Edmonds - The Little Cook in the Tiny House: A cookbook for tiny house living

The Little Cook in the Tiny House

Michelle Edmonds

Copyright 2015 by Michelle M. Edmonds

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2015

ISBN: 1508888396

ISBN-13: 978-1508888390

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my children: Mark, Heaven and Johnathon and my seven grandchildren: Madlyn, Kayla, Noelani, Rebecka, Kaiya, Rowan, and Alexander.

About the Author

I spent several years living in my tiny house and I loved every minute of it. Let me tell you the story of my Tiny House

My maternal grandfather, Melvin Byers, built the tiny house, one room at a time, starting with the kitchen and one multipurpose room for him and my grandmother, Virginia, to live in when they got married.

An electrician by trade, grandpa added on to the tiny house as he came upon materials left over from the construction sites of other homes and businesses that he was wiring, and as his family grew.

Eventually the little house grew to 1 stories and 4 bedrooms (but only one bath). The 3 upstairs bedrooms were built in the attic space so they are very tiny and have been dubbed the dollhouse due to their tiny size and the tiny storage solutions he came up with, like drawers and tiny bookcases built into the walls, since not much more than a twin-sized bed will fit into the rooms. The ceilings of these bedrooms are sloped so if you arent short like me, you can only stand upright in the center of these tiny rooms, if at all, and you will likely hit your head if you sit up in bed too fast.

Grandpa moved the tiny house to dig a basement under it and then moved it back at one point, to add cellar space and room for a washer and dryer. The basement is way below standard height so most men have to duck under the floor joists to avoid hitting their heads.

The stairs to the basement and the upstairs bedrooms are both very low ceilinged so most people have to walk up and down them a bit stooped or they will bang their head on the ceiling.

Since I am only 4 foot 10 inches tall the ceilings never posed any problem for me but my husband, who is about 5 foot 10 inches tall and blind has hit his head more times that I could possibly count, poor guy! So, it is my height that I am referring to when I call myself the little cook. As much as I hate to admit it, I am about as big around as I am tall.

I am very happily married to a wonderful man who is both totally blind and hearing impaired and just about the best cook ever! (Thus explains why I am as big around as I am tall). Many of the recipes here are his creations or his and mine combined. Some are ones I have come across here-or-there over the years and have long since forgotten the source of.

I am also the mother of three terrific children, two sons and a daughter, and I have seven beautiful grandchildren: 5 girls and two boys. I also have two very spoiled Chihuahuas.

I moved out of my tiny house about two years ago and gave the house to my oldest son and his family who still live in it todaytalk about crowded!

I moved into a much larger house but have come to realize that my McMansion has WAY more room than I need. So much of the space is just wasted, and dont even get me started on the higher costs of utilities! So, I have decided to move once again into a tiny house, one even tinnier than the one my grandfather built since my kids are all grown and my husband and I need and use very little space to live. THIS is what is at the heart of this cookbook. I plan to use all of the proceeds from its sale to purchase my new Tiny House on wheels.

Why on wheels, you ask? Because, right now I live in Florida, my parents, my oldest son and his family live in Ohio and my daughter and her family live in Missouri. My health is not good so I plan to move into a portable Tiny House and go between Ohio and Missouri during the warmer months and winter here in Florida.

Hopefully this book sells.

If you are reading my book, thank you so very much for contributing to my Tiny House dream. I do hope that you enjoy these recipes, as my family has, for many years to come. May they fill your Tiny House with all the smells of home.

Michelle Edmonds

Table of Contents

• Introduction and information
• Basic Cooking Conversions
• Safe Cooking Temperatures
• Safe Food Handling
• Common Cooking Substitutions

Appetizers

• Bacon and Brown Sugar Smokies
• Spinach and Artichoke Dip
• Cocktail Meatballs
• Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapenos
• Salsa
• Mini Italian Kabob Appetizers
• Crispy Brushetta
• Easy Fruit Dip
• Hot Wings
• BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Brunch

• Not-From-A-Mix Pancakes
• Easy French Toast
• Strawberry-Vanilla Smoothie
• Quick Quiche
• Simple Home Fries

Breads

• Basic Southern Biscuits
• Fry Bread
• Spicy Corn Bread

Chicken

• Chicken Veggie Soup
• Chicken and Broccoli Rice
• Simple Chicken Pasta
• Crockpot Chicken Dinner
• Chicken Fajitas
• Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
• Chicken and Dumplings
• Chicken Salad
• Chicken Parmesan
• Chicken Kabobs

Beef

• Crockpot Roast
• Beef and Noodles
• Spicy Szechuan Beef
• Beef Stew
• Basic Meatloaf
• Sloppy Joe
• Easy Salisbury Steak
• 69 Hamburger Gravy

Pork

• Shredded Pork
• Roasted Pork Loin
• Ginger Orange Pork Chops
• Pork Medallions
• Grilled Pork Chops with Pineapple
• Easter Ham
• Ham and Beans

Side Dishes

• About the Microsteamer
• Candied Yams
• Twice Baked Potatoes
• Green Bean Casserole
• Green Beans with Bacon
• Confetti Corn
• Corn and Zucchini
• Grandmas Creamed Peas

Other Main Dishes

• Potato Soupy Goodness
• More-Than-7-Layers Salad
• Lasagna

Dessert

• Pineapple Upside Down Cake
• Apple Crisp
• The Worlds Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies
• No Bake Cookies
• Russian Tea Cakes
• Good-For-You Cream Pie
• Daddys Nanner Cream Pie
• There-Is-Coffee-In-My-Cake
• Blank Recipe Pages
• Resources

Introduction and Information

One of the most difficult things about living in a tiny house is the limited storage space, especially in the kitchen. Here is a list of my must-have kitchen items to make cooking in a tiny house easier and much more enjoyable:

4 of each: dinner plates, salad plates (can double as dessert plates), soup bowls (can double as cereal bowls), coffee mugs, large beverage glasses, juice glasses, wine glasses, dinner forks, salad/dessert forks, soup spoons, table spoons, tea spoons, dinner/butter knives, steak knives and tiny dippy bowls for sauces to dip foods into.

A set of graduating-sized mixing bowls

Several storage containers with lids in various sizes (at least 6)

2 cutting boards (one for meats, one for veggies)

Knives: 2 pairing, one cooks (or butcher), one long serrated, one boning, one flaying.

Small appliances: hand mixer, toaster, crock pot, electric rice cooker, toaster oven, hot plate burner(s) (if you do not have a built-in stove top), electric griddle, pocket sandwich or Panini maker, pizza oven, small chopper (mini food processor), coffee/spice grinder. An electric or hand held can opener. A small Gorge Forman-style grill would also be a nice addition.