A great bowl of pho is one of the most magical foods on the planet. I don't know where it gets its restorative powers from, but if you're feeling physically out of whack, even a pretty good bowl of pho will work wonders.

As you may recall, I made a batch of berbere a while back for Ethiopian drumsticks. Having some left over, I was doing some research and found this Eating Well recipe for a chicken and red lentil stew that seemed like a great winter dish. And since it's still winter here....

Yes, it's April. Yes, I cooked and ate things in March. And accumulated things. And now that a variety of energy-sapping things have cleared up, it's time to tell you about them.

It's often said that truly great cuisine comes from the desperate need to make otherwise unpalatable food edible. As a modern, American, sort of middle class guy, the closest I will probably ever come to this is the process by which I came to make Ethiopian chicken drumsticks.

See, I had these drumsticks.

Right. I am writing the fucking smoked salmon post. It's been almost a month at this point, and it is long past time to write the smoked salmon post, because I made my own smoked salmon. As part of the Summer Of Smoking.

Tongue taco. Say it loud and it sounds a bit porny. Say it soft and nobody will hear you. That's why I recommend you say "tongue taco" in a nice, medium, resonant inside voice. And only use the phrase when referring to food.

New cooking techniques always have a learning curve. If the technique is complicated, or requires specialized equipment, that curve is, traditionally, a nightmare of bumbling and fumbling and the potential for burns and a final product that often ends up being finished some other way.

So, yeah, I learned some things about broccoli rabe last week.

And here we go, year three with the purveyors of pristine produce, Driftless Organics, week one out of 20. A full but not heavy box, as is common early in the season. What did we get?

If you've watched any food TV in the last couple of years, you've probably heard about Vancouver's Japadogs. You also may have heard of them if you listen to commentary tracks on Psych DVD's.