I like to spend some vacation time exploring new foods and recipes. This summer is no exception. I have had lentils on my mind since I posted about tasting sea urchin in southern France when I was in my early twenties. The reason lentils have been on my mind is because I have a strong memory about lentils I ate in France when I was on vacation with my sister and her boyfriend. I decided I wanted to try and make them the same way. I have only ever cooked lentils by adding them to soups or stews. The cooked lentils I ate in France were not soft nor were they hard. They were served cold with what I think was olive oil and fresh lemon juice. When I tried to research French recipes for lentils, I was in for a lentil education.
It turns out there is a special lentil called French lentils. They are smaller and rounder and darker than the regular lentils I have cooked with in the past. I think this must be the type of lentils I remembered from long ago in France. I also discovered there are more varieties of lentils than I realized. I added the sushi rice because this was also a new discovery for me. I read an article recently that stated scientists tested different types of rice for arsenic. They mentioned sushi rice (which I had no idea there was such a thing.) They stated it had the lowest levels of arsenic.
I looked up where I could buy French lentils and it turns out that Mom’s Organic Market not far from where I live carries French lentils in bulk. I went there today and was able to find them. I also saw golden lentils and wanted to try them. My eyes surveyed their wide selection of dried bulk items and I found sushi rice! I had to buy some of it. How to make it is another lesson I learned today. I love the internet for looking up foods and recipes even though I have numerous cookbooks.
On another subject— I saw my first hummingbird in our garden late this afternoon. My husband saw it first and called my attention to it. It was in clear view of our kitchen window. I purposely planted two new cardinal flowers to attract the hummingbirds to a location where we could easily see them from inside. The spaceship rose cardinal flower is pictured below. The other cardinal flower is just beginning to bloom in the past couple of days.
movingforwardslowly 