A.J Forget & Ayana Otteman @the.buslife.kitchen
this series of featured vanlife kitchens are sponsored by:
Small Kitchen feature
Hey folks, I’m Ash Butler, author of The Small Kitchen cook (and partner of Jared, co-founder of #vanlifediaries). This interview is part of a series where I chat with food-lovin’ folks who have amazing campervan kitchens.
If you’d like to check out my book, please click here. Thanks for your support! Ash x
Note from Ash, the Editor - while this series of interviews is sponsored by my cookbook, I’d love to mention here that Ayana has also published her own cookbook, which looks fantastic! It’s called The Buslife Kitchen and you can get your hands on a copy here
Hey A.J & ayana,
Thank you for being a part of this interview and for telling us about your love of food and your tiny kitchen.
Tell us about your small kitchen
I love to cook, and I was already dreaming up my cookbook when we started building our bus, so the kitchen was a top priority. However, in such a small space (we have a little under 100 square feet), there just isn’t room for a fancy kitchen. We have a three-burner propane stovetop, a tiny square of counter space, and a miniscule sink with no hot water. It is definitely tiny living. There is a lot of storage dedicated to food and cookware, and we built in a large dining table which can double as additional prep area, but it is still a pretty small space.
“It has been a fun challenge to learn to cook elaborate meals, bake on the stovetop, and even serve a six-course dinner for six out of this little kitchen. ”
While we don’t have an oven, hot water, or many of the other standard kitchen “necessities”, it has been a real pleasure to embrace this lifestyle and show the world what kind of amazing food you can produce in such a tiny space.
Name three key pieces of equipment in your small kitchen
Immersion Blender Set: for around $30, you can get an immersion blender set that not only has a blender attachment, but also a food processor, electric whisk, and other doodads like a milk frother. It doesn’t take up too much room or pull too much off the batteries, and it really opens the door to cooking a lot of exciting dishes. Something as simple as whipped cream is a real pain if you have to do it by hand. I would suggest everyone get one of these sets.
A Good Thermometer: while a lot of cooking can be done without it, having a good thermometer on hand can make a real difference. Whether it’s judging the doneness of a roasted bird, the temperature of your fry oil, or when your custard will set, having that little piece of data can make all the difference in whether or not your meal works. You certainly can roughly estimate these things, but especially when you are learning, knowing that you are doing it right the first time means that next time you’ll have a better idea of what to look for, if you decide to eyeball it.
Bialetti Stovetop Espresso Pot: I’ve had this 6-cup stovetop espresso maker for over a decade, and it shows no signs of stopping. Several times it has been damaged, but after a simple gasket replacement it was back to full strength. I look forward to watching my grandchildren make coffee in this pot someday.
What are some food ingredients you always have in your pantry?
In addition to all the staples for home cooking (flour, bouillon, etc.), here are a few of the more specialty ingredients that we use all the time.
Fish Sauce: it’s great for adding salt and umami to all sorts of things. It is necessary for many Asian cuisines, but also great in things like tomato sauce. I like the Three Crabs brand.
Curry Pastes: Thai curries are one of our go-to meals for easy, healthy, weeknight fare. With a little bit of curry paste, a can of coconut milk, and whatever meat and veggies you have around, you can whip up a delicious meal in no time. Look for the Mae Ploy brand, they are my favorite.
Vinegars: Last I looked, we had red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, white vinegar, rice vinegar, and chinkiang vinegar. While this is maybe more than we really need at any one time, having a variety of acids available is an easy way to bring your cooking up a notch. A splash of acid is every bit as useful as a pinch of salt when a dish is missing that oomph.
Hot Sauce: Let’s face it, most of the meals I cook are simple and intended just to fill our bellies. Having a few hot sauces on hand means your sauce is already made, and you can quickly dish up something that will taste great with a splash of Louisiana hot sauce or a squirt of sriracha. We always have at least a few varieties on hand.
Sauces, spices, etc. for whatever cuisine I’m exploring at the time: I love to learn new ingredients and new techniques, so I am always reading cookbooks for different cuisines and trying new things. While the space in our kitchen is definitely limited, and we can’t have all the specialty ingredients we’d like to have on hand all at once, by focusing on one new cuisine at a time, we can ensure that we have space for everything we need. And, when we’re sick of it and want to move on to something new, we just swap them out (hopefully when they’re finished).
What are a few dishes that are on high rotation and why?
For simple, weeknight fare, we love Thai curries. They only take a few ingredients, can be cooked up quickly, and are as healthy as you want them to be. In our cookbook, there are recipes for Ayana’s favorite yellow curry tofu, as well as my preferred panang curry fish.
“We also love to pick up a pack of wonton wrappers at the store and make steamed dumplings or wonton soup. For such simple dishes to put together, the rewards are very high.”
We always order dumplings when we get Asian takeout, and I am almost always disappointed–much better to make them at home to our own standards.
Also, whenever we can find sushi-grade fish, we love to make poke bowls. There is a great recipe for an ahi shoyu poke bowl in the cookbook. But when sushi-grade fish isn’t around, there is also a recipe for vegan poke bowls made with beet cubes. Both are excellent.
Do you have any tips for minimising food waste and packaging?
Always use bouillon. That’s maybe my biggest tip for van kitchens. There are lots of good options out there these days, so you can always have a few varieties of broth in your pantry, and there is very little packaging.
“Cooking from scratch is also a great way to reduce the amount of trash you create, and it has the added benefit of typically being a lot healthier as well.”
The closer you get to cooking with whole ingredients, the less waste you produce, and the fewer extra ingredients (sugar, salt, oil, preservatives) they can sneak in on you.
As far as food waste goes, I think that learning a few dishes that can always clear the scraps from the fridge is a task every budding cook should take on. Curries, soups, hashes, pasta sauces, all of these are ways that you can make use of those carrots in the back of the fridge that are getting a little bendy, or that really long stem on your broccoli. Get creative and play with what you have, it’s a great way to not only use up the scraps in the fridge, but also to learn new ways to use familiar ingredients.
Is it important to you to eat with sustainability in mind?
Absolutely. Whenever possible, we eat seasonally and buy all our animal products from ethical sources. There are few things more fun when you’re traveling than stopping by a farmers’ market and seeing what the locals are growing. It’s a great way to learn about the local cuisine, and sometimes you stumble on something you’ve never heard of, like the datil pepper, a unique and citrusy pepper, like a less spicy habanero, which is only grown and used in the St. Augustine, Florida area.
Beyond that, we try to limit our intake of animal protein. While you will see a lot of meat dishes in my cookbook, half the cookbook is vegetarian, and over a quarter is vegan. For simple, day-to-day meals, we eat mostly vegetarian, reserving meat for fancier dinners a few nights a week.
Thanks AJ and Ayana for your time and for your thoughtful responses!
Check out more pics from AJ and Ayana at @the.buslife.kitchen
Edited and published by Ash Butler @thesmallkitchencook