Trump still refuses to concede an election he claims was rigged. John Bolton has the best quote of the whole thing so far.

“The arguments that Trump and his campaign are making on the conspiracy to deny him reelection is this conspiracy is so vast and so successful that apparently there’s no evidence of it.”

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton

On the COVID front cases across the country are surging. Oregon recorded just under 1,100 on Saturday November 15th. That follows two days of over 1,000 cases each day for Thursday and Friday. Health officials have been warning us of a fall surge for months now. It appears (again) that the scientists were right (go figure).

Things are not going to get any better and with Thanksgiving just around the corner how many households will yield to common sense and limit gatherings to immediate household? Sadly my belief is very little will.

Birthday week

In other news Paul and I had our birthday this week. Mia had to work so Codi and I headed out to the Step Creek Trail for some time in the woods.

Normally when we head to Reehers Camp there are maybe 1 or 2 other cars in the parking lot. This time there was at least 5.

There was some rain earlier in the week and things were damp but not overly muddy. The leaves were a tad slick but that was about it.

I only saw seven other people and two dogs during the majority of the hike. The popular task today appeared to be mushroom hunting. Then about 10 minutes before getting back to the car I ran into a family with three young girls too.

I had debated about doing something new. However there was snow falling above 3,000′ and the lower lying hikes I was interested in doing were all in the Clackamas River area which means they are closed off due to the wildfires back in September. Alas it meant staying close to home and doing something familiar.

Recipe

This week I turn to a very simple recipe and for a change I am going with a savory, non-dessert item.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash. Mia and I roast a lot of vegetables (onions, sweet potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc) . It’s simple and makes them taste so good too. Generally we just use olive oil, salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Split your gourd in half and scoop out the seeds and guts.

rub insides with olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a baking dish face down with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes and check for tenderness. Then remove from oven and use a fork to scrape the squash.

You can serve this just like pasta. Add red sauce, parmesan, pesto, whatever tickles your fancy. I like it with pesto and parmesan myself.

There, isn’t that wicked simple?

Thanks for reading,

-Pete