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

I had a craving for fruits, for lightness and freshness today. This dessert met those needs perfectly - four kinds of fruit and just the right amount of bite. Oh yeah, and it’s no work and still looks pretty cool. Ingredients (serves 2): 1 big round slice watermelon, about 1.5 cm thick 2/3 cup Greek yoghurt 1.5 tsp maple syrup 1 cup mixed berries 1/2 passion fruit a bit of honey Instructions: 1. Slice the watermelon into wedges diagonally. 2. Mix the yoghurt and the maple syrup. Spread on top of the watermelon, leaving a bit of the outer rim yoghurt-free. 3. Top with the berries and passion fruit. Drizzle the honey over and serve immediately.

One of the things I’ve been doing to entertain myself during this lock-down is to buy foods I don’t usually buy, to force myself to get creative and cook things I don’t usually make. This weekend, I went citrusy. While I love citrus fruits, I rarely buy grapefruit - I’ve always found it a little too bitter for my liking. So the thing to do, of course, was to buy myself some grapefruit. The search for inspiration that followed took me to cookbook author and food photographer Eva Kosmas Flores, whose website ‘Adventures in Cooking’ is an absolute delight. So was her recipe, which I’ve adapted slightly for you below. Ingredients (serves 2): grapefruit mascarpone pancakes 90g mascarpone 80mL milk (room temperature) 1 egg (room temperature) 3 tbsp honey zest of 1/2 grapefruit 2 tsp grapefruit juice 2 tbsp butter, melted 1 cup self-raising flower dash of cinnamon * additional butter for cooking the pancakes maple cream 1/2 cup creme fraiche 3 tbsp maple syrup to ...

My local Turkish shop has delightful fruits and vegetables - and an array far broader than any supermarket around. The other day when I passed by I found fresh rhubarb, and couldn’t resist taking some home. Inspires by a great-looking Sainsbury’s recipe, this is what I did with it.   Ingredients (serves 2): 400g rhubarb (roughly 4 stalks), chopped into 7cm pieces 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt 80g maple syrup zest of 1 lemon Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place the rhubarb on a baking tray and drizzle the maple syrup over. Take a baking brush and brush it over the stalks. 2. Place the tray in the bottom third of the oven and bake for approximately 12 minutes. 3. Remove and serve with the yoghurt, sprinkled with the lemon zest.

Ingredients (serves 2): 8 ripe peaches 1 cup Greek yoghurt 30g blanched (= white) almonds, halved 2 tablespoons maple syrup Honey and cinnamon to taste few drops of lemon juice Instructions: 1. Wash the peaches and quarter them. Brush each cut side with maple syrup. 2. Pre-heat a grill pan. Place the peaches in the pan until they’re ready but not falling apart. This only takes a few minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. 3. Take the almonds and toast them in a skillet. (You can also do it in the oven, but on top of the stove is faster and less hassle - no pre-heating needed, etc etc). 4. Take the Greek yoghurt and add honey and cinnamon to taste. Add a few drops of lemon juice and stir.  5. Divide the yoghurt over two bowls, top with grilled peaches and almonds and serve.