Veg Out: Do you like vegetables? So does the guy who wrote this rap. Singer-songwriter Parry Gripp and animator Yusuf Iqbal have teamed up to bring the world "I Like Vegetables." Sample lyrics: "Call Dr. Phil and warn Oprah. I'm gonna eat up all of the okra! I'm notorious. I'm nefarious. I don't spare one spear of asparagus." Listen, laugh and then go out there and get crazy on a Brussels sprout. [ Parry Gripp via Mashable]

Everything but the Grill? Finally, the long winter is over and it's getting on toward grill season. If you're shopping for a new grill on which to cook your meat, fish or veggies (perhaps some nefarious asparagus?) and looking for guidance, AmazingRibs.com, a website dedicated to "the science of BBQ and grilling," has doled out its Best Value Awards to the 10 charcoal grills, 10 gas grills and 10 backyard smokers it considers the "best of breed in their price category." Helpful. And once you get your grill, you'll for sure want to check out Food Network's Grilling Central and FN Dish Grilling and BBQ posts for recipes and ideas to get you fired up. [ AmazingRibs.com via Huffington Post]

Just Dough It: New York Times writer Sam Sifton wants us all to eat less pizza from restaurants or the frozen-food aisle and more made from scratch at home. "You can make pizza at home that will be the equal of some of the best pizzas available on the planet … even if you are a relatively novice cook," he assures. "Yes, it may take a few tries before your confidence soars. Your first attempts may be wan .... But … even when pizza is bad, it is actually pretty good. And pretty good is an excellent place to begin." Another excellent place to begin: Food Network Magazine's 50 Easy Pizza recipes. [ The New York Times]

Amazon Puts Cookbooks on the Map — Literally: Amazon has gotten into the local-food movement by creating a new infographic highlighting its editors' cookbook picks by region. "We got curious about the American cookbooks we admired: Where were they coming from? Which states had the most influential cookbook authors? Which classic regional cookbooks were inspiring a new generation of chefs and home cooks ... ?" the editors write. "So we came up with a list of several hundred of our favorite cookbooks and put them on the map, based on the current hometown or major restaurant location of the chef or author." The map's graphics also give a whole new meaning to picks and pans. [ Amazon's Great American Eats via Los Angeles Times]

In Other Food News: Panera is planning to overhaul the way it takes orders by letting customers order ahead online or via mobile devices, and it is experimenting with an in-store touchscreen sandwich-ordering system. [ Associated Press] A new study has determined that Americans are twice as likely to get food poisoning from restaurant-prepared food than from homemade food. [ Center for Science in the Public Interest] During a budget debate Tuesday, members of Congress used pictures of hamburgers and a chart showing the "Price of a Big Mac" to underscore their points about inflation. [ The Washington Post]