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Serves4 15-ouncecanwholeblack beans 2cups frozen corn 10-ounce can RoTel diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 4boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/2 cup shredded cheese, Mexican blend. 1. Preheat outdoor grill to medium-high. 2. Combine beans, corn, tomatoes and cumin. 3. Place four sheets of heavy foil, each 12-by- 18inches, on your work surface. Spray them with cooking spray. Place a chicken breast in the center of each, top with a quarter of the bean mixture. Bring up the short sides of each foil pack and double-fold the top. Double-fold both ends to seal packet, leaving space for steam. 4. Place packets on grill and cover. Grill 15to 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center (165degrees). Carefully open packets. Sprinkle with cheese. Close foil and let stand 2minutes. Fromwww.readyseteat. com, contributed by Deb- bie Westhafer Schoon- maker. MAINCOURSE Santa Fe chicken packets with corn, black beans, cheese, green chilies Serves 6 Ingredients: 10cups thinly sliced, peeled tart apples (about 8apples) 1cup old-fashioned oats 1cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3teaspoons ground cin- namon 1teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed Vanilla ice cream, optional Directions: 1. Place two 12-by-24-inch sheets of heavy-duty foil on your work surface, one on top of the other so it's double-thickness. Place apple slices on top. 2. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nut- meg and cloves. Cut in but- ter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. 3. Fold foil around apple mixture and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 20to 25minutes or until apples are tender. 4. Open foil carefully to al- low steam to escape. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired. From www.tasteofhome. com. DE SS ER T Grilled apple crisp Serves 6 Note: You can make your own lavender powder by whizzing dried lavender buds in a spice grinder. Ingredients: 1butternut squash 6fire-roasted piquillo pep- pers 2ounces white cheddar cheese 2ounces smoked goat cheese 1teaspoon fresh chervil 1teaspoon dry sage 1/4 teaspoon dry lavender powder (can be made by whizzing lavender buds in a spice grinder) Salt, pepper to taste Arugula Directions: 1. Heat oven to 350degrees. Line baking dish with parch- ment paper. 2. Cut the squash horizon- tally, discard the seeds, then place squash in baking dish, cut side down. Bake until tender, 30to 45minutes. 3. Rinse the peppers; pat dry and discard any seeds. 4. Remove squash from oven and let cool. Scrape squash flesh from the shell. Place 8ounces in a bowl (re- serve rest for another use). Add cheeses, chervil, sage, lavender, salt and pepper; mix until combined. 5. Transfer squash mixture to a pastry bag. Pipe into the prepared piquillo pep- pers. Place peppers on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 10minutes. 6. To serve, set six salad plates on your work surface. Place about 3ounces arugu- la on each plate, arranging it off to one side. Place the warm piquillo pepper in the center next to the arugula. If you wish, you can garnish the edge of the plate with chopped herbs. From Kelly Macdonald, executive chef, Napa Val- ley Wine Train. VEGGIES Gypsy pepper with butternut squash and smoked goat cheese By Nancy Lindahl Correspondent Bored with grilling and tomatoes and all the zuc- chini you planted in the backyard? I'm sated with the glories of summer and taking my taste buds to Va- lencia, Spain for paella, the perfect September antidote to a jaded appetite. Original paellas were a locavore's delight. Paella is all about the rice, and rice has been farmed in Valen- cia since the Moors planted it there almost 1,300 years ago, according to David Rosengarten in Saveur's "The Art of Paella." Saffron, the precious stigma of the little purple crocus flower brought to Spain by Arab traders in the tenth cen- tury was the Moors' pre- ferred seasoning for rice. Local game like rabbit and foraged foods like snails as well as beans and vegeta- bles went into paella dur- ing the Moorish occupa- tion of Spain, but not pork or shellfish until the Moors left Spain in 1492. The love of the rice dish lived on and became a Va- lencia tradition. Although there's not much agreement about what should be in this most famous dish of Spain, there was consensus about the ritual of paella, named after the wide, shallow steel pan in which it's cooked: "The dish was prepared in the countryside over an open fire of dried vines and orange-tree branches, usu- ally on Sundays, usually by the men of the family while the women were at church". Paella remained a re- gional food until the tour- ism boom of the 1960s. De- mand for restaurant pa- ella, individual paellas with customized ingredi- ents, involved a different method of cooking from the wide, family-style pan which cooked over an open fire. Cooked indoors, indi- vidual restaurant-paellas lacked the "crisp, flame- licked edges and smoke- tinged meat of the original which was relegated to lo- cal festivals the occasional family gathering. The basic principles of paella have endured and are not to be tampered with according to old-fash- ioned Valencian cooks, in- cluding sofrito, the start- ing place or flavor base of paella: chopped vegeta- bles cooked in oil, typically garlic and tomatoes, on- ions and Spanish red pep- pers. The longer the sofrito cooks, the darker and more intensely flavored the paella will be. "Also indisputable is this: once you've stirred the rice with the cooked sofrito and the stock, you leave it alone, uncovered. When the rice is cooked through, af- ter 20 minutes or so, some cooks blast the heat to cre- ate a flavorful crust, called socarrat, on the bottom of the pan". Rice is another con- stant, and Spanish bomba rice, grown around Valen- cia is the rice to use. Un- like other varieties, Arbo- rio for instance, which gets creamy, bomba rice can ab- sorb nearly three times its volume in liquid while rice grains stay separate and al dente. Resist loading up the paella pan with too many ingredients — the dish is about the rice and things that flavor the rice but don't smother it. The paella pan should be wide and shallow, made of thin heat conductive metal. This insures that the rice cooks in a thin layer — only as thick as un ditet, or the width of a small fin- ger, (about a half-inch), ac- cording to Norberto Jorge in Fine Cooking, issue 33. No lid is necessary as pa- ella cooks uncovered ex- cept for its final resting pe- riod, when you can cover it with foil. If you don't have a paella pan, use a 13-inch or larger stainless steel or aluminum skillet. Avoid cast iron which retains too much heat, and non-stick which produces a bland paella. Saffron, reputed to be the most expensive spice by weight in the world, is a key ingredient in paella, giving it flavor as well as its dis- tinctive deep yellow color. Gathered by hand, for about two weeks in the fall, from tiny purple cro- cus flowers, it takes about 75,000 flowers to make a pound of saffron. Back- breaking work, saffron har- vest begins at dawn to cap- ture the stigmas before they lose color and fragrance. A pinch, (about 20 threads) is all it takes, so splurge on saffron for its color and in- teresting flavor — "alfalfa hay and bittersweet wild- flower-honey." Buy short, deep red threads, not pow- der which can contain ad- ditives. Use liquid to draw out the flavor and color of saffron, steeping it in a lit- tle hot water before you add it to the dish. You can also grow saffron crocus in Chico from bulbs planted in late spring. About 2 dozen bulbs will yield a respect- able crop the first year, and the bulbs multiply. To serve paella, set the pan on the table and let your guests scoop out their own portions, including the caramelized socarrat at the bottom of the pan. Traditionally, guests start at the perimeter of the pa- ella and work their way to the center. Paella is filling and doesn't require much in the way of side dishes, but a salad of arugula, or- ange slices, sliced red onion and kalamata olives with a dressing of olive oil, Span- ish sherry vinegar and juice from the oranges is light and refreshing. For starters, maybe a bowl of green ol- ives, marcona almonds with rosemary, and boquerones (white anchovies in vinegar) would be authentic. Pitch- ers of sangria are festive, or I prefer a light red Span- ish wine with the meal. The following recipe is a com- pilation from the back of the bomba rice bag, Saveur magazine, Elena Wrightson, and a few other sources. Use it as a starting point, and choose your own ingredi- ents. You can cook it on top of your stove, but Septem- ber evenings are so pleas- ant, use your grill. This rec- ipe serves 6-8 and should fit in a 15" paella pan. PaellaMixta (Paella with chorizo, chick- en, mussels and shrimp) Ingredients: 30threads saffron, crushed (a scant ½ tsp.) 1lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces 10-20large shrimp, peeled and deveined Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 4oz. dry-cured Spanish cho- rizo, cut into ¼ inch-thick coins (not to be confused with Mexican chorizo, this is a dried, smoked ready- to-eat sausage. If you need to substitute, use Andouille sausage.) 1teaspoon smoked paprika — Sawmill Creek Farms is excellent — use more if like a really smoky flavor 3cloves garlic, minced 3medium tomatoes, minced 1small onion, minced 4-5cups chicken broth 2cups short-grain rice, pref- erably Valencia or bomba 19-oz. box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed 8oz. fresh or frozen peas 3jarred roasted red peppers, torn into ½"-thick strips 12mussels, cleaned and debearded Instructions: Put saffron and ¼ cup hot water in a small bowl; let sit for 15minutes. Season chicken and shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 16-18-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken, shrimp, and chorizo and cook, turning occasion- ally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a plate, leaving meats in pan. Add paprika, garlic, tomatoes, and onions to pan and cook, stirring o en, until onions so en, and the water from the tomatoes has evaporated. The mixture should be thick enough to hold its shape in a spoon. Add reserved saffron mix- ture and broth, season with salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Sprinkle in rice, distribute evenly with a spoon, and add artichokes, and peppers. Cook, without stirring, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, 10-12minutes. (If your pan is larger than the burner, rotate it every two minutes so different parts are over the heat and the rice cooks evenly.) Reduce heat to low, add reserved shrimp, peas, and nestle in mussels hinge side down; cook, without stirring, until mussels have opened and rice has absorbed the liquid and is al dente, 5-10 minutes more. Break apart a grain of rice and you'll see a pin-size white dot in the center. To get the socar- rat, or caramelized crust of rice at the bottom the pan, increase the heat at the end of cooking, and pay close attention to the sound of the rice —( it crackles), and smells toasty but not burned. Remove pan from heat, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit for 5minutes before serving. Serve from the pan at the table with lemon wedges. SWEET BASIL AND THE BEE Pa el la s ta rt s wi th r ic e an d go es t o se ns at io na l PHOTO BY ELENA WRIGHTSON The paella of Saveur magazine's Elena Wrightson uses chicken, shrimp and Spanish chorizo, and rice, of course. By Erin Alderson No matter where I live, I always start to crave a bit more comfort food at this time of year. The tem- peratures start to cool off, the leaves change and the days get shorter. It's as if a switch turns on in my brain that makes me want to eat hot comfort food — soups, stews or a big bowl of flavorful lentils. The secret ingredient that makes this meal both flavorful and quick is the curry paste. While the majority of time I strive to cook with made-from- scratch or minimally pro- cessed ingredients, week- night cooking doesn't al- ways allow for the time — and sometimes I just don't plan ahead well enough. Most stores carry different varieties of curry paste perfect for throwing together a quick meal. I prefer red curry paste, both in flavor and to match the color of the red len- tils. You can play around with different curry com- binations, but I recom- mend sticking with the red lentils, because they cook faster than other len- til varieties, making this a speedy dish with min- imal hands-on time. Use whatever seasonal greens you have on hand. I of- ten throw in kale or Swiss chard in place of — or with — the spinach. Red lentil and spinach curry Serves 3-4 Ingredients: 11/2 cups whole-fat coco- nut milk 11/2 cups water 1/4 cup red curry paste 3/4 cup red lentils 2cups packed baby spin- ach 4cups cooked brown rice or quinoa Plain yogurt, garnish Directions: 1. In a skillet with high sides, whisk together co- conut milk, water and curry paste. Bring to a boil, re- duce to a simmer, and add red lentils. Let simmer for 22to 25minutes, just until the red lentils are tender but still hold their shape. 2. Remove pot from heat and stir in spinach until wilted. Serve curry over cooked grain, with a dollop of yogurt, if desired. Sacramento blogger Erin Alderson writes Naturally Ella (naturallyella.com), a seasonal, whole foods and vegetarian-centric recipe site for the whole family. FAST & FURIOUS Red lentil and spinach curry ERIN ALDERSON A red lentil and spinach curry makes great vegetarian comfort fare on an autumn evening. Makes about 4 quarts Ingredients: 1/2 cup popcorn kernels, unpopped 1/4 pound bacon, minced 2tablespoons butter 1/2 cup plus 3tablespoons light brown sugar 3tablespoons light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup toasted peanuts Directions: 1. Pop the popcorn; set it aside. 2. Place the bacon in a skillet over low heat; cook it until the bacon is very crispy. Strain off the fat and save it. You should have about a tablespoon. 3. In a 6-quart pot over me- dium heat, melt the butter and bacon fat together (if you do not have a table- spoon of bacon fat, add more butter so you have a total of 3tablespoons fat). When the fat is melted, add the brown sugar and corn syrup. Stirring occasion- ally, bring the mixture to a boil. When the mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring to avoid crystal- lization; continue cooking until the mixture reaches 300degrees on a candy thermometer. 4. Turn off the heat. Add the salt and baking soda; stir until the mixture is lighter in color and has a slightly fluffy texture. Working quickly, so the caramel doesn't have time to set, add the popped pop- corn, crispy bacon and pea- nuts. Stir until the popcorn has a light, even coat, then quickly spread the mixture onto a sheet pan to cool. From Kory Stewart, Americano. SNACK Americano's bacon popcorn is salty, sweet AMERICANO This sweet and savory bacon popcorn is the Americano's salute to baseball season. 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