Towering Temple of Tomatoes

I can hear my mother's words echoing in my head: "This is because your eyes were bigger than your stomach."

It all started innocently enough, when Dave and I drove out to Ayers Creek Farm to pick some of the Astiana tomatoes that, for the last few years, we've roasted and frozen to use throughout the winter in soups, sauces and, yes, even cocktails. The first year we bought a total of 50 pounds of the blood-red, heart-shaped tomatoes that Anthony and Carol brought from Italy as seed and adapted to the climate of the Wapato Valley. (Read the very entertaining story of their discovery of these tomatoes.) The next year it was 80 pounds, then 120 pounds, and this year I figured we needed 150 pounds to take us all the way to the next season.

Roughly chopped, ready for roasting.

Named Astiana after the town in the Piedmont region of Italy where they originated, these large tomatoes are almost all flesh with very few seeds, ideal for making sauce and paste. My plan was to get a jump start on the processing by bringing home 50 pounds or so, then getting two more batches of 50 pounds each as the season, about a month long, progressed. I say "was" because when we got to the field and started picking, using the four yellow crates that Carol insisted we would need—you can tell I'm trying to shuffle off blame here, right?—well, that's when my clever plan went a bit sideways. By which I mean completely off the rails.

After roasting, ready to bag and freeze.

Hauling the crates back to the processing shed, we knew we had more than 50 pounds-worth staring back at us, but when it was all weighed and bagged, that's when I heard my mother's voice. It turns out there were 142 pounds of my favorite fruit sitting on the table in that shed, 142 pounds that were subsequently driven home and the same 142 pounds carried into the house.

Roasting on the grill.

To say I saw my life, or at least the next few days of my life, flash before my eyes might be a wee bit of an overstatement, but there was definitely an "Oh my god what have I gotten myself into" feeling at surveying the bags and bags (and bags…) of ripening tomatoes at my feet. Fortunately they were at varying stages, from squishy, do-something-with-them-right-now-or-say-sayonara ripeness to barely pink-almost-green ones that, with luck, would take three or four days to get fully ripe.

Sorting through them and labeling bags "soon" for those needing attention in the next day or two and "hold" for those that could wait a couple of days, we dove in and grilled two batches of the softest ones that evening, which went immediately into the freezer. We hope to have the rest done by Sunday, divided more or less evenly between grilled and oven-roasted. Wish us luck!

Pie-Ay-Uh, Pie-el-lah

You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto;
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto,
Let's call the whole thing off!

- from "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" by George and Ira Gershwin

Whenever I mention that I'm thinking about making paella, Dave immediately says "Puh-AY-zhuh." He's not correcting me, he's merely referring to an episode of Lynne Rossetto Kasper's "Splendid Table" where the sexy, lushly accented voice of Anya Von Bremzen discussed the art of making…well…puh-AY-zhuh, forever changing the way he thinks of that word.

Recently we had friends coming over for dinner. They're big fans of anything cooked over a fire and we were discussing what might be fun to make for them. All the major animal and piscean groups were covered and nothing was striking that special "gotta have it" chord. Then I mentioned paella, and the above-mentioned conversation ensued.

And for those who've never made it, whether on a stovetop or grill, the ingredient list may look long, but it comes together quickly and easily once the chopping and dicing is done. I just put everything in small bowls on a tray (the diced chicken and mussels wait in the fridge), have the stock in a pan on the stove, and I'm good to go when the fire's ready.

For drinks to kick off the warm summer evening Dave made the very refreshing Souracher from local bartender extraordinaire Dave Shenaut while the paella simmered. When the pan was ceremoniously paraded from grill to table, we opened a bottle of the richly colored, dry 2010 Reflection Pinot Noir Rosé from Portland's own Boedecker Cellars followed by a 2001 Luis Cañas Rioja from my brother's wine shop, Vino.

With a simply dressed salad of garden greens, no matter how you say it, I call that a successful evening.

Paella on the Grill

This is a recipe I've written about previously but have modified over the years. It calls for Spanish chorizo and mussels, but you should feel free to substitute your own favorite seafood…just don’t use Mexican chorizo, an entirely different kind of sausage. It also works well on the stovetop cooked in a paella pan or a large skillet.

1/8 tsp. saffron
1/2 c. dry white wine
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow or white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red, yellow, or green bell pepper or combination, chopped
2 lbs. chicken thighs, chopped in 1-inch pieces
8 oz. Spanish chorizo, sliced into 1/8" slices
4 c. arborio or bomba rice2 Tbsp. smoked Spanish paprika (called pimenton)
1/2 c. green olives, cut into thirds (we use Spanish anchovy-stuffed olives)
1/2 lb. large frozen shrimp, thawed and tails removed

6-8 c. chicken or fish stock
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. mussels or steamer clams

Place saffron in small bowl. Pour wine on top and allow to infuse at least 10 minutes while prepping other ingredients.

Build fire in barbecue grill. Once coals are white hot, spread coals in a single layer and place paella pan on the grill about 4 inches above coals. Pour in olive oil and heat till shimmering, then add chopped onions, garlic and pepper and sauté till tender. Add chicken pieces and brown lightly, then add chorizo and sauté till warmed. Stir in smoked paprika. Add rice and stir for 2 minutes, then add saffron/wine mixture, and stock until it just covers the rice mixture. Top with shrimp and olives. Salt and pepper to taste.

Place grill cover on the barbecue and cook for approximately 20 minutes without stirring, checking occasionally to make sure rice doesn’t get too dry. Add more stock or water as needed, allowing brown crust (called socarrat in Spanish) to form on bottom and sides without burning. Before rice is completely done, add mussels or clams hinge-side down so they stand up in the pan and their juices run into the paella. Serve when shells open and meat inside is cooked, approximately 3 minutes.