Staying In No. 46

Lentil Tomato Soup. Ethiopian Shakshuka. Pop Tarts.

May 04, 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!

I’m back from my two-week, multi-stop work trip. It was great! Baltimore and DC exceeded my expectations (here’s everywhere I ate!) and Austin was lovely and hot as usual. This time, instead of my usual downtown hotel I booked an adorable Airbnb off East 6th street with a sun porch, cold plunge, and sauna. I loved staying in a more residential area and a few blocks from the best coffee in Austin (Desnudo!).

Normally, I’d be excited to get back to home-cooked meals, but I ate so well on my trip that honestly I’m dreading having to cook again. So this week I’ll be easing back into things with some familiar favorites that require minimal prep time. I’d rather be catching up on Hacks and my exercise routine than doing dishes.

That being said, I’m always in the mood to bake, so I’m planning on making Pop Tarts on Saturday when I have a little downtime. We’ll see if I can beat what I could otherwise buy at the grocery store or Keeper Coffee on SE Holgate.

DINNERS

Tsion Cafe’s Shakshuka | Bread
Lentil Tomato Soup
Mustardy Salmon with Avocado and Cucumber Salad
Chana Masala | Rice

LUNCH

Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps

WEEKEND BAKE

90s-Style Strawberry Pop-Tarts

Notes:

Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe is a repeat dish. Link here!
Same with the Mustardy Salmon

Tsion Cafe’s Shakshuka

Beejhy Barhany | Gursha

I won a copy of the cookbook Gursha in a giveaway from

The New Family Table

. I never win anything and was SO excited to get a copy of this in the mail. It reminded me a lot of In Bibi’s Kitchen—which I reviewed a few months ago here—because it focuses on Ethiopian food. But Gursha highlights the unique culinary traditions of Beta Israel, a group of Ethiopian Jews. I’ll dive deeper into this book in the coming weeks, but the first recipe that jumped out to me was shakshuka: a tomato, egg dish perfect for weeknight cooking. This version calls for the classic Ethiopian spice blend, berbere, which I bought a few months ago on Amazon and have been meaning to incorporate more into my cooking. I’m excited to make this one. Thanks

Hillary Dixler Canavan

Lentil Tomato Soup

Carolina Gelen | New York Times (Gifted Link)

This soup only has five ingredients: butter, heavy cream, shallot, canned whole-tomatoes, and canned lentils. The flavor comes from browning the butter and then mixing it into the heavy cream. The rest of the ingredients shine on their own and—most importantly—are canned. Consider serving with a sausage or grilled cheese if you want a more substantial meal.

Chana Masala

Kenji Lopez Alt | Serious Eats

There are lots of ways to make chana masala, but almost any recipe starts with a blend of onions, garlic, ginger, and chiles. This recipe from Kenji is fairly by the book, but—being Kenji—also has a slight twist: he adds a bit of lemon juice to help tame the sharpness of the garlic. The final product is a flavorful blend of chickpeas and tomato that goes well with rice or naan. If you want to add greens like spinach or chard, you could throw that in at the end, too.

Pretty Pink Pop Tarts

Alex Roberts |

Alexander Bakes

I’ve been on the hunt for a good Pop Tart recipe for a long time. It doesn’t need to be fancy—I’m trying to imitate $2.99 toaster pastry after all—so I’m not interested in anything that calls for making puff pastry (like most recipes do). I’d abandoned my dream of homemade Pop Tarts for awhile, but this

Alex Roberts

popped up on my Substack feed recently and is giving me hope. It does call for one special ingredient (freeze-dried strawberry powder), but otherwise the recipe seems easy. First of all, there’s no puff pastry. The crust is a basic pie dough that you make in a food processor. And the filling is literally made in the microwave. I’ll report back on how they turned out and if buying strawberry powder is worth it.