Author: DJones BranchingOut

Pushing 50 and it's time to try a few (maybe... 365?) new things. This blog is not about reinventing oneself or one's life, but about how much fun one can have while going out on a limb and branching out. Kicking anxiety's butt one day at a time, yeah!

San Diego Beer Week 2015

The Husband gets to pick all the new events for next week- it’s the beer lover’s paradise all week plus three days, starting November 3rd and running through the 11th.

They love their beer so much here that an official “Beer Week” is Ten Days Long. Seven days? Bah! Clearly not enough time to properly celebrate the brews.

Here’s a great article by Ian Anderson writing for the San Diego Reader. It is full of events and information around one of San Diego’s favorite past times, next to identifying which air craft Miramar MCAS is flying over head, water temps at Swamis, and arguing over who serves the best carne asada fries.

San Diego Beer Week 2015 article by Ian Anderson in the San Diego Reader... click the pic to link
San Diego Beer Week 2015 article by Ian Anderson in the San Diego Reader… click the pic to link

In Which I Get My Running Shoes Wet…

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We had some high tides and storm activity last week in the Southland that brought a mess (literally…) of seaweed to the shoreline. As I ran, the pieces of kelp were fun to stomp on, bursting underfoot on the packed, wet sand. I think the serious runners coming from behind and passing me were mildly amused. I was greatly amused.

Isn't this kelp "kombu," one of the ingredients for dashi broth? Just wondering...
Isn’t this kelp “kombu,” one of the ingredients for dashi broth? Just wondering…

Pop pop POP!

But, dodging kelp and stopping to take photos can result in the waves catching up with you…

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Taking a picture of this and got wet when it became…
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…THIS! Ah, well. My shoes are now broken in.

I simply squish-squish-squished as I ran the return route. Guess my shoes are broken in now! i don’t run barefoot along the beach… makes it easier to stomp on and pop the kelp.

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A Glimpse into Halloween Futures

I frightened myself on Halloween. Scared myself enough to talk a neighbor into planning a Haunted House for next year.

What could have been so startling?

imagesI forgot to carve a Jack O’lantern, The Boy was at a weekend retreat and The Girl still away at college.

“Boo hoo hoo,” cried the sad mom!

I can’t remember a year where I didn’t carve a pumpkin… even when I was in college I still lived at home and had fun passing out candy for my parents. They were quite done with the doorbell as the average age and height of the Trick-or-Treaters kept increasing and increasing.

imgresGood rule of thumb, people: if you can shave, you probably shouldn’t be on the receiving end of Halloween… it’s tons o’ fun to fill the kiddie’s bags and set up haunted houses for the neighborhood, too.

Next year I will be ready… I’m jotting down ideas for decorating and clever trick to share with our neighborhood’s little ones. A smaller child-friendly spooky yard display would be good for the kids around us. Share ideas? What should I have for a non-terrifying haunted house next year? It was scary enough not having my own two children around for the first time in 18 years. BOO!

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(Found all these photos by doing web search for “sad Jack O’Lanterns.” Click any photo to go to their original site!)

New Spice- Hot Mustard Powder, And Italian Egg Roll Geniuses…

What's going back to the store? THIS stuff. Yechhh!
What’s going back to the store? THIS stuff. Yechhh!

Let’s get this review out there, right away: I wanted to scrape my tongue free from the residue of this vile paste. When we tried a small taste, I wanted to spit, but International Guy looked betrayed, “This stuff used to come in packets with your frozen ‘egg rolls’ when you were a kid?” Now I’m sure he is thinking terrible things about what Americans will let their children have access to via their kid’s frozen snacks.

As a matter of fact, there is no more American story than that of the founder of the company that made the favorite frozen egg rolls of my youth: Jeno Paulucci. The Italian frozen food genius.

From his 1993 obituary in the Washington Post:

83d5ae9cbe7f2014798c3210a7fdeb2c“His first great success was a company called Chun King,” Ford said during his dinner address. “What could be more American than a business built on a good Italian recipe for chop suey?”

Luigino Francesco Paulucci was born July 7, 1918, in Aurora, Minn. His father was an iron miner and his mother, Michelina, ran a grocery out of the family home. During Prohibition, his mother sold bootlegged wine and also ran an illegal bar. After selling Jeno’s to Pillsbury, he founded Luigino’s and started the Michelina’s brand of Italian foods, named for his mother.

Mr. Paulucci donated millions to charities, public projects and other philanthropic efforts. He often visited his ancestor’s northern Italian village, where he paid for new bells to be installed in a church.

“They’re the biggest damn things in the world,” Mr. Paulucci told The Post in 1978. “The people there are still mad at me. It’s impossible to sleep very late in the morning.”

Please read the full article at this link from the Washington post, it is truly an example of the possibilities America holds for its people.

From the Michilina website, click to be linked to their product locating service!
From the Michilina website, click to be linked to their product locating service!

Oh, and the goofy little egg rolls are still available- under the Michelina line at some stores! If you want a taste of your frozen food childhood, click the picture for a link that may just be a blast from your past.