A Beautiful Halloween Afternoon

I love today.

Yippee!

Minus Mr. Urban's neck. He turned his neck to see something yesterday and he hasn't been the same since. Poor Mr. Urban, as we all have experienced the stiff neck, and we all know how awful it can be.

But other than that, I love today and this whole weekend as a matter of fact.

For one thing soon after waking up I had a chance to spend an eventful morning with a little Flamenco dancer and her friends: a bee, a park ranger, a spider, Nemo, Tinkerbell, a piggy, a fire marshal, Spider-Man and an SF Giants' baseball player who took time out of his busy season to join our festivities.

And after, the Flamenco, Mr. Urban and I all got to enjoy a gorgeous Halloween stroll around Los Altos, with the sun shining, and the trees a beautiful shade of red.

And yesterday, we had a Fall afternoon play date with a couple of our friends. We enjoyed hours of chit chat, pineapple juice, and watching the kids playing really well together - amazingly in this mix was a three month old which was actually holding her own very well.

Our friends brought over a chocolate cake to die for and everyone even seemed to like my autumn harvest hors d'oeuvre, which was inspired by a breakfast dish I saw in this month's Martha Stewart Living magazine.

And because these autumn days will soon give way to colder ones, I hope you too can enjoy this very easy autumn harvest dish with some people who make you feel warm and cozy, while there are still red leaves on the trees.

By the way, if you have a Trader Joe's close by, consider the dish already half made for you... you'll see what I mean.

The Urbans' autumn harvest hors d'oeuvre
Serves 6 - 8 people

1 1/3 cups Israeli couscous (you can buy this at Trader Joe's)
5 Steamed beets cubed (you can also buy this ready to eat at Trader Joe's)
1 Butternut squash cubed (yes, this one too at TJ's)
1/2 cup roasted and salted Marcona Almonds (which you can find at TJ's)
1/2 cup assortment of Giant Raisins (also at TJ's)
1 bunch fresh Basil julienned into thin strips
3 or 4 Green onions cut into small pieces
Olive Oil
Fresh Lemon
A pinch of Cinnamon
Salt and Pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Roast the butternut squash with a few sprays of olive oil, a pinch of salt, the brown sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon in 350 degree over for about a half hour. And then let them cool for a few minutes.

In a saucepan, saute the couscous with 1 tablespoon olive oil and some salt and pepper for a few minutes until slightly golden, then add 2/3 of a cup water, bring to a boil and then reduce for 12 minutes (with the lid off so it doesn't get too soft). Let the couscous cool off, and then fluff it with a fork.

Place the cubed beets on a paper towel to absorb any extra juice.

After the couscous and the squash are slightly cooled off, place them along with the almonds, raisins, beets, basil and green onion in a large bowl. Add a splash of fresh lemon juice and olive oil to bind everything together (don't over do this part as its not a salad). Add a little more salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on a pretty platter at room temperature.

Enjoy!

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