Another Challenge Concluded

Remember my experiment with cooking lupini beans? I am happy to announce it was a success.

Ready to enjoy

After soaking, cooking, and changing the water in the beans twice a day for an entire week, yesterday I completed the final step- a salt water brine soak.

This morning I tried a bean. Then I tried another. They were firm, and had a chewy texture almost like edamame. The brine lent just enough salt. I asked Hubby Tony to try one. Again, he went for a second, and we agreed that we liked them.

So now what? In the Mediterranean area lupini beans are eaten as a snack. They're high in protein and fiber, and low in fat and carbohydrates. My experiment will keep for one week refrigerated, or can be frozen for up to three months. That's good to know, because the pound of dried beans I started with expanded to halfway fill a three-quart bowl. It will take some time to get through them.

In other news, this week's Spring Forward challenges were:

• Start reading a new book. Later in the week I have an event coming up that will require a lot of sitting, so before then I need to load a couple of light summer reads onto my tablet. Any suggestions?

• Plant a favorite herb or flower. I was sorry to have to pass on this one for now. Before moving into the condo I used to have a lot of plants Now the sunlight on the deck is too strong for shade-loving plants and not strong enough for sun lovers, and the cats like to nibble on anything I grow inside so I don't.

• (The bonus challenge was to play a game in the AARP Games Center. I looked at what was available and decided that none of them were better than the games I already play, so I will pass on this one.)

Five years ago: A Happy Coincidence