Tuesday, 2 August 2011

Carrying Case For Garmin Nuvi - garmin case, gps carrying case


I ordered this case for my Garmin and other accessories. I was truly suprised by the quality. The case is 12 inches long by 8 inches wide (I measured). It is a little larger than expected, but I am glad because all of the stuff that goes with my GPS fits just fine. It's nice to have extra room. It is made of some kind of reinforced nylon material. The description says it is a "hard case". Most think of a metal or plastic reinforced case like you would put musical instruments in. This IS NOT that type of case. It does have some give to it. If you were to push hard enough on it you can dent it and it will pop back out again. I think it can take a good beating before anything inside gets damaged. I just wanted a durable cash to put my GPS and other stuff in while I travel. This case does the trick. It's small enough to fit inside a carry-on bag or a back pack. The three small pouches you see in the photo have velcro on the back so they stick inside the case without falling out. The pocket also has velco and by pushing on the mesh pocket it "seals" to the grey velvet-liek lining for a secure fit. My GPS, all of the accessories, a camera, and a few other do-dads fit inside just fine. I like it because it has that "grab and go" type feel to it without feeling clunky or annoying to carry around. It has a durable zipper to close the case and it also comes with a handy wrist strap you can attch outside (maybe hook on another bag or over your carry-on? I haven't put it on though because I just carry it and put it in my car (fits easily under the seat or in the glove box) or pack it away. I give this product five stars, plus I think it is very well priced. I have seen similar products priced twice as much and passed them up. Yup, I'm cheap, but this product isn't. Give it a try. If you don't use it for GPS you can at least use it for a small camera, cell phones, or travel kits. Premium Hard Shell Travel Case for Select Garmin Nuvi GPS Navigators - to hold unit, adapters, memory cards and other accessories

I originally purchased a differant GPS charger & case combo from Accessory Genie. When it arrived I noticed that all of the items that came with my Gramin Nuvi 760 would not fit in the case. As a result I left a low review rating. Shortly thereafter I received a call from Alexander Rocha a customer Service Rep with Accessory Genie. He wanted to know what they could do to make me happy. He advised me that they have a larger GPS XL case and would be happy to email me a postage paid return label to send my original purchase back to them. Upon receiving my return they would send the new larger case prepaid. I received the new XL case and it is perfect. Everything fits in the case with room to spare, even two separate dash mounts. Although the case is not a true "Hard Shell Case" it is stiff enough to offer good protection. Accessory Genie went above and beyond to make sure I was happy. Way to go Alexander. Thank you!

Don't be fooled. This case is NOT a hard shell as stated. At best it is reinforced nylon. It is easily crushed and at it's most "rigid" points I can easily compress the case with my thumb and index finger! The interior design is adequate for the purpose however the pictures show three interior cases which, indeed are there, each with a velcro attachment but there is only room for the two larger cases. The third smaller case is left to float freely! The case is a nice concept but that concept has not yet reached fruition! I was expecting a hard case and did not get that. If you are indeed looking for a hard case - keep looking...

The case contains my Garmin 1490T and all the accessories. The velcro "mini" bags on the inside let me compartmentalize my cables, suction cups and brackets for the windshield. The mesh divider also allows for several pages of the manual to be folded and carried with the GPS.

Very good hard shell case. Had just enough room to hold all of my gps gadgets which included the gps in its' own case, the owners manual, the windshield mount, three different power and battery charging cords and a couple of spare parts. It's getting full, but whenever I hit the highway, I grab the hard case and I'm off, knowing that nothing got left behind or in another vehicle.

The sturdiness of this case is just right, not to hard & not to soft. My husband an OTR driver uses it to house his GPS unit and cords. He uses the GPS in both his personal and work vehicle (tractor trailer) and the travel case to store & carry it to and from work and both vehicles each week. The only thing his wishes it had was a longer strap in addition to the carring handle. Since his hands are normally full when he's transferring his belongings from one vehicle to another.

Great little "big" bag for my Garmin - it fits everything in 1 place. Only thing - is it would be nice to have a handle. Right now it has a camera-like string.



Would recommend it to others who want a one-stop place for all their accessories. - Garmin Case - Garmin Nuvi Case - Case - Gps Carrying Case'


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case Carrying Case For Garmin Nuvi - garmin case, gps carrying case

Photo Paper Premium Epson - photo paper, epson 3880


I bought this paper for my Epson 3800 looking to print photo's I had neglected printing and framing for some time. The quality and feel of the paper is great, just like you would expect from any photo processing center. I don't know how well the output would be on a non-Epson printer, as the ink and printer capabilities have a lot to do with the final output too, but I would highly recommend this paper for a good quality Epson. It's worth the money and you won't be disappointed. Epson Ultra Premium 17 x 22 Inch Luster Photo Paper 25 Count (S042084)

This is beautiful paper... it's thick, it takes the ink from my Epson 3880 perfectly, and the finished product looks like studio quality output. All of the things that you would expect from something called Ultra Premium Luster. However... I've found that this paper stinks, meaning that it emits an unpleasant smell that is noticeable in confined spaces. I had a few large proofs sitting in my office for a couple of weeks, and an Unidentified Smelling Object (USO) started to bother me and my office visitors. I could not pinpoint the exact smell for two weeks and it was driving me crazy. Did something die in there, I wondered? Did I step in something in the parking lot? If it makes you happy to imagine it, I was sniffing all around my office like a bloodhound trying to discover the source. Alas, it was simply the stack of Epson paper behind me that was stinking up the place. I moved the paper to another room, and the smell disappeared... mystery solved. I can't be certain that it's not just the ink from the printer, or perhaps the combination of the two (that's why I didn't take away any stars). If you work in a small space like me, this might be interesting for you to contemplate. Otherwise, enjoy this majestic visual media in well ventilated areas!

You need to try this paper if you've used "E" surface paper before. Even on a inexpensive printer the results were amazing. You can imagine the results I get on my Epson 3800.

Thanks Epson!

Greg Ammons

Ammons Portrait Studio

Pendleton, S.C. 29670 - Epson 3880 - Photo Paper - Photography - Epson'


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Photo Paper Premium Epson - photo paper, epson 3880 epson Photo Paper Premium Epson - photo paper, epson 3880

Fine Writing Instruments - fountain pen ink, noodlers


As a new fountain pen addict, I have to say that I love the Noodler's Ink. My bottle of bulletproof black is fantastic. While I get the same amazing quality of coverage and flow with this Blue-Black ink, I wish it was a little more on the blue side. In low light or on canary yellow paper, the ink can look almost black, so I can't really use it in combination with black ink, and be able to readily distinguish the colors.



I have been using this ink with a Lamy Safari and Waterman Phileas, both medium nibs. Noodler's Blue-Black Bottled Ink

I love my fountain pens, and have been using Noodler's Blue-Black for a while. It's good ink, and I tried "washing" it with acetone, bleach, and water. (Yes, I am a chemistry geek.) It runs some, but not totally. The other tiny complaint I have is the shape of the bottle; when it's half full or less, it's a long way down to the ink and I have stained my hands at times. But overall a high quality product, and I probably can find an inkwell somewhere.

Here again we have a great Noodler's ink. Minimal to no feathering on all paper types and qualities. It writes very smooth and leaves a nice line. However, there is one draw back. No matter what paper I write on- printer paper, notebook, or thick drawing paper- this ink is straight up dark sage green when written on white paper. Maybe its just the color spectrum my eyes see it as, but I dont see blue/black I see green. Its still a nice quality ink and I'm happy with it.

I just refilled my Lamy Safari fountain pen and Z24 adapter with this ink. It is a rich, dark ink that was easy to fill my pen with. It writes very smoothly (much more smooth than the ink that was in the pen when I bought it). If I had a complaint, it would be that the ink is slightly darker than I anticipated. It's definitely more black than blue, but I still enjoy it very much. Excellent product.

I come from China. And we usually learn to use fountain pens and brush pens to write beautiful Chinese characters. Now I am in USA, and I start to use USA's best ink. And I really love it. The color is exactly what I want. And it is smooth. Love it.

I absolutely love this ink. As another reviewer noted, it is more black than blue, and if you're not writing on white paper, you might not even notice the blue. This, in my mind, makes it a perfect substitute for regular black because it has that subtle blueness to it that readers may or may not notice. I intend to use this ink instead of black as my regular day-to-day ink so that I and my readers who happen to catch it can enjoy the nuance.

The blue black is more of a greenish-blue black. They are not kidding when they say that the bottle is full. I took them at there word and prevented a big spill. The ink works well in the vinage pens I collect, but the color is not what I expected.

I find the color of this ink very pleasing. It flows smoothly and evenly onto the page. I've been using this ink daily for a month now, and have had no issues with smearing. Even though it dries quickly on the age, the ink has not clotted at all in my pen(Lamy safari), and is great in ink drawings. It washes and hatches very well. Well worth whatever it was I paid at the time.



Again, the ink is very pretty. I would like to try some other Noodler inks very soon. - Fountain Pen Ink - Noodlers - Fine Writing Instruments - Fountain Pens'


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Fine Writing Instruments - fountain pen ink, noodlers fountain pen ink Fine Writing Instruments - fountain pen ink, noodlers

Avermedia - capture, avermedia


Ok my system specs are:

Gateway DX4200 1.8GHz QuadCore with ATI Radeon HD 3200 video card with 4 gig ram running windows vista x64



The card installed easily, it takes a pci-e slot so make sure that you do have a pci-e slot available. I also made sure my ATI video card had the latest drivers installed.



First, there is no windows Media Center (mce) interface offered for this card, they advertise that fact so no surprise there but dont mistake their Avermedia Center software for any resemblence of proper gui experience if you have used other media centers (MCE, XBMC, Mediaportal, Boxee, etc). It works but its lack of windows media center capability, its garish and harsh colors that burns the retina and lack of documentation (the included on disk user manual leaves much to be desired) makes the experience awkward and puzzling at times. You can eventually figure it out via trial and error...this effort however is on your time and dime.



Avermedia's defense for no windows mce interface is that Windows MCE only uses tuner devices and this is a capture device, but other products seem to have jumped that divide quite successfully (ex. Monsoon Hava product, Hauppauge HD PVR). I also understand that not all customers use windows media center or have access to it. But to limit your market potential (because thousands of mce users out there are looking for a reliable and robust high definition capture device) for lack of mce capability and having to rely on their proprietary bothersome and totally lacking software, I have to drop them a star on the review.



When I installed the software and ran the application, Live TV is fine, but I beleive they just dump that video stream straight to the video buffer, however when recording at 1080i the software playback was slightly jerky especially on camera pans in the scene. I reinstalled the shark codecs for vista to see if that made a difference, tried various resolutions in both the software and in the set top box (STB) and even down to 480p the video was jerky on playback and played with these differnt configurations for a few hours, but no joy even at the lowest of resolutions. After a while, when I tried to change the resolution back to higher value it was stuck at 480p and eventually the application froze and I could do nothing more. Couldn't change it and trying to rerun the wizard it just wouldnt reset, the software has no reset to default settings, I was essentially locked out. So I uninstalled the software and reinstalled it.



Voila! It worked fine then after the 2nd reinstallation...



I did have to set the resolution down to 720p with this second reinstall and that seemed fine for my hardware. If you consider this capture card you really should ensure that you have a pretty strong cpu if you want to record at 1080i....like a dual core 3 Ghz. I plan on no timeshifting or PIP functionality so that doesnt require stronger cpu. As the video encoding is handled via software you must use fairly strong pc.



I tested recording scheduled program and it started recording within a few seconds of the set time...just a little off by a few seconds. So you can schedule a day, time and duration of recording. But with no tuner interface or channel changing capability you must make sure that your STB is pre-tuned to the desired channel.



Overall the card performs as advertised...if you have a powerful enough pc and can stomach their software. I think it would be easy enough for them to include a color change palette capability in a future release...and hopefully a generic non-proprietary api driver that can be accessed by other windows programs.



I think most purchasers of this product should expect to record in 720p resolution unless they really have the cpu with the guts enough to handle this card. For my own reasons, it was my initial intention to record only in 720p so I am satisfied with that capability.



Update 3/22/2010

Been using this card now for over a month and with the setting of recording at 720p its recording movies off my cable box just fine. It seems to interfere with the Windows Media Center (MCE) running so I must ensure that MCE is disabled when setting up a recording. And also you need to be sure when recording that you have the Avertv Media Center up and running or the recording wont take place. I take the recorded mpg file in 720p format and run it through Windows Movie Maker to create wmv format file, its smaller size and the picture looks great. I still wish for MCE integration but this works ok as long as I run either the MCE or the Avertv Media center but not both at same time.



Also as a hint you may want to use smaller bitrates...you can use the reference bitrate standards either in Windows Movie Maker or google on the web. For example, I record at 720p at 6900 bitrate which matches Windows Movie Maker XBOX 360 720p High Definition. With this bitrate I can stream via wireless G to some media center extenders in remote rooms that dont have wired ethernet (aways try to use wired ethernet for streaming hi def) and the picture is not too bad.





Update 3/28/2010

For some reason the Avermedia Center screen goes blank for the video source, you see the Avermedia center, you can access the controls and there is audio, but no video. Seems that I toggle the source selector from component to composite to s-video to component and so on a few times and that straightens it out. There is no rhyme or reason to this occurring, I have not installed any new software. Once I get it working again, it stays working, and is ok after that, but do not schedule a recording without confirming that you have video and are on the right channel, probably time for me to uninstall the software and reinstall it.





<Note: Edited the above for minor clarifications, additional comments and some typos (attribute that to late night typing with netbook with tiny keys) > Avertv HD DVR High Definition / Analog Video Capture Card PCIe MTVHDDVRR - High Definition - Hd Pvr - Capture - Avermedia'


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Verbatim - dvd-rw, dvdr


I've used Verbatim disks a lot over the years and overall they have performed very well. In fact, just recently I tested some DVDs that I burned 3-5 years ago that had some family photos and videos on it, and many of the Memorex and Ritek DVDs were unreadable, but the copies on Verbatims were fine. So I have no personal problem with the Verbatims. Fortunately I had a second backup copy of this material on other media that was still good.



One advantage to Verbatim DVDs is that they pioneered a more stable metal-stabilized azo dye that is said to be even better than Taiyo-Yuden's super-cyanine dye.



However, in doing a lot of online research recently reading various discussions and blogs about what is the best media for long-term storage, there was general agreement from many of the participants in these discussions that Verbatim's once great quality had slipped in recent years. People were saying that Verbatim had licensed its technology to various offshore manufacturers who were producing the disks under their label and those disks were showing high failure rates. If you can find the ones that really are made in Japan, though, it was said those are probably still good.



In fact, I am about to purchase some Verbatim DVD+RW disks to make another copy of my personal files onto these RW type disks. That's because RW's don't use optical dyes, which can age and degrade over time; instead the data is stored by an exotic alloy--often GeSbTe (germanium-antimony-tellurium), but I have also seen InSbTe (indium-antimony-tellurium) mentioned-- which should be more stable. This is possible because the alloy has different reflectance in the crystalline vs. the amorphous, non-crystalline state. The problem is that since these are rewritable disks there is the danger that you could accidently overwrite them, which is why many people prefer the optical dye media which are write-once. For me I don't think that is a problem so I'm willing to try some of these and just see how well they do over the long term. I'll check them again in 5 and 10 years (assuming I live that long :-)) and see how they do compred to the optical media.



But after extensive research on the best optical media I settled on Taiyo Yuden. Their name came up again and again in the forums, and no one complained of any serious problems. Their reliability and consistency was especially held in high regard. Since I went to so much trouble researching this issue, I thought I would report on what I found here.



Be sure that you have real Taiyo Yuden though, as they are often faked. True T-Y media has a noticeable little ring in the dye area near the hub, which stands out and is easily seen. It's said this is more expensive to do and is harder to fake. Also make sure that on the package it really does say made in Japan. T-Y is only made in Japan. They have not diluted their quality by outsourcing to anyone else as has been said in the case of Verbatim. Also, avoid any disks from China and United Arab Emirates. Those consistently came up in the forums as among the worst. Those from India could sometimes be good and Taiwan was usually okay.



Verbatim does have a point in their favor, though, in that their dye technology can be shown to be more resistant to ultraviolet light damage. However, unless you're in the habit of leaving your DVDs on the dashboard of your car or something this isn't as big a deal as has been claimed. And since many people bought the Verbatims in the past for archival purposes they're going to be stored in a dark place anyway so it's not really a factor for most people.



The same thing goes for the previously very well thought of gold/silver (actually aluminum) DVD-R disks from Mitsui. These disks are expensive (over $2 per disk) compared to Taiyo Yuden's which you can get for about 36 cents apiece if you buy a hundred pack. The problem is that Mitsui has since broken up into two subdivisions, Mitsui Advanced Media of America and of Europe, and people were saying the quality just wasn't as good as in the old days.



Also, people were pointing out that the necessity for gold has been over-hyped in recent years. That's because it just isn't necessary to pay the extra cost anymore. Gold was preferred some years back because it doesn't oxidize if there is a defect in the polycarbonate plastic layer covering the thin metal layer, and was thought to be superior because of that. However, it turns out that had more to do with defects back then in the manufacturing process of applying the plastic layer evenly to the disks. That problem was solved years ago and now there's no real reason to go to the extra expense of the gold, although many people still think it's the best archival grade media. There's no doubt it's a good media, the problem is that they can't prove that it's worth spending 6 or 7 times as much for a disk that doesn't last any longer according to these accelerated aging tests that have been done. Nevertheless, you will often find websites advertising the gold types as the only true archival quality grade media.



I did come up with one very interesting find on a gold/silver disk that might be worth it for very critical information. Mitsubishi-Kagaku recently teamed up and have produced a dual layer gold/silver disk similar the earlier Mitsui disks. They're also over $2 per disk but there's a very interesting difference. It turns out that DVDs are typically stamped from a glass master with runs of usually around 500,000 before they replace the master. After the fist couple of hundred thousand, the master isn't that accurate anymore and that can cause problems. Manufacturers typically mix disks from different parts of the runs together when you buy them. It's thought that this is why you can buy a cake box of 50 or 100 disks, have no problems and then run into several failed burns with apparently no reason. Very likely those disks were from the last 100,000 or 200,000 of the run.



However, these Mitsubishi-Kagaku disks are guaranteed to be from runs of less than 25,000 disks, which should be well within the tolerances of the glass master. You pay for it though, and a cake box of 25 disks is around $65. You can find them on the web by looking up "Century disk." The dye is a metal stabilized azo dye which is said to be possibly the best dye, too. I bought a small number of these disks for some very critical data as well as the Taiyo-Yuden and have been very happy with the results. No "coasters" at all.



By the way, there are several reasons to prefer the DVD+R media to the -R. Unfortunately, although Taiyo Yuden makes +R's, Century disks only come in -R format. There are several reasons for this superiority. One is that +R's have better bit error checking and correction algorithms than -R's, which could prevent lost data. The second is better wobble detection (all disks have this and it has to be corrected for during recording and playback). The third is that +R's have more than one burn profile for the laser power, whereas -Rs only have one. This makes it more likely to get a better burn since the dye is sensitive to the laser power.



Whichever way you decide to go, good luck with your archiving and optical storage! Verbatim 95101 4.7 GB up to 16x Branded Recordable Disc DVD-R (50-Disc Spindle) - Dvdr - Dvd - Blank Dvd Media - Dvd-rw'


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Energizer - battery aa rechargeable, energizer


I've found these batteries to be WELL worth the money. They are comparable to a good Heavy Duty (Non-Alkaline) set of batteries. I have a program on my palm pilot called FPSUtil3.5 that allows me to track the battery power curve over time:They don't hold a top end charge for very long: 85% after only 30 minutes But they really hold up well after that: 68% after 2 hrs & 15 minutes (10 minutes of nightlight) - 54% after 3 hrs - 40% after 5 hrs - 38% after 8 hrs (15 minutes of nightlight) - 28% after 10 hrs - 18% (battery warning)after 11 hrs 30 minutesSo, after 11 hours and 30 minutes of power on over a 6 day period with 25 minutes of nightlight use, they are ready for a 5 hour charge... NOT BAD, seeing as to how I'm supposed to be able to charge them 1000 times. I think I'll get my money out of them... ; ) Energizer Compact Charger With 4 AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries

I bought this particular charger a few years ago when I bought my digital camera (back when rechargeable batteries were between 1200 and 1600 mAh - now they're 2100 mAh.) While this charger worked as specified and was reliable, I've outgrown it, but will retain mine. I upgraded this week to the Engergizer 30-Minute charger (item CH30MN) for $27.00 - less than what this overnight charger is listed for. This 30-min charger was necessary, since I don't use my camera a little at a time - I use it a LOT at a time - so a 30 minute charger was a necessity so I could have 6 sets of batteries charged up for a photo outting without having to remember to start the charging process a week in advance!Bottom line: it works well, but, like computers, now you can get better for less.

I purchased 2 pairs of these batteries for my Palm Pilot IIIx because I was sick of spending a lot of money for non-rechargeable alkaline batteries. And I found them very reliable. There is no possibility of leakage with these batteries, because they are Nickel metal hydride, and they provide a large amount of energy for my Palm Pilot. Using them, I never found myself with empty batteries on the road. They are much better than NiCd batteries because they provide more then double mAh, and they do not loose their capacity with time. I would not trust any other batteries to keep my data safe, but Energizer. I use them in combination with Energizer charger for NiMH and NiCd battery family.

Hi there, after I wrote the review below this one, I've found out that these batteries will drain their charge over time when not left in the charger for their trickle charge. I replaced the batteries in my palm pilot with some that were charged 9 days earlier, unfortunately, the batteries had only retained 25% of the charge. The charger literature has a brief statement about leaving the batteries in the charger to ensure performance... I figured this was more for reasons of battery loss than charge degradation. So, I'll stick by the recommendation that they are worth the money, however, don't count on them if you need to take them away from the charger for a long time.

I bought these Engergizer AccuRechargeable NiMH batteries in the new packaging which says they are 700mAh capacity. That is the highest of all AAA NiMH that I've been able to find. All NiMH batteries discharge when not used in about 90 days. So far these power my Palm M100 for 45 days use the way I use them. This is comparable to the Duracell Ultra's that I was using.I also have 4 of them in a small R/C car to power the motor. They run forever (>45 minutes) and when they are done a 1 hour recharge will get it moving again.I charge them on a Rayovac 1 hour charger which charges each battery idependently until it's "full" and I think that this makes a big difference over other cheaper chargers that charge 2 cells at once and/or for a fixed amount of time.If you need AAA size and want the best rechargeables you can get I'm convinced that these are probably those batteries. Get them and a Rayovac charger and you are set.

I purchased this compact Energizer AA/AAA charger about 4 years ago to replace my unwieldy Energizer universal charger, which worked with AA, AAA, C, D, and 9V. (Turns out I only use AA and AAA batteries.) This charger is compact and has a sleek design, but the technology now lags far behind the competition. In fact, I am surprised to see that the exact same product I bought in 2005 is still available!



Charger pros:

-Compact

-Sleek design



Charger cons:

-Only charges in pairs

-Charges based on time, not battery charge (a.k.a. "dumb" charger)

-Does not work internationally (120V rather than 100-240V)

-Full charge takes 8.5 hours (must leave in wall overnight)

-Only one light to indicate full charge for all 4 batteries

-Light goes from green to off, not from red to green (confusing)



Battery pros:

-AA 2500mAh rating lasts a long time during a single use (e.g., a full day of photography)

-Included batteries have lasted 4 years without excessive memory loss



Battery cons:

-AA 2500mAh rating cannot be paired with AA 2450mAh, which is the rating for Energizer's standalone battery packs

-Batteries have high drain when not in use, unlike newer low self-discharge designs



If you are going to go with an inexpensive battery charger, consider a 100-240V Duracell, Kodak, or Sanyo charger with better charge time instead. You can purchase these chargers alone or in combination with low self-discharge rechargeable batteries, which are better than those included here. A value pack from Sanyo, for example, costs less than this Energizer pack and includes a "smart" (charge-based, not time-based) charger!



Ultimately, this item is obsolete. Buyer beware. - Battery Charger Aa Or Aaa - Energizer - Nimh - Battery Aa Rechargeable'


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Healthy Eating - baking, cookbook


This new cookbook featuring Olive Oil Dessert recipes has opened up our eyes to making desserts more healthful and they taste great too. We've tried several of the recipes and have found them to be delicious, user friendly and have become new family favorites.



I have tried several of these recipes and they are very good and easy to make. The comfort cake is to die for and I don't make chocolate cake any other way now! Also, a favorite is the blueberry muffin recipe with the crumble topping. My family loves them.

I am an avid baker who was searching for healthier alternatives to butter. I tried different types of "heart-healthy" margarine but the taste and texture was always way off. Luckily, I received this cookbook for Christmas and am very happy with the results. I never before tried using olive oil for baking desserts but am very pleased with both the taste and texture. Also, the butter flavored extract is a clever trick for those treats and cookies that usually have a familiar buttery taste. My favorite recipe so far is the Blueberry Streusel, especially served a bit warm with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt or low-fat ice cream. It was very moist and delicious. I also appreciate finally having a recipe for a butter-free graham cracker piecrust as well as a regular flaky piecrust that doesn't use 'trans-fat laden' shortening. This book will get alot of use in my kitchen. Highly reccommended.

If you want to lower your cholesterol but not give up sweets, this book is for you. It's not just sweets, but breads, scones, muffins, pie dough, etc..But beyond that, if you have food allergies or cook for someone who does, this serves double duty. The substitution charts in back allow you to swap out eggs (sev'l choices for sweet or savory substitutions) and dairy (even buttermilk) easily. You also have a conversion chart to use w/your previous recipes by swapping out high-cholesterol butter or margarine with olive oil, thereby making the desserts healthier and even lighter b/c the olive oil to butter ratio is less. I made Lemon Sugar Cookies and swapped out the one egg (b/c my toddler granddaughter is allergic) with 1/4 cup of applesauce. They were cookies we ALL could eat, they looked exactly like the picture, were delish, and received raves...better than a bakery. The olive oil pie crust is great, don't even need to mix it in the food processor, a simple wooden spoon brings this one together, easy as pie (no pun intended) to roll out too! The book is esthetically beautiful to look at, makes a good gift or coffee table book; but this one will most likely take up permanent residence in my kitchen!

I've only made the "ginger roos" and they were very good! The rest of the desserts look like they will be great too, I can't wait to try them! The only drawback is there is no nutritional information with the desserts. This would have been a bonus for calorie counters.

If you love desserts, this is the cookbook for you! I like to look at dessert cookbooks just to salivate over the pictures. I've tried several of these delicious recipes and have absolutely loved them! Plus its nice to know that there is heart healthy olive oil in them. I've always been big on butter, so I wasn't sure desserts with olive oil would taste good. But trust me, they are delicious! One of my favorites is the Cinnamon Twisties. They are so light and tasty. I only meant to eat a couple, but ended up eating a whole plate full....Easy to do when you're pregnant. This yummy dessert is one of my latest pregnancy cravings...I just can't get enough of them!

I love desserts and these recipes allow me to indulge without eater's remorse. They are delicious and I actually like them better than similiar recipes that call for butter, vegetable oil or shortening. My husband and kids love them too and no dessert from this book has lasted in my house for more than 5 minutes. I haven't tried one of Micki's dessert that I haven't absolutely loved. I am buying this book for my mom for Mother's Day. It's been a long time since I have felt passionate about a cook book. 5 stars!!!

We have big-time sweet teeth at our house, but also bad genes for cholesterol. I liked this recipe book so much I bought one for all my siblings. My family especially likes the Simple Brownies and Cinnamon Twisties. The recipes are laid out well and easy to follow, and it's great knowing the desserts I make aren't as bad as what I used to make.

I got this cook book about 6 months ago and it is the most used cook book in my house. My husband has high cholesterol and loves to eat too many cookies. There are very few lower fat cookies to be found in a grocery store or bakery. The recipes in this book use healthy olive oil and are easy to make, and also very yummy! Our favorites are the chocolate chip, oatmeal, and peanut butter cookies. The book also contains cakes, muffins, bars.... I have just recently tried using the author's conversion method to substitue butter for olive oil in a root beer cookie recipe I found on the internet. It turned out great! - Good Fats - Cookies - Olive Oil - Baking - Cookbook - Health'


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