February Flowers in Americus Garden

Another beautiful day at the Americus Garden Inn. Thought it would be the perfect time to give you a tour of the flowers in the garden. The Japanese magnolia located next to the koi pond has just started to bloom.The daylilies are beginning to break ground.
Along the driveway, the daffodils have appeared.

A beautiful specimen in the stone arch garden.

One of the camellias that is full of buds.

The snowball bush on the path towards the gazebo has some new flowers.

The ruby lorapetalum is full of blooms.

Buds can be found on the many tea olive bushes.

This is the first time we've seen this in the garden.

A closer look at oleander seeds.

Thanks for taking a stroll with me through the garden. Visit us again soon.

Americus Garden Inn December-Winter-almost Spring Project

Look what I found in the garden today - the first daffodil of the year. That means that the December/Winter project my become the spring project...Here are the latest photos of the renovation project taken in the last couple of days. Remember to click the photos for a better view. The window trim on the Magnolia Suite is being completed.
The gable on the south side of the house has all of the siding removed. Can you tell how tall our house really is?

Siding on the gable has been replaced and the trim is being installed.

Kitchen window has been removed and this is the view from the inside.

This is the view from the outside.

The kitchen window is being installed.

The two men were trying to synchronize their hammering...

Once the window was set, the work started on the siding.

This is where we are as of this afternoon.

They finished the trim work on the gable, and moved the ladders to the other side of the house.

As I was taking the last two photos, I found more evidence of spring. Can you believe it was 75 degrees today?

Thank you for allowing me to share the latest photos of the Americus Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast. We hope to see you soon. Have a great day.

Vegan Wacky Cake Recipe

It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in Americus. Hope you are also having a break from the crazy weather we have all experienced this winter. I wanted to post this recipe before Valentine's Day, but between the "winter project" and guests, I just couldn't find the time.

Recently, we have hosted many guests with special dietary considerations. I try my best to please everyone. In looking for a chocolate recipe for vegetarians that was also dairy free, I found variations of what is known as "wacky cake". From what I read, it is a recipe from the depression era when milk, eggs and butter were not readily available.As you can see, it looks quite appetizing! So, join me in the kitchen of the Americus Garden Inn as I prepare this recipe.

It starts with items you already have in your pantry. I always sift the flour, but, you don't have to.

Add the cocoa. Again, I always sift cocoa to avoid lumps.

Add the sugar.

Add the baking soda.

Add the salt. That's it for the dry ingredients.

I used the whisk with the strainer.

And finished in the bowl.

Now comes the fun part. They say you can do this in the pan, but, I did it in the mixing bowl. Make 3 indentations in the dry ingredients. Add vinegar to one indentation.

Add the oil to the second indentation.

Add the vanilla to the third indentation.

You can see the vinegar has started to react with the baking soda.

Pour the water over the top.

Stir until just combined.

Immediately pour into an 8" square pan (sprayed with PAM) or 12 muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes (20 minutes for cupcakes)

Sprinkle the top with confectioner's sugar. Some variations suggested placing some chocolate chips on the hot cake and spreading the melted chocolate over the top.

I made sure there was enough powdered sugar to cover the top.

Slice the cooled cake and serve.

Looks good, doesn't it? You can also make this gluten free by using gluten free all purpose baking mix.

So, when you are looking for a chocolate recipe that is dairy and egg free, this is the recipe. Let me know what you think.

VEGAN WACKY CAKE RECIPE

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder (some recipes called for 3 TBS)

1 cup sugar (some recipes called for 3/4 cup)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 TBS vinegar

5 TBS oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup water (some recipes used coffee instead)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray 8" square pan with PAM.
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
4. Make 3 indentations in the dry ingredients.
5. Pour vinegar, oil and vanilla into the 3 indentations.
6. Pour water over the top and mix quickly just until combined.
7. Immediately pour batter into the pan and place in the oven.
8. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until it tests done.
9. Sprinkle with lots of powdered sugar. Allow cake to cool before slicing.
10. Enjoy.
    
    This cake is extremely moist and is very good, possibly better, the day after baking. You can use flavorings other than cocoa for a distinctly different cake.

Thank you for visiting the Americus Garden Inn blog. Next post will highlight the latest photos of the December/Winter project, which is close to completion.

Americus Garden Inn December project now the "Winter Project"

Greetings from the Americus Garden Inn. The December project is now officially the "winter project". We are hoping to finish soon. When we have guests staying with us, we do not allow the workers to come as we do not want our guests to be disturbed or inconvenienced in any way. Between guests and weather, this is taking much longer than expected. Since I haven't posted in awhile, allow me to share what has been accomplished. Remember, if you click the photos you can see a larger view.

Here you can see front upper corner is wrapped and ready for siding. On the lower level, the old siding has been removed.

A closer view of the exterior of the living room, or ladies' parlor before insulation. Kim is working on the window trim.
The upper balcony has had old siding removed. Insulation and Tyvek are done.
The west side of the Burgundy Suite is what you see in this photo.
This is the south side of the Burgundy Suite.

Insulation went up quickly and it was wrapped in Tyvek.

The work begins on the exterior of the Veranda and Magnolia Suites.

The siding around the Veranda Suite was removed and the space between the upper and lower floors was prepped for the fiberglass insulation to be blown into the cavity.

The insulation was installed, Tyvek wrapped and siding put up.

As of yesterday, this is where we are on this project. We had to special order bead board to match the original and it has not yet arrived. I can almost see the finish line...

Thank you for visiting the Americus Garden Inn blog. We hope you'll visit again soon.