Cream Cheese

Strawberry pie made with truly ripe strawberries is one of the best treats of spring, especially when it has a creamy vanilla filling. Unfortunately, many lovers of strawberry pie do not indulge in their favorite dessert, assuming that such a tasty sweet must be rich. Others feel they are too busy to bake their own strawberry pie because of the work involved in making the crust and filling. The good news is, you can now make a speedy, effortless strawberry pie with a nonfat vanilla filling that is absolutely delicious.

What's cooking? Sandwiches, salads and snacks with a Native-American influence, using ingredients such as corn, quinoa, wild rice, bison, beans, squash, berries, nuts, seeds and chocolate. Find it: Sundays in Dickinson Square (Tasker and Moyamensing), 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Mondays in Love Park, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Thursdays ?at the Mount Airy Farmers Market (Carpenter and Greene), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. The bright, summertime-colored truck is sure to catch your eye. In the driver's seat: Sue Wasserkrug opened just two months ago after deciding that being a lawyer just wasn't for her anymore.

The best and most varied fruits are abundant during the summer months. Berries, peaches, plums, grapes, pears and melons are just a few seasonal fruits that can be turned into simple desserts with the "magic" of your microwave. Here are some fast, easy, but different desserts that can be prepared with any fruits of the season. Clafouti is an unusually delicate French dessert. It can be prepared with berries, cherries or peaches, baked into custard-like pudding. Streusel Fruit Sundae can also be prepared with canned fruit.

Dear Anne and Nan: I have a recipe calling for "mascarpone cream" as an ingredient in a sauce to top a slice of pudding cake as a dessert. I wonder where one can purchase it. - M.M., Aurora, Ill. Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese that has the consistency of a whipped topping and is slightly sweeter than the popular brands of cream cheese found in the dairy case. Mascarpone isn't generally available in supermarkets, but if you have a cheese store, Italian specialty store or gourmet market in your area, you'll probably be able to find it there.

I don't know which I like better, the roast turkey served on Thanksgiving Day or the leftovers. Like most Americans, I purposely roast a larger bird than my family and friends can eat for this celebration, knowing that extras can be turned into many tempting creations. Among my favorite are warm, open-face turkey sandwiches napped with gravy and served with dressing, as well as tall Dagwood-style turkey clubs layered with whatever is in the refrigerator. Turkey and wild rice salad with dried cranberries, curried turkey salad with grapes and almonds, and turkey pot pies topped with flaky puff pastry are other dishes I like.

Even die-hard pumpkin pie fans will love this fluffy twist on the classic fall pie. Cream cheese gives it a tangy cheesecake flavor, with all the traditional pumpkin pie spices. Top each serving with rum-flavored whipped cream. PUMPKIN MOUSSE PIE 10 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 16-ounce can pumpkin 2 tablespoons milk, half-and-half or light cream 1 tablespoon rum 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1 recipe Ginger Crust (recipe below)

The sign of a true dessert lover is someone who will skip a second helping of Thanksgiving stuffing to leave room for the last course. A true dessert lover doesn't ooh and ahh over the turkey when it's presented at the table, but sneaks back to the kitchen to see what has been baking. A true dessert lover pulls out all the stops - the cream, eggs and sugar - that make a sweet as rich as possible. Cranberry Cheesecake is a dessert lover's dream. The vanilla filling is studded with Grand Marnier-soaked dried cranberries.

In the days when our family included seven children and scores of pets, we always celebrated the animals' birthdays, and since it wouldn't be a party without a cake, we made one for the pet. If you, too, think your pet's birthday is special, try these recipes for healthful dog and cat birthday cakes. SCOTHOLME CANINE BIRTHDAY CAKE 3-4 cups dog kibble 2 pounds very lean ground beef 1 cup canned peas or other cooked vegetables 4 celery tops chopped 12 ounces tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes 1 teaspoon salt 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced, or a pinch of garlic powder 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 2 eggs, beaten Broth or water FOR THE ICING Two 8-oz.

To Jeff Tucker, there is more to Wonder Bread and cream cheese that meets the eye. The 10-year-old spread a layer of cream cheese on top of two slices and wrapped them in plastic bags. He placed one in a damp, dark, musty corner; the other, in a sunny spot. That was earlier this year. Six weeks later, the Newtown Friends School fourth grader checked on his product. Both slices of bread were gross and unrecognizable, smothered with a rainbow of growth. He concluded that mold grows both in sunshine and in the dark.

If you woke up dreaming of cool, creamy cheesecake and then realized it was all a cruel joke, take heart. The joke is really on cheesecake full of globby fat and sugar. Did you know an average slice is about 450 calories? But wait! You can have that cool, creamy cheesecake pleasure, and enjoy it worry-free, too. Creamy cheese pies are about the easiest and most guilt-free desserts a skinny-to-be can look forward to. Replace cream cheese with cottage cheese, skim milk ricotta cheese or fresh farmer cheese.