This week we make a stop in Decatur, IL. The city was founded in 1829 and named after a War of 1812 naval hero named Stephen Decatur. Decatur is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois.

Decatur was the first home in Illinois of Abraham Lincoln, who settled just west of Decatur with his family in 1830. A historical marker in Decatur claims that, at the age of 21, Lincoln gave his first political speech.

Another famous man by the name of Robert R. Montgomery was from Decatur. He was the inventor of the first modern fly-destruction device (fly swatter) in 1900. He issued Patent No. 640,790 for the Fly-Killer, a “cheap device of unusual elasticity and durability” made of wire netting, “preferably oblong,” attached to a handle. Without that device, where would our country be today?

Onto the recipe! When I picked up the cookbook, “Culinary Requests: a Collection Of Recipes by P.E.O. Chapter MR”, I noticed right away that the comb was broke. Normally that means one of two things. 1. It’s been used a lot! 2. Someone didn’t like it and tossed it in a box to give away. Thankfully, it had been used a lot! There were a ton of recipes to choose from and I finally settled on Nutty Apple Muffins.

Couple of things:

1. These don’t cook up tall at all. Maybe if it had more flour. If you don’t care about them cooking up tall, there’s nothing to worry about.
2. It called for nutmeg. I thought about putting in cinnamon next time. Could be just as great.

That’s really it. They taste fabulous and would make a great quick breakfast.