In evidence of when you have an idea go for it quickly, I was disappointed to see Mark Bittman’s article in the New York Times about tiny kitchens. See, I’ve been working in tiny home kitchens for 6 or so years now. I’ve complained about the lack of counter space, and the lack of cupboard space to put the tools away. I’ve bemoaned my horribly inefficient stove top, which has two settings: high and almost off. There’s no control in between, and I often find myself adjusting up and down to get the temp I desire. When I need a simmer I have to turn the knob almost all the way off, but then my food cools too much and I have to turn it up. A slight, and I do mean slight, twist of the knob is enough to send the contents of a pot boiling over.
I can’t be mad though. After all Bittman and myself are not the only ones suffering from small kitchen syndrome. And yet he produces cookbooks and a weekly column with nary a notion of his workspace’s shortcomings. I’ve had great success baking cookies, preparing large roasts, soufflé, and all sorts of fry applications for veggies and meat. I can’t think of a single dish that my kitchen would fail me in making. There may include extra time to do dishes from my single small sink, with no dishwasher to boot.
But if you’re passionate about food, then you can make do with anything. Modern technology and design is just a refinement of the basic premise of applying heat to food. All you need is a pot and some fuel to get the job done. They don’t call it a Dutch Oven for the heck of it, those pots used to be utilized over an open fire in much the same way a modern oven is used today.
My formative cooking years took place on an electric range. Today I am a stickler for gas ranges. But I know from years of experience that applying heat to a sauté pan via electric coils works just as well as a flame. Perhaps I allow myself some elitist attitudes, and really I think everyone is entitled to that from time to time. As long as I never forget that my béarnaise sauce can be finished on a Viking gas range or a $15 hotplate I’ll be fine.
Does anyone else have the small kitchen syndrome that Bittman and I suffer from? If so, how do you make do with what you’ve got?
