After travelling around Australia and the USA by campervan, Ashleigh Butler decided to write a book for vanlifers and tiny homers on how to cook well in small kitchens.
The result is a 68-recipe book called ‘The Small Kitchen Cook’.
“I created this book to tell my story through food, recipes and photographs, hoping to inspire small kitchen owners, campervan and tiny home enthusiasts that your kitchens can be exciting, inspiring and nutritious whilst minimising your food waste,” the newly published Jan Juc author said.
Ashleigh shared a van for a home with her partner Jared and two-year-old twin girls.
She said living in a confined space didn’t mean you needed to sacrifice nutrition and enjoyment.
Jarden builds vans in Torquay with his mate Sam.
“This book is full of great recipes for small and unconventional kitchens but also advice, suggestions and ideas for designing small kitchens, cooking in them and storing food and equipment efficiently,” she said.
“It is a great size for tiny kitchens with recipes everyone can cook and acts as a small kitchen handbook.”
The book is divided into seasonal recipes. So which ones are Ashleigh’s favourites?
“Winter would be kangaroo curry,” she said.
“The coconut milk really tenderises the meat so it’s a favourite at our house. In summer, fish tacos and then spring and autumn, I love cooking with mushrooms in autumn so there’s a beautiful pearl barley risotto in there.
“Pearl couscous which is an Israeli couscous with fennel and beetroot. I really tried to hone in on the seasonal aspect.”
Ashleigh’s twin girls will happily eat from the book’s recipes.
“A lot of them (recipes) are inspired by them (the twins) because a lot of the trialling I did before they were born was intertwined with my life so I’d try these recipes with the hope that they feed my family,” she said.
“So with all of the curries I suggest you add chilli at the end or on top of that if that’s what you like. I reckon about 80 to 90 per cent of the recipes in there they would eat.”
Published by Exploring Eden, The Small Kitchen Cook is out now in bookshops and online. You can also go to vanlife.com.au/book and some of the proceeds from each book offsets 10 times its carbon footprint by helping plant native forests and biodiverse forests.
