Linda Daley, an Ohio native who moved to Cornelius in 1984 to be closer to her sister, enrolled in UNC-Charlotte when she was 32. Eight years later, all the while working, she graduated with a degree in business administration, and now works for Bank of America.

DALEY

The sisters grew up in a family with four children. Mom and Dad have been married 66 years. Her first job, at age 16, was as a diet aide in a hospital. (Her unofficial first job was removing the tassels from farm-raised corn.)

Her father was a highway patrolman and then a U.S. Marshal; her mother was nurse.

She knows all about home-made breads and soup; the secret to a great spaghetti sauce is cooking meat along with it. My mother was the best cook and best baker, too,” Linda says. Of course it helped that her grandmothers, one Italian, one German, were “fabulous” cooks. “When we were little we didn’t appreciate it,” she says.

“When I have girls over I love to do spaghetti and meat sauce, and salads. In the winter I make soup, maybe Italian bean soup,” she says, explaining that she lives in the Lake Crest condominiums off Knox Road with her cat Mickey.

She’s an avid volunteer, including Big Day at the Lake and Lake Norman Covekeepers as well as Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation. She also writes the events column each week for the online edition of Cornelius Today (www.corneliustoday.com).

This month she shares her recipe for Puffed German Pancakes with Spiced Apples. “It is super easy, delicious and the presentation is awesome,” she says.

Puffed German Pancake with spiced apples

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 6 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• Apple-spice topping (recipe below)

Preparation

With a whisk or rotary beater, beat eggs, salt and nutmeg in a mixing bowl until blended. Add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat after each addition just until mixture is smooth. Do not overbeat. Add milk or cream in 2 additions, beating slightly after each. Lightly beat in melted butter. Pour into a well-buttered 9-inch frying pan. Bake in a very hot oven (450°) for 8 minutes; reduce heat to moderate (375°) and bake for about 8 minutes more and until pancake puffs up sides of pan and is golden and set. Finish with topping and serve immediately.

Apple Spice topping – Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a frying pan or casserole. Add 2 tart cooking apples that have been peeled and cut into thin lengthwise slices. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon dried currants or raisins, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Cook over low heat, turning occasionally, until apples are glazed and tender, about 10 minutes. Spoon over center of baked pancake.