Cabin Blendings

As I mentioned in my last post, we celebrated Thanksgiving Day early this year because we were going up to the mountains again to enjoy our favorite stomping ground.(No scorpion stings this time for me!!)
I didn't want to prepare a big Thanksgiving dinner while we were trying to enjoy our vacation so we had ours the weekend before at home.
 I made a very simple raw menu in addition to the cooked foods that the rest of the family likes to have alongside my raw dishes. This year I made a raw cranberry relish, see last post, and also some raw doughnut holes and a raw brussel sprout salad. The children loved these doughnut holes so much. I stayed away from them, as I try to limit my nut consumption when eating other overt fats and the brussel sprout salad has avocado and a few pecans. I really prefer that salad over the sweets.

Raw Doughnut Holes

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

2 cups raw rolled oats (use certified gluten-free for a GF option)

1/2 cup pitted dates (packed)

1/3 cup almond butter (I like raw)

2 tbsp homemade nut milk (or more if needed to bring the dough together)

1 inch piece of vanilla bean

Cinnamon to taste

Pumpkin Pie spice to taste

In a food processor, process the oats into a flour. Next add the almond butter, dates, and spices. Process until dough becomes sticky. If dough does not begin to clump together, start adding the nut milk one tablespoon at a time until dough is sticky enough to roll into balls. With damp hands, begin to roll dough into small balls. Place balls on a plate and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Before serving, sprinkle balls with more cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Enjoy!!

Raw Brussel Sprout Salad

by Elizabeth @ rawlivingandlearning.blogspot.com

1 pound organic Brussels sprouts, trimmed, cut into fourths
1 small Haas avocado, mashed
2 Tablespoons of date paste
Zest of 1 lemon
1  Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (not considered raw)
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup dried organic cranberries
2 Tablespoons soaked, raw pecans, rough chop
INSTRUCTIONS
 Whisk the mashed avocado, date paste, lemon zest, lemon juice and mustard together in a small mixing bowl.
Toss the dressing with the Brussels sprout leaves and season to taste with pepper.
 Sprinkle in the cranberries and the chopped pecans and gently toss.
 Serve chilled.

 Several years ago we bought some acreage up in the southwest corner of North Carolina. We have yet to build our cabin; each year we were ready to go forward I was blessed with the news of another pregnancy. Now that our 5th child is 5 years old planning the cabin is looking a little bit closer. So in the meantime we have been renting from friends and strangers allowing us to enjoy our time together in the beautiful and peaceful mountains, dreaming of the day that we will have our own cabin.
We packed up the Flex. The fifth suitcase and food bin were on the floor of the second row of seats!! Laptop and big bag of ripe bananas were at my feet on the passenger side.

 We drove through the night (12 hours total) only to arrive to this glorious sight.

A soft, gentle snowfall. The children were so excited. You'd think they would have been exhausted from the drive, but oh no, they were begging to get outside and play. So after hubby took a quick cat nap, they put on their warm gear and enjoyed their time in the snow.

It then began to snow even harder. Boy, oh boy, oh boy, were these Florida natives having a ball!! No pun intended.

The day seemed to last forever and we all were very tired yet so excited to be up in the mountains again. We went to bed that night ready to sleep hard and look what we were blessed to wake up to...

A beautiful sunrise and glistening snow.

I got busy making the morning smoothie. We always pack the Blendtec when we travel. The children can't imagine a day beginning without their green smoothie. I even packed some of my sunflower greens so we could add those to the greens we purchased at the local store.

Today was banana, frozen raspberry, avocado, collard greens, and sunflower greens. I used the remaining smoothie to blend together my soup. I sat outside in the sunshine and admired the beautiful view of the mountains. Yes it was only in the high 30's but the sun was so warm that I could sit out there with no coat, just in my warm PJ's. It was fantastic!!

I put a cushion on the rocker and enjoyed my soup.

Then when it got too cold to stay outside I enjoyed the cozy, warm fire as hubby and I planned our next few days of hiking and antiquing as we watched the children play. Now that is what I call a wonderful vacation!

We decided to drive into Franklin to explore the many antique shops.

 We also wanted to hike, so the next day we planned for a morning of hiking around Fire's Creek and then back to Franklin to look at more shops. Fire's Creek was amazing. We plan on going back several times so we can hike all of the trails eventually. They even have primitive camping sites right along the river. That is something we would love to do as well. No snow was to be seen as the last 3 days had been filled with sunshine and hit 50 degrees most days.

 After we closed down the antique mall we found a cute little diner and had some dinner before heading back to the cabin.

Happy little one after a very long day.

Those are Steri-strips on his chin. A few days before we left Florida for the mountains, he slipped on the wood floor and cut open his chin. Never a dull moment.

As we drove back from Franklin to the cabin we enjoyed this beautiful sunset. I took it while we were driving so the quality isn't that great but I just had to try and capture it.

All of us were very sad at the thought of our vacation ending but it was time to head back down south. We were caught in traffic and the drive just seemed to drag on and on. 

Our first day back  was filled with unpacking and load after load of laundry. We also were busy getting out our Advent decorations and I was busy writing school lesson plans.
But look at the sunset we enjoyed from our upper deck. From icy mountains to palm trees in a matter of 12 hours. Life is good and we have many, many things to be truly thankful for. We are excited that Advent has begun and we look forward to the coming of Christ.

+JMJ+Today I am grateful for an eventful and peaceful fall getaway and for celebrating the Advent season with my family.