2011 Bucket List: paeLLa party!

Making Paella made it to the Number Three slot on my 2011 bucket list.  Why Paella?  A couple years ago, Crosby, Brett and I ate some entirely mediocre paella in the Mission.  I remember looking at the dish, with its sad rice and little rubbery prawns, and thinking, "I could totally make this.  Better."  Then, somewhere along the line, someone gave me saffron and since I only know one thing to make with saffron, every time I saw that wee bottle I would think Oh Right. Paella.

Who could participate in the culinary adventure with me?  Wander into the world of yellow rice and weird spice Spanish sausages coupling with prawns?  Megan and Jonee of course.  The Kruez's (Kruezes, Kruezsss?) are perfect co-conspirators.  And so, a couple weeks ago, we gathered in my kitchen, let the wine flow, and had a paeLLa party!

And it was pretty dang good. 

Oddly enough, I don't think I really like saffron, but cooking something completely new was fun and challenging and I was really really glad to have Megan's expertise to fall back on.  She fielded comments like "oh, you take the casing OFF the sausage?!?!?" and "mussels have beards???" with complete ease.  Kudos to Jonee for debearding those pesky mussels. 

Since it was my birthday (kinda) Megan and Jonee also brought me the most amazing homemade Carrot Cake with Maple frosting:  

I might have eaten it for breakfast the next three days.

Just South. (fill in while the crazy)

Yesterday, a plastic container plant shot fire balls into the air next to one of my project sites, separated only by a barbed wire fence.  No one was hurt, except maybe a fairy shrimp or two.  

Day before, an East Bay Parks staffer was shot at by pot farmers just south of another of my project sites (again, separated by a barbed wire fence).  He had to be rescued by an armored car.  Rugged East Bay hills, ideal for pot farmers farming, my caution is increased.

Glad I'm in the office this week.  Even if our servers did crash.  Sigh.

Something good?  This: 

Summer fun updates next!

Moment.

George and Veronica's Wedding.  Danville, California.

Parasitic Daughter

 You know you have seen too many crime shows when a pile of orange stuff in a field feels like the beginning of a Bones episode.  Dodder (Cuscuta salina) is a native parasitic plant that occurs in wetlands-- it's bright orange, hugs close to it's host and is usually spread out.  However, last week, Ingrid and I saw this... pile of the stuff in a mitigation wetland we were checking out.  The denseness made the parasite seem even more alien.