Lentils

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Ever noticed how much more expensive lentils are compared to other beans? I have wondered why. Perhaps it is because there is a higher demand as I know they are a popular legume.

Well this year we grew lentils in the garden. They started off beautifully. Lots of little green plants with a similar look to that of thyme. Lots of little leaves. They get taller and taller (though they do not keep growing higher and higher like many other beans) to about a foot tall. The flowers appear and then each flower turns into one lentil! Not like beans where each ‘pole’ has many beans. One lentil!

One plant yields maybe 15-20 seeds (maybe!) and each one has to be dug out of its shell separately unless you are lucky and get one that has two lentils instead of one.

By the time we got to the lentils many of them had already started to sprout. Now I sure don’t mind sprouted lentils but that’s not what we had in mind – perhaps some lentils to save and eat later would be nice. Not if they’ve already sprouted.

Oh well, gives me a new understanding and appreciation for the lentils we buy. Thomas has decided they are not worth the space they take up. He was disappointed and wrote off the crop. I am a bit more stubborn (in a few ways – definitely when it comes to food) and am still tackling the hanging dried plants to see if I can extract a few more seeds – so far I’m not even close to having a full serving…

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