Products I wholeheartedly endorse

[glatt]

I recently bought some raw unfiltered apple blossom honey at a farmer's market just before Christmas, and it was very crystallized. So I'm not sure what causes it. Maybe temperature? But warming it up a little in the microwave will get rid of those crystals without harming the flavor.

[xoxoxoBruce]

There was a thing on one of the offbeat channels last night about the honey industry. They said when they have excess honey production, and it starts to crystallize while sitting, they just warm it up a bit.

[richlevy]

Let's see, I'll want to break this down into categories.

Food - Herr's Hot Cheese Curls - cheesy sweet and spicy

Okabashi sandals - Comfortable, soft, cheap, durable, and recyclable. I bought two pair on supersale at the supermarket a few years back and still use both pairs as my indoor slippers. Good arch support and little reflexology nubbies. I'm not so sure about the dishwasher instructions, though.

If you return your well-loved and worn Okabashis to the address below, we will recycle them. All we ask is that you clean the shoes to remove contaminants before sending them to us - one cycle through the dishwasher or washing machine usually does the trick.

Citizen Eco-drive watches - I bought my wife one for her 40th birthday. I liked it so much I got one myself for my 40th (ish) birthday. I've had it at least 7 years with no battery change.

Emerson MP205 MP3 player - I thought they discontinued these things but they keep showing up at the QVC outlet ($15 or less depending on sales). Cheap plastic MP3 player with voice recorder and FM. The onboard memory is a measly 128MB but the slot handles up to 2GB SD cards. It only uses a single AAA battery. Unlike many more expensive players, there is a simple dedicated button to switch between EQ presets. It's obviously cheap construction and price mean I can leave it on my pool chair without worrying about losing a $100 MP3 player. Being able to swap out cards in less than 10 seconds means I can carry different sets of music. Note: I haved moved up to a multimedia player, but the Emerson is still my 'go-to' for music-only.

Discgear Selector 50 - A manual CD/DVD jukebox that organizes 50 CD/DVDs into a 6x7 inch space. I have two 50's, but they also sell a 100 model.

Restaurant.com gift certificates - If you eat out a lot, buying these is almost like printing money. You have to get on the mailing list to get the discount code. Every month discounts go from %50 to %80 (sometimes %90). At %80 off, a $25 gift certificate is $2. More of a coupon than a true gift certificate.

Nexxtech leather keychain light - I bought this cheap little keychain light years ago at Circuit City. It's a stitched leather squeeze light. Every other keychain light I've bought has ended up with broken switches, broken plastic links, cracked plastic cases. You have to admire durability.

Rechargeable NimH batteries - My cordless mouse can't do without them. Saves me money and saves the planet (see below).

Duct Tape - Many uses. I am due to build my next duct tape wallet soon.

Fluorescent Bulbs - Saves energy which saves me money. I tell all the Birkenstock wearing hot college liberal babes that I do it to save the planet.

Cat-5 and Cat-6 cable - For all of this 'Wi-Fi' crap, there is nothing more secure and reliable than a wired connection.

[Nirvana]

Originally Posted by glatt

I recently bought some raw unfiltered apple blossom honey at a farmer's market just before Christmas, and it was very crystallized. So I'm not sure what causes it. Maybe temperature? But warming it up a little in the microwave will get rid of those crystals without harming the flavor.

Microwaving will reduce the medicinal antibiotic and enzymatic properties of raw honey. Putting it in a pan with heated water is a better option. Just sayin

[xoxoxoBruce]

Wouldn't it be a function of how hot you make it rather than how you heat it?

[wolf]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Wouldn't it be a function of how hot you make it rather than how you heat it?

If you're the kind of person that goes out of your way to eat raw honey, you're also probably the kind of person that has researched the evils of microwaving.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by wolf

If you're the kind of person that goes out of your way to eat raw honey, you're also probably the kind of person that has researched the evils of microwaving.

Oh right, silly me.

[glatt]

I've recently started going out of my way to eat raw honey because it tastes so much better than supermarket honey. If it really does help with the allergies and stuff, then great. But I used the microwave to heat mine up because I didn't feel like messing with the pan of water and cleaning up after.