Kitchen of the Week: Tiny, Fruitful New York Kitchen
Desserts and preserves emerge from just a sliver of counterspace and a stove in this New York food blogger's creatively used kitchen
Although she's been desperate enough to wash dishes in her bathtub, Yossy Arefi-Afshar can find plenty of things to love about her tiny rental kitchen in New York. A lack of storage and prep space certainly makes things difficult, but it also forces her to get creative with cooking and decor.
Whether it's turning a drawer into extra prep space, using every square inch of vertical storage or changing up the darling art on her kitchen wall, Arefi-Afshar embraces her small kitchen and uses it to whip up delicious seasonal desserts and preserves for her blog, Apt. 2B Baking Co.
Whether it's turning a drawer into extra prep space, using every square inch of vertical storage or changing up the darling art on her kitchen wall, Arefi-Afshar embraces her small kitchen and uses it to whip up delicious seasonal desserts and preserves for her blog, Apt. 2B Baking Co.
Q. What are the three kitchen necessities you use most?
A. My sturdy kitchen scale, which has survived quite a few falls; parchment paper for all manner of cooking tasks; and my bench and bowl scrapers. They are a baker’s best friends.
A. My sturdy kitchen scale, which has survived quite a few falls; parchment paper for all manner of cooking tasks; and my bench and bowl scrapers. They are a baker’s best friends.
Q. How have you learned to make cooking in a small kitchen easier?
A. Like a lot of folks with small kitchens, I wish I had more counter space. When I am working on a large project at home, like a wedding cake, I totally clear the decks and temporarily relocate everything to another part of the apartment.
Then to give myself a little more surface area, I’ll pull out a drawer or two and place a sheet pan on top to create a few more inches of counter space.
Tip: Clean as you go, instead of leaving all the dishes until the end. "Small kitchens get messy fast," says Arefi-Afshar. "Especially when your sink is about 12 inches square."
A. Like a lot of folks with small kitchens, I wish I had more counter space. When I am working on a large project at home, like a wedding cake, I totally clear the decks and temporarily relocate everything to another part of the apartment.
Then to give myself a little more surface area, I’ll pull out a drawer or two and place a sheet pan on top to create a few more inches of counter space.
Tip: Clean as you go, instead of leaving all the dishes until the end. "Small kitchens get messy fast," says Arefi-Afshar. "Especially when your sink is about 12 inches square."
Q. What are three kitchen luxuries you love?
A. Delicious-smelling dishwashing soap for all of my hand-washed dishes — Mrs. Meyer’s Basil Scent is my favorite — my Le Creuset and All-Clad cookware that I hope will last a lifetime, and my Ateco cake turntable. It is heavy and hard to store, but it makes cake decorating so easy.
A. Delicious-smelling dishwashing soap for all of my hand-washed dishes — Mrs. Meyer’s Basil Scent is my favorite — my Le Creuset and All-Clad cookware that I hope will last a lifetime, and my Ateco cake turntable. It is heavy and hard to store, but it makes cake decorating so easy.
Q. Tell us something else you love about your kitchen.
A. My little rotating collection of art on the walls. I like to take photos and cards and stick them up with washi tape. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to add a little color to the space and really easy to switch up when I get tired of what’s hanging. Right now I have a few of my own photos hanging along with a letterpress baseball card — Ray Pepper, made by Left Field Cards — a card from BDRStudio, another card made by my pal Ellie and a great fruit and veggie print from the Little Canoe shop on Etsy.
A. My little rotating collection of art on the walls. I like to take photos and cards and stick them up with washi tape. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to add a little color to the space and really easy to switch up when I get tired of what’s hanging. Right now I have a few of my own photos hanging along with a letterpress baseball card — Ray Pepper, made by Left Field Cards — a card from BDRStudio, another card made by my pal Ellie and a great fruit and veggie print from the Little Canoe shop on Etsy.
Q. What's a good storage or space-saving secret?
A. I try to use my small space really efficiently, and that means a lot of stacking and nesting of bowls, pans and serving dishes. I also try my best to use vertical and wall space. I store some of my sheet pans in the space between the top of my cabinets and the ceiling, and my dish rack lives on top of the refrigerator. Knives are stored on a magnetic strip on the wall above the stove, and pots and pans go on hooks just outside of the kitchen.
Tip: If you have an extra-small kitchen, a shopping habit can cause some storage issues. Before you buy something, always ask yourself where you're going to store it. If you can't answer that, it may need to stay in the store.
A. I try to use my small space really efficiently, and that means a lot of stacking and nesting of bowls, pans and serving dishes. I also try my best to use vertical and wall space. I store some of my sheet pans in the space between the top of my cabinets and the ceiling, and my dish rack lives on top of the refrigerator. Knives are stored on a magnetic strip on the wall above the stove, and pots and pans go on hooks just outside of the kitchen.
Tip: If you have an extra-small kitchen, a shopping habit can cause some storage issues. Before you buy something, always ask yourself where you're going to store it. If you can't answer that, it may need to stay in the store.
Arefi-Afshar is originally from Seattle. She started Apt. 2B Baking Co. during her stint working in restaurant kitchens and continues to chronicle her cooking and baking adventures today.
Portrait: Ellie Connell
Photos of kitchen: Yossy Arefi-Afshar
Portrait: Ellie Connell
Photos of kitchen: Yossy Arefi-Afshar
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A. I like to keep it simple for dinner parties. I’ll never forget the time I got too ambitious with my menu and ended up doing dishes in the bathtub the next day. It was a great party, but I think I used every bowl, pot, pan and utensil I owned.
Lately, I have been really into cooking up a big pot of mussels with garlic, wine and lots of parsley, with a side of whatever vegetables are in season — peas and fava beans sauteed with shallots are a current favorite — and some sliced sourdough bread to soak up all of the delicious juices from the mussels. For dessert I love rustic fruit tarts, pies or crumbles with ice cream.