Well, despite the prognostications of the naysayers (ahem, that may be me), Amazon’s remarkable $49-and-over free shipping deal to Israel is still going.
My ordering activity has been relatively restrained. Within the approximately $150 I have spent on the deal so far I have obtained:
- A Hanukkah present
- Some office improvements (namely my 3M monitor document holder and now this portable Bluetooth speaker).
Here are a few finds that you should add to your shopping cards before/when Amazon pulls the plug on this offer (and while you’re at it — sign my tongue-in-cheek petition).
Disclaimer as before: although I sound like a late night TV salesperson writing these, all these links are not affiliate links — I’m just sharing some of the online shopping fervor!
Portable Bluetooth Speaker ($25.99)
There are a few product categories that I am surprised are not more widespread.
One gizmo I’ve been wanting for ages has been a reliable Bluetooth speaker for handsfree calling.
Yes, just about any Bluetooth speaker you can find will now include a microphone and can be used for this purpose, but Bluetooth speakers that are intended to be used primarily for this purpose tend to feature things like background noise cancellation and better microphones that other manufacturers might skimp out on.
The problem is that dedicated Bluetooth speakerphones are expensive and — and this is just my taste — tend to be replete with tacky-looking RGB lighting.
Take the Kaysuda Bluetooth Conference Speakerphone, for example ($96.99 – but that blue ring!) or the Jabra 100-43100000-60 Speak ($149.06).
Unfortunately, both these products are above the $75 VAT-free window — and right now, I’m not engaging in enough conference-calling to justify either price.
A search for “Bluetooth speaker microphone calling” was able to dig up a bunch of more generalist Bluetooth speakers that emphasized their handsfree-calling credentials.
This user review put me over the edge and I decided that for $29.99 it was worth giving it a shot:
“I switched it on and it was detected on the laptop. I paired with my laptop, made it the default device and [sic] able to use the speaker for all my Skype and WebEx calls. Very clear sound and the MIC is powerful. Noise cancellation is very good and the people on the call didn’t hear any noise while I was using my keyboard on the laptop and typing. “
Obscure Ethnic Cookbook Galore!
Did you know that I’m obsessed with ethnic food? Or that I have a pantry containing more than 200 spices and seasonings?
More importantly did you know that beyond Thai / Vietnamese / Chinese / Indian there is an entire world full of lesser-known cuisines just waiting to be explored?
Money not growing on trees and all that I have limited myself to acquiring but three such books, although I will provide what’s on my “Save For Later” list as well.
For every “cuisine + cookbook” search I found a number of disreputable books from unknown publishing houses that looked as if they had been copied and pasted from the internet — with reviews that stated as much. Buyer beware!
Not included here because, well, they’re too conventional to be called ‘obscure’ cookbooks: Chinese / Indian / Korean Moroccan / Vietnamese among others. And virtually all of these are included in the free shipping deal.
African
While living in London, I made friends with a number of Nigerian exchange students. Have you hard about joloff rice? Did you know that the caffeine-rich kola nut is what gave Coca Cola its original flavor (and coloring)? Besides the azonto, there’s much I find intriguing about West African cooking and culture.
(Ethiopian and Eritrean is a must-try too, although as I already have cookbooks and am obsessed with these cuisines — Jerusalem has a strong Ethiopian population and many have set up restaurants thankfully — I did not need to pick these up):
African
General:
East Coast
Most notable (culinarily): Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya
- Explore the Kenyan Kitchen: Authentic Kenyan Recipes for the Home Cook
- East African Cookbook (pre-order)
West Coast
Most notable (culinarily): Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal
- The Ghana Cookbook
- Senegal: Modern Senegalese Recipes from the Source to the Bowl
- All Nigerian Recipes Cookbook
Afghani
Burmese
Indonesian
- The Food of Indonesia: Delicious Recipes from Bali, Java and the Spice Islands
- Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia
Iraqi
Laotian
Mongolian
Nepalese
Persian
Sri Lankan
Tibetan
Dabba massala ($20-30)
Better known to consumers in the west as an “Indian spice box”, Amazon has quite a variety of Indian dabba masala — and all are thankfully included in the free shipping deal to Israel!
I have just picked up my third which I will denote “overflow dabba 2” using my trust Dymo 160 label maker — another must-buy!
Desk mounted phone holder – $15
I love ergonomics and mounting things to my desk so this greatly appealed to me.
This product seemed like a perfect complement to my several VEVA monitor stands, webcam holder, and microphone booms. But remember what I said about money not growing from trees 🙁
Although I determined that I could live without this I’m not sure about you. Go ahead and treat yourself!
(You can also put your phone on something far less cumbersome such as this — but where would be the fun in that?!)
Food Thermos – $15.99
Now that you’re making all manner of curries and exciting world dishes, you’re going to have to figure out a way to get them to work piping hot.
Fear not!
The Thermos Stainless King 16 Ounce Food Jar will do the job for you — and it’s much better quality than anything you’re likely to find on the local market.
Have a great product you’d like to tell me about? Feel free to reach out using the contact form!
