The Little Cook in the Tiny House

61 simple recipes made from ingredients most of us already have on hand (except the meats and produce) that are easily made in a tiny kitchen. I hope your family will love these recipes, as mine has, for many years to come. 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 1/2 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 aren't 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 today...talk 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 don't 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