Buying a house in Victoria B.C. Canada - the series · Tuesday May 27, 2014 by colin newell
Andrea and I, after over a decade of searching for the perfect place…
Have found a new home. And we will be taking possession and moving in later on in July.
This is a culmination of over a decades worth of effort. And I know what some of you are thinking…
“What took you so long? Ten years!? Your realtor must have died of shock or exhaustion. Think of all your lost time…”
And so on.
Picture – Standing in front of the house that Colin (and Andrea) bought!
Truth be told, we have been in a really nice suite in a great neighborhood with great water views and high above everything… but a kitchen the size of a large cardboard box – a galley kitchen… and this is what has been dragging us down for quite a few years. Lack of a decent kitchen and a guest ready 2nd bedroom has curtailed our life in ways that, yea, we will never get back… but now is a time for celebration and moving forward…
And a great opportunity to kick this blog back into gear and get some readers back.
So there it is – I will be talking about the joys of the search. The upside and downside of house hunting in some of the richest neighborhoods in North America (with a limited budget…) and
the necessity of buckling down and spending over 20 years saving for the house of our dreams…
Coming up. On the Coffeecrew blog.
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The Urban CBC Chickens of Greater Victoria · Monday April 28, 2014 by colin newell
Let them chicken’s run!
I consider myself an avid CBC Radio fan — and recently when a colleague told me about their urban farm in Victoria and how they named their chickens after local regional CBC Personalities – well, I could not resist pitching it to the local CBC station on 90.5
In the photo above, there’s Carol Off, (the black one), Jo-Ann Roberts (the gray one) and Anna Maria Tremonti (the red one)!
This podcast (interview) is around 4 minutes long – so strap yourself in.
Hats off to the CBC for listening to their listeners and knowing when a story has wings… and in this case, folksy charm.
Podcast – If you cannot see the audio player above, click here for the mp3 download.
Book Launch - Food Artisans of Vancouver Island & the Gulf Islands · Monday March 31, 2014 by colin newell
Andrea and I are going to a book launch at the Victoria Public Market at The Hudson on Thursday, April 24th —
and I thought it would be a great opportunity to coordinate an evening out of sampling food and drink in an open and friendly environment — and throw in a book launch for good measure.
As it happens, CBC Food Matters host and food journalist Don Genova is launching his first book,
Food Artisans of Vancouver Island & the Gulf Islands. This evening event will feature Don talking about his book with
a vast array of special guests — bearing food and drink.
We have attended cooking classes with Don as well as various food history and food security events -
Don is a very well informed food guy – and he is genuinely engaging on one of the subjects we love the most: Food!
Since this is something that most of us can relate to, what better opportunity than to get a few faces from the Victoria together to explore the market and sample some of the fare that will be provided as part of this ticketed event?
In attendance, showcasing their culinary and brewed expertise:
Organic Fair Sodas of Cobble Hill
Dad’s West Coast Awesome Sauces – Hot sauces of Lake Cowichan
Cowichan Pasta – pasta – Shawnigan Lake
Golda’s Pesto, Mill Bay
Tree Island Yogurt – Courtenay
Venturi-Schulze Vinegars and Wines – Cobble Hill
Sea Cider – Cider, Saanich
Merridale Estate Cidery – ciders and spirits (and anything else they make there) – Cobble Hill
The Creamery at Cheese Pointe Farm – cheeses – Cowichan Bay
David Mincey and his wife Paige – Chocolate and Canning – Victoria (see below for more info)
Spinnakers, Victoria, will be sampling vinegar, beers, and shrubs (a drinking vinegar)
Perk up with Drumroaster Coffee, Cobble Hill, serving espressos and macchiatos made from their special Don Genova Roast
Chef and foraging expert Bill Jones will demo some recipes from his new cookbook, The Deerholme Foraging Book.
http://www.deerholme.com/
David Mincey will be talking about Chocolate. http://victoriapublicmarket.com/preservation-foods-chocolate-project-at-the-hudson/
All this is included in the price of admission – $50 for a couple / $35 for singles and 1 signed copy of Don’s book is included.
Bonus – Early bird ticket buyers (first 50) will receive a specially-labeled Bean-to-Bar chocolate bar from Organic Fair! Be sure to select early bird option on the event ticket site if you see that it is still available!
The Ticket event link for the Don Genova book launch is here
Additional vendors of the market in attendance will be:
Ravenstone Farm – Local Artisan Meats, with special guest Cory Pelan of the Whole Beast Salumeria
Salt Spring Island Cheese
Silk Road Tea
Cowichan Bay Seafood
The Spice Trader – (Vancouver Island Salt Company)
A bit more about Don Genova:
Don Genova is a Cobble Hill-based award-winning freelance journalist specializing in food and travel. He also teaches cooking classes, and courses in food and travel writing and sustainable gastronomy. His stories on radio, television, in print and on the web share the fascinating backgrounds of farmers and food artisans passionate about what they raise, grow and produce.
His latest radio column with CBC Victoria is called ‘Food Matters’, and delves into the world of sustainable eating in British Columbia. His first book, Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, was published in April 2014 by TouchWood Editions.
Don earned a Masters of Food Culture from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy in 2007. He also holds a Bachelor of Environmental Science from the University of Waterloo and is an Honours Graduate of the Humber College Radio Broadcasting Program.
MC at the event will be CBC’s own Jo-Ann Roberts! Join us, it will be fun!
The Ticket event link for the Don Genova book launch is here
Colin Newell is a Victoria area resident, and long time writer on the subject of food, adults beverages and coffee culture – he website Coffeecrew.com has been online since 1996.
Coming to Cobble Hill - Amazing Pizza - chef and name sought · Monday March 24, 2014 by colin newell
Who doesn’t love a good pizza place in the neighborhood? You know the kind of home grown, mom and pop operation that makes their dough in house from genuine Italian pizza flour…
and bakes the pizza in a 500-650 degree oven… in and out of the oven in 3 minutes or less.
To be savored in a comfortable pizzeria or taken home to enjoy…
Where the pizza recipes are not your standard multiple toppings, but healthy and fresh ingredients from a menu designed by an actual award winning chef and food expert?
Well, there is one such place only weeks from opening on the Cowichan Bay turn-off on the Island Highway – in the Valley View Mall – where the Country Grocer and Drumroaster Coffee are located…
They need two things:
They need a name.
And they need a Pizza chef!
The name needs to be short, catchy and original – and they are putting out a little contest to reward the person that comes up with a name that sticks.
And they need a passionate and motivated self-starter Pizza chef that is going to love the rural life in the Cowichan Valley as well as the upscale vibe of this new pizza joint.
Jump in with your ideas in the comment field or send me a note!
