My cousin, Jackie, gave me a call one night and asked me, “Do you want to go camping for my birthday?” To give you some backstory, Jackie is ten years younger than me, but she’s like the sister I never had. Even though we live thousands of miles apart, we always make time to chat or FaceTime one another. When she told me, she wanted to go camping, my initial reaction was “of course!” But we’re two city girls who barely know how to set up a tent ha-ha. Of course, she didn’t mean camping-camping, but rather Getaway. It’s a short drive outside the Austin city limits where I live with my husband and our two pups. I’ve been wanting to book a Getaway for quite some time but never had the chance to. We wasted no time in booking our Getaway and the planning began!
One of the things we both have in common is that we are huge foodies. Jackie lives in Brooklyn and I’m in Austin, so there’s no shortage of incredible food in both cities. But when we get together, we always have to cook at least one meal together. There’s a certain connection to be made over a home cooked meal and an ice-cold Ranch Water (look it up 😊). So, the majority of our planning was mainly focused on the menu. We planned on some steak kabobs for dinner and some Challah French toast for breakfast. We were also excited because there’s a fire pit outside the cabin and you know what that means: s’mores for dessert!
Other than the opportunity to cook good food together, the allure of Getaway was the ability to get away from it all. We have both worked from home during this pandemic, and the opportunity to shut off email, and put phones away was too good to be true. But it absolutely is. There’s even a box to place your phone! And when we mention quiet, we really mean it. We heard nothing. It’s so still, it’s unreal. And when night falls, I’ve never seen so many stars in the sky. Jackie and I were able to sit outside by the fire with a cold drink in hand and just enjoy each other’s company. No browsing social media or “playing” with your phone. Just two people surrounded by nature, enveloped in the light of a campfire. I get chills just thinking about it. I felt it really recharged my batteries and it was so nice to get away and enjoy the outdoors. There’s also a sense of comfort because Getaway provides everything you need inside the house. I’ve never started a campfire before in my life. But Getaway makes that easy for you.
The night we arrived we made easy, yet delicious steak Kabobs on the grill.
Steak and Pineapple Kabobs
Ingredients:
- 1lb skirt steak or flank steak
- 1 ½ cups fresh pineapple
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 small Red onion
- Mushrooms
- Marinade:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup coconut aminos
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 Tsp pepper
- 1 Tsp salt
Directions:
- In a medium bowl whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade. Next , add the cubed steak to marinade and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate for at least an hour or more.
- Once the meat has marinated, thread it onto the skewers.
- Cook directly over the grill or you can even use aluminum foil as a base
I wanted to make something really special for Jackie’s Birthday and the best way I know how is to make a delicious breakfast. I decided to make her Challah French Toast with some eggs and berries.
Challah French Toast
Ingredients:
- 4 thick cut slices of Challah bread
- 1 Tbsp Coconut oil
- 1 cup Almond Milk
- 2 Eggs
- ½ Tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ Tsp Ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
Directions:
- In a medium size bowl whisk together all the ingredients except the coconut oil and challah bread. Whisk until fully combined (no streaks of egg remaining.)
- Melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Next soak the challah bread one by one for about 1 min or until completely soaked.
- Brown both sides of the bread to a nice golden color.
- Serve with your favorite syrup and enjoy!
Ready to escape with your favorite foodie? Book your Getaway today.