Irritated? Feel like having an argument? Argue with your food. And don't presume that just because you'll get the last bite, that you're going to win the argument every time. Linda Matthie-Jacobs, author of two cookbooks about "food with an attitude," has followed up her previous "Fire 'n' Ice" cookbook with a new cookbook called "Light the Fire: Fiery Food with a Light New Attitude" (MJM Grande Publishing, www.cooking withfire.com ). With items such as Margarita Jelly, Grilled Tequila Salmon Steaks, and Great Bowls of Fire, this is not food to be taken lightly. With this cookbook, you can take your everyday, ho-hum steak and give it an attitude. It's a whole new world of chili peppers, jalapenos and tabasco _ really hot! Believe me, this food does talk back.

Attention Japanese people who don't like hot, spicy food but eat wasabi every day: Wasabi is really hot! I vividly recall my first encounter with the wicked rhizome. It looked like an innocent bystander sitting on top of a piece of carrot by the edge of the plate. This little pile of green stuff was extremely non-threatening compared to the raw fish sitting next to it. My Japanese hosts told me wasabi was "horseradish," in accordance with the English translation, so I confidently mixed a large glob of it in the sashimi sauce. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough beer left in my glass to douse the raging wasabi mouth fire. I never did get to experience what real sushi tasted like that night.

Nowadays, many people in the United States are familiar with wasabi. The Americans have come up with more ways to eat wasabi than the Japanese: wasabi ice cream, wasabi wine, wasabi cheese, wasabi salad dressing and wasabi crackers. The one universal truth about food is that once a food has left its native turf, there's no telling what the host country will do with it.