Hydaway Kids Cup

Photo courtesy of Hydaway

Have I mentioned how great my neighbors are? When I have a product that's geared towards kids, I have a ready-made little tester at my disposal. And he doesn't charge anything!

So when Hydaway offered me their new collapsible cup for kids, I went right next door with my sample.

I first saw the Hydaway cups at the Housewares show a couple years ago, and I thought the idea was brilliant. The cup collapses down to a puck that you can shove in a pocket or purse.

The kids cup is pretty much the same thing (they're the ones in front in the photo) but they're smaller and they have a wider bottom.

The result of the testing was pretty amusing. The cup was fine, but the child was a bit to young to use it unsupervised. Oopsie. He did manage to squirt himself in the face a couple times, which he thought was hysterically funny.

Okay, I thought it was funny, too. So did his mom.

I still think the cups are a good idea for adults and for kids who are old enough to understand the concept. I also like them for condiments and sauces, since you can shorten them bit by bit to take less storage space.

But for the super-little kids who think everything is a toy ... well, from what I've heard, it also makes a great bath toy.

I got this product from the manufacturer at no cost to me.

Hot Southern Honey

When I was offered a sample of hot southern honey, of course I said yes. I like honey and I like hot stuff. The two together is certainly interesting.

If you think about it, there are a lot of foods that combine sweet and hot, like spicy barbecue sauce, kung pao chicken, or bread-and-butter jalapenos.

But hot honey is a more pure version, without the distraction of other flavors. Just sweet honey laced with the flavor of peppers.

What can you do with it? Well, one of my favorite uses is on pizza. If that sounds weird ... just trust me and try it. I mean, I like pizza all by itself, but hot honey definitely adds something different. And a little addictive.

But how about on biscuits? Or cornbread? Think about a drizzle of spicy-sweet honey on fried chicken, or on chicken and waffles.

Hot honey could also be used in cooking, like as a glaze for ham, pork, or chicken. Or drizzle it onto a stir-fry for a sweet-hot finish.

And then it could be a dipping sauce on its own.

Yeah, you need this. It's freaking delicious.

I received a sample of AR's Hot Southern Honey from the manufacturer at no cost to me. I'll probably be buying more. 

Degustabox, March 2018

Another month, another free box from Degustabox, filled with goodies that I can tell you about. 

7Days Croissants
Peanut butter and jelly croissants - how could these not be good? Okay, they're not as good as freshly made croissants, hot out of the oven, but most folks don't make their own. These are certainly convenient, and neatly packed to take along to work.

BluePrint Energy Tea
I've been cutting back on my caffeine intake, so I passed this one along to someone else. While there are always a few things in these boxes that aren't quite right for me, there's always someone who they're just right for.

Loacker wafer cookies with espresso cream filling
These are very similar to wafer cookies I ate when I was a kid, but these are better. More adult, but still tasty for kids. This one was chocolate with an espresso flavored filling. Wouldn't that be lovely for dessert, with a cup of coffee? Or an afternoon pick-me-up?

Post Great Grains Coconut Almond Crunch
Aha - here's the coconut. If you've read this blog at all, you know I'm not fond of coconut. So this got passed along to some folks who could enjoy it.

Elmhurst Milked Brown Rice
I didn't know you could milk rice! Okay, I kid. Rice milk is a fine alternative milk, and it's even traditional in some cultures, like Mexican horchata. With all the people who are intolerant of dairy, I love that there are so many alternatives now. Especially the ones that aren't coconut.

Homebrew Quick Pickle Mix
I got a couple different samples of these, and immediately made the pickled onions. I usually make pickled red onions with lime juice, but this packet included spices and garlic, and called for the addition of white vinegar and water. They were good, and super-easy. I haven't tried the others yet, but it's a nice idea for people who want a quick pickle without a lot of fuss.

Oreo Milka mint and chocolate candy bars
These are sooooo good. It's chocolate with a minty filling with crunchy bits of Oreo. I don't buy a whole lot of candy bars, but I'd get these. And they break apart neatly, so you can eat just one section and tuck the rest of it away for later.

Julian's Recipe Belgian Pastry Waffles
I was a little skeptical about these, since waffles seem like something you'd want to eat fresh and hot. But then I shoved one into my toaster to get a little warm and it formed this sugary caramel-like sort-of-crunchy shell that was pretty glorious. I don't tend to eat sweets for breakfast, but this made a lovely dessert. Yeah, I'm weird.