Lentil

Our Favorite Lentil Story.

The four most distinguished families of ancient Rome were named after lentils and its legume cousins beans, peas and chickpeas: Lentulus (lentils), Piso (peas), Cicero (chickpeas) and Fabius (fava beans). The USDA would tell you that there are an almost endless number of lentil varieties. We think we have tasted them all and chose the very flavorful Spanish Pardina Lentils because of their rich, nutty flavor. These same Pardina Lentils originated in Spain and have been consumed for many thousands of years. Great taste, great nutrition, well traveled for centuries.

Why Spinach and Popeye?

Popeye's creator, E.C. Segar, was a vegetarian. E.C. Segar wanted to make sure everyone knew the benefits of eating veggies. The one sure way he helped promote the love of vegetables was to make his popular character love spinach. "Popeye" was shown to develop amazing strength after ingesting the green leafy vegetable. It rapidly gained popularity during the 1920's when nutritionists found spinach to be rich in numerous vitamins and minerals. Or maybe it was because of the beloved "Popeye", who first debuted on January 17, 1929 in a comic strip called Thimble Theatre.

Homer called it 'liquid gold'

The olive is native to Asia Minor and spread from Iran, Syria, and Palestine to the rest of the Mediterranean basin over 6,000 years ago. It is among the oldest known cultivated trees in the world- being grown before written language was invented! Legend has it Athena brought it to the Greeks as a gift, touting it as useful for light, heat, food, medicine, and perfume. In ancient Greece, athletes ritually rubbed it all over their body. Its leafy branches crowned the victorious in friendly games and bloody war, and the oil from its fruit has anointed kings and saints throughout history. Olive trees, a symbol of abundance, strength, and peace, were so sacred to Hellenic society that those who cut one down were condemned to death or exile. That's serious business. We take our olive oil seriously, too. We treasure the peppery overtones and depth our olive oil imparts.

Red Peppers

Red Peppers are part of the family of bell peppers that come in a range of colors: green, yellow, orange, and, of course, red. Native to Central and South America, bell peppers have a recessive gene that lacks capsaicin, the component that gives other varieties of peppers their hot taste. The green bells are unripe peppers and so are a bit light on taste. We love the reds, and particularly the roasted red pepper we use, for their rich taste and texture.