No Fuss Swiss Cheese - Mushroom Burgers at Chili's in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

No Fuss Swiss Cheese Mushroom Burgers at Chili’s in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

Sometimes a no fuss, no surprises, and delicious dinner is just what you want for delivery and that is what Chili’s delivers in sturdy packaging. 

For dinner, I recently order a Swiss Cheese – Mushroom Burger from Chili’s in Salinas, California – a national chain restaurant. This burger came with tangy melted Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, sautéed mushroom slices, tomato slices, crunchy iceberg lettuce leaves, and mayonnaise. 

The side I chose to go with this juicy burger was thin, sautéed asparagus. After living in Germany (the original home of the hamburger is Hamburg, German) for five years, I am pretty sure Germans, Swiss, and Austrians would gladly eat the Swiss cheese burger at Chili’s like I did on a busy night especially for delivery, which was just coming in there in the early 2010s in Stuttgart. 

Monterey County California produces onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, and asparagus (a true spring vegetable in both California and Germany). All five vegetables were fresh and tasted like summer was definitely coming.

I drank an Alvarado Street Brewery Lager from our local California Brew Pub in Salinas and would absolutely recommend this meal to travelers and locals alike. 

Note: Chili’s has two locations in Monterey County – one in Salinas off Highway 101 and one in Seaside off Highway 1 by Embassy Suites. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Purple Ice Plant Flowers Carpet Pacific Grove, California in May 2026 reposted by Ruth Paget

May is the time for purple ice plant flowers to carpet the coastline in Pacific Grove, California.  Purple ice plant flowers are native to South Africa and are drought resistant.

Visitors seeing this purple carpet for the first time write the most enthusiastic blog posts like the following one:

https://mustloveroses.com/monterey-magic-purple-carpet/

Happy Coastal Strolling!

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Carmel Valley Garden Show - May 2 to May 3, 2026 - reposted by Ruth Paget

The Carmel Valley Garden Show will be held May 2 to May 3, 2026 in Carmel Valley.

Details about this event organized by the Carmel Valley Garden Club follow:

https://cvgc.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=324042&module_id=330643

For other family activities in Carmel Valley, see my blog about the Carmel Valley History Museum and Carmel Valley Park:

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2025/09/dinosaur-bones-ohlone-reed-boats-wagon.html?m=1

Happy Garden Strolling!

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Strata Recipe for Day-Old Bread reposted by Ruth Paget

I see from watching TikTok that most bakery bags on the Too Good to Go app arrive with lots of leftover bread with a few days to go.

Strata breakfast casserole uses day-old bread, custard, cheese and/or sausage as its ingredients.

A recipe for this pretty simple to make casserole follows:

https://www.iheartnaptime.net/strata/

Strata might make the two loaves of bread bags more appealing.

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Asian American - Pacific Islander Fest is May 20, 2026 at Northridge Mall in Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Asian American - Pacific Islander Festival is being held on May 20, 2026 at Northridge Mall in Salinas, California.

Details about this event follow on Northridge Mall’s online event calendar below:

https://www.shop-northridge-mall.com/events

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Spring Carnival - May 1 to May 10, 2026 at Northridge Mall in Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Salinas Spring Carnival will take place at Northridge Mall in Salinas, California from May 1 to May 10, 2026.

There will be rides, food, and good shopping of course!

Details about this event, ticket pricing, and parking follow on Northridge Mall’s online event calendar:

https://www.shop-northridge-mall.com/events

Happy Spring!

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Gyros Lunch Kit at Costco to go with the Big Sur Marathon posted by Ruth Paget

It is probably no surprise that Costco sells gyro kits to go with the Big Sur Marathon.

I heated the gyros spit-roasted lamb. meat in a skillet for 15 minutes, which really lets the meal brown up and char a few pieces.  I microwaved the six thick gyro breads for 2 minutes.  Both were very hot doing this for our cool and drizzling rain lunch.

The kit comes with tzatziki sauce, chopped tomatoes and cucumber, chopped red onions, lettuce, and feta cheese.

The gyro kit cost around $18.  My family of three ate everything and wished this deli item were available more often!

Happy Shopping and Good Eating!

Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games