Philia Kelnhofer's kitchen is small but mighty.

It has little room for storage, virtually no counter space and a kitchen table that barely seats two. But in it, Kelnhofer has created, tested and photographed hundreds of recipes for her blog, SweetPhi.com, and her new cookbook, "Fast & Easy Five-Ingredient Recipes: A Cookbook for Busy People" (Countryman Press), out July 19.

Kelnhofer herself is a busy person. The 31-year-old Chicago native lives with her husband and dog in West Allis, works full time as VP of operations for Hartland-based dietary supplement manufacturer True Botanica, and spends early mornings and evenings after work managing her blog, which she started in 2011 as a way to share recipes with family and friends.

"Cooking and blogging have been a nice creative outlet," she said, compared with her daily work of logistics and planning at a manufacturing facility, work she equally loves.

About two years into blogging, she was sitting at her parents' house one Friday chatting with one of her three sisters when a new idea was born.

"My sister said, 'Listen, I love your recipes, but the ones I really like are the ones that only have a few ingredients,'" Kelnhofer said. "As a joke I was like, 'How about Five-Ingredient Fridays?'"

The name stuck and the following Friday, Kelnhofer debuted a new series on her blog, featuring recipes with five or fewer ingredients (not counting salt, pepper and water). The first recipe was a toasted open-face sandwich with pesto, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.

"People seemed to really respond to it," she said.

Every single Friday since then has been Five-Ingredient Friday on sweetphi.com.

"It's something I'm very proud of," Kelnhofer said.

In addition to five-ingredient recipes, she posts once or twice a week featuring other recipes, party ideas or travel tips.

The blog has grown to reach hundreds of thousands of readers, including some who send her photos of their versions of her recipes, which she in turn shares on the blog.

"I love seeing that interaction," she said.

Last September, Kelnhofer was in the midst of self-publishing an e-book featuring 52 new five-ingredient recipes themed around sharing food with family and friends. She had been diligently testing and photographing dozens of recipes for the e-book when Countryman Press contacted her about publishing a cookbook.

Kelnhofer brushed off the email, thinking it was some sort of too-good-to-be-true offer.

"I thought, 'This isn't real,'" she said.

But a week later, the publisher followed up, and after talking it through, Kelnhofer was on board.

"I was really grateful because they shared my vision," she said.

That vision included a friendly tone, with photos and stories of family and friends woven into the book. Instead of 52 recipes, there would be 105, each accompanied by a luscious photograph.

Kelnhofer photographed the recipes herself, right at her tiny kitchen table, which she said gets perfect light in the early afternoon.

Since she already had developed and tested a long list of five-ingredient recipes, the cookbook was fast-tracked for a summer release. Over the next five months, she fine-tuned the recipes, testing each one at least three times and photographing them on the weekends when she could capture the early afternoon light.

"I could publish five-ingredient recipes from here to kingdom come," she said. "I'll think of ideas and write them down. The ones that are in the book are all my favorites."

Five ingredients doesn't sound like much, but within those limits Kelnhofer shares recipes like Coconut Banana Muffins (bananas, sugar, coconut milk, flour and shredded coconut), Broccoli Cheddar Soup (broccoli, carrots, chicken stock, heavy cream and sharp cheddar), Yogurt Chicken and Caramelized Onion Pasta (red onion, olive oil, chicken, fettuccine and yogurt) and Forbidden Rice Bowls (butter, black rice, bacon, kale and Parmesan cheese).

Perhaps most surprising are the desserts, including Brownie Bites (chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs and flour), Chocolate Cheesecake Cups (chocolate, cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, egg), Panna Cotta and Peaches (unflavored gelatin, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract and peach) and Orange Chocolate Almond Torte (eggs, sugar, almond meal, orange and chocolate chips).

"After writing this cookbook, I think about things in five-ingredient terms," Kelnhofer said. "I look at things, and I'm like, 'How many ingredients go into that?'"

On vacation in London with her husband, she noticed the street food vendor making her chorizo sandwich used only five ingredients, so when she got home she re-created it and posted the recipe on her blog.

One way to pack a lot of flavor into a short ingredients list, she said, is to use ingredients that already have a few components to them, like seasoning blends, canned tomatoes with peppers and frozen vegetable medleys.

Yes, that sometimes includes processed foods like jarred marinara sauce and store-bought piecrust.

Kelnhofer acknowledges that not everyone likes to use those types of ingredients, so the last section of recipes in the book is dedicated to five-ingredient homemade versions, including Alfredo sauce, spice mixes, ice cream and even ketchup.

"I totally understand both sides," she said. "If you don't have the time there's nothing wrong with using some (jarred) pasta sauce. It's just different places where you are in life."

The fact that Kelnhofer cooked up all the recipes in the book while working full time and keeping up with her blog demonstrates that the recipes are made for busy people.

"For me, it was a way to show that even if you're busy, these recipes aren't super difficult. A lot of them are super, super quick," she said.

Kelnhofer learned to cook from her mom, who worked outside the home and would involve her daughters in meal preparation in the evenings, teaching methods rather than recipes. Kelnhofer's theory on cooking is that recipes are just a guide.

"Have fun with it. There's no right or wrong," she said. So add extra cheese or swap the vegetables you don't like.

She also believes food is meant to be shared. And testing all these recipes has given her a lot of food to share with family and friends.

"I love that food connects us all," she said.

The last section of the book suggests menus for occasions like game day (the photo shows green and gold cups of popcorn) and family dinner (which her in-laws host every Sunday), using recipes from the book and including a shopping list.

She doesn't let a tiny kitchen stop her from cooking or hosting.

"I really have an appreciation for being crafty with space," she said. "You can make it work."

Sometimes making it work means sticking to simple meals with just five ingredients.

Book launch party

Philia Kelnhofer will make and serve food from her cookbook at a launch party for "Fast & Easy Five-Ingredient Recipes" Monday at the Milwaukee Public Market, which holds a special place in Kelnhofer's life as the spot where she and her husband got married.

When: 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, July 18

Where: Milwaukee Public Market, second level

What: The event is free and open to the public. In addition to sampling food and drinks, guests can purchase the cookbook from Boswell Books and win door prizes from Door to Door Organics.