This brilliant little book is not just full of wonderful one (or two) pot recipes, but also packed with strategies for kitchens where you can’t swing a cat.

Annie Mahle knows a thing or two about cooking in confined spaces. For many years she was galley chef for up to thirty people on a windjammer off the coast of Maine.

Not only was her kitchen a tiny six by eight foot, it tended to go up and down (and sideways) a lot, so creating guest-pleasing menus wasn’t easy.

Many of the dishes bear marks of being inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine, surely one of the brightest and best cuisines, and there is nothing ‘American’ apart from the names of some vegetables and the use of cup measures. The latter of course  makes sense when you’ve little spare space for scales.

You don’t need to be in a small kitchen, tips on how to minimise food waste and how to adapt recipes with a change of a few ingredients are good all round advice.

This book brings us the result of all her experience and it’s packed full of superb dishes to take you from dawn to dusk.

Start the day with Sweetcorn and Jalapeno pancakes, or Pan Roasted Honey Pears with oatmeal. Lunch on refreshing one bowl salads such as Cannellini Bean, Tuna and Brie Salad or Aubergine and Tomato with Cucumber Salad and Labneh.

In the evening, there’s Roasted Kale, Mushrooms, Onion,Sweet Pepper and Blue Cheese or Brined Pork Chops and Lime Julienned Vegetables or Cheese Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and Fettucine,

I am not normally a fan of cookbooks from America; there seems little in between the pretentious New Yorker style books of James Beard award-winning writers, and books that bounce along the culinary bottom with recipes that horrify.

This though is very different, from another country almost. We’ve genuinely cooked from this book all week and every dish has gone down a storm. From soups and salads to steaks, stews, one-pan pastas, and trifles and parfaits.


In many ways the focus on small space and (excellent) chapters on tools, on organisation and making do in a less than optimum situation, diverts from what would be a very good cookbook in its own right.

Buy it then for whatever kitchen size you have, but also give it to any students you know, camping enthusiasts and anyone renting a holiday home.

It’s a small book, but a big hitter.

Find it on Amazon

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Storey Publishing LLC (19 Oct. 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1635862876