Tiny Kitchen Cookbook: Strategies and Recipes for Creating Amazing Meals in Small Spaces by Annie Mahle

Tiny Kitchen Cookbook: Strategies and Recipes for Creating Amazing Meals in Small Spaces

by Annie Mahle

Whether home is a small apartment, a tiny house or RV, a boat, or a college dorm room, space in the kitchen is nearly always at a premium. But cooking in a small kitchen, with minimal equipment, doesn't have to be limiting; it can actually be is a great opportunity to hone food-prep skills and become a more efficient, versatile home chef. And the smarter the workspace, the easier it is to cook. In The Tiny Kitchen Cookbook, chef Annie Mahle shares her small-space cooking strategies and 50 of her favourite recipes she developed as the galley chef aboard the J&E Riggin, a windjammer she operated with her husband off the coast of Maine for many summers. From her 6-by-8-foot kitchen, she prepared three beautiful, flavorful meals from scratch every day, for up to 30 people. From versatile breakfast options, such as Sweet Corn and Jalepeno Pancakes or Pan Roasted Honey Pears with Oatmeal, to one-bowl salads and mains, stovetop meals such as Pan-Fried Red Snapper with Fresh Peas, Shiitakes, and Asparagus with Dill, dishes that can be prepared in the toaster oven (for cooks without a full oven) such as Cheese-Stuffed Meatballs with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Fettuccini, and even make-ahead desserts in a mug, every recipe is delicious and utterly attainable in a kitchen with as little as six square feet of counter space. Along with gorgeous recipes Mahle delivers tips and techniques for making the most of a small kitchen. Strategies such as "shopping" the pantry before going to the store, transforming leftovers into new meals, create vertical storage options, and buy utensils that nest all help create meals with maximum flavour in minimal space. AUTHOR: Annie Mahle trained at The Culinary Institute of America. As chef aboard a Maine Windjammer, she prepared three meals a day for guests. Her cooking, recipes, and cookbooks have been highlighted on TODAY and Throwdown! with Bobby Flay. Her food and the Riggin have been featured in the Food Network, Family Circle, Woman's Day, the Boston Globe, and more. She resides in Maine.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Tiny Kitchen Cookbook is a practical guide for using kitchen space effectively and strategies for paring down necessities in small spaces. Due out 14th Sept 2021 from Storey, it's 224 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

There is a popular trend toward minimalism in our living and working spaces. People are making do with less in a philosophical move to solidarity with our planet's dwindling resources and our ever growing economic challenges. More of us are living in RVs, some in boats, and many many more are making the move to tiny houses. Admittedly, few of us have the experience of the author, who lives on a sailboat half the year and cooks on a woodstove without electricity, without refrigeration, without a freezer, and doing all the kitchen tasks by hand. In other words, she really knows what she's talking about.

Much of the book is given to an analysis of kitchen setup and strategies for efficiently using space, making working spaces which double (or triple) the job tasks for which they are suitable. The chapter on meal planning also has really sensible tips for sharing the small space with other people if necessary, coping with smells (keep everything clean, open windows, use a fan, clean up as quickly as possible afterwards), shopping and storage tips, trash, recycling, and others. Certainly there are a number of logical takeaways for readers who are living in larger spaces as well as those who are contemplating downsizing and want a glimpse of what that might entail later.

The recipes which are included are varied and appealing. They're arranged roughly thematically: snacks & light meals, one bowl salads & mains, stovetop one pan dishes, oven/toaster oven dishes, and desserts. Recipes are mostly scaled for two servings but can be adjusted up or down (there are a lot of good pieces of advice for using leftovers efficiently and appetizingly). Recipe measures are given in American standard units (no metric equivalents), followed by step-by-step instructions. There is no nutritional information provided.

The photography is superlative throughout. About 25-30% of the recipes (by my rough count) are accompanied by one or more color photos as well as interior shots of the author's tiny kitchen and food serving suggestions.

This would make a superlative addition to a 'moving out' care package for newly independent youngsters/singles/newlyweds, etc. It would also be a good choice for RVers, boaters, or folks who are downsizing.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 June, 2021: Finished reading
  • 21 June, 2021: Reviewed