We're at the point, as Michael Pollan keeps reminding us, where raising meat is becoming unsustainable and depriving the rest of the world of food. Asian cuisine tends to use meat only in small amounts, as a flavoring. It uses grains and pulses for its protein supply. We should learn from this - they're delicious, and cheap. If you're not fond of the associated flavorings, remember that the Italians, the Greeks, north African countries and other Mediterranean-based cuisines make good use of grains and pulses too.

The best places to discover a really comprehensive selection tends to be at Indian and Asian markets - after all, these are cultures that know how to make the most of them - though healthfood stores have some choices.

Ethiopian-Indian SuperMarket, 8107 Fenton St, Silver Spring, has one of the widest ranges of grains I've seen anywhere - wheat, barley grits, split fava beans, whole fava bean, flax seeds, black turtle beans, chana dal, couscous. (They also sell a bread that's wrapped in banana leaves and spices I wouldn't know how to use: shiro, mitmita, rue seed, coseret. There are also very, very peppery poppadums and jars of coconut chutney.)

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