Lesson learned, this one about simplicity

The work area in my tiny kitchen

For five years now, I’ve been knocking my head against the wall, trying to demonstrate that I can cook anything with a hot plate and a toaster oven that I could with a full kitchen. Close, but no banana. The other night we had chicken thighs in a sauce, but we didn’t eat until eight because the adjustments I had to make took more time than I anticipated.

Recipes that call for an oven-proof skillet do me in. You can’t fit a skillet handle into a toaster oven. And my largest skillet won’t hold four chi
cken thighs, so I had to brown in batches. Then transfer to an oven dish. Bake, and transfer back to the skillet to make the sauce. I now banish all recipes calling for an ovenproof skillet. Those pork chops in my freezer? I baked them without browning. Mixed a can of mushroom soup, an envelope of onion soup mix, and about a half cup white wine. Seasoned the chops with salt and pepper and poured the soup mix evenly over them. Covered the dish tightly with foil and baked an hour at 350. Lots less work.

With simplicity in mind, I adapted a recipe for salmon bowl from the New York Times. It called for short-grain (sushi) rice and fresh salmon. I used good, canned salmon (wild caught) and long grain rice because that’s what I had. Recipe said to cook it in water flavored with rice vinegar, soy, and sugar. I did not season the cooking water. Drained the meat and chunked it. I thought the avocado would get lost and didn’t waste it. I had bought broccoli slaw, which was good and crisp, but the finished dish was too fussy with too much going on. Here’s what I’ll do another time:

Salmon bowl (serves four)

Four servings of rice (short- or long-grain)

Two 7 oz. cans wild-caught salmon

1/3 Persian cucumber, sliced thin

4 green onions, sliced on the diagonal

For the dressing

2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil

¼ c. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. white vinegar

Avocado (optional)

Make the dressing (you may want to double) and marinate cucumber and green onion in it while rice cooks. Cook the rice according to directions on the package, though you may want to rinse some starch off first. Let it cool a bit and divide among four bowls. Add chunks of salmon—try not to flake it. Top with dressing, cucumber, and green onion. Add avocado if you want. A nice, easy meal.

This reminds me of a dinner a good friend served several years ago, before bowls were so popular. At the time I thought it quite innovative. Two of us were her guests that night.

She put rice in a bowl and topped it with a layer of black beans and then chopped fresh vegetables—I’m not sure I remember what all, but probably tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, avocado for sure. She was about to finish the bowls off with shrimp, when both her guests howled about shrimp allergies. She poured salad dressing, probably homemade, over it, and served us a delicious, satisfying meal. If you don’t make your own dressing, I recommend Paul Newman’s Own Oil and Vinaigrette (not the balsamic vinaigrette).

So that’s my lesson for today: simplify. This started out to be a blog for cooks in tiny kitchens and sort of branched out from there, but at least for today, I’m back to the Idea that you can be a gourmet in a tiny kitchen.

Where I wash dishes
Large refrigerator is to the right
And that's my kitchen in two pictures