Spicy Fish Soup

Not being great with recipes I took what I remembers from a previous spicy fish soup I made and rolled with it.

My ingredients were:

- 2 stalks of celery
- 3 medium sized carrots
- 1 large onion
- 6 small potatoes (3 cups once diced)
- Half a green pepper
- 3 jalapeno peppers
- 2 cloves of garlic
(All of the above were purchased at Pete’s Frootique in the Saint John City Market.)
- 1.5 slices of thick bacon
- 3 cups of chicken broth
- 3 cups of crushed tomatoes
- A pound of chowder mix (from Lord’s Lobster)
- El Yucateco Hot Sauce
- and just to be fancy, some steamed Mussels

What did I do:

I chopped up my onion, celery and carrots.  I chopped up some bacon and started it in a saucepan at medium heat.  When it was getting crispy I added in my onion, celery and carrots.

 

After sautéing that for about 15 minutes I added in some diced garlic and my chopper jalapenos.

I then added in some chopped green pepper.

Realizing this saucepan was far too small I then heated a mixture of 3 cups of broth with 3 cups of crushed tomatoes in a larger pot.

And added my 3 cups of chopped potatoes.

After letting that do its thing for about 20 minutes I added my veggies (and bacon) into the broth pot.

 

I let that simmer for a half hour.

Simmering was boring so I steamed some mussels in the meantime. I rinsed some mussels and made sure they were fit to cook (i made sure the open ones closed when hit with some cold water)

Then I steamed them in the remainder of my 900 ml chicken broth (having already taken 750 mils for the soup) and a bit of water.

Once you have  a hot pan, steaming mussels takes all of 4 minutes, so I snacked on a few waiting for the soup to finish.

It did:

I served up a bowl of this soup with a few dashed of hot sauce and a few mussels to be extra fancy.

A Saturday afternoon well spent.

This is a throw down, a show down: CBC Hip Hop Summit

I find it mind boggling how few views are recorded on Youtube for the CBC Hip Hop summit.  If you like Canadian hip hop check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/user/cbcradio3#p/c/6041CECF11F80E34

Bottle Redemption Fraud

I remember studying bottle redemption regulations for an environmental economics class several years ago.  If I recall the research, the higher a refund, the more likely it is that a bottle will be recycled.

I recall the professor and I jokes about the incentive that exists to bring bottles to a jurisdiction that provides a higher payout for returned bottles – referencing the Seinfeld episode where characters used a mail truck to effectively take advantage of higher refunds in a neighboring state.

I came across an article today about some folks who got busted for allegedly taking advantage of this sort of scheme in Maine.  Apparently this is a type of fraud – and three people were just charged for the first time in the state for trying to cash in out of state bottles.

If you’re an economics nerd wanting to read about this failed attempt at arbitrage or just want to see one of the other flaws in Kramer and Newman’s plan follow the link: http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=14013813

Neat musical experiments

I feel like I have failed for not knowing about The Evolution Control Committee until now. Their musical experiments mash up music and clips from various media to make humorous tunes.

Awesome ad heats bus riders

Caribou Coffee in Minnesota has a neat advertising gimmick going in Minnesota. To promote their hot breakfast sandwiches, the company has converted a bus shelter to look like an over, with a heating element to keep bus riders warm while they wait for their ride.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/01/bus-commuters-warm-up-hot-breakfast-ad-caribou.php

Celebrity endorsements not that useful

Advertising Age published an article today about the relative lack of effectiveness of advertisements with celebrities compared to non-celebrity ads.  The article discusses a study that showed Nike missed the mark with Tiger Woods’ come-back advertisement.

The article suggests that just because an ad is popular or memorable, it doesn’t mean that the brand message is being effectively communicated.  The writer explains that a poorly designed ad isn’t cured by simply sticking a celebrity in there.

Cell phone ban & road safety

Jalopnik has published a post questioning the logic of cell phone driving bans.  One point made was: “…as cellphone use has gone up, crashes have continued to decline.”

Also:

“…economists offer three possible takes. People who start talking while driving become more cautious. People who act like jackholes behind the wheel with a cellphone will act the same without one. And although cellphones clearly distract some drivers, they may also help other drivers stay alert.”

Bike Helmet with cell phone headset

Awesome.  For all my business biking needs.

Sun Chips earplugs

The marketers of Sun Chips in Canada aren’t going to get rid of their noisy biodegradable bags yet.  They’re offering ear plugs to those who are offended by the bags’ crinkles.

“We screwed up”

Consumerist has a post talking about the effectiveness of advertising that focus on company and product failings.  The article talks about successes of Toyota after a major recall and of Domino’s campaign to let people know that their pizza is better than it was.

Another company that talked straight to consumers about its errors was Maple Leaf Foods. CEO Michael McCain went on air to admit that processes to keep food safe weren’t successful in the wake of an outbreak of food born illness linked to the company’s meat products.

I respect company’s that can admit fault and try moving beyond problems without hiding the,

Marketing via good deeds

I don’t have  a coffee maker and its rare that I get my caffeine fix with coffee, but I’m still impressed with Maxwell House’s Brew Some Good campaign which funds charitable organizations in an effort to create positive brand image by doing good.

Pepsi (the beverage’s diet variant is my caffeine ingestion tool) is using social media to promote their products and community works projects. I’ve been a Pepsi guy ever since my brother declared his love of Coke in our youth. I’m not drinking more cola due to this campaign, but I do think this project does reinforce Pepsi’s brand identity of being “less about brand” than other beverages.

I like the idea of companies spending on the community, even if its just a ploy to sell product, after all, if the ends don’t justify the means, what does?

Rules for using sidewalks and walkways

I came across a great website called Violation Report. The site, with a tag line of modern, real life public shaming, is dedicated to the unwritten rules of social interaction.  The site also writes down some of these unwritten rules. 

Definitely worth a read: their manual on sidewalk and walkway usage. One tip on the site that would be useful for most people to follow is that one should treat the sidewalk like a road – imagine lanes and allow for proper traffic flow.

Hipster Puppies

If you like cute animals dressed up and making fun of hipsters check out Hipster Puppies.

Another lotto survey

Atlantic Lottery must be planning to launch a new marketing or PR campaign, because I just did a second survey on the commission. 

This one seemed a bit more reasonable, allowing for neutrals.

Lotto Survey

If Atlantic Lottery releases survey results showing support for online gaming, I’ll be skeptical of this data.  I just did a survey by Bristol about online gambling and was annoyed by a series of questions that required a “more likely or less likely” answer.  There was no neutral, thus making my answers less than accurate.

Peta Protest

I walked by this anti-seal hunt protest around 12:45.  There didn’t seem to be many people protesting around the inflatable Peta seal in King Square.

I’mma Let You Finish

I love Kanye West.  I really enjoy his music and dig his bravado.  I really love wasting time checking out http://kanyegate.tumblr.com/ which pokes fun at Mr. West’s propensity to disrupt awards shows with rants.

Local TV

I saw two commercials back to back tonight – one for http://www.stopthetvtax.ca/ and another for http://localtvmatters.ca/

Both campaigns have money behind them – cable companies and Canadian TV networks are running the spots. 

What was particularly interesting was that both ads use a “streeter” impromptu street interview format to get their message across.

Giant Tiger: Using a carrot, not a stick on conservation

I was buying some groceries at Giant Tiger the other night and used a reusable bag.  I was pleased to find out that I got a small discount for using a green bag.  I think this is a far better way to encourage reusable bag use than charging for plastic bags. 

However, I do know that I am more willing to carry items in my hands when a store is charging for plastic, so I think both techniques work.

Selling booze for less than Social Reference Price

I don’t know much about alcohol regulation in this province, but I recall $18.67 per 12 pack of 355 ml beer being the minimum.  This is the price the provincial liquor commission announced it would sell its Selection store brand beer for.

The beer was supposed to be cheap in an attempt to stop NB residents from cross boarded beer shopping.  The price was supposed to stay low because the province wouldn’t be spending marketing funds on selling the stuff. 

Then they had a promotion giving away video game hardware.  I thought this was a minor expense and forgot about it.  The province also put up a website with recipes.  Again, a minor expense, so I didn’t think much of it.

Now the province is giving away whiskey with its brand of beer.  This means they are now selling more alcohol for less money than $18.67 per 12 pack.

I think this is strange.

The CBC reports that one Liberal MLA doesn’t think this is a good plan.  They also report that an opposition MLA is questioning the legality of selling more booze for less money.

Beyond legality, one has to wonder the economics of doing this.  Selling beer for less was supposed to help with profitability, by keeping beer drinkers in province. Presumably selling the beer for even less is taking a bite out of Selection’s profits.

Odd.