Peace, love, and squash

Living away from our loved ones in Oregon is hard as we are always missing our family and friends. One of the best things in the whole entire world is having those people come and visit us. This was particularly difficult for us when we lived in Los Angeles for many reasons; mainly, we were quite short on money, living space, and time. Now that we're in San Jose, we are thankful to have our lovely office and Aerobed which has housed many of our favorite people: Adam's parents and brother, Adam's friends from San Francisco, Sarah's French host sister Florence, Sarah's dad Rocky and her grandfather Wesley. This weekend, we are excited host the newly wed Susan & Bill, who are driving down from Oregon. It will be great to hang out at home with them and have some fun in San Francisco. Please also consider this an open invitation to you as well; for anyone reading this - seriously, nothing would make us happier than to have you here!

I also cooked up a big, delicious butternut squash the other day which is another one my favorite fall things.

Sarah & the squash

In case you feel like turning your vegetables into a dessert, here is one of my favorite easy recipes: Toss your squash on a baking sheet with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and maple syrup and roast on high heat for 30 - 45 minutes til very tender.
I am very fortunate to possess real New Hampshire maple syrup that my brother sent last winter when he worked on a farm back East. It was fascinating to learn how they tapped the syrup in the dead of winter from the maple trees. It's always great to have a connection to where your food comes from, as well.

Here are some pictures Wesley shared last year while harvesting syrup on the farm. It's exactly how I always imaged New England looked in the winter.
Aside from being a farmer, peace activist, and lover of all living things, Wesley is also an amazing musician. Here is a photo my dad took of him performing with his band at a bar in Eugene last weekend:

Peace be with you and yours!