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!

Balboa Park- Walking Tour

Today we ended up walking all around Balboa Park- something that we really haven’t ever taken the time to do. We have visited the San Diego Zoo,  the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Old Globe Theater for a play, and the Ruben H Fleet Science Center, all great venues! But today we took the time to really walk most of the park.

We saw wedding parties posing for photos, wandered through the 35 International Cottages, saw artists working on their creations in the Spanish Village, viewed the improvements being made to the Japanese Friendship Garden (deciding that we need to eat at the Tea Pavillon!), and watched enormous koi swimming in the lily ponds in front of the Botanical Building. I snapped a few photos about upcoming events that we saw on kiosks so save for future reference, too… What a great day! I don’t recommend trying to walk the park and taking in more than one museum on the same day, at least not with smaller children. Definitely a two day visit, at least.

San Diego Youth Symphony has free weekend rehearsal performances!
San Diego Youth Symphony has free weekend rehearsal performances!
Tea Pavilion hours and offerings...
Tea Pavilion hours and offerings…

Tourist Time

In January last year we went whale watching. A more perfect day could not have been designed- the water was like glass, the temperatures were San Diego’s finest, and just enough high clouds made for great photography. Whales even made a few appearances, but it didn’t matter because the whole morning excursion was worth the effort and price- both of which were minimal, actually.

Whale Watching January 2014
Whale Watching January 2014

The family all agreed that we would get out and do the tourist thing once a month so that we could really get to know this area better. Aaaaannd we promptly forgot, getting caught up in the happy business of life.

My mom is funny...
My mom is funny…

I swear, I am holding us to that goal. We WILL get out there monthly to see the sights that So Cal has to offer.

This month is a little boogered up as one kid’s fencing tournament has had last minute scheduling changes, but that isn’t stopping us… we have places to see today.

Baking is like Fishing…

…in that a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work. Wouldn’t that depend on how avid a fishing enthusiast you are? I really like baking, so I’m still glad that I tried this recipe. I thought it was nearly full-on blech but my daughter gave it the thumbs up and is already finished with pinwheel #2.

I fully blame the cook, not the recipe. Note the original recipe’s photo on top, mine on the bottom:

Top photo from BunsInMyOven.com; bottom, my kitchen.
Top photo from BunsInMyOven.com; bottom, my kitchen.

The only thing I changed in the recipe was to use cheddar cheese instead of Swiss. I just think they needed to bake longer than 9 minutes, perhaps. These Ham and Cheese Pinwheels are short on effort and have an even shorter list of ingredients:

1 can of flaky crescent rolls

Grated cheddar cheese

Sliced ham (I used the Black Forrest ham from Trader Joe’s)

cream cheese and dijon mustard

Here’s the original recipe:  http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/12/27/ham-and-cheese-pinwheels/

Here’s what I’d like to try soon, using home made bread dough:

http://amazingcollection66.blogspot.com/2014/11/hot-ham-and-cheese-pinwheels.html

I ❤️ Baking!

Tomorrow I have to hit my Pinterest boards… I hear them calling me! Most of my pins are food based, and there are hundreds of new recipes I want to try this year…

Since my kids have a busy weekend ahead, I think I will crank something out of the kitchen that I have never tried, and they will have to grab and go.

Is it just me, or does everyone else on Pinterest think that they are the most interesting person in the world, based on how awesome their Pins are? I love my electronic hoard!

See for yourself how fabulous I am (ha!)-

Brownies for the Church Office

We have been members at our church for just over five years since we moved back to our home state. We love these people, they do a great job at running the joint- from the pastors to the receptionists.

On my way to a meeting this morning I wanted to say thanks to everyone in the parish office and brought them by a batch of brownies. I’ve wanted to do something like this for a while-, and I love these brownies. I hope that by cutting them into little squares it will be less intimidating to everyone who made New Year’s resolutions to try and eat better…

Chocolate Chip Mocha Brownies
Chocolate Chip Mocha Brownies

Chocolate Chip Peppermint Mocha Brownies- (TIP: Did you know, if you cut your brownies with a PLASTIC knife, they wont shred, or get gummed up on the knife? For real! I didn’t believe it until I tried it, side by side with a metal knife.)

To one box (or home made batch) of your favorite brownie mix, add these extra ingredients: 1 Tablespoon of instant coffee dissolved in the water that your recipe calls for; 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla; 1 cup chocolate chips… or more. Go to town if you are a chocoholic.

Mix these ingredients into the brownie batter, then pour into your baking dish.

Before placing into oven and baking as directed, smash up about 10-15 starlight mints or 4 big candy canes, sprinkle crushed peppermint candy over batter in pan.

Bake and enjoy!! The peppermints melt into a glaze on top and are delicious! This tastes a lot like a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha to me.