3 Kinds of Lentils

Three types of lentils is probably a well known culinary fact to everyone except me. This fall, I've tried recipes with each one to see what the differences are. Red and French lentils seem a little milder to me than the common brown lentils. There's great recipe in Mark Bitman's book using lentils, rice and dried apricots! Normally I make soup out of lentils,
1 cup of lentils
chicken broth
carrots, garlic, onions, celery
and 1/2 cup of a grain, I usually use bulgar
salt, pepper
This soup is greatly improved with a splash of red wine vinegar before serving.

Today, I plugged in my slow cooker and made this soup
French lentils, 3/4 cup
Brown rice 1/2 cup
garlic, 3 cloves
sliced fresh carrot
1 apple
1 tablespoon tomatoe paste
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
sea salt
3 1/2 cups of broth
Instead of adding the onions while cooking, I garnished the soup with carmalized onions at the end.