Today, I met the carnivore for lunch at the recently opened location of Uwajimaya in Renton, WA. This Asian grocer is a longtime favorite among Seattlites and offers a plethora of grocery and quick dining options for eaters of all varieties. We like to do quite a bit of our shopping for pantry items at the Asian markets in our area, but today we were just after some quick, hot lunches to enjoy on this gray fall day.

So, what was for lunch? I had udon soup with tons of green onions and big pieces of marinated, fried tofu. I believe the soup container was in the neighborhood of 20 oz, and there wasn't much left of it by the time I was finished. My lunch date had an enormous portion of something less yummy-looking (to me) that included a handful of blood-red screaming hot chilis. We both left happy, full, and warmed from the inside out with just a little bit of fire on our tongues. I only wish I'd had a little more time to peruse the aisles!

In the spirit of Asian dining, I wanted to share with you a new cookbook on the market, and a must for any of you who long to know the secrets of Asian "home-cooking," just like someone else's mom used to make (and probably still does). is a collection of over 100 recipes from grandmothers interviewed by the author Patricia Tanumihardja. But, it's not just a recipe book. It's an attempt to capture bits of Asian cultures -- Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian and more -- that are rapidly disappearing into the abyss of fast food and convenience culture.

The book isn't vegetarian, let alone vegan, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Asian cooks have long based their cuisine on locally sourced ingredients and seasonal vegetables. Most Asian recipes can be "veganized" by swapping out just a few items. You'll have to get your mitts on a copy of the cookbook and see if you can find a recipe to re-do at home!

I arrived home from lunch in the early afternoon, with a gray sky still hanging above, and the thread of rain looming in the not-too-distant future. The house is a bit chilly today, but it's not quite cold enough yet to justify turning the heat on so I opted for my favorite internal heating alternative: tea! I chose an organic golden , a Japanese green tea with toasted brown rice. It's a tender, delicately flavored tea with earthy, almost-smokey rice tones, and it's definitely one of my favorites. There's nothing like a simple cup of tea to get you through your afternoon!