Dining with The Lone Star Paralysis Foundation @CarillonAustin @ChefJoshWatkins

*I helped produce the Benefit for Daniel, and I was invited as a guest to The Lone Star Paralysis Foundation Vodka Dinner at the Carillon. 

With the giving season upon us, you might be looking for organizations that need some holiday funds or warm body volunteers.  The Lone Star Paralysis Foundation is an organization that I recently got to know through an unfortunate accident.  One thing that I noticed about the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation was the immense (and I mean IMMENSE) passion and unwavering focus on the organization's goals.  In meeting many of the board members, I was bombarded with warm greetings and huge smiles.  Dang, that is one happy, yet intensely focused board.  Since I hadn't mentioned it yet, the mission of the organization is "to cure spinal cord paralysis through funding research, advanced recovery, and community outreach."

Photo by John M. P. Knox. 

Daniel Curtis is looking fantastic.  If you haven't met Daniel (donations for his recovery accepted here) yet, you should soon!

Another thing that you might not know about the board is that they front all their expenses.  All donations go directly to their cause, and not to pay for incurred expenses.  As a member and current/past board members for a number of organizations, that is not an easy thing to do.  Expenses can range from air fare, hotel rooms, and car rentals.  To take on those expenses out of one's own pocket in addition to serving an organization with time is a testament to the board's dedication.  Though I'm not closely involved with the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation, I certainly appreciate and look up to their board members. Every time board members of the foundation speak, there's not a dry eye in the crowd.  These people are exceptionally moving. 

There are several ways that you can donate to this wonderful organization by hosting events, donating to their raffles, or by directly donating cash.  You can also donate by ordering the Carl Miller’s Layered Chunky Queso at Jack Allen's Kitchen.  The queso is green chile pork, queso and guacamole served with a basket of chips.  Also, don't you know that all food that supports non-profits is calorie free?  *statement not empirically tested.

Photo courtesy of Bread and Butter PR.

Throughout the year, the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation hosts a number of events including a vodka pairing dinner.  This year's dinner was sponsored by Tito's and held at the Carillon.  You probably know by now that I'm a HUGE fan of the Carillon and Chef Josh Watkins.  We've got a surprise for you in store on Dec. 9th, 2011.  Hang tight for more information.  Also, hang tight for a baby Watkins on the way.  Don't forget to congratulate Chef Josh and his lovely wife, Sarah on their upcoming family addition!

Photo by John M. P. Knox.

The Vodka Pairing Dinner dinner started off with some creative cocktails.


Photo by John M. P. Knox.

The first course was Heirloom Tomato Salad with Sweet Corn, Balsamic Cream, and Garlic Croutons.   Aren't the colors of this dish just fantastic?


Photo by John M. P. Knox. 

Here's a photo of best friends, Chef Josh Watkins and Daniel Curtis.  I'm excited to report that Daniel (donations for his recovery accepted here) is recovering well.  Last I saw him, he was kicking, literally!

Photo by John M. P. Knox.

Board member Doug English (YES! The football player!) and members present one of the raffle items, a painting of Doug in his Longhorn uniform.  If you want to give to an organization that will really make a difference, please keep the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation in mind.  I can attest that any donation you make will make an impact and that your help will be greatly appreciated.  Happy Giving!

Roadblocks to Fans and Followers: Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior

You might have guessed from my business cards and blog posts that I'm an avid QR code user.  While the technology isn't brand new and the adoption rate is still up in the air, I still urge people to use them.  The idea for this blog post began when I noticed that many businesses have the Twitter or Facebook logo in their advertising.  It looks something like this.   You might not think anything about it, but the social psychologist in me says "Why?"  

You see the name of the business and two widely and easily recognizable logo.  You might think "the business wants people to know that they are on Twitter and Facebook."  Even though smart phones and internet access 24/7 is a reality for many of us, having to look up someone's Twitter handle or to search for them on Facebook (I still think the Facebook iphone app is wonky) is cumbersome and a roadblock to adoption.

You might also think that having the Twitter and the Facebook logo on advertising assets is branding you as a tech hip business, but it is really branding for Twitter and Facebook.  You pasting their logos for free on your ads.  That's great for them, I'm sure.   If you've taken a social psychology course, you might have been exposed the Theory of Planned Behavior by Icek Ajzen.  According to Ajzen, planned behaviors such as planning to follow a brand on social media services goes through a series of complicated steps.  In a tiny nutshell, a person must endorse the behavior, the normative belief (perception of other people's beliefs) must endorse the behavior, and the person much also believe that the behavior is within his/her control.  Those are factors that feed into intention that may actually feed into executing the behavior. 

*Used with permission. Read up on the Theory of Planned Behavior here.

So, if only your brand name with a Twitter or Facebook logo appear on advertising, this process of getting people to follow you is complicated. Here's some examples I found in a magazine.  I personally find the logos in print to be frustrating.   I can't click the print advertising.  I can't double tap a newspaper to go to a URL.

First, people have to notice it and intend on following you.  Then people have to go through the entire process of pulling out their phones, deciding whether or not use the appropriate app to search for your brand or to do a Google search for the link to your profile.  And then they have to actually find it.  Having a person go through the search process can be annoying, especially of the Twitter handle is nothing like the brand name or SEO for the brand name is pretty horrific.  If the person searching doesn't include the words "Twitter" or "Facebook" in the search, it can be an even more painful process.  After the search process, the people have to decide whether or not they like you.  If the search process was painful, they probably won't like you as much.  If the person has to remember to search for your profile on a desktop computer, the process becomes even longer. 

With a QR code (or even URL), many steps of the process that would have to go through Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior are cut out completely.   Here's some examples of better ways of integrating social media with print or non-digital advertising. 



The take away message from this post is that there are already enough road blocks to desired behavior.  You can remove some of those roadblocks by giving your audience an easy way to find you on social media, even in traditional advertising.

Farm to Table @LakeWayResort and Sustainable Food Center Autumn Harvest @LaCondesaAustin

A big thanks to Josey's and Chef Jeff Axline for having me over for dinner.  Eating local and sustainable is a pretty popular movement these days.  If you haven't heard of the reasons why you might want to start eating locally and sustainably, it is high time to get a move on it! Josey's is doing a weekly Farm to Table Dinner that changes every week.  The weekly dinner is at Wednesday Nights starting at 5:30 pm.  This meal is a steal at just $25 for locally sourced ingredients.  Take a look at the November 2nd menu. 

Chef Jeff Axline purchases the ingredients himself at the downtown Saturday morning market.  He goes incognito (sorta, not really) so don't expect recognize him quickly. 

The meal starts with fluffy biscuits with butter.  Nothing says Texas like warm biscuits. 

This salad was my sister's favorite part of the meal.  Grilled Texas Pears served with organic arugula, shaved Van Sormon cheese, French Breakfast Radish, Poached Farmer's Egg, and a Fig Vinaigrette.  The grilled pears was my absolute favorite part of the dish.  I love grilled fruit (pineapple, strawberries, and peaches), and these pears were no exception.  The pears were sweet and smoky which contrasted well with the bitter greens. 

The second dish was my favorite - Pan Roasted Copper Shoals Red Drum with baby squash, sweet peppers, green beans, tomato fumet, and sweet herbs.  Taiwanese cooking at home consisted of whole fish skin-on.  Living on the coast made having crispy skin on fish a regular dinner item when I was growing up.  It has somewhat of a comfort food quality for me.  I know, I have the most unusual comfort food preferences.  This fish skin was wonderfully executed and seasoned.  The red drum was from Copper Shoals Farm located in Palacios, TX.   

The dessert course was a rich version of a classic - Pumpkin Pie with House Made Buttery Crust served with Persimmon Mascarpone Cream and Persimmon puree.  Adding persimmon flavor to sinful mascarpone cream can only be good.  Did I mention that I love persimmons? 

If you're looking for another Farm to Table event, the Sustainable Food Center Chef Series Austin Harvest is right around the corner.  On Nov. 12th, you'll get to taste food from:

• Tyson Cole, executive chef at Uchi and Uchiko
• Andrew Weissman, executive chef of Il Sogno, The Sandbar, and The Luxury
•  James Holmes & Andrew Francisco of Olivia
• Shawn Cirkiel, executive chef at Parkside and Backspace
• Jason Donoho and Andrew Macarthur of Fino and Asti
• Todd Duplechan of forthcoming Lenoir
• Monica Glenn of Uchi Houston
• Rene Ortiz of La Condesa

I attended the Spring Bounty Series, and it was pretty fantastic.  If you want to  be amazing by local chefs and local produce, get tickets for Sunday, Nov. 12th.  You'll love it!

GABF 2011: Denver's Cow Parade and Botanical Garden

No Great American Beer Festival trip is complete without checking out some local fun.  As usual, a pit stop to Snooze was in order.
 
Snooze never disappoints.  While some might claim that Syrup is better, Snooze is my favorite.  I absolutely LOVE their pancakes. 

Austin is currently having a cow parade, and so was Denver!  Here's some cows on mall. 

This cow has stamps from other locations who were currently having cow parades. 

But why no stamp of Austin, TX?

And one from the rear. 

During our trip, we met with @PintsandPanels for a bite at Pat's.  Pat's turned out to be a Philly cheese steak place that was filled with Philly (the baseball team) fans.  The cheesesteaks were pretty delicious, and extremely inexpensive.  This was a Biggie which was four 6 inch long sandwiches and chips for just under $14.  This is another place that I'd love to visit again.   

I saw these unique plants while going on a walk.  These things were fuzzy.  No joke.

Texas might have BBQ, salsa, and queso,  but Denver has green chile.  Green chile is one of my favorite foods, and Denver sure does have a plethora of it. 

On Sunday afternoon, we took a stroll down to the Denver Botanical Gardens.  Enjoy!

Lily pads bigger than your face!


I wound up finding those fuzzy plants at the Denver Botanical Gardens.  They are called Lamb's Ears, and I'm infatuated with the idea of having them in the garden!



This is my view sometimes.