Paella and pride

In October, Andrew and I are taking a trip to Spain and England. My uncle is organizing the trip to Spain, and has found a house in Andalusia, where we'll be staying for a week with half a dozen other couples. There's a suggested reading list for the trip, so I've been learning about medieval Spanish history, which can be summed up as, "Sometimes the different religions got along, and sometimes they didn't. But either way, they built lots of beautiful buildings."

All of this Spanish history got me thinking about paella. Paella is not a vegetarian-friendly dish. I've had meat-free versions once or twice, but mostly they taste like a plate of yellow rice and vegetables. I tried my own take this weekend, and the end result is shown below.

I'd rate it about three out of four stars. The sausage, along with lemon and capers and a good base of onion and garlic added a lot of flavor. And I was able to get that toasty rice crust on the bottom (called socarrat, I think), which definitely enhanced in the dish. I think this is a dish best reserved for meat eaters, though, because it just didn't knock my socks off.

Then, fueled by all those carbs, I marched in a parade. My church had a group carrying a banner in the Miami Beach Gay Pride parade. It was loads of fun, because everyone looked so happy to be there. I had it on good authority that the Miami Beach parade is quite tame compared to the New York or San Francisco versions - there was no actual nudity among either the parade-goers or parade-watchers. I only took a few pictures, but hopefully this one conveys some of the color and exuberance.