A Wytch's Book Review Blog

The 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 favorite recipes she’s developed as the galley chef aboard the J&E Riggin, a windjammer she operates with her husband every summer off the coast of Maine. From her 6-by-8-foot kitchen, she prepares 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 flavor in minimal space.

The only downside I found to this book was the fact it was very US centric, however the ideas and tips are great both for our home kitchen (which isn't the hugest!) and when we are away and have two rings and a combi microwave! Well worth a read and something I will dip in and out of on a regular basis.

Murder on the Rocks by Karen MacInerney

Natalie Barnes buys the Gray Whale Inn, a bed and breakfast in Maine, and publicly opposes Bernard Katz's proposed resort development, which threatens a colony of black-chinned terns, and when Katz is found dead, Natalie must find the true killer in order to clear her own name.

Natalie has bought the Grey Whale Inn and has re-opened it for business, things are going slowly so in a way she is glad that Bernard Katz and his assistant have booked a decent length stay (and paid up front!), she then discovers that Katz plans to purchase land close by the Inn and build a mega resort, getting rid of a bird colony and, perhaps more worryingly, demolishing the Inn to make way for a parking lot! She has managed to get a coastal representative to come and speak on behalf of the birds at the town meeting, but even so the motion passes, the problem then arises when Katz is found dead by Natalie and the local Detective has her as the 1st Murderer!

The Cider Shop Rules by Julie Anne Lindsey

The Fall Festival is in full swing. Civil War reenactors from three counties are partaking in Blossom Valley's tribute to John Brown. Blue Ridge Mountain foliage is in full bloom. And best of all is Jacob Potter's pumpkin farm where his hay rides, piglet races, pumpkin picking and corn maze are time-honored draws for locals and tourists alike. That's why it's such a shock when Mr. Potter is found dead, hidden under a tarp in the back of Winnie's pickup truck. This certainly betrays Potter's reputation as one of the town's most popular citizens. Fortunately, when it comes to solving a murder, no one has a patch on Winnie. Now, all eyes are on her to do it. Unfortunately, that includes those of the killer who'll do anything to keep an orchard full of secrets buried.

This is a wonderful addition to this series, this time Winnie and her friend Dot have gone to see a local pumpkin farm, partly for fun and partly to pick up some supplies, Winnie is surprised to overhear an argument between the farm owner Mr Potter and someone unknown but she thinks no more about it until she discovers Mr Potter dead under the tarp in her truck! Now Winnie is digging into who would kill a man everyone seems to like, add in someone out to kill Colton Wise (and prepared to take Winnie out if necessary to get to him), oh and Colton's family in the form of his parents and his brother, another Sherriff, are in town for a re-enactment weekend! Things are seriously busy for Winnie and that is leaving the Cider Shop out of the mix!