This pie can be made with plums, apricots or peaches.  

Ingredients:
4 medium pears cut in half lengthwise and cored   
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
4 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. backing powder
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp. rum (optional) or water
 
Direction:
 
Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter 9-inch round pan. 

Caramelize pears: 
Halve pears lengthwise; remove cores. A melon baller removes cores easily, but a small
spoon works, too. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. sugar and ½ vanillas extract over pears. Heat a large skillet over medium. Place cut side down in skillet. Cook until beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Turn pears over, add rum (or 2 tbsp. water) and cook for 2-3 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Set aside 

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Mix until thoroughly combined, do not over mix. Add flour and baking powder and mix.
 
In another bowl, blend eggs with a pinch of salt with a hand mixer  until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Pour in the egg mixture into cake butter and beat to combine. The batter will be pale yellow and thick. Arrange  pears cut-side-down on a baking pan in a decorative circle and top them with cake butter. Use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly.  

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

Sincerely Yours,
Nellie

FRENCH TOAST is one of my favorite things for a weekend brunch. I like to cook fresh fruit and serve it warm over the toast, I never need maple syrup when I eat it this way. Many people make simple mistakes when preparing French toast. I don't like to add any dairy to the egg mixture because it makes the bread soggy. I also do not like to add any sweetener such as sugar, honey or syrup to the custard because I don't like it sweet.
The final product should be crispy and dry on the surface. Make sure you evenly mix your mixture, stir slowly and mix thoroughly . The perfect bread to use is Challah or any thick sliced egg bread, french or Italian bread works great. I like to cook seasonal fresh fruit without any butter or oil in the pan. My favorites are peaches, nectarines, figs, apples and any berries. In these pictures I used sliced white nectarines and blueberries over a medium heat, stirring a few times until the blueberries started to let the juices out.
My secret ingredient is orange juice in my egg mixture. It adds just the right amount of YUM

French toast is bread and pudding, no wonder I love it. This recipe is for 8 slices of thick french toast bread. Soak bread for one minute on each side and cook over medium heat until brown on both sides. As you can see I added a bit of whip cream on my last few bites, delicious!!!
Ingredients:
8 slices of thick sliced bread
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon of organic vanilla
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 pinch cinnamon or nutmeg
fresh fruits, optional ( but you really want to add them)
Whip cream, optional
Enjoy!
Jan

These  ricotta cakes are gluten and sugar free. They are light, fluffy and truly deliciously. Because they are cooked with rice flour, not a regular all purpose flour, the taste of ricotta is quite obvious. You  should totally make these cakes on this Sunday morning. They are a great  accompaniment to coffee or tea. I am pretty sure you're going to love them as much as I do.

In making these cakes I used a part skim ricotta, organic strawberries and honey.

Mix all ingredients (ricotta, rice flour, honey, egg, and backing powder) together, then add strawberries and mix them gently. When you are ready to cook, put rice flour on a plate. Shape the cake mixture into 10 cakes. Dredge both sides of each cake in the rice flour. Put two tbsp. of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, gently lay cakes into the skillet and cook, undisturbed, until cakes are browned on the bottom, 3-4 minutes. Turn them over, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary. Transfer cooked cakes to paper towels to drain. Add 1 tbsp. oil to the pan and repeat the
process. 

I served them with homemade strawberry jam and fresh strawberries. 

Sincerely yours,
Nellie

Ingredients for 10 cakes:

3/4 lb. ricotta
10 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. baking powder
Raspberry
Oil for frying

 Mix all ingredients together then add raspberry and mix it gently. Put two tbsp. of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, carefully drop large spoonful of cake mix into the pan and form round cakes using a spoon. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, undisturbed, until cakes are browned on the bottom, 3-4 minutes. Turn them over and cook for another 4 minutes.  Adjust the heat as necessary. Transfer cooked cakes to paper towels to drain. Add 1
tbsp. oil to the pan and repeat the process. Serve with fresh raspberries and syrup.

Sincerely yours,
Nellie

Ingredients
1 16 0z yellow or white cake mix (I used sugar-free)
2/3 cup bananas smashed (2 L bananas)
2/3 canned pumpkin (1/2 can)
4 oz apple sauce or one finely minced apple
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Bake following box directions, mine was 325 for 35-40 minutes. I kept it in for the full amount of time. The idea for this cake was to come up with a easy , healthy breakfast cake. I cooked it in two 8 inch round pans because I wanted to make single size servings. No frosting is necessary.  This could replace a piece of banana bread in it's style. Next time I think I will add walnuts or raisins or both!

Surprise mom with breakfast in bed. Make and serve this  beautiful and tasty parfait for her special day.




Serve 1

2 tbsp. ricotta
2 tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp. raw honey
1 tbsp. walnuts or any favorite nuts
2-3 tbsp. raspberries, strawberries and blueberries or any berries you like.  Cut strawberries into pieces if they are too large.

In a large glass, layer ricotta, yogurt, honey and berries. Sprinkle with nuts and serve immediately.

Sincerely yours,
Nellie

Love this easy-to-make light dessert. Whether you are on a diet or just looking to eat healthier, there is no reason to give up dessert.

Ingredients

Green apples
Honey
Nuts
Cinnamon
Raisins 
Water ½ cups

Preheat oven to 380°F.

Create a small well in the center of apples by cutting out the stem and core and leaving the bottom untouched.
Transfer the apples to a baking dish. Fill each well with 1-2 tablespoons of honey, nuts and raisins.
Sprinkle cinnamon over apples.
Pour water around the apples and bake until soft, about 20-25 minutes.
Time will vary with size and variety of apple.
What a wonderful smell in the house.
Let it cool before serving.

Sincerely yours,

                            Nellie

Option #1

Puree mangos in a processor or blender. Mix puree and all other ingredients. Put mixture in an ice cream machine and make according to your machine instructions.

 Option #2

Puree mangos in a processor or blender. Mix puree and all other ingredients. Put mixture in a container and freezer. In 2 hours, transfer the frozen yogurt in a blender again, blend and freeze.

Sincerely yours,

Nellie