'Diet' cheeseburger with spicy sweetcorn mayo

Another astoundingly quick and easy weeknight supper, this one, and while it may lack the sophistication of last night's salmon and lentils, it was seriously good. Ten minutes from start to finish, although I had already made the burgers and just defrosted them this morning. Probably 15 if I'd done it all from scratch.

Normally I do burgers with oven chips, but today I was craving the spicy sweetcorn mayo my parents used to make, and fancied a crusty roll with my burger but only one set of carbs per meal.

This banquet came to 16 pro points. It could obviously be made healthier with low fat mayo and low fat cheese, but I long ago decided I'd much rather have the real thing, but a lot less often.

For 4 burgers, you need:

500g pack lean mince (extra lean perfect, but more expensive)

Half a medium onion, or one small, finely diced.

A large dash Worcestershire sauce

A dollop low fat yoghurt, to bind

Salt and pepper

To serve: 100g sweetcorn and tbsp mayo per person, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, 10g extra mature Cheddar cheese per person and a crusty roll each.

You simply combine all the burger ingredients in a bowl (you could fry the onion first, but I like the stronger flavour that comes from my laziness), hands are easiest. Then split up into four, shape into burgers, and either cook straight away (see instructions below) or freeze, wrapped in grease proof paper within your chose container so you have a hope of ever prising them apart.

When you want to eat them, first defrost burgers for several hours in fridge, and then come suppertime, cook them in a George Foreman for about 8 minutes (That's for cooked through, I'm paranoid about mince), or longer on a griddle pan. Add 10g of extra mature cheddar on top three minutes before the end.

While they're cooking, defrost 100g per person of frozen sweetcorn by running under hot water in a sieve. Drain, and put in a bowl with a tablespoon of mayo, a pinch of salt, grinding of pepper and dash of cayenne. Mix, then bung the bowl in the freezer while everything else cooks because it's nicest ice cold.

When the burgers are done, leave them to rest for a minute while you toast the inside of the buns on the grill.

Assemble your goodies, with a side salad to mop up the extra mayo, and eat, rapidly and smugly.


 

Salmon, lentils, yoghurt

I didn't take a picture of this one before eating it - a little out of blogging practice.

But a simple, delicious, diet friendly supper.

I baked two salmon fillets in a foil parcel with a slice of lemon, salt, pepper and a pat of butter.

Meanwhile, I cooked some puy lentils. (ok, I cheated. I opened and heated a pre cooked packet. Next time I'll just boil them, it's as easy, cheaper, and you can add stock and make it taste nicer.)

I seasoned fat-free Greek yoghurt with lemon, salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Then I stirred basil and salt through the lentils.

I served the salmon balanced on a bed of lentils, with the juices and the yoghurt sprinkled over.

The whole meal took twenty minutes - including about five minutes actual work.

And it was wonderful.

Soup: celeriac and bramley apple

Last winter for a while I posted a soup recipe every week. This winter, as soon as the cold winter started, I started making soup again. For a long while I got away with last year's recipes, but eventually I got bored and started again.

 

I like this soup because the smooth, earthy flavour of the celariac goes so well with the sharp freshness of the apples. It's tasty, filling, easy and healthy - next to no fat, and no Weightwatchers points.

Knitting: a baby blanket

A very special baby is due next month.

Sunshine on window boxes

At about this time of year, I start to get hopeful. The mornings get lighter. I start to leave work as the sun sets, looking at my beautiful adopted city bathed in impossible - and impossible to photograph - colours. Then it gets lighter earlier still, and soon I'll be leaving the office in daylight. The quality of light starts to change - this could be fanciful, but it starts to feel stronger, richer. It is still freezing cold outside most days, but it starts to become possible to believe that some time soon, spring will come.

Smoked salmon, dill and cucumber open sandwiches

This is such a simple, fresh tasting lunch - very healthy, but every mouthful shouts 'luxury', not 'diet'.

 

As with all the best simple lunches, it's almost insulting to give you a recipe, but here goes.

Christmas knitting

So. It's been a while. To catch you up, there was a lovely holiday in the middle of nowhere, there was a wonderful Christmas spent between two families and before both of these things, the husband got a job after 11 months freelancing, and for the first time for a long time we were both able to breath and sleep propeerly.

There was also a lot of Christmas knitting, much of it done listening to audiobooks by a stove during the same holiday in the middle of nowhere, while snow fell and sheep baa'd.