I received a note today from a Melbourne lady who writes to me regularly via the comments section. It was a reminder to me that spring is just around the corner and that the daffodils are out in Melbourne. They are the first splash of colour in our gardens after winter.

Here in Tasmania we already have Crocus, Jonquils and Daffodils in flower and Blue Iris just beginning to burst open. Its easy sitting here today with blue sky and sunshine to forget winter but after the past three days weather it won’t be easy.

Spring has sprung, the grass has riz, I wonder where the birdies iz.

A tip from the same lady, when shopping take along a food list of beneficial items, it helps keep you on the straight and narrow and not be tempted by a little avoid here and there.

Because of the influence of Asia and the Middle East on Australia and it’s cuisine we are fortunate to have a wide range of legumes readily available to us.

Most decent Health Food stores will have all the popular beneficial beans available in dried form. Some are now also regularly turning up on supermarket shelves in cans or vacuum packs. If your local store doesn’t stock what you need, ask them to get it for you, if enough people ask enough times eventually they will have to bow to market forces and actually sell what you/we the customer want.

In major Cities a good source of legumes is an Asian food store.

You will find all the popular beans like Adzuki, Black Eye and even Pinto. Plus as a bonus you will find a wonderful range of Indian Dahl’s such as Urad, Toor and Mung.

In answer to a specific bean question the following is a reference from Cooks Thesaurus.

Navy bean = Yankee bean = white pea bean = pearl haricot = Boston bean = Boston navy bean = pea bean = haricot blanc bean = small white bean = haricot bean = fagioli Notes: These small white beans are commonly used to make baked beans, but they're also good in soups, salads, and chili. They're relatively difficult to digest.

Make of that what you will.

Just check which are right for you.