Life as usual has gotten in the way of blogging! I have recently been granted the time to get back to it and a new kitchen to cook in so here we go on this new adventure!
Let’s start with the new kitchen. It is located in the corner of the 210 square foot tiny house I am staying in! The counter top is 4 feet long and 3 feet wide that holds two induction burners, a microwave and a toaster oven. I have a mid size fridge and a bit of counter next to the sink. It really is tiny! Honestly, I was stumped. First tiny house, first induction burners{I had to watch a video on how to work it!} First tiny sink, first everything basically! Grilled cheese was the first real food that I tried and followed that with an omelette. I figured if I could do simple things then I could do any of the things so my first “real” dinner was the old favorite mushroom risotto! I haven’t been totally away from home so I was able to get more pots and homemade broth so I didn’t have to stray too far from the flavors we all love so much.
I feel like we should talk about the recipe again since it has been so long. I tried to keep this version simple and straightforward as the kitchen is simple and I think I managed to get it spot on!
8 cups of broth. Let your toppings or stir ins be your broth guide. Veg with veg, Chicken with chicken or veg, Beef with beef or veg.
Arborio rice. Let your hunger be your guide. 1 cup of raw rice makes 2 cups cooked and that will feed 3 if not 4 people.
Stir in and toppings. Let your imagination be your guide. Lemon risotto topped with lobster, beef risotto topped with lamb, veggie risotto topped with feta cheese and kalamata olives, pork risotto topped with pork belly and bacon bits, the options are limitless!
I started in the usual way with the shallots and butter to toast the rice a bit to get that layer of flavor. I added about 1/2 cup of white wine to the toasted rice so it could sizzle in that a bit before I added the broth. I have figured out that this step adds a bit of extra sexy to the rice. This time I chopped a shallot and a couple of the mushrooms and gave them a quick sautee and added them in about half way thru the cooking of the rice for extra, extra love. For the toppings I sliced the mushrooms fairly thick and did the Julia Child trick of adding a bit of water at the beginning so the mushies get nice and brown and stay firm. I remembered the cheese this time so right at the end of the cook I whipped in about 1/2 cup of grated parm and it took it to another level! I almost always forget the cheese but this has reminded me to get buckets of it so I will never run out! I made some fresh garlic butter and toasted some sourdough slices and we got so busy eating that we forgot to talk.
All in all I had a successful first dinner party at the tiny house! I have been trying to keep up with the Instagram account and I will be making posts about most of the things we have been eating so this and that will eventually be in the same place. The IG account is alisfoodadventures give me a follow and tag your adventures in my food with #afa
Ali's Kitchen 