Recipe Development Contest

I love lentils and peas. Healthy, tasty, protein rich and satisfying, my friends and I often include them in our salad and soup making dates. Lately, we’ve been savoring various soups such as the coconut curried red lentil soup. So when I was contacted on behalf of the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council to participate in a recipe development contest involving dry peas and lentils, I accepted the challenge.

I liked their targeted approach to finding a voice for their contest and I appreciated that there was something in it for you, my loyal readers – free giveaways! You see, there are many blog entries and recipes on my website that include lentils or peas, so it must have been obvious to the organizers that I’m a genuine fan. I agreed to be a contestant (if you should call it that) in an effort to raise awareness of the health benefits of dry peas and lentils. Honestly, prior to this, I didn’t know there was an entire non-profit council devoted to “promote and protect the interests of growers, processors, warehousemen and sellers of dry peas, lentils and chickpeas in the United States.” And it’s been around for more than forty years. That’s awesome!

I often get opportunities to help promote products or gadgets, but I usually turn them down simply because I won’t promote what I don’t love. But dried peas and lentils? You got me! That’s like asking a steak lover to review a dry-aged porterhouse. I’m in.

I developed some yummy, gluten free recipes for this contest and expect to have few nifty giveaways, thanks to our contest organizer. I hope this endeavor will be fun and useful for you too. So tune in over the next two weeks. Tomorrow, I’ll post a new family favorite soup recipe, and after that, a spicy dip perfect for your summer entertaining and then, a delicious heart healthy salad. You’ll have the chance to “vote” at the end of the contest (on May 31st) by commenting on my blog and just for doing so, the US Dry Pea and Lentil Council will send you (the first 500 people) a generous assortment of dried peas and lentils. They tell me that one lucky winner will even receive a cool new baking product (which I won’t disclose until later but I can assure you is awesome).

So thanks for reading and make sure to check out the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council website. There’s a lot of useful information. Did you know that legumes are otherwise known as “pulses?” Well I didn’t either and found out when I visited their informational website: http://www.pea-lentil.com/.