KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 -- A little trip can offer much inspiration.

Be it a short one to the neighbourhood farmer's market, where fresh produce abounds, or a vacation to farther shores, where the foods might be less familiar (and more fermented, as you will see), new ingredients can mean new dishes for the weekend table.

These are my most recent inspirations:

A punnet of heirloom cherry tomatoes, their skins taut and sun-warm. A single ripe avocado that yields gently under the thumb.

Small jars of Japanese pickles in the refrigerator, waiting patiently for their turn on the chopping board. On the counter, a few feathery sprigs of dill stand in a glass of water, fresh from the garden this morning.

Not all of these ingredients belong to ...