Roommate’s Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash
Your city living situation all depends on luck and patiences.
After all, there was a time when New Girl’s Jess didn’t know Schmidt or Winston or Nick.. (What was life like before True American?) After finding roommates online, they could have easily ended up living with crazy people, but instead they found a family (where each of them are indeed their own endearing kind of crazy).
The foursome debunks the myth that long-lasting friendships are impossible after college. They met in their thirties, which you should be excited about if you’re in your twenties: There are important people in your life that you just haven’t met yet, wild.
It’s a well-known fact that apartment hunting in the city is one of the most agonizing endeavors. When I moved to New York a year ago, I was lucky enough to stay with family in the Upper West Side while I looked for a place, but not everyone has the luxury of slumber partying with two younger cousins in elementary school while simultaneously shifting through misleading ads on Craigslist, calculating work commutes, snubbing sleazy realtors and scouting for rare commodities like air conditioning, closets and sunlight… not to mention, mustering up first and last month’s rent plus safety deposits and fees and freaking out about salary requirements and guarantors.
Having gone through all this a year ago, you would think that I’d dread my current hunt now that I have to move again in a few weeks. And you’re right, of course I’m anxious! But I look back to how it all turned out the last time, and I can breathe a little bit better.
Last year, I had a really good friend moving to NYC at the same time as me, even though she was supposed to move to LA (luck). We were willing to live waaaay uptown or deeeep Brooklyn. But then a friend from college (who I stayed in touch with, but hadn’t seen in two years) had already been living in the city and invited me over for dinner at her awesome Midtown studio. A week later, she messaged me to ask if I was looking for a third roommate; she’d wanted a change. Two days later we met to discuss and five days after, we found an apartment in the East Village viable for three and signed a lease. I never thought I’d be living in the most exciting part of Manhattan with future close friends for my first year in the city. Wonderful and unexpected things happen here and they happen fast.
Now, whenever I get stressed about finding a new living situation, I think back to that night when the pieces came together. My friend had cooked me one of her family’s go-to meals: a Greek-inspired spaghetti squash with a process and taste engrained in my memory. It always reminds that you have no idea what’s in store and with stressful tasks like figuring out your living situation, you put in the effort but only time will tell. And it seems like when you’re patient, you also become lucky.
Mason Jar Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash
Perfect to pack for a work lunch or a potlock for two
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1-2 clove minced garlic
- 1 cups tomatoes, chopped in chunks
- 3/4 cup crumbed feta cheese
- 2 tbsps fresh basil, chopped
- Red Chili flakes
- Salt & peper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees .
- Microwave squash on a plate for 3 minutes, to make it easier to the cut. Remove from microwave and cool.
- Cut squash in half length-wise. Scoop out all the seeds with a spoon. (You can roast the seeds for the quick snack.)
- Place spaghetti squash with cut sides down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes in oven, or until a sharp knife can pierce through easily.. Remove squash from oven and set aside to cooled.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sautée onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, about 2-3 minutes. Add spinach until welted. Then stir in tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are warmed.
- After squash cools, use a fork to scoop out and “shred” the stringy pulp from the squash and toss with cooked vegetables, feta cheese, basil and chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pack into a Mason jar for a portable meal. When ready to eat, enjoy at room temperature or reheat in separate bowl.
