Anarchist Rice

I made a trip to the supermarket and my housemate asked me to pick up their largest sack of medium- or short-grain brown rice. The closest I came was whole grain brown rice, in a small-to-medium sized bag. I could see that the growers prefer to call a bag extra long grain when they can, and there was no bag marked short grain. It's like extra virgin olive oil: usually just the oil with some bullshit mixed in.

I don't make as much use of rice as I should, but I always have a supply on hand. My ambition just now is to make a full-on Spanish paella in a large skillet I have. I've had real, authentic paella suppers only a few times, and one was cooked by Federico Arcos, who was a 17-year old anarchist of Barcelona when the Civil War broke out in July 1936. Federico has a huge collection of anarchist materials, including Emma Goldman's suitcase, which I held in my hand that day, by the handle as Emma would have in her endless travels. That was such fun!

The paella he made was either vegetarian or vegan (in advanced years he gave up meats), and it was quite delicious. Thin, cross-cut lemon slices sparkled over the top like stars.