Nona:

Did you get your Taylor County Stimulus Payment? Downtown sure was packed with people putting that money back into the local economy!

Checked In At Downtown Dear Checked In: It sure was nice for the county to give a little back, especially this year, when we all could use a little extra help!

It’s been a big year for downtown Lublin, that’s for sure, with the real government stimulus checks coming one after the other. Stosh’s Place had to put up one of those “take a number” things like you see at the meat market to get a barstool. Some days from open to close, it would only get to like 15 or 16, and there are 14 stools. No one was going to leave, because Fritz the Freeloader was buying drinks. He’s the guy who always kind of stands in the background and steps up when someone is buying another round. Well, he walked in the place one day, and everyone knew he had money, so all the guys were putting their drinks on Fritz’s tab. That stimulus check sure stimulated Stosh’s checking account, but after two days, Fritz was in the red, and now he’s sweeping floors to work off his bar tab.

Then last week, was the real stimulus program. Petey Porkowski owed back taxes, and the county was threatening to take his fann. He marched right into the county treasurer’s office with the keys to the place. “Feed the pigs,” he instructed. He then high-tailed it out of town.

What was the county going to do with all those pigs? Bacon for everyone! Saturday was the big giveaway in Lublin at the Legion hall. Everyone got three pounds of bacon and as many pork chops as you could fit in your pockets.

Life is definitely getting back to normal here!

Apple Crumble Coffee Cake Ingredients Dry Ingredients: 2 teaspoons unsalted butter 2 cups all-purpose flour

lA teaspoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon baking powder % teaspoon baking soda Crumble Mixture:

1 Vi cups finely chopped toasted walnuts

'A cup packed light brown sugar

lA cup white sugar % teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Wet Ingredients:

'A cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup white sugar 2 large eggs 1 'A teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup plain yogurt 2 cubed Honeycrisp apples Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9xl2-inch baking dish generously.

• Whisk flour, sea salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl. Set aside.

• Combine walnuts, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl. Mix until walnuts and sugar are thoroughly coated with butter.

• Cream butter and sugar together in another bowl with a spatula until well blended. Add 1 egg and whisk until mixture is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in second egg until thoroughly incorporated. Add vanilla extract and yogurt; whisk together. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients; whisk just until flour disappears. Do not ovennix.

• Remove cores from apples. Cut across into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices. Stack up a few slices, make 1 cut down the center, and dice across into cubes. Add to cake batter, folding in with a spatula until just combined.

• Spread 1/2 of the batter evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Scatter 1/2 of the crumble mixture evenly over the top. Top with the rest of the batter in dollops. Spread carefully to evenly distribute, trying not to disturb the crumbs. Top with the rest of the crumb mixture. Press crumbs into the batter very gently.

• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until a toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.

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