Apparently you can buy millet everywhere nowadays... no really. I'm not feeling quite so smug about my fifteen types of oatmeal now, am I?

"Thought I'd share these, because millet is a proper 'superfood' by all accounts (rich in iron, potassium and calcium and all eight essential amino acids) but goodness is it boring to eat plain. Luckily however, cooked millet grain has a moist breadcrumby consistency that makes it a really good base ingredient for burgers. And as a bonus, if you shallow-fry millet burgers they come out with a gorgeously crisp crust.

How to cook the millet first:
Wash the millet grain (about 100g will be enough for burgers for two people plus a baby, or for one of you and the baby plus a few burgers to freeze) and gently fry it in a little olive oil in a saucepan for a minute. This makes the grains crack so they absorb water better. Add chopped onion and garlic at this stage if you like. Then carefully pour on water to just over the level of the grain, bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until the water is absorbed (add more water if it's going dry before the grain is cooked and soft).

What to do with your cooked millet:
I would guess you could add pretty much anything in the way of meat, veg, seasonings... but here are two that have become favourites for us:

Millet and lamb burgers. Take about the same volume of minced lamb as you have cooked millet, and mix together with whatever herbs/spices you fancy.
You're looking for a nice squidgy texture. Shape into burgers and if possible leave them in the fridge or a cool place for half an hour - this helps the consistency. Shallow fry in olive oil (for that lovely crispy
crust) for 3-5 mins a side, or bake at 180 degrees/Gas 4 for 15-20 minutes.

Millet and mushroom burgers: as a rough guide, 4 big flat field mushrooms is about right for 100g millet. Chop mushrooms very small and fry gently until they start to go nicely mushy. (A little garlic is a good addition here.) Then mix into the cooked millet, season to taste, make into burgers and cook as above."

Now obviously you've all been doing this since the clock struck six months but I've only just realised today that if you cut a pitta in half to make a pocket, slide some thin slices of cheese and a bit of chopped tomato into it and then stick it in the toaster then it makes a pitta melty thing that can then be left to cool down a bit (a bit? they're thermo-bloody-nuclear) and cut into fingers. It was great as it wasn't too messy so could be eaten standing up, which is how Babybear likes to lunch these days. A stick of carrot in one hand and a pitta finger in the other, very virtuous. And so very quick.

Okay, tell me. Am I the last person on earth to realise that this is a quick and easy lunch? what other things could we jam into the cheesy mixture that wouldn't then fall out? Spring onions? Do they actually have any nutritional benefit?

Post Script

Oooohoooh, these are really coming into their own now that the sun is out. Which as you may be bitterly aware, means over the last two days in the UK.

Now as you may know I'm not a huge one for the whole disguising of vegetables thing, but one of my favourite sandwich fillings ever is grated carrot, hummous and raisins. I think it would be revolting in these, needless to say.

However, grate one carrot and some cheese into a bowl (I used the Microplane grater but a fine setting would do the trick) along with some spring onions and a half teaspoon of either cumin or sweet paprika and they are lovely, all cheesy and melty and sweet from the carrot. You could add tomato too but Babybear seems to have an allergy so they're off the menu for us for the moment.

You're not tricking anyone, I promise, but if you do have any reluctant veg-eating siblings in the family I'd have to say that you can't tell there's carrot in there once the cheese has melted around it. And for BLWers like myself who sometimes wish to cut down on the amount of cheese and 'up' the veg, they are great. My husband has eaten them for lunch for the past two days, if that's any indication. Made them himself and everything...

At least this time he admits to copying it... I have to say that I can't imagine making a mousakka with mince now so I do know what he means. And we do love a lentil on this site. Personally I'd want to have a look at the salt content of the cans but of course you could just use dried ones. Puy lentils take bout 30 mins to cook from raw so I'm guessing brown lentils are about the same.

Yes, he's a dad. We let them sneak on occasionally just to make the place look purty. .