Lettuce Redeem Ourselves

I'll admit it. I had a very bad day today, food-wise. I started out innocently enough, but boredom and procrastination led me time and again to the kitchen, seeking out chocolate, lollies, meaty pasta and pad thai. It got to the point where I was making single portions of chocolate chip cookie in a mug. That was the bottom. After that I felt a little bit sick. So I got up, and did those jobs I was meant to do. It actually felt quite good doing something, because before then I had been feeling lethargic, disappointed and angry at myself. And dinner was another attempt at redeeming myself too.

This dish has many things going for it. Simple, but oh so tasty. It is also the perfect meal in the height of summer, when you don't want to spend too long in a stuffy kitchen nor sit down to a hot and heavy casserole, or the like. Why would you when you when you can be putting together these delicious morsels, then out on the deck chowing them down in no time?

Further, this recipe can easily be doubled, and become part of a buffet-style lunch with plenty of other little things, when each person gets just one or two little cups to try. Or the mixture could be used to fill delicate little sandwiches for a ladies' lunch, or High Tea sort of thing. Or, you know, just chucked in with shredded lettuce and call it a salad, for the one who's trying to redeem themselves from Christmas - or something else...

Notes:

• Low-fat cottage cheese can be substituted in for the feta, likewise with 4 spring onions instead of the red onion; as in the original recipe
• Cos, or any firm, stalky lettuce leaf will do nicely instead of the iceberg
• These can be eaten, carefully, with the hands if you like
• Adapted from 'The 21-Day Wonder Diet' by The Australian Women's Weekly 

Crunchy Chicken Salad Cups

Serves 2

220g chicken breast fillet

cooking oil spray

100g feta cheese, finely crumbled

3 trimmed celery stalks (300g), chopped coarsely

¼ red onion, sliced finely then roughly chopped

1 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh dill

1 clove garlic, crushed

white pepper

6 small iceberg lettuce leaves

Heat small frying pan over medium heat. Spray chicken with oil and cook in pan. Remove from heat; cool.

Shread chicken coarsely; combine in medium bowl with cheese, celery, onion, garlic and dill. Taste and season with pepper.

Divide chicken mixture amoung lettuce leaves