CoffeeCrew Blog

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Because, hey, you never know!.

We are 20 years old in 2026!

As we approach September, some ideas... · Saturday August 23, 2025 by colin newell

For those just joining us… hello. For those here for the first time or dropping in after a long time… Hola! Good day.

Looking at the stats for this blog, I see a lot of visitors… but I don’t get a lot of feedback.

I’d love some feedback. I have some ideas I am cooking up for the Fall.

One is a radio show. Yep. A new medium… or is it an old medium?

Either way. Yea. And it will be paralleled with a podcast.

But what are we up to? That is going to be the subject of some up and coming posts.

Stay tuned.
If you are a regular here, please send me a note via this easy contact page.

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Singing with the trees quick book review · Sunday June 29, 2025 by colin newell

Singing with the trees

In his debut novella, artist and singer songwriter Rob Fillo invites us on a journey of self discovery, enlightenment and wisdom born of pain.

From the urban malaise of Richmond, British Columbia and the rising spectre of COVID globally, Rob has decided to flee the capitalist establishment and degradation of civilization, casting off the yokes of modernity and boiling down his belongings into the cramped comforts of his 2004 Nissan Sentra.

I took a deep breath and realized that I packed my 2004 Sentra to the gills with nearly everything I owned. I think part of me never wanted to come back to my condo…

In the summer of 2020, Rob Fillo, then 38 years old decided it was time to find out what he was made of – what measure of human man he was — and by what measure he would measure himself. This was, after all, the recesses of Vancouver Island, in all its pitiless and unforgiving and often impenetrable wilderness; from dense black forest, alpine mountains high to plunging rock crevices to a restless Pacific Ocean. And guarding these confines, cougars and marmots and bears (Oh my!)

I imagined I would have to fight a bear — or something — to earn my stripes. I awaited this challenge on my last night, alone in the misty darkness…

Equipped with a keen sense of empathy and the ability to, above and beyond all other things, listen, Rob was quickly initiated into the back-World of Island bush camping and co-existing with his co-escapees. His preternatural skills with the acoustic guitar and West Coast song writing won him quick accolades with groups small and large — quickly leading to headlining small town pub and bistro gigs.

There I was, under the stars, fire blazing, and this goddess of the forest decided to materialize and come sit with me.

At a reasonably lean 80 pages, Rob fills us with wonder within the realm of our surroundings, encouraging us to question our motives in the material World. After two easy breezy reads (yes, you can read this cover to cover in one 1.5 hour ferry ride between Island and mainland…) I felt like I had a brace of important questions for myself (and others) and wanted more. Here is hoping for another chapter in Rob’s life! The life and music of Rob Fillo can be found at his website RobFillo.com – and his books in many respectable bricks and mortar book shops as well as Amazon online.


Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and former authority on the subject of coffee, food and beverage culture… who likes to read and review great books…

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Vegan roasted eggplant curry · Tuesday February 18, 2025 by colin newell

Fire roasted vegan eggplant curry

Sometimes a damp winter night calls for something warming, nutritious, delicious and comforting.

This eggplant dish meets all of those criterium — and it’s vegan too!
Now normally one would bake the eggplant in the oven, but we opted for 12 minute batches (x2)
in a air fryer at 380 degrees F. The air fryer is quicker and way more energy efficient. I could write a veritable treatise on how we use the regular oven less and less and less in favour of the small, quicker, faster, better air fryer appliance.

Ingredients

4 cups cubed eggplant
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp avocado oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1-inch cube of ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup cooked chickpeas
Rice for serving (optional)

Directions

Cut the eggplant into a dice – salt the eggplant for around 15 minutes (for reduced bitterness) and to dry it.

Toss it into a bowl with a tablespoon of vegetable or avocado oil – mixing thoroughly.
Divide this mix into 2 – and cook in the air fryer as indicated above.

Meanwhile, open your 14 ounce tin of diced tomato, the tin of coconut milk and the tin of chickpeas.

Put some vegetable oil in a pot (heat it on low) - take a 1/2 of a large onion – chopping it up.
Take 3 large garlic cloves and finely mince.

Put the onions on into the oil to soften for 2 minutes – add the garlic – add a tablespoon of prepared mince ginger.
Still for 2 minutes. Combine.

Add the spices: Paprika, coriander, the curry powder, pepper and salt. Stir for a minute.

Add the tin of diced tomatoes and coconut milk – stir and let it come to a boil.
Add chickpeas (don’t forget to rinse) - and add roasted eggplant.
Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over rice pilaf.


Colin Newell is a Victoria resident, coffee drinker and writer and has been haunting the internet since 1995!

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We review the XHDATA D-221 ultra-portable AM-FM-SW-Weather radio · Monday February 17, 2025 by colin newell

XHDATA D-221 Multiband radio

It has been said many many ways before: You don’t really need something until you don’t have it – and in this world of ultra-connectedness, this could not be more true than the absence of a simple radio during a crisis.

And in this drama filled planet, where we depend on our cell phones, personal planner brains and other assorted cloud based/cell tower dependent gadgets, the battery powered radio has never been more important.

But the average person does not get this concept – for one reason or another – like they have never been in the middle of an earthquake zone, or a country with some unexpected civil unrest or the unpleasant aftermath of some conflagration or another.
And it is during moments like that where panic and bewilderment can set in extra quick when one is 100% in the dark.

Solution: Stay connected. Be connected. Be prepared.
How? With a radio.

And XHDATA was kind enough to send me a radio to play with and evaluate for our technical/non-technical audience.
Let’s dig in: The XHDATA D-221 weighs in at 171g with a standard 9V battery.
It measures 12cm long, by 7cm wide by 3cm thick – meaning it sits in the palm of your (girl or boy) hands just fine.

Usage: If, like me, you grew up in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s, you know the look and feel of the standard transistor radio – whether it be a handheld portable, discretely pocketable, or something larger for the kitchen counter – or something even larger that you might balance on your shoulders… radios and their usage comes pretty much naturally.

The XHDATA D-221 is no different. It is the model of simplicity: Volume control (with integrated power switch) and tuning control on the right (as it faces you) and band selection switch on the left. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Step by step: Power on. Extend antenna. Select band of interest. Adjust volume and tuning dials.

If you were expecting more bells or whistles, worry not. There are no bells. There are no whistles.
The XHDATA D-221 works very well on AM and FM. During the day, the AM dial picks up all the familiar stations you expect to hear and at night the XHDATA D-221 comes alive with long distance signals from 700 to 1000 km away or more. Not surprising. Any decent AM portable is going to hear distant stations. Our local FM dial is chock-a-block with signals – and all of those signals were present on the D-221 with perfect clarity via the internal speaker or through headphones via the stereo headphone jack.
The Weather-band network of marine stations were all crystal clear at my location near the Southern tip of Vancouver Island.

If I have one criticism, it was, for me, the Shortwave portion of the dial. While I live in something of a shortwave fringe area up here in the Northwest, I am also not really in a high intensity AM zone – but I do have a lot of powerful FM transmitters not too far away. Consequently, the SW dial of the D-221 was a wash of images (or birdies as they are often called) and no evidence of shortwave reception. This could be a bug of this particular sample or a byproduct of my listening environment. Either way, it was not an issue that would stop me from having one in my travel or emergency kit.

The XHDATA D-221 comes in at around $20 – via Amazon, or XHDATA direct or where ever you get your gizmo’s.
Pick one up. Better yet. Buy three and have one in your car, your home tote and send one to a friend. You never know, it might save their life or yours.

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