We Take You Inside Dreams of Beans Roasting House

Many of you probably start your morning out with a cup of java to give yourself a kickstart to the day. Recently, I popped into the little Dreams of Beans Roasting House located on George Street. I had always been curious to see the roasting process and how the java in my cup came to be.

I was warmly greeted by owner Johanna Sinclair (pictured below left with her giant roaster) at her roasting house. She was a wealth of information and knowledge, and shared her passion and dedication of all things coffee with me. Johanna has done a lot of travelling around the world to continue to flourish her passion and bring back more expertise and new ideas. 

Her main Dreams of Beans café at 138 Hunter Street has been a thriving place, and Johanna was thrilled about opening the tiny roasting house on George St. a couple of years ago. I was happy to hear from her about how many local merchants and restaurants offer roasts from Dreams of Beans, including Maggie's Eatery and Brio Gusto amongst many others. 

If you ever get the chance to pop by her roasting house on top of your visit to her café, it's definitely worth the trip!

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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Jackie DeKnock Creates Culinary Retreat "Gourmet Safari" Near Peterborough

Jackie gets help from Kruz FM's Catherine Hanrahan, who fluffs the rice. Photo: Julie MorrisJackie DeKnock and her husband Dan have set up a culinary retreat just outside of Peterborough in Mount Pleasant called Gourmet Safari. PtboCanada was there yesterday as part of a kind of culinary workshop organized by Kruz FM's Catherine Hanrahan. Jackie's growing business is coming together as a bed and breakfast and kitchen "studio" with hands-on cooking lessons.

The focus is on global cuisine, as Jackie has travelled the world during her last job at British Airways. Cooking and traveling are her two passions, so she took cooking classes and also learned about the importance of nutritional values. 

Jackie started her business by teaching cooking for two little girls, then moved on to men's cooking classes. She then added group classes, a Tapas birthday party and a couple's cooking class (they enjoyed it so much that they want to come back monthly).

There are a few spots left in Jackie's March Break Children's Cooking Camp, where kids explore culinary delights from the likes of Italy, Greece, Thailand, Mexico and Egypt.

Delicious kabobs served by Jackie and Dan. Photo: Evan Holt

For more info, check out Jackie's website. Jackie also appears on Kruz FM with Quick and Delicious Dish recipes every week.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Don't Leave Your Car At The Speedy Auto Service On Lansdowne Street

Speedy (708 Lansdowne Street West) took their sign down a little while ago, but only recently a little sign was posted. It reads:

Due to the circumstances beyond our control this location has been closed. To better serve your warranty and needs please visit us at Connelly's Minute Muffler. 93 Rubidge Street. 705-743-5170. Thank you for your patronage at this location. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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What You Would Do With Peterborough Square

Photo: Evan HoltSo we recently posed the question on Twitter, "Peterborough Square. If someone handed you the building, clean slate, what would you do with it?" We received a range of interesting answers. Among them:

-- "Demolish it, build a public square & park around Market Hall with ice rink, outdoor stage, greenspace. Parking underground." —Candace Shaw

-- "Peterborough Square: Casino!" —David Feeley

-- "Dr offices. Professional buiding." —Paul Laing

-- "Ptbo Square partly demolished. Keep the theatre and leave the lower level for offices. Above should be a conference centre!" —Justin Beaudoin

-- "Convention centre, arboretum w/ space for farmer's market, town square." —Bill Juby

-- "PTBO Square should be an international flea market." —Catherine Hanrahan

Several people on Twitter really liked Candace Shaw's idea above, with Alana Callan remarking, "It would really put the focus back on downtown as a communal place, the 'heart' of the city."

So what do you think? Perfect world, what would you do with Peterborough Square? Leave it as is? Tweak? Radical change? Comment below, or elaborate on some of the thoughts above. 

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Get NaKeD In The Patch This Valentine's Day

NaKeD Chocolate (382 George Street) was opened in the summer of 2009 by Warren Eley, a professional chocolatier. The aroma of chocolate fills the air the moment you open the doors of the shop and your eyes quickly start admiring the many displays of delectable chocolates from around the world showcased behind the counter and throughout the store.

Flavours like chocolate ganache combined with chilli, cayenne, ancho, and jalapeno peppers named the Aztec or, one of my personal favourites, the Chai Tiger made up of black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and milk chocolate ganache.  

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, check out NaKed's specials and drop by the shop to pick something out for that special someone. And don't forget to treat yourself too!

[NaKeD Chocolate]

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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The Peterborough Roller Derby League Is Looking For More Players And A Permanent Location

Photo via Roller derby's entry on WikipediaWith Roller derby being pitched to the Pan Am Games, the sport is growing like wildfire. Local teams are starting to pop up in the likes of Barrie, Haliburton, Toronto, Timmins—and now Peterborough.

Cindy Moffitt (aka "Lucid Lou" in the Roller derby world), recently founded the Peterborough Roller Derby League with help from Kim Firlotte (aka "Falldown Firlotte"). The first game is already booked, but they still need your help. They already have enough recruits to form a team, but are always looking for more players. "Even if you have no idea how to roller-skate, that's no problem," Moffitt told PtboCanada at a recent "meat and greet". Calling new recruits "fresh meat" sets the theme of roller derby, a fast paced full contact game on roller-skates. The only requirements are a helmet, mouth guard, knee pads, wrist guards, elbow pads and, of course, roller-skates (quad wheels only). To play, it costs $45 annually for insurance, $30 monthly and $20 to register.

While Peterborough Roller Derby will be training and practicing at the Peterborough Sport & Wellness Centre, they are looking for a more permanent location that has room for 8,000 to 10,000 square feet for their oval track. The derby is also looking for sponsors to sign up, and a local graphic artist to help them create a logo.

Moffitt was "stoked" at the attendance of the first meeting and has big plans for the club. "The sport is good for self esteem and confidence," she says. Connect with the Peterborough Roller Derby on Facebook.

[Written by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

[Roller derby]

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After Recent Hack Attack Nexicom Issues Statement To Its Customers

After some Nexicom clients were without their websites and email for almost a week because of a hacker, this recent statement was released by the company:

Beginning immediately Nexicom will be notifying customers that we will be implementing a very focused plan to ensure all of our web hosting environments are migrated to new hardware platforms running the most current versions of operating systems and security software platforms. To the majority of our customers this migration will be transparent and will not have any impact on their system availability. The customer applications that are incompatible with the newer versions of software will be given a definite period of time to bring their applications into compliance or they will be deemed inoperable and taken out of service.

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Bulk Barn Closed for Renovations So You'll Have To Bulk Up Elsewhere

The Bulk Barn in Peterborough is closed for the month of February for renovations. If you are looking for baking goods, try The Main Ingredient at 326 Charlotte Street.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Plush Owner Mike Watt Is Channeling Joaquin Phoenix

Mike Watt, owner of hip Peterborough stores Plush, Flavour Fashion and S.O.S, tells PtboCanada he's not sure when the beard is going to go. For now, he says even though it does get itchy, it's staying put—and continuing to grow. When the beard comes off, we will break the news.

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