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

I had in my hand one zucchini, and one want. After gobbling up an entire pizza yesterday, that want was a strong desire to go (practically) carb-free today. Carb-free, but not cheese-free - I don’t think I’ve wanted to go cheese-free a day in my life thus far. I don’t see them coming either. So what I came up with after some googling is zucchini ravioli. I found a lovely recipe at Half Baked Harvest, played around with it to adjust it to what I had at home, and voila. I think I gobbled it all up in under five minutes. Ingredients (makes 4 zucchini ravioli and serves 2 as a starter or 1 as a main): 1/2 large zucchini 1 cup cherry tomatoes 1 large clove garlic 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 handful fresh oregano, plus some to garnish a few sprigs fresh thyme, plus some to garnish salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup ricotta cheese 1 tablespoon goat cheese 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese 7-8 basil leaves, chopped Instructions: Preheat the...

I learned this late, but as they say: better late then never. Courgette (zucchini) isn’t just a wonderful vegetable to oven-bake, but it’s also really good raw and makes for lovely salads. Especially when you use a vegetable peeler to slice it into thin, elegant ribbons - much as I’d once learned to do with carrots and cucumber. This courgette salad is fresh, light and colourful: perfect for spring. Ingredients (serves 2): 1 medium size yellow courgette (zucchini) and 1 medium green courgette Juice and grated zest of one lemon (it’s easiest if you grate the zest first, then juice it) 15g shaved almonds, toasted lightly 140g feta cheese handful of mint leaves 1 tablespoon olive oil salt and freshly ground mixed pepper (pink, green and black kernels) 1. Cut the top and bottom off the courgettes, then use a vegetable peeler to slice them lengthwise into long ribbons. 2. In a large bowl, mix the lemon juice and olive oil, then season with salt. Toss in the courgette ribbon...

I love soup. Especially in wintertime, although in summer I get quite a few soup cravings too. Soup warms the heart but at the same time, it’s easy and light.  What I especially love is that you need so little to make a good one. Sure - you can make soups as complicated as you like. But the same holds for the reverse - take one vegetable, some onion, garlic and bouillon, and you’re practically there. Zucchini (or courgette) soup isn’t one I would soon have come up with on my own. But then someone made it for me - and sometimes that’s the way it works with cooking. Someone makes you something that triggers an ‘a-ha’, you go home and try it on your own and voila, there’s another recipe to add to the batch. So, too, with this one. Ingredients (serves 2): 1 large zucchini 1 onion 2 cloves garlic 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1L chicken stock olive oil optional: dash of cream, salt to taste Instructions: 1. Chop onion and garlic. Slice the zucchini in half lengt...

We hardly realised it, but Izzy & I walked a whopping 18km yesterday. When I got home, I was starved but too tired to stand on my feet. So I opted for a no-cook salad. All you have to do is a tiny bit of chopping, shaving, and you’re done. Oh yeah, and you toast the almonds - but that hardly qualifies as cooking. It’s the perfect under fifteen minute meal, and my body was ever grateful for the veggies. Ingredients (serves 2): 2 zucchini 2 long sweet marconi peppers 100g goat cheese 150g almonds, skinned and unsalted 1 handful of fresh cilantro leaves 1 handful of fresh mint leaves Cilantro Mint Vinaigrette:  10g cilantro, finely chopped 10g mint, finely chopped 1 red chili pepper, deseeded and finely chopped juice of 1/2 orange juice of 1 lemon  100mL olive oil pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper Instructions: 1. Using a vegetable peeler or, if you have one, a mandoline, shave the zucchini in thin strips. Avoid the centr...

It’s Saturday morning and day 6 of working from home is officially behind me. Izzy and I have survived week 1. Life is weird, and getting weirder, and as a counter to all the free-floating anxiety out there, corona humor is circulating full gear. Laughter’s still the best remedy. Now there’s research out there that found that eating lots of vegetables (and fruit) makes us happier. Studies have shown that the more vegetables people ate, the happier they felt - and also that these happiness benefits increased far more quickly than the health benefits. I’m sure there’s a limit to all of this, but if you keep it within the bounds of reason then maybe, just maybe, veggies are second best. Ingredients (serves 2): 2 zucchini 2 eggs 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 tbsp milk Salt and pepper to taste 100g parmesan Handful of grated regular cheese (I used old Gouda) Olive oil Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Slice the zucchini and place in an oven dish for 10 ...

In a world that seems increasingly rife with people with gluten intolerance or on no-carb diets, pasta and rice made out of vegetables is becoming more and more common. By now most of my local supermarkets sell one version or another. I don’t have a problem with carbs, or with gluten, but I think this is a pretty great development - even if only for the sake of helping us eat more of those recommended veggies. Veggies are good for the soul. Of course, while pre-cut supermarkt versions are ideal for those with little time, I’d still rather do it myself. And in this case, time saved wasn’t much of an issue (at all). This dish is on your plate in even less time than it takes to cook up a regular plate of pasta.  Ingredients (serves 2): 1 large courgette 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 100g bacon 1 teaspoon chili flakes Parmesan cheese Olive oil Instructions: 1. Wash the courgette, and slice into very thin spaghetti-like strips. No need to peel it first - the p...