Need a pick-me-up this Monday morning? Check out this imaginative and adorable latte art being made by baristas in Japan.

There are many reasons to love black cod -- it is sustainably fished, full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and wonderfully buttery when cooked. Here's one more: a classic Japanese recipe for black cod that makes an easy, elegant dinner for guests or a quick main dish you can prep over the weekend.

Karen Solomon is known and beloved for her two previous cookbooks Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It and Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It. But for her third book, a much anticipated volume devoted to asian pickles, she is trying something a little different by releasing the book slowly in chapter-long, mini ebooks, sold for $2.99 each. Let's take a peek at her first release, Asian Pickles: Japan, and see what it has to offer. More

There's nothing like that moment when you taste an Asian dish you made at home and pump your fist in the air because it tastes just like take-out! It's not hard to get that authentic flavor; all it takes are the right ingredients. Fully stocking an Asian pantry can seem intimidating, but with just 15 basic ingredients, you can make a wide variety of recipes from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and beyond.

This is a cookbook about real farm-to-table Japanese cooking, but it's also about something more ephemeral. The way ingredients look, smell, and feel before you even get them into the kitchen. Trusting your instincts. Using what you have right this instant rather than making lists and grand plans. With simple, nourishing dishes and richly detailed stories of Japanese farm life, Nancy Sington Hachisu creates a whole world between the fabric-bound covers of this book. Once you step inside, it's very tempting to stay. More

Meet Shimizu San, a Japanese restaurant owner who grows his own wheat and makes his own udon. Take a moment and watch his ode to udon — a simple and centered take on sustainable living and eating. And it looks delicious! More

Do you feel pretty confident in your chopsticks skills? If so, you might be ready to try nagashi somen, a fun Japanese eating style that serves noodles not in a bowl or a plate, but racing by in a bamboo pipe full of flowing water. Get those chopsticks ready! More

Burnished and brown, shoyu tamago ("soy sauce eggs") look quite different from your average hard-boiled egg, but are actually very simple to make. A lunchbox staple in Japan, they make a flavorful, high-protein snack on the go. More

Have you heard of tofu misozuke, i.e. miso marinated tofu? It's been called "vegan cheese," "vegan butter," even "vegan foie gras." While I suppose there's some (delicious) truth in those statements, I think tofu misozuke is amazing stuff on its own, without all the animal-product based comparisons. Just what is tofu misozuke and what can you do with it? Read on for more information. More

To me, at this moment in time, hiyashi chuka just makes sense. Not only is the Japanese chilled noodle salad absolutely refreshing – a must during these sweltering days of summer – but it also features the sweetest, crispest vegetables available at the market right now: tomatoes, corn, cucumbers. Plus a light and tangy sauce that takes no time to whip up. More