By JOAN OBRA, Fresno Bee

Anyone who has tried the dried Sichuan peppercorn knows of its effects: Chew on the cracked, brownish-red pods, and a citrus flavor floods the mouth while the tongue goes pleasantly numb.Eat them fresh, however, and the sourness and numbness are overwhelming.

It's a Sunday afternoon at the Logan home, and a weekly ritual has taken over the kitchen.Peach cobbler bubbles in one oven. Macaroni and cheese -- made with smoked cheddar -- bakes in another one. And Jeanne Logan, dressed in her mother's apron, lifts a pot lid and eyes the jumble of black-eyed peas and lima beans.

The tough economy makes a case for more home cooking to save money. One aspect of trimming food costs involves knowing how to handle a knife.At a recent cooking class in Fresno, Calif., students honed their knife skills at the hands of two experts: Wendy Carroll, who runs the personal-chef service Seasoned to Taste, and Budd Solaegui, of Perfect Edge Sharpening Systems.

There's a legume poised to play a bigger role in shoppers' diets.

Grass-fed steak is juicy, but still leaner than your typical beef. Its flavor can be more, well, beefy. And cutting a rind of fat around the edge can require a lot more pressure with the knife.

OAKHURST, Calif. -- For many folks, chocolate is a guilty pleasure. But for eighth-graders at Mountain Home Charter School, a chocolate fund-raiser inspired only guilt.That's because about 70 percent of the world's cocoa -- taken from the cacao tree to make chocolate -- comes from West Africa, where reports of abusive child labor have circulated for years.

With the Lunar New Year arriving Feb. 7, Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese families are abuzz. They're headed to Asian shops and restaurants for dishes and ingredients needed during the New Year celebrations.