Member Reviews
Such an inspiring book! And even if your kitchen is massive, you will drool over the lovely photography and delightful recipes, most of which can be made in even the most restrictive spaces. Before renovations (still a small kitchen), our secondary kitchen in Europe was literally a closet (now the pantry) with a sink, two burners, two small cupboards, a shelf and a little oven outside But the woman we bought the house from turned out multi-course meals from scratch, seemingly miraculously. As with the author, it is like a fun game and challenge to see what you can make from "nothing". Organization is key...and there is a lot of information here on buying, stocking, ingredients, getting creative, utensils and preparing. And enjoying. One of the many things I really like about cooking this way is there is little to no waste which she details beautifully.
Not only does the author have a tiny boat kitchen, she has no electricity so planning is crucial. She explains the need for a primary triangle and severely limiting appliances to virtually nil, especially single-purpose ones. Her recipes are mostly comprised of one-pot/pan meals including mouthwatering skillet toasts (we make Welsh Rarebit and cheese toast like this), sweet and savoury crepes, Baked Manchego with Toasted Almonds and Warm Sherry Vinaigrette (I made this and it is sublime!), Avocado Citrus Soup, White Balsamic Seared Peach Salad with Burrata and Toasted Almonds (we make similar but this version looks outrageously good), preserved lemons and quick pickles. Plus incredible desserts I cannot wait to try including Berry and Ricotta Parfait with Balsamic Glaze.
Tiny kitchens can indeed be a challenge but not insurmountable. Get buried in this book and be inspired. I find tiny kitchens are a way of life, one which you can get accustomed to.
My sincere thank you to Storey Publishing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading and salivating over the e-ARC of this wonderful book!
A lovely little cookbook for those who cook in small spaces, the recipes are often simple but you sense they are will taste delicious and would be great nutritious comforting meals. It written in such a way that it takes away the headspace of deciding what to eat as many of the dishes you automatically want to try. A lovely cookbook that will become dogeared by regularly use in any kitchen.
As someone who lives with a tiny kitchen (not even a silverware drawer...), I was excited to see this new cookbook. Annie Mahle lives aboard a boat for most of the year, so she has learned to be creative in her space management and cooking style. The recipes she has created, scaled down for two (but able to be scaled up), are fresh and inventive. From one-pan pastas to Buddha bowls, she has something for every palate, and gives tips on how to modify recipes based on what ingredients you have. Almost enough pictures--I like a 1:1 photo to recipe ratio, and this is more like 1:3.
A nice, useful book for someone that needs a bit of guidance with their kitchen setup. Having a food blog on the side, I was fascinated when I saw this title for obvious reasons, although for me was not particularly illuminating because of this. It does give some interesting tips though, such as a list of recipes to make when we're forced to buy more of one ingredient (i.e. a whole cauliflower head – what to do with the half you're not using if you're cooking for two?).
The book is very essential and to the point, which I like. It's a book for someone that needs practicality and/or who doesn't have much space in the kitchen (which might be less common in the US, but in London it's most of us). I was especially fascinated by the recipes. They all sound absolutely delicious and doable, the ingredient lists are often very short and it doesn't involve too long or too difficult processes. The variety of recipes is also great: Mediterranean, Asian, Middle-Eastern, Mexican... This is such a little gem of a book, and cannot wait for it to go out.
Such a helpful and useful book for tiny kitchens. It will help you create and/or make the most of the small spaces and help you use the space efficiently while cooking.
You can use this book two ways.
One is as an advice or guidebook if you are doing your tiny kitchen from scratch, moving into a small place, downsizing in general or starting a life on the road or similar. From planning and designing your kitchen to choosing the basic utensils and crockery you need, you can follow part one of the book to create the best and most efficient use of the space.
The other approach are the recipes, which are designed to take up less space as well.
How can a recipe take up space you ask? Watch cooking shows where the entire work space if full of bowls and pots by the end because 27 elements need to be prepared separately and you will understand.
The recipes are designed to limit the amount of bowls and pans and pots you use, make the most of the small space and allow you to clean down in between and when possible even serving meals up in one bowl.
This is the beauty of this book. Whether you have a small kitchen or not, most of us would like to cut down on the cleaning and hassle of cooking and this helps. Are you busy with work or with family or alone and spend more time cleaning up after your meal than actually enjoying the food, then this is for you.
And no, they aren’t all one-pot, these are appealing looking dishes you can make, and especially individual little ingredients such as pickled veg which can keep in the fridge to add to a salad in the evening.
A brilliant and handy cookbook.
Loved how this book encourages you to think more about not only maximising the use of space in your kitchen, but also about how to reduce our food wastage.
Really enjoyed all the handy tips and tricks, along with the lovely recipes!
The Tiny Kitchen Cookbook is a cookbook that (just like it promises in the title) is about how to make food that is big in flavour in spaces that are small in size. As well as sections on how to maximise the utility of small spaces, this book includes advice on how to best shop for and stock kitchens with minimal storage space.
While the background chapters were interesting, the best part of this book for me hands down was the recipes. Mostly designed for two people, which suits my two-person small-kitchen household perfectly. The recipes tended to use minimal ingredients, with a focus on quality rather than quantity. There were also a lot of vegetarian recipes, which is great. My only criticism of the book is that there are no metric values given for the recipes, which is annoying for anyone who doesn't like in the US and is such an easy problem to fix I'm not sure why in 2021 it is still an issue. However, that is just a small quibble about a cookbook I cannot wait to start to use.
Note: I received an ARC of this cookbook but opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I really liked the tips on storage and how to use leftover food in a more creative way like turning it into an omelet or soup. I also like that if you don’t have an oven, the majority of the recipes can also be made in a skillet! Makes it easier for cooking without needing a lot of tools.
I appreciated that most of the recipes are simple because I enjoy cooking, however I don’t like recipes that require a lot of ingredients and steps, then it ends up feeling like a chore. This cookbook is perfect for simple yet flavorful recipes without requiring a lot of time or energy!
I liked the dessert section the best (mostly because I love baking more than cooking)
For me, most of the recipes didn’t sound good BUT keep in mind, I’m a very picky eater especially when it comes to vegetables so this cookbook isn’t ideal for me as a picky eater. If you’re not picky, love trying new things, and enjoy simple recipes (like me) then this book is for you! Even if you don’t have a tiny kitchen these recipes can be good to try. If you do have a smaller kitchen, this cookbook is perfect!
Some of the recipes I tried:
🍓Strawberry and Lemon Pavlova-it was fairly easy to make. I did mess up the pavlova a little and didn’t bake it long enough but that’s on me and my oven issues! Other than that small error it was fluffy and tasted so good.
🇪🇸 Spanish Torta- messy AF to flip but it tastes better than it looked! I made it with my own brava sauce found on Pinterest. I wanted to make the Torta with the recommended tomato brava sauce which said “on page XX” and it’s not in the book at all-so I think this is just a prepublication issue and hopefully it’s fixed but I was so sad not to have the brava sauce recipe.
🍫 Chocolate Tahini Pudding- This is what I made yesterday and one word: DELICIOUS!! It was my favorite out of the three I tried, really quick and easy to make! Super rich and fluffy
One of my first apartments—in a converted 1920s era hotel—had a tiny kitchen. I barely knew how to cook, and the smallness of the kitchen gave me an excuse not to learn. It would be years before I discovered how satisfying cooking could be. I thought a lot about that kitchen as I read The Tiny Kitchen Cookbook, and in my imagination I filled those skinny cupboards, stocked the 1950s era refrigerator, and made good use of that crazy eight-inch deep countertop. I wish I'd had this book then, but I'm delighted to discover it now.
As tiny homes become a lifestyle choice for many, the need grows for cookbooks like this one. I found the advice on stocking, arranging, and finding bonus space very well thought out. It's clear that this author isn't just talking the talk, she's walking the walk... taking very tiny steps!
I have a big country kitchen these days, but that's not going to stop me from trying many of these tempting recipes. Oh, and I'm feeling pretty darn smug about my habit of putting the cutting board over the sink - I've done that for years to free up counter space! Readers will learn about that, and much, much more. I'll be recommending this book to anyone I know who's struggling with a tiny kitchen.
My thanks to author Annie Mahle, NetGalley, and Storey Publishing for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
The Tiny Kitchen Cookbook is divided into two parts - one about organizing a tiny kitchen and one with recipes. The intended audience for this cookbook is difficult to determine- the first half of the book seems aimed at those with small apartment kitchens and limited means, while the second half assumes the cook has access to things like fresh rose water and more than 5 burners on a stove. Mahle makes a living as a chef on a yacht and many of the recipes seem to assume the reader is as well. I'm disappointed in this cookbook, because the advice on setting up a tiny kitchen is very good, but the advice about cooking is not. I do not recommend this cookbook, unless the reader wants to cook on their own yacht.
I love the pictures in this cookbook and how we need to not compare our kitchen to everyone else's; we need to embrace whatever space we have to work with and make it work for us. The recipes in this book also look amazing, so I will definitely be trying a lot, if not all, of them!
This book is ideal for me as I live in a small flat with a tiny kitchen however the receipes are definitely for an experienced chef and have lots of ingredients which when you dont have space goes against the title of this book!
I liked the lay out of the book and understanding the background but unfortunately I won't be making many of these recipes as I dont have space for the equipment or the ingredients! The pudding section was closest to the title and I wish the rest of the book was in that same vein.
Thank you for an arc.
absolute perfection if you, like I, have a tiny kitchen. So many yummy recipes and clever ideas to make the most of your space, the imagery is also very gorgeous.
As a perpetual renter for the entirety of my adult life so far, I completely understand the problem with small kitchens. I have experienced countless number of them.
The Tiny Kitchen Cookbook has some sound advice about how to maximize the space you do have and how important it is to have a nice tidy space. It really makes all the difference to my desire and motivation to cook if my kitchen is tidy and inviting.
What I feel lets this book down a little is actually the focus on the space that is the kitchen rather than what to do in it.
Some of the recipes are great and seem really easy to put together, but I was quite put off with the amount of text I had to wade through before getting to those recipes. I like learning 'kitchen hacks' as much as the next gal, but all in one section was a bit much for me.
If the bulk of the kitchen space tips on how to command the area and how to cook smarter were divided throughout the book, I think it would make more of an impact.
I loved this book! I received an ARC of this book and can not wait for it to be out in print. I will add this to my collection. Beautiful food photography. And so many easy to make but they sound so fancy recipes it makes my tummy growl!
I’m the perfect audience for this cookbook as - like the author - I live on a boat with a tiny kitchen. This is the first cookbook I’ve read to really understand, and work with, seriously confined amounts of cooking space.
I particularly liked Annie’s space-saving tips - for example storing a chopping board down the side of the fridge or hanging pans to save space make perfect sense to me.
The recipes are also low-mess and I liked the way Annie suggests other things you can do with components of a meal, such as labneh or Dilks.8
The recipes are sometimes pretty simple - like summer minstrel recipes soup -and sometimes a bit more complicated with several moving parts such as the salmon, pea short, avocado and brown rice with wasabi mayonnaise.
There are plenty of vegetarian recipes which I liked.
Recommended for those who want to keep their cooking fuss-free and are living with limited kitchen space.
A wonderful book for those with small kitchens.
I find especially in American cookbooks and blogs there is an expectation that you have a giant kitchen and many kitchen gadgets. Counter real estate is a big issue in my flat, even when baking or cooking the same dish together it is a challenge - something will usually get stored on the bin at some point. This book starts off with tips and tricks for using your small kitchen - storage-wise and for cooking. The recipes are great, all are simple to follow and suitable for beginners or the more advanced cook. They all use a limited amount of ingredients, but the recipes are not bland due to this! Additionally, many of the recipes have tips on how to use up all of an ingredient - telling you another recipe on another page that you can use that second half of a can of coconut milk for example. It is a book not only about cooking recipes but cooking recipes that works for you and a small kitchen. It highlights leftovers, composting, and reducing food waste.
This is a perfect book to give to everyone person starting life. It has so many helpful tips for use of space and our engery. This is a good foundation to really build on. The recipes are simple but feel like it took real time.
My house isn’t a tiny house but my kitchen is on the small size. This cookbook gives tons of tips and ideas to deal with tiny kitchen problems. The recipes do not seem like they come from a tiny kitchen at all. Lots of full flavor recipes for sure. Super helpful cookbook!