Peanut Festival Weekend in Americus - photos by Caitlyn

Our dear friends, Bob and Ruth, brought their granddaughter, Caitlyn, to the Americus Garden Inn this weekend for them to enjoy the Plains Peanut Festival. They were here about a year and a half ago and we were excited to see them again. I tried a new recipe for their first breakfast, what I called an oatmeal cookie muffin. (I will post the recipe in the very near future.) I watched Caitlyn take the first photo of many and before they left this morning I asked if I could share her photos on my blog. All of these photos were taken by Caitlyn. This is a great photo of the main course I prepared Friday morning.

After watching the video "Briars in the Cotton Patch" by Faith Fuller, they decided to visit Koinonia, right here in Americus. They had an enjoyable visit including lunch.

Saturday, they attended the Plains Peanut Festival and met Mr. Peanut.

Mr. Peanut sure is tall!

Since there were no photos of Caitlyn at the Peanut Festival, here is an interesting self-portrait.

Did I mention that Caitlyn is a very talented artist?
A hibiscus in the garden.
Some black-eyed susans

An interesting view of the northwest corner of the Americus Garden Inn.
Some very colorful lantana

The Confederate rose is enormous but no flowers yet.

Several photos of the koi pond

A great photo of the sky

Another one

The tulip poplar has just turned yellow, seemingly overnight.

A fallen leaf

I was just wondering when autumn was coming to Americus. It looks like it started just in time for Caitlyn to catch it in her photos.

Thank you, Caitlyn, for allowing me to share your photos. Thank you Bob and Ruth for bringing Caitlyn to Americus.

I forgot to mention that Caitlyn is only 13 years old. She already has an incredible eye for detail, I am sure you agree.

Thanks for your visit to the Americus Garden Inn.

A Small Batch of Brownie Muffins at the Americus Garden Inn

Yesterday morning at the Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast we started the day with brownie muffins with walnuts. There's nothing like a little chocolate to start your day. This is another great recipe when you only need a small batch of muffins as it only makes 6 small muffins. I promised to share the recipe and to show all of the steps. "Billy", this one's for you! The full recipe is at the bottom of this post. Does the muffin look yummy, or what?Here are the step by step directions for the brownie muffins, exactly as I made them.

Place butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. I use a 32 ounce glass measuring cup.

Microwave on high for about 40 seconds. As you can see, the butter is melted, but, the chips still look like chips.

Stir until chips are totally melted into the butter.
While the chocolate-butter mixture is cooling, chop the nuts coarsely. Nuts are optional.

In a small mixing bowl, measure sugar and egg.

Blend thoroughly with a whisk.

Add egg mixture to the room temperature melted chocolate along with vanilla.

Stir until blended.

Add flour to chocolate mixture.

Stir until thoroughly blended.

Add nuts. You could use coconut, more chocolate chips, raisins, heath bar pieces, peanut butter chips...

Gently mix until blended.

Spoon into paper lined muffin cups. Of course, you could just spray the pan with Pam instead.

Bake until the tops begin to crack.

A closer look at the cracking.

You have to let them cool before you eat them or they are truly a gooey mess. Believe me, it is worth the wait!

BROWNIE MUFFINS
Yield: 6 muffins

¼ cup butter
¼ cup chocolate chips
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp vanilla
¼ cup flour
¼ cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 6 muffin cups with liners or spray with PAM.
In a microwavable bowl, place chocolate chips and butter. Microwave on high for 40 seconds. Stir for at least 30 seconds. If not completely melted, microwave for 10 second intervals until melted. Allow to cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, whisk egg with sugar. Stir in vanilla and melted chocolate mixture stirring until combined.
Gradually add flour, stirring until blended. Fold in nuts, if desired.
Divide batter equally between muffin cups.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until tops begin to crack.

Cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

ENJOY!

Thank you for your visit to the Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast. Wish you were here enjoying these muffins and some conversation in person. Hope you will visit again soon.

Breakfast on a Beautiful Wednesday in Americus

It is my philosophy on life that you have to allow yourself brief moments everyday to feel connected to the world of nature, "to smell the roses" literally. In this hurried world, it is so easy to get caught up in the rush that you miss the beauty around you. Kim's knee high echinacea is distinctive due to its short stature and pink centers.
Often confused with the much smaller butterfly bush, the amazingly fragrant vitex tree is a butterfly and bee magnet.

On to today's breakfast menu

How about some date nut muffins? Today's variety were vegan, made entirely with whole wheat flour, containing no eggs, butter or milk products. Definitely not ordinary, but decidedly delicious. Want the recipe? I'll be posting it on the recipe page of our website in the next couple of days. Go to www.americusgardeninn.com and click on the "recipes" tab on the left.

The Farmers' Market is now open in Americus Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. I found some beautiful local cantaloupes, watermelons and peaches. Today, we had fresh cantaloupe topped with blueberries from our garden. The blueberries are just about finished in our yard, but, everyone else's are on the verge of ripening. So, hopefully, we'll be able to get some more soon.

The main course was an egg and cheese pie with mesquite smoked turkey accompanied by oatmeal raspberry pancakes topped with raspberry maple syrup. This recipe for oatmeal pancakes does not contain any oil or butter making them considerably lower in fat than many other varieties. By using a smoked turkey instead of a pork product in the entree, this was a very healthy and satisfying meal - low in fat, high in whole grains and fiber and plenty of protein.

Thanks for visiting. Hope you'll visit again, soon.

A Great Morning in Americus

As you approach the Americus Garden Inn, the daffodils greet you in all their glory.
Today we had nutty pancakes using toasted pecans we harvested from one of our trees along with bite-size frittatas. This year has been the coldest winter in the 7 years we have been in Americus. But, as the temperatures have returned to normal, the signs of spring are evident.

The ruby lorapetalum is blooming profusely.

Yet, it is still cold enough for the camellias.