Out with the Red and In with the Green!

We changed over from Valentine's Day to St. Patrick's Day this morning.  It took a couple of hours, but we are all set for the next holiday!

St. Patrick's Day is special around here since one of the innkeepers is of Irish decent.  We will have Celtic music on our CD player at breakfast time and of course, the tableware will have a decidedly green look.

Though we have changed over to St. Patrick's Day.  We are still collecting for the Caring Place, our charity of the month for the month of February.  We will be collecting for them until next Monday, February 29.  Please make your checks out to:  The Caring Place and mail them to the Miller Tree Inn, P. O. Box 1565, Forks, WA 98331.  We will tally the amount, forward the checks and match funds up to $100.  Anyone who donates to this worthy cause, through us, will have their name entered in our quarterly drawing.

Next month our charity will be the Quillayute Valley Scholarship Auction.  We will have more details on that next week.

It Feels Like Spring

We have been enjoying the spring like weather here the last couple of days.  It helps to make up for the rain coming down sideways last week!  We took advantage of the nice day and planted 24 colorful primroses around the house and happened to catch some snow drops and crocus in bloom also.  We hear that the rain is coming back the end of the week, but we don't mind.  We will be warm and cozy inside.

Don't forget to send the Miller Tree Inn a valentine and/or donation to the Caring Place so that you will be entered in our quarterly drawing.

February and Valentines

February marks our second month of celebrating our building's 100th birthday, here at the Miller Tree Inn.  Our featured "Charity of the Month" is the Caring Place.  The Caring Place is a faith based organization that provides, food, clothing, counseling, etc, to families.  Most of their clients are women and children.  They specifically try to help pregnant women in crisis due to finances, abuse or social and/emotional circumstances.  This month we are accepting donations from guests and friends for this very worthwhile cause.  As with last month, the Miller Tree Inn will match any donations received up to $100.  Last month we were able to give the Forks Food Bank more than $300 in donations!

If you would like to donate to this charity, please make your check out to the Caring Place and mail it to us at the Miller Tree Inn, P. O. Box 1565, Forks, WA 98331.  For every donation made, we will enter your name in our quarterly drawing.  The drawing will be held on April 1, 2016 and the prize is your choice of $100 gift certificate to the Miller Tree Inn or Breakfast for 4 at the Miller Tree Inn.

There are 2 other ways to get your name in this drawing during the month of February.

1.  Send the Miller Tree Inn a Valentine with your full name and either your email address or phone number (so we can let you know if you win.)  One Valentine per household, please.

2.  Stay with us a night in February and we will have you fill out a ticket for the drawing.

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and we still have rooms available for that weekend.  We would love to see you!

Red Velvet Pancakes

We made these for Forever Twilight in Forks weekend and also for Valentine's Day 2015, so we thought we had better get the recipe up for Valentine's Day 2016, so all can enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons red liquid food coloring

Soft together the first 6 ingredients into a large bowl.  Whisk together the buttermilk and next 3 ingredients in another bowl.  Gradually stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture, just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot buttered griddle or large non-stick skillet.  Cook 3-4 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look dry and cooked.  Turn and cook 3-4 minutes or until done.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet, and keep warm in a 200 degree oven up to 30 minutes.  Serve with Sweet Cream Cheese Butter.  No syrup necessary!  Though I do garnish with both white and dark chocolate syrup and powdered sugar.

Sweet Cream-Cheese Butter - mix the following ingredients together
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To serve put one pancake on the plate and a generous dollop of the Sweet Cream Cheese Butter, then top with another pancake and garnish.  I use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut a heart in the top pancake, just for visual interest.