Small scale cooking

 I'm dealing with a tiny kitchen for a while.  There are two cheesy electric burners, a microwave, full size fridge, a sink and about 6 inches of prep space on the counter.  I don't even have the little two-person table to work on; all my computer stuff lives there.  I went out and bought a few essentials.  I picked up a crock pot and a rice cooker to expand my cooking opportunities.  I also got a 12" Lodge cast iron skillet, a small sauce pot and a little non-stick skillet.  I've got enough to make do with the limited kitchen facilities.

The limited cooking options have driven me to improvise and try new things.  I've done a number of things that I have never tried before.  My creativity has also been piqued by exposure to new foods and ingredients that I've found here.  I'm learning to do lots of stuff with sausage.  There are a lot of the tried and true Mexican ingredients to be found, but a lot of new stuff as well.  Northgate had lots of interesting meats-things you'd never see in a big chain supermarket, but I've found some crazy things in the meat sections of my new favorite markets.  Chopped pigs ears!  Ain't never seen that before, but damn they were good.  So here is a little photo history of my last two months of small kitchen cooking.

Oreja de puerco y chivo en adobo (Pig ears and goat adobo)
Cooked this tasty little dish in the crock pot.

I served the pigs ears and goat on tostadas

Keeping with the Mexican theme.....Costillas de puerco con chile y nopales (pork riblets with chile and cactus

I've tried a number of Asian dishes.  I only have one pan for stir frying and just two burners total.  Spicy mango chicken has been my best effort to date.  Just so I don't get any crap from the peanut gallery, I have to use the chair because my tiny table is completely taken by the computer and monitor (small table).

I also did some spicy sweet and sour beef that turned out nicely

Crock pot jambalaya.  I had never tried making jambalaya in a slow cooker before.  Hell, it's been a number of years since I last made jambalaya.  It turned out well.  I used smoked andouille sausage, boneless chicken thighs, catfish chunks and shrimp.  It was naturally thickened with a ton of okra and the starch from the rice.

I have been trying all sorts of different cuts of beef for pan searing.  These are thin-sliced chuck steaks marinated in chimichurri sauce, served with avocado and salsa fresca.  The sides are spicy ranch beans and nopales salad.