Slow Cooker Brisket

This meal is probably going to be my favorite, I come from a family that loves red meat and enjoys it with lots a vegetables. My grans makes a stew any chance she gets and I feel like this will give me the most comfort food vibe. This was for sure the hardest meal to wait the entire time for it to cook. It smelled so amazing and looked so incredible the entire time. And let me tell you... IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! This meal was amazing and really made me feel close to my Grans even though she's nearly 4,000 miles away in Barbados, which was really rewarding and heart warming that I could feel a connection to her from so far away through my new occupation. I feel like the ability to feel that made me love my new occupation so much more!

This weeks reading talked about what flow is and how individuals can achieve a sense of flow within their lives. It also explained the difficulties and requirements of achieving flow. I personally believe that flow is unique to every person and every occupation, being that no two occupation will give two different people the same sense of pleasure and relaxation. In order for an individual to achieve flow they must experience or possess multiple of these objectives at a time: Clear Goals, Immediate Feedback, Balance Between Skill and Challenges, a Sense of Control, Focus and Concentration, Effortless Action, Loss of Self-consciousness, Distorted Sense of Time, and Merged Action and Awareness. I don't think it is necessary for individuals to experience all of these at once, in order to reach flow, however they must experience more than one in order to reach a true sense of flow. I do believe I have reached a sense of flow based off of this criteria. As a college athlete or an athlete in general this is state of hyper focus is drilled into you as son as you start your sport of choice. This allows you to block everything else out and remain in control of yourself while under the stress of sports. This experience also leads to the loss of time and conscious ability to focus on anything else but your sport. As an athlete you also practice frequently, so when in a game the actions your are required to do, come naturally, and require little thinking and full trust in your capability to preform. So as an athlete, at least in my case, I experience flow through: the clear goal of winning, Immediate feedback from coaches during the game, a sense of control in my area of the game, focus on the game and only the game, the muscle memory that allows for effortless action, and a distorted sense of time that I can just forget about everything outside of the game. 

Also in the reading for this week was the thought or concept of a autotelic personality. An autotelic personality or person is described as the act of doing an occupation for their own sake, for no other reason than for the enjoyment it gives them. (Wright, J. J., Sadlo, G., & Stew, G. (2011).) I think that this is what separates me from flow in some aspects. I have a need for goals and strict instruction in order to function properly and efficiently. So, I don't think I have a autotelic personality. 

 

Ingredients 

• 1 envelop of onion soup mix 
• 1 Tbsp. of light brown sugar
• 1.5 tsp. of salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper 
• 1 3 lb brisket 
• thyme to taste 
• garlic to taste 
• Carrots peeled and cut 
• Golden potatoes 
• 1 sweet onion 
• 2.5 cups of beef stock 
• 2 Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 tbsp of cornstarch

Directions 

In a small bowl, combine the soup mix, sugar, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the mixture over both sides of the brisket and rub it into the meat

Place the meat, fat cap side down, into a 6 to 8-quart slow cooker. Place the thyme sprigs, garlic, and bay leaves on top of brisket. Add the carrots, potatoes, celery, and onion over top. 

Whisk together the stock, Worcestershire sauce and cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Pour the liquid into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours, or low for 8 hours until the brisket is tender to slice, but not falling apart. 

Remove the brisket from the slow cooker and transfer to a cutting board, fat cap side up. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Thinly slice the brisket against the grain. Serve alongside the vegetables, drizzled all over with the gravy from the slow cooker.  

                                                                            References 

Wright, J. J., Sadlo, G., & Stew, G. (2011). Further explorations into the conundrum of flow process. Journal of Occupational Science, 14(3), 136-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2007.9686594