I’ve been on an organizing kick recently. Being kind of homebound for the holidays will do that. If you’re new around here, I live in a 400 square foot apartment, and I share it with another human. This is not the kind of airy yet charming 400 square feet you see on Apartment Therapy or whatever, where they’re giving you tips on how to survive in a tiny apartment where the “tiny apartment” is a bright NYC loft with 40 foot ceilings and a magical walk-in closet, oh, and also you have an unlimited budget to spend at the Container Store.
No, this apartment lacks convenient loftiness, exposed beams and abundant closets. It’s the kind of apartment that makes me burst out laughing at this tip below, because we literally have one foot of space on each side of the bed and it’s already a comedy of errors when one of us gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Add a bunch of fabric? We could either remake the Benny Hill Show or die in a fire. I don’t know how the fire would start. I just feel like hanging a bunch of fabric around something that’s already notoriously flammable is asking for trouble, and I’m not trying to be the inspiration for a CSI spontaneous combustion episode.
Protip 2: deer antlers are a super efficient use of extra wall space where you might otherwise put shelving.
Even the big guns on America’s Test Kitchen want to get in on this game. Here’s one of their tips for surviving in a small kitchen (and remember that people pay money to subscribe to these folks, and I love them too, but jeez):
In fairness, that’s the fifth tip out of five, so maybe they were just struggling to think of the last one.
There are experts on this all over the place, clearly, so I can’t add much to the discourse. I have only one piece of real advice, straight from the mouth of someone who really does live in a teeny rental apartment with one puny 1×4.5 closet and no convenient built-ins, lofts, or otherwise handy storage space (I’ll take you guys on a photo tour someday – it’ll be the best thirty seconds of your day). That piece of real advice: take a few hours on one weekend day per month to go through your stuff. Pick a different storage box or shelf each time. And get rid of what you’d totally forgotten you had – unless you absolutely know you’ll use it.
That brings me to my point (finally, right?). One of the things I found on this particular round was my dog-eared copy of the Moosewood Cookbook. I hadn’t seen it in ages, and I sat for a solid forty-five minutes paging through it and marking recipes I wanted to make. Now, typically, following the “toss it if you haven’t used it” rule, this would’ve been gone. But I’ve always loved this cookbook – sometimes friends who part ways come back together, right? I just love the simplicity of it – the handwritten recipes, the refusal to deign to exact measurements, the lack of fancy, overstyled (or any) photographs. It’s just so pure and unpretentious, but it’s an absolutely solid source of vegetarian recipes.
This recipe in particular is a favorite again, now that the book’s been rescued. It may not seem exciting or fancy. Okay, it’s not exciting or fancy. It’s simple, unpretentious, and kind of humble. And I really love it, because in spite of all that, it’s delicious. Hearty, comforting, and really easy to make, this is a perfect meal to make when you’re looking to stuff your face and get some leftovers – I add mushrooms to give it some extra oomph in the flavor department, and that takes it to the next level for me. All you need with this is a simple green salad and you’re all set, which gives you more time to accidentally unearth some hidden gems in your quest for organization.
- 4 cups cooked brown rice (a little less than 2 cups - cook for 30-35 minutes in a little more than 3 cups of water)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 8 oz cremini or white mushrooms, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs. baby spinach, chopped
- 1 tsp kosher or sea salt
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1 cup grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (optional)
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
- 2 tsp paprika
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish or casserole with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook the rice and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft, about 7-8 minutes. Add garlic, spinach, and salt and cook until spinach is just wilting, about 2 minutes.
- Let cool for a few minutes, then add rice, eggs, milk, cheese, parsley, soy sauce, nutmeg, and cayenne and stir to combine.
- Spread evenly in baking dish. Top with sunflower seeds and paprika. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 25 minutes, then remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes.
Source: Adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook
Yum! Looks like an AMAZING healthy recipe to prepare for your family on a weeknight!