Ilse's Kitchen - culinary adventures of a girl who loves to eat

I wanted a dessert that was fresh and light, but still felt like dessert. I still had some meringues at the house. They don’t usually last long - I really like to eat them as they are - but this time I decided to try something different. I wondered about the combination of citrus, the freshness of orange, the bitterness of grapefruit, along with the crunchy sweetness of meringue. In my mind, it all somehow seemed like quite a satisfying combination of flavours. I'm the first to admit that plating-wise it looks a little messy, but in terms of taste it didn’t disappoint :) Ingredients (serves 2): 1 grapefruit 2 blood oranges (if these are not in season, use regular oranges) 2 small mandarin oranges 4-6 meringues (about the size of those you make in this recipe) 2 teaspoons honey 2 teaspoons condensed milk to garnish: a few mint leaves for each plate, shredded Instructions: 1. Peel the fruit and cut into 5 mm thick slices. Make sure there is no skin on your slices. ...

I’ve always been curious about fruit mousse. Chocolate mousse is one of my favourites, but I’d been longing to try something lighter, fruitier. As luck would have it I’d bought some passion fruit earlier this week, and still had a few left over begging to be used. That made me think - why not passion fruit mousse? So I made this simple but rich 3-ingredient dessert, a national favourite in Brazil. Ingredients (serves 2): 60 mL condensed milk (depending on how sweet you like it, you can use up to 75mL) 150mL whipping cream 3-4 passion fruit Instructions: 1. Place the whipping cream in a large bowl and whisk until whipped.  2. Add the condensed milk and gently fold into the cream mixture. 3. Open up two of the passion fruit and using a sieve, separate the juice from the pulp. Set the pulp aside, and gently stir the juice into the cream.  4. Pour the mixture into two glasses, and place in the fridge for 4 hours to let it set.  5. When ready to ser...

Here in the Netherlands, we’ve just lived through week 4 of quarantine. Nationally we like to call it an ‘intelligent lock down’, but that doesn’t change a whole lot - much like elsewhere it means no physical contact. No meeting up with friends, no hand holding, no hugs, no sex. All that can be a tough pill to swallow - video chats may go a long way in terms of social contact, but the sheer absence of physical contact makes me realise how important it is to me - what can’t be replaced by smiles over a screen. I crave hugs. My body misses being touched. But it is what it is - so I try to make the most of it and go for the next best thing.  If you can’t have sex, have ice cream ;) Ingredients: 150mL condensed milk 250mL Greek yoghurt 300g mixed fruit (I used a mix of blackberries, blueberries and red berries) Needed: one baking tray. (I used a small one, about 18 x 18cm, because my freezer couldn’t fit anything larger - and I ended up with relatively thick bark. If yo...