Staying In No. 45

Vegetable frittata for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Apr 21, 2025

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. Want even more recommendations? Check out pdxrecs.com and follow RR on Instagram at @rileysrecs. Enjoy!

My friend Cassie just got a new job, and she told me she’s going to celebrate by taking herself out to dinner. I love the idea. What a great way to treat yourself after something difficult like a job search.

Eating by yourself gets a bad rap (see: Steven Glansburg from Superbad). But it shouldn’t! Eating by yourself, once you accept that nobody is actually thinking about how awkward you look, can be relaxing. You get to eat where you want, focus on the food, have an excuse to people watch, and chat with your server or bartender. Or not talk to anyone at all and zone out on your phone. It’s up to you.

Over the next two weeks I’ll be doing a lot of solo dining. I’m traveling to Baltimore, Washington DC, and Austin for work, and I’m excited to try a bunch of new places. I plan on sharing out a full list of everything I ate and drank once I’m back, but heads up that Staying In and Going Out will look a little different while I’m gone since I’m not cooking or dining out in Portland. Also, if you have recommendations for me, reply to this email or let me know in the comments!

Today’s Staying In features the breakfast I’m making before I get on the airplane tomorrow. It’s a Mark Bittman vegetable frittata that’s endlessly riffable and great for any meal.

If you’re looking for more meal ideas, check out the RR Recipe Index!

More-Vegetable-Than-Egg Frittata

Mark Bittman | New York Times (Gifted Link)

Like the recipe name suggests, this frittata is vegetable-forward. With a lower egg ratio, everything sets faster and there’s not enough time for a brown crust to form. Nothing worse than a crusty omelette or frittata in my opinion.

A couple of notes:

Use a nonstick pan. I typically use an 8-inch MadeIn nonstick, but you can use any nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron.
If the frittata is taking a long time to set, you can put the pan under the broiler for a minute or so near the end. But don’t walk away! You’ll want to watch closely to avoid overcooking.
Remember to season with salt and pepper at every stage.
Use any combination of vegetables. I like potatoes, bell pepper, onion, and asparagus.

Full recip e on New York Times, but here’s a few pics from when I made this recently. I doubled the recipe and didn’t quite get the ratio right so it’s a little more egg than vegetable…but whatever still tasted great. And it only had a slight crust.