Welcome! This is “Staying In,” a Sunday newsletter with recipe ideas for your week ahead. Every other Thursday I also publish a “Going Out” edition where I review a restaurant, bar, or activity here in Portland. What should I write about next? Feel free to leave a comment on this post or submit your idea here. And don’t forget to check out pdxrecs.com for even more recommendations and follow RR on Instagram at @rileysrecs. Enjoy!
I’m doing my best to cook with seasonal ingredients. That’s a little harder this year since our CSA (basically a local farm that delivers a box of veggies every week) abruptly went out of business. If anyone in Portland has a CSA they recommend, please let me know in the comments!
Late summer/early fall here in the Pacific Northwest means: corn, peppers, tomatoes, brussels sprouts, chard, kale, mushrooms, and eggplant.
This week, I’m inspired by eggplant. Eggplant is famously tricky to cook with — but only if you have really high standards. It’s not like if you mess up, your meal turns out gross. It just won’t be the texture you intended. Either way, here are a few tips from the king of cooking seasonally, Joshua McFadden, former owner of Ava Genes and author of Six Seasons, on how to pick the best eggplant:
You’re looking for an eggplant with as few of seeds as possible. Look for ones that are firm and heavy for their size.
Eggplants do not like to be frozen. Meaning, go to the farmer’s market.
Look for Asian varieties. These tend to be smaller and slender. Large eggplants tend to have more seeds.
✨ Inspo ingredients for the week: curry leaves, eggplant, and smoked salmon ✨
DINNERS
Black Pepper Tofu and Eggplant | Basmati Rice
Fresh Coconut Rice with Cashews and Shallot | Spinach, Tomato, and Chickpea Curry
Eggplant Parmesan | Leafy Herb Salad
BREAKFAST
Bagels with Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon
Smoked Salmon Hash
DESSERT
Salt and Straw Ice Cream
DRINK
Lillet Spritz
Notes:
If you’re feeding two people, the coconut rice and chickpea curry should feed you for two nights in a row.
Same with the Eggplant Parmesan. This week contains a lot of recipes that yield leftovers!
My parents are very kind and brought me a pint of Apple Cider Donut ice cream from Salt and Straw this weekend. Its their seasonal flavor — and I’m happy to report, it’s very yummy.
Bagels will be purchased from Henry Higgins because a) they are closer to my house than my #1 pick Bernstein’s Bagels and b) I have a gift card.
The coconut rice calls for curry leaves. You can find these at Indian or international grocery stores, including Mingala or Apna Chat Bhavan.
Black Pepper Tofu and Eggplant
Deb Perelman | Smitten Kitchen
This recipe involves a gooey, sticky sauce. And I love a sticky sauce. What I don’t love is poorly fried tofu that sticks to the pan. This recipe solves for that: instead of frying the tofu on the stove, bake the tofu and eggplant in the oven. To avoid the tofu sticking to the roasting pan, line your sheet pan with parchment paper. You might sacrifice a little browning, but I’m okay with that.
*Editor’s note: this ended up being realllyyy salty. I would reduce the soy sauce to a little over a quarter cup and then reduce the sugar and maybe the black pepper by about half, too. It will make less sauce but that’s okay.
Fresh Coconut Rice with Cashews and Shallot
Meera Sodha | Fresh India
This weekend I went to see the swifts. It’s an annual tradition here in Portland, and in many parts of the world, where people gather to watch thousands of migratory birds emerge from their shelters (in this case, a decommissioned furnace at an elementary school) as they prepare to roost for the evening. I went with a couple of friends and we got take-out from Top Burmese. Each order came with scoops of coconut rice—and it immediately made me want to eat more coconut rice. So I’m turning to “Fresh India,” a cookbook from Meera Sodha that I received as a wedding gift, for inspiration.
This is coconut rice with a capital C. You can’t substitute pre-graded flakes here. You have to grate it yourself. How are you going to do that? Surprisingly, you can get whole coconut at most grocery stores, including Safeway and H Mart. Once secured, just use a box grater to shred. The rest of the recipe follows a pretty standard formula for Indian rice dishes: partially cook and then cover with a towel to steam until ready. Then, heat the spices in oil, mix, and serve.
This is the recipe that calls for curry leaves, which I’ll be using in another recipe next week….so don’t skip!
Spinach, Tomato, and Chickpea Curry
Meera Sodha | Fresh India
Spinach, tomato, and chickpea curry (or “chana saag”) is a familiar dish to many. At its base, it’s a rich tomato stew, seasoned with mustard seed, cumin, ginger, coriander, and chile. The whole dish is ready in under 25 minutes and will make leftovers for the next day. You’ll turn to this over and over again throughout the winter—I promise.
Leafy Herb Salad
Alison Roman
I mentioned Alison Roman—specifically the fact that she met her now-husband because he slid into her DMs—to a few coworkers this week on my work trip. They returned the mention with blank stares. Do I live in a bubble? Probably.
Anyways, Alison Roman is very laissez-faire about salads, which I respect. And considering the rest of this week’s Staying In is quite involved, I figured a simple salad is in order. She describes this leafy herb salad as “ideal for Thanksgiving or other huge, rich meals, something to nibble on between bites of sour cream potatoes and buttered stuffing.” In our case, fried eggplant and lots of cheese.
Eggplant Parmesan
Kenji Lopez Alt | Serious Eats
Here’s a more Italian American take on eggplant. TBH I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten eggplant parmesan, but I’d like to try it. So I turned to our trusted food scientist, Kenji Lopez Alt, who has found a way to minimize soggyness and maximize crisp. It involves using a microwave…find out more here along with the recipe.
Lillet Spritz
Emily in Paris
Part two of Emily in Paris Season 4 dropped this week. And it contains the expected amount of product placement, which is to say, a lot. There’s a very obvious new paid partnership with Lillet, the French aperetif, which Emily is convinced will be Paris’ hot new spritz. A someone with a bottle of Lillet in my liquor cabinet, I’m intrigued. So I’m going to try this week!
Between last week’s recommendations for a Bachelor podcast and a feel-good summer read about an octopus and now this Emily In Paris inspired drink rec, I feel like I’m positioning myself as somewhat…basic. It’s a derogatory term mainly associated with women, mainly used to belittle perfectly normal preferences and interests. But nevertheless, I want to be clear that I contain multitudes! I can watch Emily in Paris while reading about price gouging in my Blazers sweatshirt while sipping on a Lillet Spritz!
INGREDIENTS
3 parts Lillet Blanc or Lillet Rosé
3 parts tonic water, club soda or sparkling wine
DIRECTIONS
Pour over ice and stir.
Smoked Salmon Hash
The Heathman Hotel
It is pure coincidence that this recipe is adapted from the Heathman Hotel in Portland. I’ve never eaten breakfast here. The only time I think I’ve been to the Heathman was for a Sweet Sixteen?
Anyways, I was looking for ways to use the smoked salmon in my fridge and Googled “smoked salmon hash” and this came up. I wasn’t sure what to expect since I substituted yellow for red onion and yogurt for sour cream, and I didn’t have enough mustard or capers—but this was such a forgiving recipe. I’m making it again this week. I mean look at it! It’s incredible!
Don’t worry about peeling the potatoes and use whatever kind you have on hand. I used the small blue and yellow ones.
