Sugar Substitutes; The Methane Digester; The History of Tea Our resident omnivore, Jon Gold, takes curries to new heights with his Indian restaurant pick.  Neuroscience historian Will Clower shares his insights on the safety of sugar substitutes.   Albert Straus takes us to his family's creamery, where they're turning cow manure into electricity.  Australian winemaker Chris Hatcher makes a case for screw tops on wine bottles.  Author Beatrice Hohenegger sheds light on the surprisingly controversial history of tea.  Linda Buettner improves the quality of life for those with dementia by bringing them into the kitchen, and Tony Nester teaches teaches us how to survive off-grid.

Microflora; Teens' Food Issues; LA's Best Restaurant Too fat, too thin and just right. If your New Year's resolution is to lose weight, listen in--you may be overweight because of microflora run amok. Jeffrey Gordon has published studies on how microflora in our guts regulate weight and sometimes go haywire. We hear from a gastric bypass patient who lost a hundred pounds in a matter of months; then a doctor who performs these surgeries tells his reservations. How to feed a teenage boy? With lots of food. Georgia Orcutt tells of her "food blind" teenage sons. Evan talks to Harriet Brown about struggling to refeed her anorexic daughter, and Patric Kuh of Los Angeles magazine gives us the best new restaurant in LA.

Christmas Roast; Lutefisk; Holiday Cookies Suzie Gilbert speaks out about One Voice and Mark Bittman serves up a delicious holiday roast. George Cossette gets our glugg on as Eddie Lin braves an unfamiliar Nordic specialty. Dorie Greenspan cooks up some fabulous cookies and Jane Lockhart suggests we stop by Sweet Lady Jane if we're too bushed to bake. Mike Steinberger looks at champagne through rose-colored glasses. Journalist Jane Goldman closes out the year with the "Hi's and Low's of 2006."

Feeding Baby; Holiday Eating; Doggy Treats Cynthia Epps coos about feeding baby and Will Clower tells us how to avoid having a belly like Santa Baby. Linda West Eckhardt is cooking for dogs and Eric Gower is breaking away with blenders. Nancy Zaslavsky finds the ultimate taco joint and Ellen Rose previews the best gift cookbooks for the season. John Scharffenberger, en expert on chocolate's true essence, gives us a splendid primer.

City Bans; Meat Glue; Absinthe Evan Kleiman visits with lawyer and Glendale City Council Member, Ara Najarian, about the city ordinance that forbids commercial grilling outdoors.  Kim Severson, NY Times writer, talks about another ban: NYC's Health Department proposal of a "partial" phase-out of artificial trans fat in all New York City restaurants. James Watson, a Harvard professor who has who has written a book titled: It's Golden Arches East : McDonalds in East Asia, shares his ideas on fast food culture. Food scientist, Harold McGee, explains the fear inducing term, "meat glue" and Simon Ford, says if we're going to be driven to drink we might as well be driving Plymouth Gin. Legendary baker, Peter Reinhart, shares his thoughts on our daily bread and Moveable-Feast blogster extraordinaire, Louisa Chu, has been dancing with the green fairy, and has lived to tell about it.

Thanksgiving with Mark Peel; Adopt-a-Turkey; Hay Bales While chef Mark Peel prepares Thanksgiving dinner at Campanile, food historian Kathleen Curtin reveals what the pilgrims were really eating that historic day and Roberto Rogness offers wines to kick off our holiday table. Tricia Ritterbusch suggests we adopt a turkey of our very own, and Abby Dodge has some make-ahead hors d'ouevres which will fit the bill. Jonathan Gold starts the day with a Northern Chinese breakfast of champions and Jonathan Gates shares his friendly family farm with us.

Smell Yourself Skinny; Survivorman; Goodbye, Mr. Apple Brothers Matt and Ted Lee celebrate Southern food as America's food. "Survivorman" Les Stroud gives us a peek into the meager cuisine of the bush. Dr. Alan Hirsch urges us to put our nose where our mouth is, and Dale Campbell sheds some light on cooking in the dark. Dan Warrick offers a primmer on how to make wine at home and Jon Gold takes us on an Argentine food tour through Mercado Buenos Aires. We remember the late, great R. W. Apple and re-run a segment that we enjoyed with him last year.

E Coli Prevention; Great Knives; Meat Pies Trevor Suslow offers tips for warding off E coli and Russ Parsons sharpens our knowledge on the best kitchen knives. Gill Stannard has the Australian skinny on meat pies and Jonathan Gold raves about his new favorite taco--without meat. James Oseland shares stories from his travels to Indonesia and Sarah Hood Salomon shares favorite dishes of the White House table. Chef Jet Tila introduces us to a Korean restaurant that’s serving up Pho.