It may be the end of Lent, but not the end of the lentils........

Distance trained so far (28.4 miles)

Most people in their course of their lifetime move house three or four times; some people a lot more. How about you?
Well, in my case - if you include university - it is six moves and counting; each usually coming with more than a fair share of stress. Packaging everything up, managing not to forget everything, arranging the transportation, loading and unloading; there is so much to take care of. However, moving is also a positive thing, a feeling of progress, and that empty shell of a house you first move into quickly becomes more familiar when familiar things are put inside it. When I move, certain unique items make 'a' home into 'my' home; pictures on the wall, family photos on a shelf, the stereo playing it's first compact disc in a new 'auditorium', and by far and away the most precious thing that home could never be home without.......the tub of lentils which has loyally accompanied me from Coventry, to London, to Oxford, back to Coventry, and now gazes at me from the top of my fridge just north of Manchester.........

Lionels the lentils (all with the same name, how amazing is that?!!) have become old friends over the years since the carrot (and lentil!) made so long ago (I confess that some of the Lionels lost their lives in the midst of that delicious dish, but it was all in a good cause). However, I now know, the time has come.......
It's one of Wee-Ali's recent comments on eating more protein which has now persuaded me to part company with the lovely little pulses; plus I am well aware that it really is not healthy to become so attached to - and yes, even name - a foodstuff. According to the aforementioned nutritional guru, lentils are a good source of protein (who knew?.........okay, probably everyone but me!), one of several things in which I am deficient. The trouble is, I have not the slightest clue of what to do with them, and the recipe for carrot curry is long gone.
So please, help me boost my protein levels, and rid myself of what could be the most antique lentils (lentiques?) in the country (they don't go off do they?)! Any recipes would be greatly appreciated, but at the very least tell me what to do with them; they would be a bit crunchy to be eating them raw! I think I need to soak them, but beyond that I am a blank canvas when it comes to lentil cuisinery.......