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!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Fall is absolutely my favorite season of the year. I love everything about it - the chilly air, leaves everywhere, pumpkin lattes, and even school starting again. I am such a nerd and always loved the first day of school/college and all the excitement that new things bring in fall. Even though mother nature seems to view fall as an ending, I've always felt it was more of a beginning. In fact, I decided many years ago that I wanted to be married in September, my favorite month. Pretty much everything about fall makes me happy.

Halloween and Thanksgiving have all the wonderful elements of a great holiday (time off, gatherings with friends & family, delicious treats, and fun) without the stresses that Christmas sometimes brings. I still love Christmas, but have found as I've gotten older that it's not always such a happy time for everyone. We have an expectation that Christmas should be like a movie, with perfect families and perfect presents and perfect lives. Of course that's never true. In contrast, Thanksgiving and Halloween seem to put less strain and pressure on folks and still adds a great amount of joy. What could be better than dressing up in silly costumes and asking your neighbors for candy? Or eating a big turkey and pumpkin pie, and then playing games and laying around the house in a food coma? Not to mention the requisite 5:00 a.m. Black Friday festivities, which I almost always make an effort to attend! Well, it is only October yet so I'm getting ahead of myself.

For now, I've opened up my Halloween box to decorate, which sadly is only 1/10th the size of my Christmas box. To honor this occasion, here are some random, cheesy photos and a fall-themed recipe below for Red-Hot Crockpot Applesauce.

I found out last year that real jack o'lanterns don't seem to last long in warm San Jose. So we bought an electric one instead.

My not-so-spooky candleholders

A cheesy hello from yours truly

Adam cutting up a cherry cheesecake he made himself to surprise me one night.

Red-Hot Crockpot Applesauce
(Adapted from Hungry Girl's Sweet 'n Red Hot Apple Mash)

Ingredients:
8-10 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
3 tbsp. Red Hots cinnamon-flavored candies
1 tbsp. light whipped butter
1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:
Place all ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low 7-8 hrs or high for 4-5 hrs.

Stir well and serve hot, cold, or anywhere in between with Cool Whip or ice cream for added goodness.

MAKES 10 SERVINGS