Hot Wheels · Monday April 1, 2013 by colin newell
Hot Wheels. Got my first one in 1968. Played with them for a long time. Loved them. So long ago. Eventually, one has to move from one set of toys to a newer, brighter and faster set of toys…
Which brings up to this blog – hosted on a server that I run myself… to serve you better.
Welcome to the Coffeecrew.com Blog on my own server cluster — administered by… me.
AND (whoops!) sorry for the brief black-out. Look who forgot to do some pointing and clicking and setting this and that!
And now that I am getting into some more stable hosting, please expect some more regular blogging! And to those that have been with me through the years… Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
Colin
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Moving, moving, moving... · Saturday March 30, 2013 by colin newell
If you have noticed an absence of activity around these parts for the last month, it is because I have been prepping numerous websites for an “experimental” move off of Islandnet.com (after almost 18 years with them…) after many technical hiccups, slow downs, the occasional Ddos attacks etc – it was simply time for a change.
Do not get me wrong – Islandnet has been great – it has been puzzling to me why (for me) that are the slowest loading pages on the internet. My customers and readers simply cannot wait 10 to 20 seconds – sometimes minutes for the pages of my sites to load. Additionally, I will be keeping my Islandnet accounts very much alive as instant back up for my own new ISP that I have created – I do still believe in product loyalty and keeping “largely good” relationships intact.
So, I have moved over to Linode.com where I am my own ISP maintaining my own virtual cloud servers – 10 times the firepower and arguably 5 times the speed – for around the same coin – with tons of space to spare.
My bottom line folks is keeping my websites fast and accessible to my readers – no excuses, no technical foul ups, no mysteries…
I do not “do the web” merely as a pass time. I have a message and lots of media to share – and if there are black-outs, I want to be the one responsible for it.
Enjoy the new experience on DXer.ca and Coffeecrew.com for starters. More to come.
And now I can concentrate on getting some new content out there. Thank you for your patience!
Baked Oysters au Gratin · Monday February 11, 2013 by colin newell
Who does not like a good Oyster bake-up from time to time. Our local fish vendor had local Oysters on sale so we thought, what to heck – here is the recipe we used.
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 (8 oz.) tubs oysters, drained
3 Tbsp. white wine or vermouth
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Brush a 9” x 13” baking dish with 2 Tbsp. of the butter.
Set the oysters in the baking dish.
Combine the wine, lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Spoon this mixture over the oysters. Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper in a second small bowl.
Sprinkle this mixture over the oysters and then drizzle them with the remaining butter. Bake for 12 to14 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.
Serve with Foccacia bread, oil and vinegar.
Papardelle Pasta with Scallops and lemon brown butter sauce · Monday January 28, 2013 by colin newell
Try this simple dish – whips up as fast as you can cook pasta…
Put Pasta (fresh or dried) on to boil – enough for 2 people
In a heated saute pan – medium high, melt 3 tablespoons of butter.
Cook butter for 3 minutes until browned.
Meanwhile toast 1/4 cup of fine bread crumbs.
Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the brown butter over the toasted bread crumbs – toss to coat.
Take 4 large sea scallops – cut into quarters – add to brown butter – and cook until
“cooked through” about 1 minute.
Remove pan from heat – stir in 2 tablespoons mince garlic and 3 tablespoons squeezed lemon.
Pour scallops and brown butter sauce over drained pasta.
Add the bread crumbed + chopped parsley and toss to combine.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with wine and garlic bread.
