Just what ARE legumes?

Having grown up in Europe, legumes for me are just vegetables en francais, so I've always been a bit confused as to why Americans call lentils and other pulses 'legumes'. Oh OK, I admit, I kind of thought that perhaps it was one of those occasions when the Americans made an assumption, got it wrong and stuck with it anyway (if you want an example, English toffee is NOT at all like English toffee, and while we're at it, calling many American beers 'beer' is doing the word a disservice).

I should probably stop now, lest British cooks get a reputation for not only inept, but also rude (Gordon Ramsey is doing us no favors on that score!)

Thanks to Google, and my British ability to fully admit it when I get something incorrect, I can reliably inform you that you Americans are not wrong after all. Legumes are apparently the seeds found inside the pods that hang from certain plants. They can be mature, giving us dried seeds like lentils, or immature, e.g. peas, which are simply legumes which are harvested before they mature on the plant. And if you are trying to get your 5 or 9 servings of fruits or vegetables (or whatever today's recommendation is), then having a serving of pulses (about 3 TBSP) counts as one serving. Plus they are high in protein, fiber and folates. Yay!

Thing is, they've got to taste good for the Farrars to buy in en masse. Tonight's dinner at the leguminous Farrar house is a good example of how lentils can indeed be delicious. This is a great one for a cold winter's night (why, last night it dipped below 50 degrees here in California. Brrrrrr.. ;-)

Crockpot Lentil and Sausage Stew

1 cup dry lentils
1 cup fully cooked sausages, cut into chunks (I use Aidell's chicken ones)
1 cup roughly chopped carrots
1 cup roughly chopped parsnips
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 TBSP cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 bag kale

1. Load up the crockpot with all the ingredients except for the kale.
2. Cook on low for 6 hours.
3. Add kale and cook for a further 20-30 mins (depending on how thick the kale stems are) until kale is tender. At this point I taste it and often add some more cumin, as we love cumin in our family.

Serve steaming in bowls, with bread to 'mop it up'.