• From corn dogs to cheesecake, get a run-down of concessions at the Ex with boss Mike Knott.
• What happens when a restaurant critic tries to eat and live like Michael Phelps?
• Udupi Palace has a spicy food-eating competition to help Sick Kids.
• Wines of unusual names: Girls' Night Out 2007 Chardonnay, Zuccardi Fuzion 2007 Shiraz Malbec, and Mommessin 2006 Chardonnay Grande Reserve.
  
• Recipes: Spicy Daikon Salad, Veal Piccata.
  
• Organic blooms hit the farmers' markets.
• More wines: St. Hallett 2004 Semillon, Stadlmann Zierfandler Classic 2006, Tawse Sketches of Niagara 2007 Riesling, Kenwood 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, and Ogier Caves des Papes Les Truffiers 2005 Vacqueyras.
• A questionable outing to Madeline's.

Hot food may not be the first thing that springs to mind in hot weather, but believe it or not, sweating will cool you off faster than you might think. Some Like It Hot: Spicy Favorites from the World's Hot Zones serves up some of the spiciest foods in the world, all in one cookbook. Author Clifford Wright provides lots of information on the origin and uses of various chiles and spices in the book. The recipes range from the familiar, like Enchiladas Verdes, to the more exotic, with recipes from countries like Bolivia and Africa, where the cuisine is less familiar to most diners. The recipes also do cover a range on the spicy scale, so those with slightly more sensitive palates can work their way up to the more fiery dishes.

The recipes are organized by type of dish and include salads, sauces, seafood, meats, vegetables and - most intriguingly - eggs, which are not often made into their own category. Check out the recipe for Indian Chile Eggs before trying any of the others.

And remember to drink plenty of water (or the other cooling drinks Wright provides), too.

It's almost some form of culinary masochism - but in the summer when it's really hot, I love to punish myself by eating supremely spicy foods that make me sweat even more than I already am. My friends and family think I'm psycho. Of course, there is a completely logical, physiological reason why spicy foods are eaten when it's hot, but there are also other health and preventative reasons why spicy foods are good for you. Let's just take a look at those reasons so we can use them when we go for the Korean yook-gae-jahng in 100% humidity.

• Cancer-fighting and cancer-prevention - A recent study shows that capsaicin can be used to fight pancreatic cancer. It slowed the growth of cancer cells and in some cases, even caused cancer cells to die off.
• Alleviate inflammation - Arthritis and psoriasis are cause by nerve damage and cause pain on joints. Capsaicin supposedly helps to ease that pain.
• Relieve chronic pain - In some cases, spicy foods containing capsaicin greatly reduced pain caused by headaches or osteoporosis.
• Heart-health - Cayenne and chili peppers can help to reduce cholesterol. Additionally statistics show that cultures that eat spicy foods (e.g. some Asian countries) frequently have a much lower rate of heart attack and stroke.

So break out those jalapenos!