Red lentils: the dried bean for beginners

Dried beans can be scary, what with all that sorting and boiling and draining and salting, but red lentils are a great place to begin. They are the convenience food of dried beans--no soaking and they are done within 30 minutes.

If you like apricots, this is the first red lentil recipe I would introduce you to--a red lentil apricot soup. It comes from a fun cookbook The Soup Peddler's slow and difficult Soups that you will want to read if you love soup, bicycles, and at least the idea of Austin, Texas. David Ansel, writer and Soup Peddler, began selling soup in Austin, and the best part is that he delivered the soup by bike (which is what "slow and difficult" refers to). Family and friends, you are welcome to borrow my copy, but don't keep it too long because I will miss it.

Back to the soup: I am always amazed at how much my children love this soup. It is also a satisfying soup to make.The whole truly is greater than its simple parts. It feels a little bit like magic.