First Things First

My new kitchen is small, as kitchens in 600-square-foot apartments are wont to be, but I have to say that what it lacks in counter space, it makes up in cupboards. Here's the tour:


1. The stove is of undeterminable age, and at first I thought it was unusable -- but that's mainly because the door pulled apart when opened, spilling out insulation. But the landlord replaced some missing screws and I used a can and a half of Easy Off and so far everything has been functional, though I've yet to figure out it's eccentricities: I've undercooked one batch of banana bread and burned another. Even so, I think it has a certain amount of charm.


2. This is where I wash the dishes and microwave my oatmeal. The microwave does take up an inordinate amount of space, but it's a necessary appliance, like the Kitchen Aid, which is in the cupboard on the bottom lefthand side.

3. Here's the other little bit of counter space where I do most of the mixing and chopping and assembling.

4. And here's the whole set up. I'm a big fan of the curtain.

I'm also a big fan of bread and after coveting this cookbook for a year, I finally bought it (with one of those 40 percent coupons from Borders). I recommend buying the cookbook and signing up for the Borders coupons. It will change the way you and make bread and buy books, respectively.

All you have to do to make this bread is mix together a) 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour b) 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast c) 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt and d) 3 1/2 cups lukewarm water. The beauty of it is that you can store it in the fridge for up to two weeks and make a variety of things -- pita, pizza crust, calzones, rolls, etc. You can find the master recipe here and the accompanying New York Times article here.