Hi there. Thanks for stopping by my humble site. I hope you find my writing interesting and maybe get some new ideas, or learn some new tips. Perhaps you will even garner a little inspiration to venture out of your culinary comfort zone. This post explains a little bit about my cooking philosophies, a revelation that I had, and why I decided to blog my cooking. (Not necessarily in that order. ha)
I have always liked cooking as an adult. I enjoy all aspects of it. From picking out ingredients at various markets, to the meditative Zen of prepping the ingredients, to the satisfaction of feeding people and see their reactions to things I've made. Cooking (and baking) is both a solitary endeavor and a communal celebration. It's also a continually learning and improving process. I have had many, MANY failures. But at least with cooking the worst thing is that you scrape that hot mess into the waste bin and try again.
The apartment I currently reside in has a... how do I put this?... less than optimal kitchen. I know that there are smaller, but for me this is a tiny kitchen. It is 5'10" by 9' 4", but when you factor in the counters, fridge, stove, and cooking "island"; I have a free space for moving in of 4' by 5'. This ain't a House Beautiful kitchen! I will illustrate with a few pics.
As you can see, counter space is at a premium. I brought in an old wooden table to use as my primary work surface. It will feature prominently in future photos! My wee, Easy Bake Oven™ has a single rack and is pure guesswork for temperature settings (More on that later). I call my small fridge the Condiment Fridge. There are more various condiments and toppings generally than actual food inside.
While I'd love to have a Bon Appetit test kitchen to work in, I have come to realize that being forced to work in my Tiny Kitchen has been a blessing in disguise. Through necessity, it has made me focus more on efficient kitchen practices. I have to clean as I go. No room for dirty pans, mixing bowls, and utensils to be strewn about. I always pre-prep my ingredients (mise en place). I'm very particular about what kitchen implements I do and do not have. Very few uni-taskers in my kitchen. Given the limitations, I wanted to show that you can still make great dishes for yourself and friends.
Some of the recipes I will share have come from other sources. When possible (translation: if I remember where I got them) I will give credit. Even though I may have made modifications to fit my own style or palate, I don't want to come across as a kitchen wünderkind.
A lot of my amounts will be given by weight. I will try to give standard measurement amounts as I remember. That being said... GET YOURSELF A KITCHEN SCALE! I love my Escali.
Any specific product I may mention is solely based on my happiness with it. I get nothing out of the deal. I won't even put up links most of the time. You guys know how to work Amazon and Google. I tend to be frugal with my money, and dislike wasting it. I search for the best possible price vs performance ratio. I'm not afraid of spending money if I think it's worth it. You don't HAVE to have an All-Clad saucier to cook good food. But if having one makes you happy... you do you. No judgement.
As to what you'll seeing here in the future. I cook from a wide variety of culinary styles. There is virtually no culture's food that I don't enjoy. I do tend to slant more towards Asian dishes. Usually because there are a lot of great dishes out there for feeding one. I also dig working with fermented products, so you may see me doing kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, cheeses, and homemade vinegar. In the past few years, I have also dipped more in to baking. I think I do alright with a few things, but I have also learned some things from trying to bake in limited space that I'd like to pass on as well.
If you've stuck to reading this far, thank you. I hope that future content is a mix of informative and fun. Come on back; tell a friend!
One final note. I will strive for good photos in my posts, but no guarantees. I'm just snapping away with my iPhone. That being said, I will leave you with a fortuitously lucky pic of my everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salad. I warned you that you'd be seeing a lot of my kitchen work table!
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