Darienne

Well, cteavin and Andie, you are both correct. And I have been wasteful. I guess after keeping a number of containers of sugar syrup around for what seemed like a long time, I just gave up and disposed of them. Didn't realize that they would keep almost forever. Should have known. Like jam or honey. OK. Won't do it again. I promise.

I still haven't received the Cheesemonger's book...we are allowed only two books on I.L.L. at a time and I am already over my limit by mistake. Yesterday, at St Vincent de Paul's I bought the following for $1: You Eat What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions. Thelma Barer-Stein. It's a huge handsome book and I could not resist. Went to Amazon.com to see what reviews were there...only a few reviews and all except one said it was terrible. The terrible reviews each came from a different country and said basically the Barer-Stein was so off-base and so out of date as to be truly almost without redeeming qualities. So far I haven't checked out Canada...

Hot & Sour soup is my favorite way to eat tofu. We eat a lot of mapodofu...but honestly I am not that crazy about it. DH loves it and that's enough for me. But I make a large pot of Hot & Sour (leaving out the bean thread noodles for freezing) and freeze it in 'enough for two for supper' portions. Tofu does not improve for me in the freezing, but it's not all that prominent in the soup to make a huge difference. Then I would add fresh bean thread noodles each time.

Lovely pie. And served properly. Yesterday was clean out the freezer day and amongst the other surprises was a container of 'tortiere' makings. It was leftover from DH, Ed's, annual tortiere pie at Christmas event. Never would we ever consider eating tortiere with anything but Heinz catsup/ketchup. Good flavor pairing!

Andie is the resident Ginger Lady and can give you the last word on it all. I keep my peels in airtight containers and not in the fridge. So far, so good.

No problem. And you are correct. They just keep on finding melamine, and no doubt other contaminants, in one food item after another. As for liking the White Rabbit candy...I had never even tasted it. I had just bought the Anita Chu candy book and learned of it in one of her recipes. I bought some to taste at our local Asian market and then decided to make it, just for the sake of making it. Milk is not a common ingredient in candy. Gave both the commercial and homemade stuff away...as I give away most of what I make. Not generous. Just devious. - keeps me from getting fat - makes me friends - allows me to experiment and make all sorts of stuff. To me, candy making is almost magic. But then so is bread making and a number of other things. - ingratiates me with our local libraries who sell my stuff for small change. Last week they didn't charge me for my over-dues. - no doubt a number of other things too which won't come to my currently tired mind. However, if you ever do find my mystery candy...please let me know. Thanks.

Hi cteavin, This has been covered to some extent on other related topics a couple of years ago. I know...I asked the same questions. Got a few answers...sauces, drinks, on ice cream...can't remember much today. However, what I finally did is just throw most of it out. Held my nose and dumped it. We simply don't live a life that will encompass that much syrup, no matter how delicious. Sorry. That's not what you wanted to hear.

Hey Peter! Didn't know you were THAT cute!!!

Thanks Paul for all your help. I think I am going to make a cheat sheet for sugars and their names until I can keep them straight in my head. It's still all so new for me.

Thanks David, but I can get one at Hendrix in Peterpatch for about $26.00 Firstly I would want two...no way am I paying $50.00 for two pans, and secondly I can buy them in the States for $20.00 should I decide to go ahead. All in all, I think I'll jettison the idea totally. I have my DH, Ed, who is very handy with a knife or wallboard spatula and he has offered to cut the toffee for me. Also I am going to investigate the idea of metal ceiling grids which could be cut down to divide a cookie sheet of toffee into small squares. But thanks again. Hmmm...it's all a bit like being a food detective. The chase is more important than the solution.

Good point. I use the corn syrup only in ice cream and other confections, like toffee...most of which I give away...and we don't eat processed foods so it's all pretty much immaterial where we are personally concerned. And the verdict won't be in for a long time, if ever. Thanks for taking the time to keep on top of this one, O Ice Cream guru (still haven't tried it with invert sugar...)

Thanks DocDix, but I did say that the candy 'looked' like White Rabbit Candy, but was in a large red plastic tray. I don't think White Rabbit makes these fancy red tray assortments popular at New Year. I have purchased White Rabbit candy and made it also and this was NOT White Rabbit candy unless they now make a 'toasted sesame oil' flavor. The following is the list of current White Rabbit flavors from the official website: "In addition to the original vanilla flavour, new flavours such as chocolate, coffee, toffee, peanut, corn, coconut, lychee, strawberry, mango, red bean, and fruit have been added. The butter-plum flavour, characteristic of China, was also among the new flavours added through the years." None of these flavors would taste like toasted sesame oil as far as I can see. I also believe that currently there is no recall of White Rabbit Candy for melamine...but I don't know for certain. I wanted to taste it and so I did. And then made a batch using a recipe from Anita Chu (Pastrygirl on eG) book, Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable. So I am still mystified.

The best I can do is to ask at my Asian market. No doubt you have already gone that route. However, I hope you don't mind if I add a second 'mystery Asian candy' to the question. I asked it long ago on an Asian favorite candy topic but received no useful answers. This candy is white, small cylinder to squarish, chewy, tastes of toasted sesame oil, wrapped in waxed paper, looked like White Rabbit Milk Candy, but was not, purchased by a Chinese friend in a big red Chinese New Year multi-varied box 2 years ago. Intrigued me no end...in fact, I ate them all. The combination of toasted sesame oil and sweet was so different. I should add: they were NOT crunchy, there were NO sesame seeds, they were NOT thin like wafers, the sesame oil WAS the familiar toasted kind you use in dishes such as Hot & Sour soup, Hot & Sour cabbage. Thanks.

Found this link today concerning HFCS. I have no idea of the legitimacy of the claims that hfcs is bad for you...Princeton scientists seem to think so. I thought I should post it.

The omelet looks wonderful and the pan also.

Do check the ingredient label on the can to see what % is fat. Some cans are labelled 'cream', but have a very low % fat. And vice versa. However, as HeidiH pointed out in the topic "Coconut milk vs. coconut cream vs. Coconut Water", the labels on these cans are NOT to be trusted .

Too kind...

Somehow I feel a strong kinship with rooftop1000.

Thanks for the answers. It's strictly for fun, and yes, they are sugar maples. Maybe next year...

Moussaka, made with Eggplant Cutlets, both recipes from Rachel Perlow in eG's Moussaka Cook Off Thread. And Spanakopita, pretty much an amalgam of three recipes, including Claudia Roden, A Book of Middle Easten Food. (Sorry about the fuzzy moussaka. I need both a new camera and a new photographer.)

Phoned McCall's...got a teenager...don't phone on a Saturday. It seems the difference between wholesale and retail is a $25 yearly membership, but the girl assured me it was well worth it. Thanks for starting us out, Kerry.

And thanks to you, Lapin d'or, for taking us through your process using some Mycryo.

DHardy is going to give me a sample of his Mycryo which is very nice. Also, I phoned this candy and supply store in Pickering and they have bars of cocoa butter. Small bars, about $2.50 a bar...probably tiny bars...but bars nonetheless and that should denote tempered cocoa butter. We'll pick some up next trip west. The whole matter is more experimentation than anything else. Need to try EVERYTHING.

Confectionery partner, Barbara, and I are off to Toronto fairly soon and want to know where to buy confectionery supplies: chocolate couverture, Mycryo, chocolate moulds & stencils, hard candy moulds, caramel rulers, aluminum baking pans, in essence all things you can't buy in a small city like Peterborough (or as we call it, Peterpatch ) Oh, add the Perfect Brownie pan if you know where to buy one. I've tried: Michael's, HomeSense, Home Outfitters, Sears. I'd like two for moulds for toffee. I know Target has them in the USA. We don't intend to buy all the above...we just want to know where to buy them and neither of us knows Toronto. Thanks.

Oh... I see... Hmmm.... Thanks, Edward J. Will keep all that in mind. Thanks for your detailed answer.