When I was at the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference in April, not only did I meet Canadian bloggers, but I also met a lot of Canadian Sponsors.  One connection I made was with Rachel, a representative from Lentils Canada.

Are you surprised that Canada grows lentils?  I was a bit surprised to learn this too.  During my conversation with Rachel I learned that lentils can be used in a whole variety of ways, not just soups or chili (which is how I was used to seeing them).

Shortly after the conference, Rachel contacted me about writing a sponsored blog post promoting a contest they were running in May. I felt honoured that she felt the readers and followers of Ruby Reduction are part of the audience she wants to reach.

I did some research into the contest and it is actually pretty cool.  Lentils Canada has partnered with Chef Michael Smith (whose recipes I use on a regular basis) to create the Love your Lentils contest.  What is so great about this promotion is that they are inviting bloggers and home cooks to submit recipes.  The bloggers have been tasked with submitting an original lentil recipe and the home cooks have been asked to add their own twist to one of Michael Smith’s lentil recipes.  It is a very interactive and engaging challenge that will introduce lentils to a whole new group of people!

The contest has a quick turnaround: It opened yesterday and closes May 31^st.

Here is a list of the prizes:

• Grand prize is a trip for two to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to meet Chef Michael Smith, and includes accommodation and $500 spending money
• Second place prize is a $500 Amazon gift card
• Third place prize is a $200 Amazon gift card

The second and third prizes are open to the bloggers and home cooks.

Now, if that isn’t enough to pique your interest, here’s the really cool part: There will be three winners of the grand prize – one blogger, one home chef and one voter!  Yep, if you vote, you get a chance to win! How great is that?! 🙂

So, inspired by the Love your Lentils contest, I created a new lentil muffin recipe!  Last weekend I played around with red split lentils and coconut and came up with a delicious coconut lentil muffin.  To add a bit of a twist to the lentils, I cooked them in coconut water.  Trust me, these muffins have multiple layers of coconut flavour, and they are delicious.

I brought them into the office on Monday, and they didn’t last very long.  Feedback from my friends and colleagues was quite positive.  I don’t think that they mind being my recipe testers!

I encourage you to try your own hand at creating a new lentil inspired recipe or working with one of Michael Smith’s existing recipes to submit to the contest.  If you just want to search for some new and creative lentil recipes, I suggest you visit the Love your Lentils site.  Oh, and while you are there, check out my Coconut Lentil Muffin recipe.

To vote for my Coconut Lentil Muffin, click here.
To view all the Lentil Blogger recipes, click here.
To view all the Home Cook Lentil entries, click here.

If you submit a recipe, please let me know in the comment section of today’s post, I will go and check it out!