Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Thanksgiving in Pagosa Springs!!

* Remember to click on the picture collage to see it larger*

For Thanksgiving we decided to meet Shanam's family in the middle and drive to Pagosa Springs, CO. They had been wanting to see it ever since we fell in love with it over the summer, so it was the perfect opportunity. We rented a little cabin in the woods and thoroughly enjoyed our week-long escape. We had our traditional lobster feast for our Thanksgiving dinner and had plenty of time to not only relax but enjoy the great outdoors (of course)!

Annabelle enjoyed the many stories read to her and the countless hours of play time with her family.

I enjoyed trying a new recipe for the pumpkin pie. I combined two different recipes, changing the milk and sugar to coconut milk and agave nectar. Amazingly, it was a huge hit and the whole family loved it! I like it even better than the original recipe! Success!! Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Pie w/ Whole Wheat & Oat Pie Crust
Serves: 8
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar
1/4 Cup Real Maple Syrup or Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg or Allspice
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Large Eggs
15-ounce Fresh or Canned Pumpkin Puree
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Regular Coconut Milk
Preheat your oven to 425ºF.
Combine the sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or allspice, cloves and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in the sugar mixture, pumpkin, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the coconut milk.
Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350ºF and continue to bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. It may be a bit wobbly still, but it will firm-up as it cools.
Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack for 2 hours (Be patient! This is important). Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.


Whole Wheat and Oat Pie Crust
Yields one 9 ½" crust
1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup oat flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
4 tablespoons cold water
Directions:
In a medium bowl stir together flours and salt.
Cut butter into flour until butter is pea-sized.
Form a well in the middle of flour. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, using fork to stir.
Form dough into a ball. Place ball of dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Starting from center of dough, roll out to edge until dough is 13" in diameter. Remove top piece of paper and carefully peel crust off of bottom paper.
Place crust in 9 ½ " pie pan. Trim excess crust off.
For pre-baked pastry shell, prick bottom and sides of pastry liberally before baking at 425ºF for 10-12 minutes or until golden.


Shanam, his dad, and the pups enjoyed romping around in the snow, snowshoeing and skiing.

We went on several hikes and got to try out Annabelle's new carrier. She absolutely loved it and it was wonderful to be out in the fresh, cool air.

This was such a gorgeous hike and we will definitely be going back next year when the aspen trees are in their full splendor!