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This might help All About Turmeric. It seems that the turmeric we can buy here is a different variety from that popular in India.

You could find out for certain if he's a supertaster -- go to Supertaster Test and you can get a couple of test strips for just a few bucks. (I first read about this on the Amateur Gourmet's blog). I had long suspected that my husband and oldest son were supertasters and...they are! It helps me to know that their pickiness isn't a character flaw; it's genetic.

I make some pretty awesome french toast, if I do say so myself. Here's how I do it (and I don't like it puddinglike either). Use one more egg than people you are serving. Scramble them in a measuring cup, and then add an equal amount of milk. Add a splash of vanilla, a teaspoon or two of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon. Penzey's Baking Spice is nice too. Have your pan oiled and hot -- not quite as hot as for pancakes, but hot. You want to cook them over medium heat so they can cook in the center without burning. Here's the key -- don't soak the bread in the custard. Just give it a dip on the first side, turn, dip on the second side, and place in the pan. Cook the first side until nice and brown, and then turn. Cook on the second side until the toast pieces puff up a bit. If you need to make a couple of batches, keep them warm in a 200 degree oven. That's it! Never fails.

I just saw this on a TV show on the Discovery Channel about the Duggars -- a family which is now up to 17 (!) kids. This is one of their family staple dishes, and they are apparently known for it far and wide. When they redid their website and the recipes were briefly unavailable, they got many upset emails worrying about this recipe's future. Their recipe is a little different from the one previously posted. I still don't want to try it. Duggar Family Tater Tot Casserole

I also saw an ad in Entertainment Weekly saying that tonight's Singapore Episode is a new one. Tivo thinks it's a repeat -- so you DVR people might want to go in and add this one manually. The ad referred to Tony eating shark head soup, among other things. Can't wait!

Looking at the schedule on the Travel Channel website, it appears that the new season starts on 1/14 at 10pm with an episode in Berlin. At least I don't remember Berlin from previous shows. And that's followed the following week with Vancouver. Not sure why Tivo isn't showing it -- this might be one to record by time and not title.

I googled "ACME Safety Grater" just to see what one looked like, and it turns out we own one. Except I thought it was a pot strainer. You're seriously expected to GRATE with this thing? Really?

Every time I try the roast on high and then turn down method, the drippings in the pan burn and I fill the house with acrid smoke and all the smoke alarms go off. It isn't terribly festive. Any ideas on how to avoid that this year? And in the interest of planning timing, if anyone has an alternate method, could you give an idea of how many minutes per pound the beef will need to be in the oven? I like the idea of the sear it on the stove and roast at 250 plan, but I have no idea how long that might take....

I like a puzzle, so I googled for Middle Eastern restaurants in Tuscon, and I think I found the right one: Casablanca. They have an item on their menu described as "JORDANIAN DISHES Oozie. $11.95 Cooked according to our family traditions with rice, onions, pine nuts and your choice of chicken or beef and served with house salad or a side of laban (yogurt, cucumber, garlic) For lamb add $3.00" I haven't been able to find anything more, however. "Oozie" is a difficult term to google.

My kids are active in Scouting, and one of their big service projects is food drives. I've found that there are two types of food closets -- 1) the ones that want only canned goods, and 2) the ones that take just about anything non-perishable, even if it isn't in a can. I assume vermin protection is the driving force between the two. For the former, I tend to send tuna, vienna sausages, canned soups, canned sweet potatoes -- basically anything that's useful and tasty out of the can even if you don't have any real cooking facilities. Salsa is a nice touch if the coordinators don't mind glass packaging. For the latter type, I send in blue box mac and cheese because I have been told that it's very popular and moves quickly. Pre-packaged instant flavored oatmeal is also a good bet, as are the new Hamburger Helpers that include the meat and only need hot water. These might not be your top choices, but one needs to think of feeding folks who don't have extra goodies to make things taste good, but still want to enjoy their meal, have full tummies, and happy kids. The blue box does that. A friend who works for a local aid group tells horror stories of donated artichoke hearts and escargot. They aren't popular, but someone has to get them.

Actually, that Smucker's offer isn't too far from what you want. Look at the Flour and Cornmeal 2-pack. You can select to have both items be flour -- so that's 2 5-pound bags with no other products involved. Stash one in the freezer, and you're set!

Kerry -- I am eagerly awaiting your fruitcake recipe, especially after seeing the pictures of the three lovelies you just baked. They look so good, and I am a sucker for almond flavored anything.

I was told that the grades actually relate to what's closest to refined cane sugar. So the less maple color and flavor it has, the "better" the grade. So Grade A has far less maple essence than Grade B. Trader Joe's is a great source for Grade B maple syrup at a reasonable price. This is a great blog Nina -- cute cats and I admire the depth of your condiment creep! We also have two ketchups open right now. I wish I knew how that happened.

I'm in Wilmington (about 2 miles from the PA line). Here they are just called cheesesteaks. No Wiz. If you want onions, you have to ask for them. The default cheese option is white american, but you can request provolone. And the meat is thinly sliced beef, chopped on the grill.

I always made jelly with mine. Put them in a pot with some water (an inch or so), cook for about an hour, mash them up, and then let the mixture drain through a jelly bag. No need to peel or seed at all. Even the odd leaf won't make trouble. After you have the crab apple liquid, measure it and add an equivalent amount of sugar. No pectin needed. Then boil and process like any other jelly. It's also nice with some spices added: cinnamon, mace, cloves are all good. You can also add some raspberries if you have any around; these add a nice color.

But they're not the same! They never will be! Any more than a pecan pie without nuts will be the same as a butter tart (which I also love, after many business trips to Ontario). Also, something I didn't note before. In Owen's picture of the half-moon, you can see his hand behind the wax paper holding the cookie. A half-moon is a substantial piece of baked good. In my experience, a black and white is a much daintier pastry. Half-moon = 5" diameter -- black and white about 3". Not that I'm a size queen or anything. There are things that clearly share a common ancestor, but have evolved into separate entities. And two of those are the Black and White and Half-moon Cookie.

Melissa or Owen -- before the blog is done, could one of you put up a picture of a half-moon cookie? They don't exist anywhere but CNY. There is a pretender that exists in the NYC metro region called a black and white cookie, but they aren't the same thing at all. If you can find a picture, I will post a decent recipe for making them. My mom clipped it for me from the Herald Journal food page (which dates it, doesn't it) and I have saved it and used it since then. Owen - hope you're feeling ok...

I actually grew up on Euclid Ave - on the hill between Westmoreland and Cumberland. You grew up about a half a block away from where I lived. I PM'ed you with the specifics. Small world indeed!!

As I said on the teaser thread, I'm so happy that you two are blogging this week! I grew up in the University neighborhood of Syracuse, right off of Euclid Ave. Then I went back for grad school. But now I'm in Delaware, where I've been since the late 80's, only going back upstate for visits, and I miss the area very much. I'm so glad that Byrne Dairy is still around with glass bottled milk, no less. Now I've got their jingle stuck in my head! Do they still play it on the radio? The one that goes: Byrne Dairy milk is mighty fine Product of the hometown line every drop is bottled here for dairy farm freshness...etc.

I just noticed something that's funny -- look what post number my "It's Syracuse!" response was...315!!! (The area code for Syracuse). I'm totally beside myself waiting for this one. I can't tell you how many food things I miss about the area. Half Moon cookies are a big one -- NOT the same thing as a Black and White. Lunas! And the availability of fried fish -- good fried fish -- everywhere. It seems so insane to me that I could get better fish in Syracuse than I can in Wilmington, DE. JTravel -- I can't tell you how many hours I have spent in the Canal Museum on field trips. There and at the Salt Museum. Of course, now I just wave at the Canal Museum while going into Smith's.... Whomever is doing this one (and I assume Phaelon is one of them) please show everyone history's first drive through bank. Ok, I'll shut up now. But I'm really, really, excited to see this blog! I love them all, but this one is special.

It's Syracuse! I see salt potatoes (Hinderwadels?), onions (perhaps Rapasadi onions?), the Canal Museum, and a typical winter day. Man, I miss the place. Time to go home for a visit? Nah, just read the blog! Can't wait!

They seem like a special, special group of people. Not only was that bling, it was bling with about 47 levels of meaning denoting status and experience. I'm going to have to watch the show again with my new secret decoder ring in hand. Check them out at Chaine des Rotisseurs USA. Read specifically about the bling and its meaning at Eating Club Bling.

If you want to compare Delaware booze prices with what you'd pay, look here: Total Wine and More. This store is HUGE and is just over the Delaware/PA line immediately off of I-95. It's our local store, and I've been very pleased by both the prices and selection. And as someone already pointed out, Delaware is the home of tax free shopping.

Forgot to mention another favorite Ten Ren Tea, whom we first found about 5 years ago on a trip to Chinatown in NYC. Their Jasmine teas are marvelous, and my husband really likes one of their Lapsang Souchon varieties. It's really worth going to their shop, because they have big jars of each tea and will let you look at and smell each one. And there's a tea for every budget here.

We love Harney Tea and buy a pound of their Palm Court blend every month. We've liked all of their teas, but we always come back to Palm Court. I have also ordered from Adagio Tea. Their tea is very good, and you can get very small canisters to sample from. And their "Ingenui-tea" brewer is a godsend to office workers. It goes in the microwave, can use loose tea, and then strains the tea into your mug.