You will rarely see a good blue in the sun... blue coloring in hostas is actually a wax coating over a green(chlorophyll) background. Maybe the best example of this is from the Halcyon family. Halcyon is a nice wax blue. June is a sport from Halcyon with the blue wax genes intact. On the other hand, Devon Green is a green sport from Halcyon that lacks the wax gene and is a shiny green. June Fever, the very bright yellow (in Spring) with a thin green margin is bright and shiny precisely because it is not, as we were originally told, a June sport but rather a sport from Devon Green - it lacks the wax gene and is thus shiny. In the sun, the heat, or after a lot of rain and overhead watering, the waxy blues will lose their wax and become green. It seems that some cultivars will generate more wax, while others never seem to develop it again in the same season after it melts away. The Halcyon clan has been the best at holding blue into the heat of summer. El Nino and First Frost both are still a good blue with the added advantage of crisp white borders. Touch of Class holds up very well in sun. This family has the added advantage of standing up longer into the fall as well. They often look good after many of the other hostas have died back from the first frosts. A surprise for me is how well Kiwi Full Monty, a striptease sport with bluer leaves, holds its blue into summer. And the new flushes will be very blue even if the older ones have lost their wax. So, yes... there are some general rules - but there are plants in each category that do just the opposite. usually yellows get yellower in more sun and more chartreuse in more shade, the simple reason being the plant needs more chlorophyll to grow in lower light conditions. But there are exceptions - yellow plants that get more greenish in sun. And among the green ones, there are probably more that become less green in bright light and darker green in lower light - but there are some that reverse this. I've never seen an exception in the blues - a plant that gets bluer in brighter light. I sometimes plant blue plants in the sun - though they won't look as good, they will often grow much faster, allowing me to get some extra growth on them before moving them into the shade.

Here's one of my favourite Spanish dishes - Although I have been making it for years the way a Spanish cook once showed me, this time I followed the preparation seen recently on a Spanish Cooking TV channel. Their ingredients included a small piece of or pork fat and a stewing chorizo (chorizo para guisar). If choosing a chorizo for this dish, be sure it is the right type which has the red pimiento colour. The small piece of tocino can be seen just to the right of the sprig of rosemary. Stewed Lentils (Lentejas Estofadas) 350 grams (1 1/2 cups) of small dark lentils - put them to soak the night before in water to cover 100 grams (3.5 oz) red stewing chorizo sausage - lightly pricked over with tines of a fork 50 grams (1.7 oz) salted tocino pork fat - cut into large diced pieces 1 TBSP flour 2 carrots diced fine 2 medium leeks, using only white stems sliced finely in rounds 1 lg clove garlic (this was optional but I wouldn't leave it out) - pass through garlic press 2 cups beef broth (I used 2 Knorr cubes) 1 bay leaf fresh rosemary - small sprig olive oil - about 1/4 cup 2 cups extra water to add after 1st hour 1. Soak lentils the NIGHT BEFORE in water to cover. * Note this if now often unnecessary with newer fast cooking lentils. 2. Next day drain and rinse lentils, put aside. 3. Heat olive oil in heavy cooking pot. When sizzling, add carrots, garlic and leeks. Lightly brown while stirring. 4. Add 1 TBSP flour and keep stirring for about a minute. 5. Add lentils, beef broth, whole chorizo, tocino, laurel and rosemary 6. Put on lid and simmer very gently for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Check after 1st hour and add up to 2 more cups water as needed. 7. Adjust seasoning and serve. ***************************************** Lentil & Potato Potaje (Potaje de Lentejas y Patatas) 3 cups of presoaked lentils 4 medium potatoes - cut into large dice 2 slices of stale bread 3 cloves garlic vinegar salt Put lentils in large pot, cover with water and begin to boil. As soon as lentils have begun to cook do the following: In a frying pan with 1/2 inch of oil brown the garlic and then add the bread and fry until brown. Remove garlic before it's too dark. Put browned bread and garlic into a mortar and grind to a paste. During the early part of cooking the lentils add the paste from the mortar to the lentils together with the oil that's left in the pan After about half an hour and before lentils are tender, add the diced or quartered potatoes, salt and finish cooking until all is tender. Check and correct salt and a dash of vinegar before serving. Source: A cook friend from Mallorca. *************************************** LENTIL & VEGETABLE SOUP Ingredients: lentils - 250 grams (slightly over 1 cup) garlic - one whole head onion - 1 large - quartered Kasseler smoked pork chop - 1 large (or 250 grams other smoked pork or bacon) ham or pork bone as for making stock 4 medium carrots - sliced into coins 2 stalks celery - diced 5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into 8ths 6 flowerettes of cauliflower green beans - handful sliced tomato puré - small 4 oz tin olive oil - 4 TBS fresh garden herbs: 1 bay leaf, several sprigs thyme, Italian flatleaf parsley 2 or 3 sprigs chicken stock 1 liter (4 cups) or water and 3 Knorr chicken stock cubes salt & fesh ground pepper water to cook lentils vinegar - 1 teasp garlic croutons - optional garnish Method: 1) Turn on oven to 350F. Put lentils in large heavy bottomed stew pot with water to cover plus about 2 inches, bring to boil and simmer 45 minutes. Check water level and add more as needed. 2) Meanwhile put whole head of garlic into shallow baking pan together with quartered onion, Kasseler or smoked pork and ham or pork bone, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven at medium heat about 45 minutes. 3) Remove baking tray from oven when all is nicely browned and cut meat into small dice and add to lentil pot along with onion. Squeeze garlic from skin into lentil pot, adding ham/pork bone along with oil and juices scraped from roasting pan. 4) Add rest of vegetables to lentils, chicken stock (or water and stock cubes), tomato puré, fresh herbs and bay leaf, parsley - reserving one sprig, fresh ground pepper. Bring to boil and simmer about 1 hour until vegetables are done, adding more water if needed. 5) When vegetables are tender, remove ham/pork bones and any bare thyme stems from pot, check for flavour and add salt as needed. Add vinegar and stir. 6) Serve with a bit of chopped parsley and more fresh ground pepper. Homemade garlic croutons are also nice as a garnish. Source: Recipe as I learned from a Mallorquin housewife years ago. ******************************* Lentil Purée Convert leftover stewed lentils into a delicious purée by putting them into a food processor and adding the following: 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth 2 lg cloves of garlic crushed and browned in 1/4 cup oil in small frypan 2 slices brown bread broken in small pieces and fried in the garlicky oil until brown Processed the above until smooth and then heat it gently. Dice more pieces of brown bread and toasted them in the frying pan with oil and garlic salt for the croutons. SharonCb

Here's one of the recipes I promised. When I pulled out my cookbooks, I realized that I could only remember one of the recipes that I've made before. I know I've made one from my soup cookbook, but I couldn't remember which one it was, so I'm only posting the one I remember. This one I made recently, with some changes to use what I had on hand at the time, and both my DH, who isn't wild about lentils, and I enjoyed it. From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison Red Lentil Soup with Lime 2 cups split red lentils, picked over and rinsed several times 1 tablespoon turmeric 4 tablespoons butter Salt 1 large onion, finely diced, about 2 cups 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds or 1 teaspoon ground mustard (I just plain forgot this, but I didn't notice it missing) 1 bunch chopped cilantro, about 1 cup Juice of 3 limes or to taste 1 large bunch spinach leaves, chopped into small pieces (I used mostly French Sorrel, with the little bit of spinach that I had on hand mixed in.) 1 cup cooked rice (I subbed quinoa, since I had some leftover from a previous meal) 4 to 6 tablespoons yogurt Put the lentils in a soup pot with 2 1/2 quarts water, the turmeric, 1 tablespoon of the butter, and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart, about 20 minutes. puree for a smooth and nicer-looking soup. (An immersion blender is a great plus here.) While the soup is cooking, prepare the onion flavoring: In a medium skillet over low heat, cook the onion in 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter with the cumin and mustard, stirring occasionally. When soft, about the time the lentils are cooked or after 15 minutes, add the cilantro and cook for a minute more. Add the onion mixture to the soup, then add the juice of 2 limes. Taste, then add more if needed to bring up the flavors. The soup should be a tad sour. Just before serving, add the last tablespoon of butter to a wide skillet. When foamy, add the spinach, sprinkle with salt, and cook just long enough to wilt. If the rice is warm, lace a spoonful in each bowl. If itÂs leftover rice, add it to the soup and let it heat through for a minute. Serve the soup, divide the spinach among the bowls, and swirl in a spoonful of yogurt. (For this last part, I didn't want to fool with putting the greens into the individual bowls, so I just stirred them into the soup just before serving. I did do the sautee thing with them, though, and had the yogurt out for us to add to our bowls to taste. Sally

Green lentils don't look exactly green, but are more tan with a tinge of green, although fresh ones are more green than just a tinge. The range of color will go from green, to a tinge of green, to golden - depending on how long they have been exposed to ultraviolet light while in storage or shelved. They are about 1/4-inch in size. These are the ones most commonly available. Brown lentils are smaller than green lentils and more plump. The color is russet brown. Red lentils (almost salmon color) are about 1/8-inch in size. Hold their shape better for use in a salad. Then there are the tiny French Green Lentils that are smaller and darker than regular green lentils. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: photos of lentils