So Long Summer

First it was August that dissappeared and then summer followed.

The door to summer blew shut on Thursday, pushed by a breeze that cleared out the muggy heat from the prior two days and carried in dry, cool air.

It's evidently been a scorcher here, recently pushing 100 degrees F. When I arrived last Monday, temps were still hovering around 90 or more. Tuesday night we had a boomer of a thunderstorm but Wednesday still stayed humid and hot. I skipped my village walk that day and dealt with laundry instead. We'd had folks staying here shortly before I arrived and it takes a while for a miniscule washer to deal with an accumulation of sheets and towels.

By Thursday, though, everything shifted. I'd just got into the rythm of opening windows in the evening to let in the cooler air, then shutting them by 9:30 or 10 am to keep out the heat. Now I'll be doing the reverse. As I type, the sun is sinking and the windows are closed, keeping in the heat from earlier in the day. Nevertheless, it's lovely and warm when the sun is overhead and I had a pleasant lunch en pleine aire on the bakery terrace in nearby Faucon.

Now I'm getting ready to heat up my paella, purchased earlier this morning from the stand on the corner of the bridge. The paella man, in fact, sets up in exactly the same place as the pizza truck on Monday. Must be good take-out karma there. In the summer, you can buy your paella just before dinner all nice and hot from the same guy at our village evening market. The market's much smaller now with the rentree--the return from vacation--and so mornings it is for paella purchase from now on.
By the way, there's a good paella recipe in my book Bistro Chicken, if I've made you hungry vicariously. Here it is:

PAELLA

Paella is a common item in small restaurants close to the Spanish border but it is also available in almost any French market. Lined up with all the meat, cheese, and produce vendors is the paella seller. He takes his scoop and parcels out quantities of piping hot rice, chicken, and seafood into a plastic container from his giant paella pan. If your timing is right, you can take it home after shopping and enjoy it for lunch with a nice tossed salad made with market greens. Making it from scratch always produces the best results. Invite company to share some; it’s almost impossible to make a small quantity. Pour your guests a glass of wine and have everyone join in the preparation.

6 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about ¾ cup)
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in thirds
½ pound chorizo sausage links, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 ½ cups Bomba, Arborio, or medium grain rice
¾ teaspoon saffron, crumbled
½ teaspoon salt
¾ pound shelled and de-veined, uncooked medium shrimp
6 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
1 cup sugar snap peas

Heat a paella pan or large skillet over medium-high heat; add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion; cook until beginning to soften, stirring frequently, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken and sausage; cook until lightly browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the bell pepper and garlic; stir to combine. Add the tomatoes; cook until they release their juices, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the rice.

Meanwhile, bring 4 cups (3 cups if using medium-grain rice) of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the saffron to ½ cup of the boiling water; stir to dissolve. Add the remaining water to the rice mixture along with the dissolved saffron. Sprinkle with the salt; stir to combine. Boil 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook an additional 15 minutes. Add the shrimp, mussels, and peas; cook until the rice is tender and the seafood is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add additional water if all the liquid is evaporated before the rice is cooked through.

Truc: If you can find it, buy Bomba rice from Spain to make this dish. Similar to Arborio, the risotto rice, Bomba rice swells with moisture but doesn’t produce the same creaminess, making it a better choice for paella. However, even medium grain regular rice will work. Different types of rice require different amounts of liquid so it will be necessary to adjust the amount used. Add any additional water while cooking in small amounts; paella should not be soupy.