Have a Rice Day! The weather was perfect, a sunny Sunday afternoon for our summer event at the lovely home of Bill and Elaine Hornell. After starting with a selection of sushi and sparkling wines from our cellar, Chef Ron Suzuki gave a presentation about rice and the history of sushi, accompanied by several examples of the different styles of sushi. Then we moved out to the patio for a rice viewing and tasting. During the evening we sampled over twenty different types of rice including several brown and white rice varieties, red rice, black rice, long grain, short grain, parboiled, sweet, jasmine, basmati and also sprouted rice.

After the tasting, we enjoyed a true Spanish paella made with Valencia rice, Spanish saffron, chorizo, chicken, Serrano ham, pork, prawns, clams and mussels, decorated with a fine Dungeness crab, courtesy of President Jim Robertson. White and red wines during the evening included a wide selection from our cellar and a Spanish Gran Reserva Tempranillo, Anciano, from Bodegas Navalon. We finished our evening with a dessert of a glutinous rice flour tangyuan dumplings with a lovely ginger and brown sugar sauce.

Our thanks go to our hosts Bill and Elaine Hornell, to Chef Ron Suzuki, photographer Milena Robertson and paella chef Jim Robertson. Have a Rice Day!