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

Some days, the sun shines so brightly it calls for food that is tropical, colourful and makes you feel like it’s summer, even if it’s still cold out. I like to look up recipes by searching for combinations of ingredients I have in my fridge, and this time I had mango and pomegranate. In my search I came across a lovely recipe by Seasonal Sprouts that combines the savoury and sweet, and has a lovely bit of bite. Ingredients (serves 2): 60g rocket salad (arugula) 1/2 mango, peeled and sliced 150g peas 2-3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds 1/4 red onion, finely sliced 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (I like black, but you can also use white) Dressing: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon lime juice 1/2 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped 1/2 cm fresh ginger, grated 1 tsp tahini Instructions: 1. To make the dressing, throw all the ingredients together in a small glass jar with a lid, and shake well. If you don’t have a jar, you can also just throw them in a glass and s...

So, chia pudding. Like so many things, when it gets in my head it tends to stay there a while. That means it’s time for another chia recipe. This time, instead of mixing it with yoghurt and raspberries, I made a dairy-free version with mango and banana for sweetness. Completely, entirely vegan-friendly - and none the less rich for it. Happy breakfasting :)  Ingredients (serves 2): 1 cup almond milk (coconut milk is a nice alternative too) 1 tbsp honey 1/4 cup chia seeds 1 ripe mango 1/2 banana juice of 1/2 lime Instructions: 1. Mix the almond milk, honey and chia seeds. Stir well so the chia seeds don’t sink to the bottom or clump, then stick in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight to let it set. 2. When the chia is done, take the mango and cut a few small pieces to reserve for garnish. Throw the rest in a blender together with the banana and lime juice. 3. In two glasses, layer the mango and chia pudding and top with a bit of chopped mango.

After my lentil stew leftovers for lunch today (yum), dinner time called for something lighter. Something that was lighter, and made use of the celery stalks I still had sitting in my fridge. And preferably something for which I had everything in the house, as the fridge is still plenty full and I’m trying to limit the number of visits I make to the supermarket. Willow Arlen’s recipe was the answer. This is a slightly adjusted version. Ooo, and also - one of the first vegan recipes on this blog. Yay ;) Ingredients (serves 2 as a starter or side, or 1 as a main): 4 stalks celery, chopped 1 cup cilantro, chopped 1 cup lamb lettuce 20 or so mint leaves, chopped 2 spring onions, chopped (use the bulbs and part of the green stalks) 1 red chili pepper, deseeded and chopped juice of 1/2 lime 1 tablespoon sesame seeds 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon runny honey (if your honey isn’t runny, heat it to make it run) 1 teaspoon sesame oil Instructions: 1....