summer cooking in an imperfectly tiny kitchen

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happy august! this summer is really flying by, but that’s something i feel like i say about every season (except maybe winter). i hope to start taking more photos with my “real” camera again and posting here, too. i recently purchased a new laptop which is HUGE. my previous computer was an old white macbook from 2008 that i pretty much had to stop using 2 years ago. the screen went black on it and while it still works when plugged into a monitor, it just wasn’t practical for me to use. i have a work laptop that i’ve been able to use at home for the past year, but it never really felt like MINE. i also have dreams of upgrading my camera sometime in the next year, but in order to justify the expense i feel like i should give my old Nikon another good ride around the block. let’s do it!

i got really excited the other night when i realized i could make dinner without having to get any ingredients from the store! this is why summer is amazing and having your own garden (and friends or family with a bountiful garden) is such a time and money saver in the long run. i made two of my favorite new recipes: the best shredded kale salad and herbed summer squash and potato torte. i got the kale salad recipe recommended from a friend at work and i found the squash recipe while searching for ideas on ways to use TONS of squash.

the kale salad is AMAZING. people, i don’t even like kale. we planted 6 kale plants in our garden this year, so we have a bountiful harvest and this recipe is such a great way to use a ton of kale. the salad is also still good (in our opinion!) for days after you make it. i used grated parmesan instead of nutritional yeast and walnuts instead of pecans. i am also not a huge fan of the cranberries, so we have them on the side, or i’ve also made it with sliced strawberries on the side, too.

the squash and potato torte is DELICIOUS. i’ve been making it in a 10 inch square (it’s just what we’ve got) cast iron pan. the only bummer about it is that it kind of takes forever to make. my knives also aren’t that sharp so the thin veggie slicing does take me a while, then it takes even longer to bake. however, the end result is probably my favorite summer squash recipe to date. i also used fresh rosemary from our garden instead of thyme.

i snapped a few extra photos of our tiny kitchen, too. i really need a wider lens than a 50mm to give you an idea of the space, but believe me when i say it’s TINY. my main cooking space is the counter to the right of our stove. there is a similar sized counter on the opposite side of the kitchen, but that’s also where our coffee station, toaster, and dish drying rack live, but i usually find space to do some prep over there, too. sometime i will post some other photos of our kitchen nooks and crannies, but in this post you can see that stacking and hanging things is a life saver. my flour and sugar are stacked in some classic tupperware containers, while we also have pot holders and pots hanging from hooks all around. our kitchen only has 3-ish cupboards and 2 drawers. still, i love the space and it is easy for me to appreciate it! we have a lot of windows, so it is bright. also, when we lived at our old cabin, we didn’t even HAVE a kitchen. i hope i will continue to appreciate small-space living for a long time!