Fashion Show: Step into Spring

My friend, Sonia Mendes, is helping promote a charity fashion show, featuring a very accomplished Canadian designer and a ton of great door prizes. Tickets to the show make for a unique gift for Mother's Day. 

Recipe Review: Black Bean Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Culinary Expert: Dreena Burton

I think most soup lovers have a black bean soup recipe in their collection. Throw in some broth, add some veggies, a can of black beans and some spices and you've got yourself a hearty soup. Recently I tried a black bean soup on behalf of a friend and wonderful cookbook writer / recipe developer, Dreena Burton. This recipe changed my way of thinking -- you can do so much more with black beans when making soup.This recipe will now be part of my soup repertoire.

I love this recipe because of the ingredients, the process on how the ingredients are combined and of course, the taste. Soup is probably one of my favourite meals. I nearly fell off my chair when my husband told me he didn't care for soup all that much. Really?!


I served the soup during last week's snow day (Yes! A snow day in April!). My oldest said, "This is good mommy." She's very hard to please. I love serving soups to my kids as it's a great way to pack lots of nutrition in one bowl. I puree all their soups so they can't complain about chunks and texture.

Photo credit: Nicole Axworthy

This soup recipe is from Dreena's latest cookbook, Plant-Powered 15. All the recipes in this book are whole-foods vegan recipes, which are made without any added oils. The ebook sells for $6.95 and can be purchased on Dreena's site. The recipes in Plant-Powered 15 are also gluten free if you're able to eat certified gluten-free oats. I think of Dreena as a culinary expert; you can bet that the flavor and texture in each of her recipes is bang on.

So back to the soup...Dreena has kindly provided the recipe to my readers.

Black Bean Soup with Sweet Potatoes

This soup has an irresistible quality, the flavors are deep and earthy with some sweetness from the potatoes. Don’t let the number of ingredients intimidate you - they build layers of flavor, but this soup is not at all difficult to make!

1-2 tbsp water

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups chopped onions (one large onion)

1 1/2 cups combination of chopped red peppers and green peppers

1 1/4 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste (generous is good)

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/4 tsp allspice (rounded)

1/4 tsp (or less/more, to taste) red pepper flakes

4 medium-large cloves garlic, minced or grated

4 1/2 - 5 cups black beans (reserve 1 cup; this is three 14 or 15 oz cans)

3 cups water

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 - 1 tsp pure maple syrup

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups cubed (in small chunks, about 1/2”) yellow sweet potato (or can substitute        white potato)

Chopped cilantro for serving

Extra lime wedges for serving

Chopped avocado tossed with lemon juice and dash of salt, for serving

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add water, onions, red and green peppers, salt and pepper, cumin seeds, oregano, allspice, and red pepper flakes. Let cook for 5-7 minutes until onions and peppers start to soften. Add garlic. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and let cook another few minutes to soften garlic - if sticking/burning, add another splash of water. After a few minutes of cooking, add 3 1/2 cups beans (reserving one cup of beans), water, tomato paste, vinegar, lime juice, and maple syrup (start with 1/2 tsp). Using an immersion blender, puree soup until fairly smooth. Increase heat to bring to boil, add bay leaf and diced sweet potatoes, then once at boil reduce and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add remaining cup of black beans and extra maple syrup if desired (taste test). Stir through, let simmer for another few minutes, then serve, topping with cilantro if desired and with lime wedges. Also delicious to top soup with some chopped seasoned avocado or a simple guacamole.  Serves 4-5 as main course.

Sweet Potato Tip From the Author: Sometimes I have leftover sweet potato home fries that have been seasoned with just sea salt. If so, I take a recipe and chopping shortcut and simply add these to my soup during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, just to heat through.

Recipe from “Plant-Powered 15” by Dreena Burton. For more recipes and information, visit www.plantpoweredkitchen.com. 

 

Realistic Meets Unusual

I've been familiar with Port Hope-based artist, Cori Lee Marvin, for a couple of years. I see her beautiful and interesting art at local craft and art shows and I am in awe. Her watercolour paintings deal with realistic subjects in sometimes unusual surroundings. I have a few favourites, but only today did I buy a piece. I look and admire, but can never decide which piece to purchase so I walk away empty handed. Today I made a commitment and purchased a framed limited edition print entitled, Sweet and Sour.


Sweet and Sour

I love the brightness of the lemon and the detail of the wallpaper in the background, but what's unique and great about this painting is the reflection of the room on the sugarbowl. How unique and awesome!

I have my eye on a few more of Cori's pieces such as:

Fortune Teller

Bad Seeds

Still Life with Birds

Gathering at the Blue Bowl

Seeing Red

Unexpected Duck

I love them all and would love any of the paintings to hang in my house to be admired for years to come. They're all so pretty and wonderful.

To find out more about Cori check out her site here.

Fundraiser for Local Girl

An eight-year-old, Ottawa girl needs your help to see. Emma-Rose Gibson was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, which means that she has 20/400 eyesight, leaving her blind. A fundraiser bowl-a-thon is planned for March 24 at 4 pm at Merivale Bowling Centre to raise money to purchase a pair of high-tech glasses for Emma-Rose. The glasses will improve Emma-Rose's eyesight to 20/30. The glasses come with a $10,000 price tag and are are made by a local company, eSight Corp.

I've never met Emma-Rose, but I read her story here and was touched since she is the same age as my oldest daughter. You can also donate money at any Scotiabank location (transit #48116 under Emma-Rose Gibson), do an e-mail bank transfer (info@esightforemma.com) and follow Emma-Rose's progress on Facebook.

[Update: March 25, 2013 / Thanks to the support of the community enough money was raised to purchase a pair of the high-tech glasses for Emma-Rose.]

Brushstrokes in Barrhaven

Read about a great expereince that we had at Creative Ceramics Studio & Gifts over at The Mother of Adventure.

The Extraordinary in the Ordinary

And now some good news...read a short blurb about Everyday Superhero over at Inspired Living. The blog is written by Sylvie Gouin, a beautiful, Ottawa-based yoga teacher. I encourage you to take a class with her. In the meantime, head over to Inspired Living to read about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Ace of Blades: Don't Pay Them for Snow Removal

Editor's Note: I try to keep my blog posts about my writing, nutrition and positive experiences. However, this post is about an Ottawa-based snow removal company and is worth a read.

***

So often we're annoyed with customer service. You know what I'm talking about: the lazy cashier who doesn't say hello and watches you while you bag your groceries with the bag that you thoughtfully brought from home; the pushy salesman who convinces you to buy widget XYZ and then when it breaks s/he doesn't answer your calls; or maybe it's the snow removal company that you hired as a Christmas gift for your parents so they would have a stress-free winter that doesn't bother to remove the snow.

Stress free and snow removal -- sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? I've never heard of anyone say they're thrilled with their snow removal company. As a Christmas present for my parents we hired Ace of Blades in Ottawa. They suck and here's why... 

Initially when there was a light dusting Ace of Blades came by and cleared the snow. However, as the winter progressed every time we had an accumulation of snow the service worsened leaving my parents snowed in. Sometimes the snow was almost knee deep.




Photo taken on December 27th. Love that they're advertising who not to hire. Yes, we leave customers snowed in. Hire us!

Another angle on December 27th.

I complained to Ace of Blades a couple of times (and a couple of times I let it slide) because it was obvious that no snow had been removed or several hours (more than indicated on their website) had gone by with no second clearing, leaving snow that was nearly impossible to drive or walk through. Whenever I did get a hold of someone I was told that someone had been by. However, my parents are up pretty early (no one should argue with a senior's keen eye and the early hours they keep) and would see/hear snow being removed (if someone actually did come by). My parents were unable to leave the house because they were snowed in so they patiently waited to see someone. Sadly, this happened on a few occasions.

The last opportunity for Ace of Blades to redeem themselves was on Friday February 8.




February 8th at approximately 7:30 pm. Doesn't look like someone has been by at all during the day...(I agree, my parents should remove the Christmas decorations.)

I went by my parents' house at 7:30 pm and the snow was knee deep (see above). It was clear that no one had been by at any point during the day. Just after 8 pm Ace of Blades did come by and only cleared HALF the driveway and left the snow behind my father's car! I'm assuming the thinking behind this logic is that they expect him to move his car and then they'll come by at some point (one can only hope) and clear the remaining half. Sadly, he can only move his car if he removes the snow behind it. Seriously, what kind of operation is Ace of Blades running leaving seniors to remove the snow themselves that the company has been paid to remove, leaving people snowed in?

Ace of Blades indicates on their website (http://aceofbladessnow.com/snowfaq.html) that it has been background checked by the Guardian Association and is "licensed, insured, litigation free with a clean history and no complaint." Clearly Ace of Blades doesn't live up to what it claims on its website and this is where the Guardian Association comes in.

I'm not even sure what the Guardian Association does. When I asked the Ace of Blades salesperson if they were a member of the Better Business Bureau. He said no, but that Ace of Blades was a member of the Guardian Association, which according to him is the same thing. Doesn't sound like it. According to the Guardian Association's website,

"The Guardian Association is a consumer savings program that helps you SAVE. Your Guardian Association savings card is good on any and all of the 100′s of companies signed up. All of our participating companies have passed a qualification process ensuring they are great companies providing great service. All are licenced, insured, litigation free with a clean history. We have done the research so you do not have to." 

After my final complaint to Ace of Blades demanding a refund I gave the company over a week to respond. No surprise I didn't get a response -- no apology, no refund, nothing. So then I decided to take it up with the Guardian Association who I thought might be able to help me out since Ace of Blades brags about their spotless reputation with this association.

I was happy to see a response from the association's president apologizing for my less-than-stellar experience. He wrote that his staff would look into the situation and I would hear back within a few days. In his e-mail to me he asked if I was a member of the association, which I'm not. I haven't heard back from the Guardian Association, which I can only assume is because of my lack of allegiance to this association.

So now readers that's why I'm taking it to the Internet. I'm sick and tired of companies taking our money and not delivering a promised service. It's upsetting that snow removal was purchased on behalf of my parents and they've been snowed in not once, but many times, waiting for a plow to clear snow for them. How irresponsible and cruel!

This isn't a petty complaint. If Ace of Blades can't keep up with the demand then the company should have let people know and refunded their money. We politely asked Ace of Blades for a refund and gave time to respond. However, they ignored our request and haven't been courteous enough to respond.

It's sad that in this day and age when word gets around so quickly that a company should care so little about customer service. I may be just one person, but I will effectively spread the word through e-mail (and my contacts will spread the word too), my blog, Twitter, Facebook, the media and word of mouth that Ace of Blades isn't worthy of anyone's hard-earned money.

[Update: March 25, 2013 /  A complaint was filed with the Better Business Bureau in Ottawa. Ace of Blades had one month to respond to the complaint. Sadly, Ace of Blades chose to ignore the complaint. However, the snow removal company did remove snow the couple of times that we had a snowfall in the last month. It wasn't in a timely fashion, however, it was typical service from Ace of Blades.]

[Update: April 4, 2013 / I received an e-mail from the Better Business Bureau...
 "The Better Business Bureau has made several attempts to contact the business regarding the above referenced complaint. We regret to inform you that we have not received a response from the company.
The Better Business Bureau develops and maintains Business Reviews on companies in our service area. This information is available to the public and is frequently used by potential customers. In the case of your complaint, the company's failure to promptly give attention to the matter will be reflected in the review we give to consumers about them."]