Road Trips and Plum Tortes....somehow they are connected.....

Tomorrow Miguel and I (along with my older meaner sister who is in charge of the itinerary) are leaving for Road Trip 2009........ This will be our third road trip together........ This year we have cross-country plans - plans for being bi-coastal........it is a big mother of a road trip.

There is a mission statement for Road Trip 2009 - well, not really a mission statement - but we do have some objectives:

1. Help my sister repair and renovate her home

2. Visit with friends and family in Ontario

3. Satisfy my urge to visit some great American landmarks - Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore....and Ogunquit, Maine

So tomorrow we embark........heading south a few hours and then turning left to drive through Washington State. I have my shiny new laptop and I will be bloggin........

But before I leave I had to say goodbye - my mother (who is complaining bitterly about me abandoning her) and my ex-inlaws came for lunch..........and what better time than to make a Plum Torte. Now this is not a recipe blog - there are too many great cooking blogs out there. But I have to share with you a beloved Plum Torte recipe. Ida was the grandmother of my ex-husband. She was an opinionated, lively, alert and spunky friend. I greatly enjoyed her company and I enjoyed being with her..... I admired her because she kept a youthful outlook all through her life - she liked young people and new ideas. Imagine me, a grand-daughter of Polish immigrants marrying into a family of.....you got it....Polish immigrants...... Imagine me inheriting a delicious Plum Torte recipe..... No wonder I adored her......This was one of her recipes - and every fall I make it and think about her fondly. It is so simple .........

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.......

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar

Then with mixer on, add in:
2 eggs

When you have mixed in the eggs and things are smooth, add in:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

You will have a thick batter - spread the batter into a greased pan (I like to use a spring form round)
Press prune plums that have been cut into half into the batter. Keep the cut sides down......
Sprinkle the top with sugar

This is what your unbaked Torte will look like:


Bake for 50 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees......when cool you can remove the cake from the pan. See how delicious it looks??

It is perfect with slightly sweetened fresh whipped cream or with ice cream......
Luckily there is some plum torte left for breakfast tomorrow morning as we head out on Road Trip 2009.........if you see us driving by, please wave.....