The Tiny Kitchen Cookbook

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Carleen Madigan, Hannah Fries, and Emily Spiegelman

Book design by Jennifer Muller and Carolyn Eckert

Art direction by Carolyn Eckert

Text production by Jennifer Jepson Smith

Indexed by Samantha Miller

Cover and interior photography by © Kristin Teig

Additional photography by © Ben Krebs, 10, 11, 29; © Davide Illini/Stocksy, 37; Mars Vilaubi © Storey Publishing, LLC, 17 (m. & b.), 20 (t. & b.), 27 (l.), 31, 76 (t.l.)

Food styling by Catrine Kelty

Text © 2021 by Annie Mahle

Ebook production by Slavica A. Walzl

Ebook version 1.0

September 28, 2021

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To those who love to cook and to the ones they nourish. And to my extended Riggin family—every one of you is a part of these pages and this food.

Contents

Love Your Kitchen (not Theirs)

Part 1: Setup and Startegies

Chapter 1: Tools and Workspace

Chapter 2: Meal Planning

Chapter 3: Creative Kitchen

Part 2: Recipes for the Small Kitchen

Chapter 4: Quick and Light

Snacks and Appetizers

Pistachio Dukkah with Olive Oil and Baguette

Chocolate Baguette with Olive Oil and Sea Salt

Spanish Torta

Baked Manchego with Toasted Almonds and Warm Sherry Vinaigrette

Fried Sea-Salted Almonds

Patatas Bravas

Garlicky Shrimp with Garlic Chips

Small Meals

Seared Tomato, Avocado, and Farmer's Cheese Toast

Avocado, Arugula, and Sesame Toast

Grown-Up Cream of Mushroom on Toast

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Halves with LinguiÇa and Feta

Crab and Avocado Crêpes with Chipotle Cream

Pan-Seared Italian Vegetables with Fried Capers, Olives, and Burrata

Potatoes and Broken Eggs with Spinach and Smoked Paprika

Kale, Sweet Potato, and Caramelized Shallots with Yogurt Tahini Sauce

Roasted Cauliflower and Radicchio with White Bean Spread

Cucumber, Walnut, and Yogurt Soup

Swiss Chard with Pine Nut "Cream"

Asparagus and Tomato Gratin

Avocado Citrus Soup

Chapter 5: Salads and One-Bowl Mains

Starring: The Salad

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Salad with Apples and Blue Cheese

Tuna, Grapefruit, and Avocado Ceviche with Pickled Jalapeño

Cannellini Bean, Tuna, and Brie Salad

Avocado, Radish, and Toasted Sunflower Seeds with Lemon

Grapefruit, Sea-Salted Spiced Walnuts, and Arugula Salad

Baby Potato, Watercress, and Radish Salad with Creamy Garlic and Dill Drizzle

Carrot, Beet, and Apple Salad with Ginger, Lime, and Cilantro

Watermelon, Cucumber, Feta, and Mint Salad

White Balsamic Seared Peach Salad with Burrata and Toasted Almonds

Endive, Asparagus, and Black Forest Ham Salad with Horseradish Dill Dressing

Garam Masala ChÈvre with Roasted Bell Pepper, Green Beans, and Pita Salad

Seared Romaine with Corn, Tomatoes, and Lemon Aioli

Dinner in a Bowl

Tofu and Sesame Scrambled Eggs with Cucumber and Cabbage

Garlic and Ginger Pork Bowls with Cucumber, Mint, and Cilantro

Salmon, Pea Shoot, Avocado, and Brown Rice with Wasabi Mayonnaise

Pan-Seared Eggplant and Kisir with Walnut Fig Yogurt

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Carrots, Radishes, and Bean Sprouts

Salt-Cured Salmon with Beets, Cucumbers, Snap Peas, and Horseradish Dill Cream

Soba and Broccoli with Ginger-Garlic Peanut Sauce

Chili-Rubbed Rib-Eye Steak with Chimichurri and Seared Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Smashed Garlic

Chapter 6: Stovetop One-Pan Wonders

In the Skillet

Chicken Tostada with Lime Crema and Ancho Chile Spread

Herbed Redfish with Lemon and Lime

Roasted Cauliflower, Fregula, Baby Kale, and Coddled Eggs

Turkey with Preserved Lemon and Dill Gremolata, Asparagus, and Cauliflower

Creamy Chicken with Kale Pesto, Baby Potatoes, and Arugula

Eggplant and Tomato with Cucumber Lemon Salad and Labneh

Honey, Chili, and Lime Chicken with Apples, Shallots, and Delicata Squash

Pancetta, Tomato, and Parmesan Gemelli

Preserved Lemon, Ricotta, and Pea Orecchiette

Roasted Tomatoes, Coconut, Cabbage, and Shiitakes over Basmati Rice

Mustardy Balsamic-y Pork with Cabbage and Potatoes

Jerk Pork Tenderloin with Seared Pumpkin and Mango Mint Salad

Brined Pork Chops with Ginger and Lime Julienned Vegetables

Honey-Roasted Grapes with Turkey and Tricolor Quinoa and Red Cabbage

Salmon with Potato Cakes, Scallion Yogurt, and Kale

Chicken, Quinoa, and Arugula with Balsamic Cherries

In the Pot

Chicken Murphy, Annie-Style

Bacon and Sage Beef Stew

Cognac and Dijon Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles

Back-to-Your-Childhood Tomato Basil Soup with Grilled Cheese

Creamy Pumpkin Almond Soup

Lentils with Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots, Beet Hummus, and Parsley Relish

Yellow Dal, Tomatoes, and Spinach

Spinach Balls with Seared Onion Marinara Sauce and Zucchini

Summer Minestrone Soup

Mussels Bouillabaisse with Rouille

Chapter 7: From the Oven... or Toaster Oven

Caramelized Shallot, Spinach, and Comté Tartlet

Roasted Kale, Mushrooms, Onion, and Bell Pepper with Blue Cheese

Roasted Butternut Squash with Pecans and Cambozola

Ras el Hanout Carrots over Quinoa, Yogurt, and Garbanzo Beans

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, and Turkey Meatloaf with Boursin Mashers

Sweet Potato with Spinach, Goat's Milk Cream Cheese, Walnuts, and Poached Eggs

Lime and Sweet Chili Cornish Game Hen with Baby Bok Choy and Scallions

Harissa and Lemon Cornish Game Hen with Carrots, Parsnips, and Red Onion

Chapter 8: Dessert in a Mug and More

Ginger and Blackberry Crème Brûlée

Lemon Poppy Seed Blueberry Trifle

Strawberry Cherry Soup

Berry and Ricotta Parfait with Balsamic Glaze

Chocolate Tahini Pudding

Strawberry and Lemon Pavlova

Coconut Macaroons

Cranberry Apple Grunt

Acknowledgments

Index

Live Well with More Books from Storey

Share Your Experience!

Love Your Kitchen (Not Theirs)

This book is about strategies for cooking delicious meals from scratch in tiny kitchens — creating big flavors in small spaces. No matter whether you live in a small apartment, tiny house, RV, boat, or college dorm, space in the kitchen is nearly always at a premium. Some of our kitchens are much smaller than others, but most of us could stand to be smarter about the space we have. After all, it's a rare one of us who has miles of counter space and gobs of storage at our disposal. Even in the smallest of kitchens, making delicious and healthy food is a goal easily within reach. Small spaces simply require that we be largely organized.

No matter the size of your kitchen, there are always moments when you'll wish for extra counter space or another cupboard. It's just what happens. It's in our nature. However, loving the kitchen you have instead of the one you don't is what this cookbook is all about. Small-space living means being intentional about what we bring into our home. That intention applies especially to the kitchen, the epicenter of nourishment for our bodies — and, some might say, our spirits. There is something inherently joyful and fulfilling about bringing healthy, home-cooked food to the table, whether we serve only ourselves or our larger family.

The recipes here are selected for their ease of preparation, the number of ingredients, the space they might require, and how many pans they might use. They are generally designed to feed two people but can be easily scaled up (see here). Most of the tools are handheld, as one whisk and a wooden spoon take up much less space than a stand mixer or even a hand mixer. It truly doesn't take much in the way of equipment or tools to create night after night of really good food. Focus and desire alone get you more than halfway there. The rest is cooking your way through these recipes — none of which are complicated, take more than an hour to make, or require more than one or two pans. Additionally, many of these recipes are intended as full, balanced meals in and of themselves. The idea here is to be intentional and intelligent about the use of pans, space, ingredients, and time so that cooking in a small space can be both enjoyable and satisfying.

My Kitchens

My primary kitchen is actually a galley located on my family's Maine windjammer, a schooner called the J. & E. Riggin. We entertain groups of 24 guests all summer long on multiday adventures, and it is my job to provide scrumptious, beautiful meals three or four times a day, no matter the weather. My counter space, the one on which I work every day, is 2 feet by 3 feet. That's it. The only way a good meal ever emerges from my galley is if I'm on it with the efficiency, organization, planning, and ergonomic work practices.

My other kitchen is in our small house on shore, where I spend the second half of the year writing, creating, and testing recipes with family and friends. The space isn't any bigger than my galley, it's just different.

No matter what kitchen I find myself in, small doesn't mean less beautiful or less flavorful food. And small doesn't mean harder or more time consuming. Actually, a small work space can be smart — and the smarter the work space, the easier the cooking.

My Journey (and Yours)

I began cooking in very small kitchens on the day after I graduated from college. It was my first job as a mess cook on a sailboat. Up to that point, I'd only worked in restaurant kitchens, which would later seem behemoth in size, with walk-ins galore and miles of countertops. But, like the current trend in tiny houses, I went tiny kitchen when I entered the world of sailing.

Now, having spent most of my professional life cooking on boats (with some educational forays on shore), I've found that the space in which a cook prepares meals to nourish people is actually a little like home decor. The look and feel of your space matters, but it's what happens inside your home that truly defines your life — a good life led is a good life led, whether it's in a tree house or a mansion. So it is with kitchens — good food is good food, whether prepared in a precision-driven, architecturally exquisite kitchen or a tiny galley floating on the water. In each case, the space defines what you might or might not prepare, but not the quality of the ingredients or the craft of the cook preparing those ingredients.

These days, my cooking space is doubly different from what most people are used to. Not only is it tiny, essentially outside, and often tipping to one side or the other, but my range is a woodstove. I don't have electricity, a microwave, a freezer, a walk-in refrigerator, or much storage space at all. As such, my menu is informed by what my woodstove and small galley space can do well. Everything is made by hand. The bread is kneaded by hand, the pesto is chopped by hand, the whipped cream is whisked by hand. (Really, who needs the gym when you have all that?)

However, the fact that I cook on a woodstove and without electricity for half the year isn't especially relevant except to illustrate that no matter the details and eccentricities of a kitchen, the keys to success remain constant: organization, planning, quality ingredients, and creativity. Every space is going to have its challenges; it's up to the cook to figure out how to turn those into opportunities. The fact of the matter is, whether you prefer the adventure of a swift sail on a summer day, the freedom of the road, the exhilarating energy of a small apartment in the city, or the quiet calm of a backyard patio, the basics of cooking are the same no matter what stove you stand beside.

Happy cooking and eating to you!

Annie Mahle

March 2020

44° 5' 47.93" N, 69° 7' 1.47" W

Rockland, Maine

Part 1setup and strategies

Organizing Your Work Area

There are all sorts of ways to add storage in a small space. You'll come up with your own ideas that work for you and your personal work flow, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

Consider the work triangle: stove, fridge, sink. These are the three most common destinations in a kitchen, and we walk between them over and over again. Therefore, they should all be as close together as logistically possible. Try not to have one of these prominent stations standing off alone somewhere. It's awkward and time consuming, for example, to be constantly traveling around the corner to get to the fridge.

Organize the space so that the ingredients and tools you use most frequently are close at hand when you need them. The salt and pepper, for example, should be somewhere within reach of the stove. The same is true of the oils you might drizzle in a pan. Now, it's true that in a tiny kitchen, everything is relatively close, but even so, think smartly about the ingredients or equipment you reach for most often and keep them closest.

Now consider the pantry. It generally holds items that you are going to get out once and then perhaps put back. Therefore, the pantry can be outside the primary triangle, although if you have the option, including it within that walk flow is wonderful.

from top to bottom

Storage in a tiny kitchen requires a thorough accounting of space, from floor to ceiling. Think creatively about your space in particular. What little corners of unused space could become storage spots? What blank wall space or cabinet space could be used more smartly?

Go high. The tops of cabinets, the refrigerator, and stand-alone pantry cupboards are all perfect places to store things, whether out on display or tucked away in baskets, boxes, or little shelving units.

Go low. Storing big pans or other lesser-used items under the stove, under a shelving unit, and even under the floor (if there's access) are common ways to get a few more items stowed.

Go vertical. Hang everything you can. Pots and pans can be hung over the stove, on the wall, or on the side of an island.

Nest everything. When purchasing any dishware, mixing bowls, or pots and pans, choose those that can be stacked together when they're not in use.

Space-Saving Tips and Tricks

When it comes to spare space, any wall, whether inside a cabinet, under a cabinet, or on a cabinet door, is fair game. Even the ceiling is fair game. Any settees, cushioned seating, and the like can give you more storage, too. Look around your small space. Is there extra space above the fridge? Could you put a basket under a table (or a chair)? Could that bare wall receive all the pots and pans? Each kitchen is different, but they all have nooks and crannies that aren't being used. Here are some suggestions for how to fit in all the essential odds and ends.

Lids. Hanging lids, either on their own or by sliding the pot handle through the opening of the lid handle, gets them out of precious drawer space. Or they can be stored vertically in a rack or a spare space between cupboards.

Mugs. Mugs gently swaying overhead is a common sight in a boat galley. Think about hanging them under a cabinet, inside a cabinet, or over the sink.

Plates and bowls. Everything should nest with a very low profile. Choose dishware that tends toward thin lines, stacks cleanly, and takes up little real estate. Also, consider choosing large bowls that can double as plates (or take the place of a plate and superfluous salad bowl). Chapter 5 is dedicated to meals that can be served in a single bowl, rather than on plates or in multiple dishes, and that's where these large dinner bowls could come in handy.

Sheet pans, trays, platters, and cutting boards. Store these items vertically in a cabinet, over the fridge, or in that weird space between the fridge and the counter or the stove. If a cutting board has a hole in its corner, it can be hung from a hook or a clever bit of hardware, such as a wooden peg, a square nail, or a copper pipe elbow — whatever complements the decor of your space.

Knives. Knives can be stored in a drawer, but a magnetic strip can easily hold them alongside a cabinet or on the backsplash, leaving the drawer for other utensils. A knife block may take up more counter space than is necessary, and it holds more knives than are really needed in most kitchens. If you only have a chef's knife and a paring knife, then even a magnetic strip might be overkill.

Pots and pans. They should either nest well or be hung. Some-times you can also store skillets on their side. Some companies sell pans with removable handles for easier storage, but they tend to be of lesser quality. It is possible, however, to simply forgo most long-handled pans altogether and cook primarily with stockpots and Dutch ovens.

Tools. If drawer space is at a minimum, hang your tools or stand them in a tall crock.

Spices. All those little jars of spices and herbs can sometimes take up more space than is necessary. You could instead buy them "in bulk," purchasing only what you need — 2 tablespoons, let's say, rather than the full ¹⁄₄ to 1/3 cup that comes in jars. Store the spices in little baggies in a basket hanging close to the stove or on a pantry shelf. You could also put your most-used spices in jars with magnetic lids and store them on the side of the fridge or on a magnetic strip under cabinets, or you could set up a little spice rack on the inside of a cupboard. Definitely get them off the countertop. I've also seen spices stored in drawers, but in my kitchens, drawer space is always at a premium.

working without "mono-tools"

In this book, mono-tools (tools that do just one thing) such as blenders, stand mixers, slow cookers, and microwaves are considered luxuries, not essentials. The mixing bowls must nest, the bowls and plates must serve more than one purpose, and the appliances must have more than one function.

If you have a mono-tool in a small kitchen, it had better be something fabulous that you feel you can't live without. Rice cookers, microwaves, toasters . . . these appliances all create results that can be achieved in other ways with a tool that takes up less space. Think before you buy: Where will this item be stored? Do you already have another tool that does basically the same thing? How often will you use this item?