On lentils

I promise you this is not turning into a food blog. I am aware that the world doesn't need another food blog. And yet, as I sit here while my friends are laughing their butts off at a Margaret Cho show--I didn't know if I'd have theater tickets tonight so I declined the offer to join in the laughs, which is mostly a good thing, since I need to replenish my electrolytes for the rally tomorrow--I wanted to take a moment to talk about lentils. Here are some things you should know:

-lentils are a convenience pulse because (1) you don't need to soak them; and (2) they cook relatively quickly, depending on the variety.
-lentils vary quite a bit in flavor as well as behavior. I believe French (green) lentils--not to be confused with green split peas--take longer to cook, but still not as long as beans. Even though you could make dal out of any kind of lentil, each of those dals will taste quite different. I bring this up to say, don't substitute brown lentils for red lentils--totally different flavor, texture, etc.
-cook lentils in exactly enough water--if you have to drain, you drain lots of flavor, too. You can measure, but also err on the less-water side and add more as needed.
-I like to bring out the flavor in lentils by sauteing dry ones with onion for a few seconds, and then covering in water. This will work with any variety. You can also just add onion to the broth.
-in my experience, red lentils will cook in twenty minutes or so.