Author: Mark Linton

This is my mother&rsquo;s &ldquo;Dump Cake&rdquo; recipe. It is her recipe in the sense that I got it from her. She told me she got it from a friend, who got it from a friend. Since everybody is separated by no more than <a href="http://smallworld.columbia.edu/" title="Small World Project - Columbia University">six degrees of separation</a>, that means that half of you already know this recipe&hellip; but here it is anyway. Looks weird, tastes great.

Dump Cake

• 1 20 ounce can cherry pie filling
• 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 stick butter

In a 9- by 13-inch greased pan, spread the pineapple then the pie filling. Then sprinkle on the dry cake mix, then the pecans, and finally crumble the butter over the top.

Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes.

We finished our road trip today. A glass of orange juice for breakfast and chicken, beef, and pork sandwiches on cracked wheat. Gretchen also got us a couple of <a href="http://www.hersheys.com/products/reese.shtml" title="Hershey Foods Corporation - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups">Reese&rsquo;s Peanut Butter Cups</a> as a snack at a gas station as well.



<ins datetime="2003-11-03T06:08:00-05:00">I had some of our own frozen Italian sausage with saut&eacute;ed green peppers and onions and a beer after we got home.</ins>

We are back on the road again today, starting out early to make good miles. Breakfast was a glass of orange juice, car food again throughout the day — chicken, ham, and roast beef sandwiches on cracked wheat, cashews, raisins, and dates. Chips and dip for dinner.

Breakfast was fruit again this morning, though slightly different — pineapple, strawberries, grapes, and watermelon — with a glass of orange juice.



<ins datetime="2003-10-31T17:38:00-05:00">Lunch was french onion soup and a bottle of pinot grigio, though this was a different brand: <a href="http://www.winespectatorschool.com/Wine/Daily/Wine_Print/0,2466,1364,00.html" title="Wine Spectator Online | Wine of the Day | Zenato Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie 2002">Zenato&reg; Pinot Grigio Della Venezie (2002)</a>. We did go to the beach this morning, but it got a bit to hot for us and after playing in the tide pools for a while, we simply went home. We did get a chance to see some fiddler crabs, though.</ins>



<img src="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/images/fiddler.jpg" height="256" width="341" alt="Fiddler Crab" />



<ins datetime="2003-10-31T21:38:00-05:00">Dinner was pork tenderloin, braised in apple juice, with apples, fingerling potatoes, crook-necked squash, and a bottle of Bolla Valpolicella. Dessert was <a href="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/2003_11_01_journal.html#id106782430130638179" title="My Mother's Dump Cake">dump cake</a>. Dad opened a bottle of champagne &mdash; <a href="http://www.champagne-roederer.com/style/us/flash/brutprem.html" title="Brut premier">Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Premier&reg;</a> &mdash; in honor of our last day of vacation.</ins>

Breakfast was mixed fruit — pineapple, cantaloupe, and strawberries — once again, and a glass of orange juice.



Lunch was a cup of left-over potato-leek soup, left-over king crab legs, and another bottle of pinot grigio &mdash; apparently, mom really likes pinot gririo. No walk on the beach today, though we did drive through <a href="http://www.dingdarling.org/wildlife.html" title="Ding Darling Foundation">J. N. &#8220;Ding&#8221; Darling National Wildlife Refuge</a>. There wasn&rsquo;t a lot of wildlife &mdash; they have only just started draining the fresh water part for the winter &mdash; but we did get a beautiful view of a <a href="http://www.ci.sanibel.fl.us/calendar/COVERSTORY2002.htm" title="City of Sanibel 2002 Calendar">Tri-colored Heron</a> (a.k.a. <a href="http://www.audubon.org/bird/BoA/F38_G1k.html" title="Louisiana Heron">Louisiana Heron</a>).



<img src="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/images/tri-color-heron.jpg" height="256" width="341" alt="Tri-Color Heron" />



<ins datetime="2003-10-30T20:37:00-05:00">Dinner was rosemary roasted chicken, with mashed potatoes and pan gravy, cranberry dressing, asparagus, and a bottle of &mdash; you guessed it &mdash; pinot grigio. Dessert was butterscotch sundays with cashews.</ins>

Breakfast was mixed fruit — pineapple, cantaloupe, and strawberries — an eclair, and a glass of orange juice.



<img src="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/images/lighthouse.jpg" height="256" width="341" alt="Sanibel Lighthouse" />



<ins datetime="2003-10-29T15:29:00-05:00">Gretchen and I went for a long walk on the beech this morning down by the <a href="http://www.vacationfunspots.com/Sanibel/island_history.htm" title="Island History">lighthouse</a>, maybe four miles, lots of it in the surf as this seemed like a very low tide, exposing many long sand bars covered with sand dollars. Lunch was ham and cheese cosmo hoagies with saut&eacute;ed onions and peppers, accompanied by a pickle and baked beans, with another bottle of <a href="http://www.bolla.com/view_wine.asp?nWID=4" title="Bolla Wines of Italy - Open Up">Bolla Pinot Grigio</a>.</ins>



<img src="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/images/sand-dollars.jpg" height="256" width="341" alt="Sand Dollars" />



<ins datetime="2003-10-30T08:29:00-05:00">Dinner was lamb chops, green beans with marinera sauce (I&rsquo;ve never had that before, but good!), and a baked potato, with a bottle of <a href="http://www.terrabianca.com/e/IlVino/body_campaccio.shtml" title="www.terrabianca.com">Terrabianca Campaccio</a> (1999). Dessert was port: <a href="http://www.churchills-port.com/index.html" title="churchills homepage">Churchill&rsquo;s</a> Tawny Porto (Ten Years Old).</ins>

Breakfast this morning was a toasted cinnamon-raison bagel with honey, mixed fruit — cantaloupe, pineapple, and strawberries — and orange juice.



<img src="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/images/shore-bird-pair.jpg" alt="A pair of sandpipers walking on the shore" height="256" width="341" />



<ins datetime="2003-10-28T12:58:00-05:00">Gretchen and I went for a walk on the beach again this morning. We probably walked about four miles total. Lunch was a cross between a chef and a cobb salad, a slice of cherry pie, and a bottle of <a href="http://www.coveyrun.com/" title="Covey Run - Age Verification">Covey Run</a> <a href="http://www.coveyrun.com/wines/images/2001Syrah.pdf" title="Winemaker Notes: 2001 Syrah">Syrah (2001)</a>.</ins>



<ins datetime="2003-10-29T08:03:00-05:00">Dinner was king crab legs, roasted potatoes, and key lime pie, with a bottle of <a href="http://www.bolla.com/view_wine.asp?nWID=4" title="Bolla Wines of Italy - Open Up">Bolla Pinot Grigio</a>.</ins>

Breakfast this morning was some pineapple, and cantaloupe, and a glass of orange juice. After breakfast, we went for a walk on the beach — I would guess four miles total.



<img src="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/images/g-on-beach.jpg" alt="Gretchen on the beach" height="256" width="341" />



Lunch was <a href="http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/h/mhl100/2003_10_01_journal.html#id106622230402301789" title="My Mother's Potato Leek Soup">potato leek soup</a>, corn muffins (from Betty Crocker&reg; Golden Corn Muffin and Bread Mix), a small fruit salad, and a bottle of <a href="http://www.bolla.com/view_wine.asp?nWID=1" title="Bolla Wines of Italy - Open Up">Bolla Soave</a>.



<ins datetime="2003-10-28T07:33:00-05:00">Dinner was beef tenderloin, roasted potatoes, and corn on the cob, with a bottle of <a href="http://www.ruffino.com/" title="RUFFINO">Ruffino</a> Riserva Ducale&reg; <a href="http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Wine_Ratings/Search_Results?wine_id=133169&amp;search_by=exact&amp;rowbegin=1&amp;rowincrement=50" title="Wine Spectator | Wine Search Results">Chianti Classico Riserva 2000</a>. Dessert was what my mother calls &ldquo;dump&rdquo; cake.</ins>

Breakfast was a cake doughnut. We finished Gretchen&rsquo;s picnic food on the second day of our road trip, today. We arrived at my parents and had beans and sausages, and cucumbers and sour cream &mdash; an old family favorite &mdash; and a bottle of <a href="http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Archives/Show_Article/0,1275,75,00.html" title="Wine Spectator Online | Archives | Consistency Defines The U.S.' Favorite Rioja">Crianza Marqu&eacute;s de C&aacute;ceres Rioja (1999)</a>. 

• 12.589 Gallons
• $1.489/Gallon
• $18.75
• 374.9 Miles
• 29.8 Miles/Gallon
• 5¢/Mile
• 1 Days