 percent for bad. Unless a waiter's gone overboard, I'm an 18 percenter, but I was recently accused of being stingy. Am I wrong, or wasn't 10 percent considered fair not too long ago? Give me a tip I can use.
-Tipper G., Albuquerque

Dear Tipper G.,

Ah, the great tipping conundrum. You are not alone. At a meal's end, I often find myself staring at the blank lines of a credit-card receipt, concerned that the effects of too much wine and food will impair my basic algebra skills. (That's what a spouse is for: making sure it all adds up correctly.) Still, I think I can help.

The Foodist waited tables many years ago at a small, well-regarded spot in Brooklyn. (Incidentally, one evening he waited on a major food critic who later gave the restaurant a one-star review. The critic liked the food but described the service as "friendly but very slow and fumbling." Oh, well: If you can't serve 'em, join 'em.) Waiting tables is a job everyone should be forced to do at least once, if only to learn that it's not okay to snap your fingers when you want something, and also to find out what it's like to eke out a living on tips.

It's disappointing to receive anything less than 20 percent of the total bill. Most waiters at today's better restaurants expect that much for average service, and even more if they do it with a smile. So unless you're planning never to go to the same restaurant twice, the days of 10 percent tips-and even 15 percent tips-are long gone.

The BA Foodist's Tipping Rules

• RULE NO. 1: Unless the server is rude, condescending, and/or completely absent, tip between 18 and 20 percent.
• RULE NO. 2: Never tip on tax. Tip based on the subtotal. And if you're calculating your tip simply by doubling the tax, stop it-you're being cheap.
• RULE NO. 3: Unless you drink like Dean Martin or have a taste for expensive wines (i.e., $40 or more, depending on your budget), it's best to include booze when calculating a tip. Bartenders expect a dollar tip per drink (which is usually about 20 percent of the drink's price), and it's no different with waiters.
• RULE NO. 4: Never turn a blind eye when others are tipping-especially if they're unfamiliar with our tipping culture (i.e., Europeans). If you think your tablemate is lowballing the service, it's best to hand the waiter a few bills on the way out.
• RULE NO. 5: If a few dollars here and there really matter that much to your bank account, perhaps you shouldn't be going out to eat in the first place.

Keywords:

food tips,

ba foodist,

andrew knowlton,

tipping

"The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life." Huge Walpole, Sr. 1884-1941

People go to restaurants, not to just fill their hunger, but also certain emotional needs. It’s not just the food served on the plate, it’s also hospitality.

Hospitality-something taken so lightly these days. Somewhere along the increasing demands, speed, and convenience we lost that true essence of it. When a baby is born, it receives its first four gifts of this world- eye contact, a smile, a hug, and some food (breast milk of course). So it only makes sense we, as humans spend the rest of our lives craving those four things.

Professionally, I’ve worked with people for years, but it is not until NOW I am starting to really truly understand hospitality. I mean, to live it, to really genuinely feel the energy of hospitality transferring from one individual to another. The energy flows. It’s warm. It sparks.

It’s like having your most favorite people over for dinner.

I absolutely love that feeling.

And I got called out on it. Lol. I have been questioned several times why I am glowing and so happy all the time at work, and my answer from the heart- it’s because I love food and I love to feed people. I dance around the restaurant as if it is my own dining room, and everyone there is one of my old friends.

Let’s try my favorite Chianti.

Two of my favorite guests asked me about my vision in my own restaurant.

“ It’s going to be called Turquoise!” My eyes lit up when I heard the question, wondering how much time they’ve got.

“Turquoise is going to be in La Jolla, or somewhere in Orange County, near a cliff over looking blue ocean.” I wanted to create the Mediterranean, white stucco, blue ocean kind of feel. “It will serve sustainable local seafood with local organic farm to table produces.”

I went on explaining why it is so important to serve sustainable seafood and produce.

I could feel the energy bursting out within me. My calling. I was pouring my heart out. They loved it. The wife loved the name and the décor, the husband loved the purpose of Turquoise. And I loved the feeling of even just talking about it. I envisioned it so vividly in my head, my own little hospitality heaven.

My training now, to be a successful restaurateur in the future, is to learn every single aspect of a restaurant, or restaurants. My next stop, will be the kitchen. Trial by fire, literally.

I can’t wait.

http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=Handsonman&book=50


My hometown! Enjoy!