Good Deal Tex-Mex Fajitas Kit at Costco in Sand City, California by Ruth Paget

Good Deal Tex-Mex Fajitas Kit at Costco in Sand City, California by Ruth Paget 

The Tex-Mex fajitas kits at Costco in Sand City, California that sell for $22.86 (as of 6-20-2026) are a great deal for 3 to 4 people. 

I make these fajitas for 3 people for $7.62 per person. My family eats everything in the kit at one meal. 

The Costco fajitas kit includes: 

-pre-cooked, seasoned asada beef strips to be heated up in the microwave

-pre-cooked, seasoned al pastor chicken strips to be heated up in the microwave 

-sliced red, yellow, and green bell peppers 

-sliced yellow onions 

-spicy red salsa 

-cilantro lime crema sauce 

-spicy cheese sauce to be warmed up 

-12 flour tortillas to be warmed up 

-4 lime quarters to squeeze in beer 

I heated the meat and chicken up for 4 minutes each in the microwave. I grilled the peppers and onions till they had char marks on a Cuisinart grill for 15 minutes. The vegetables reduced to 1/3 of their original size. I also warmed the tortillas for a minute till hot in the microwave. 

The meat and vegetables were sizzling hot when we all sat down to eat. (Handle the hot dishes and food with care.) We drank Peroni lager beers with lime juice squeezed in with our meal. 

My family has been eating fajitas at home to watch World Cup Soccer matches. (We ate Costco club sandwiches for some matches, too.) 

People who like Tex-Mex food might enjoy cooking fajitas at home to add to sports night dining options. 

By Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe's Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books 

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games and 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center

--creator French travel and culture games

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-family genealogist - whose work includes mother lines research editing 250 of my grandmother Pennington's recipes and writing Monterey County Cookbook about my Monterey Peninsula California kitchen

-developer of 9 music theory games

Savory and Stylish Salmon Criollo at Villa Azteca in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Savory and Stylish Salmon Criollo at Villa Azteca in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

For my daughter Florence Paget’s birthday, my husband Laurent and I offered her a celebratory meal at Villa Azteca in downtown Salinas, California. 

We began our meal with guacamole salad – mashed avocado with red bell pepper squares and chopped cilantro mixed in. I like the black, volcanic stone dishes that the guacamole comes in. As we ate the guacamole, I admired the milagro (miracle) cross collection hung on the wall by the entryway. 

Florence and Laurent ordered steaks while I ordered a heart-healthy salmon dinner. 

The dish I ordered was called salmon criollo. This was broiled salmon that was served on a bed of stewed black beans with cubes of baked butternut squash strewn around it. Chipotle crema came with the salmon and two warmed soft corn tortillas. 

 A pickled radish slice and sliced jalapeño sat on top of the broiled salmon with its ashed crust of broiled skin. (Maybe a kitchen blow torch was used to make the skin this way.) 

I placed slices of salmon in one tortilla along with the black beans, jalapeño, and butternut squash along with some chipotle cream. I twisted the end over once so my salmon taco would not leak out the end. 

I just loved the flavor trio provided by the squash, beans, and maize (corn) that is indigenous to the American Southwest and Mexico. The salmon indigenous to the Pacific Northwest of the US is very good, too.  The salmon and the beans, squash, and maize together provide protein and other important nutrients like selenium for thyroid health, Vitamin C, and antioxidants that remove cancer causing free radicals.

I used the second tortilla to do practically the same combination but used the pickled radish slice in this taco. The pungent radish made the savory ingredients seem fresh rather than cooked and gave it the plus of providing a fermented food to the taco. 

I ate the remaining black beans, butternut squash, and salmon with equal gusto with the remaining chipotle cream. 

The salmon criollo was delicious and might appeal to diners trying to maintain weight without sacrificing flavor. 

Note: There is a garage nearby at the Steinbeck Center and street parking as available.

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

Mexican Bush Sage Sighting at Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

While drinking a Peerless organic coffee from The Market at Pebble Beach )California), I saw a sprawling bush with spiky green leaves along the garden trail.

I used Google lens to identify this plant called a Mexican bush sage.

In late summer and early fall the leaves are full of purple flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Mexican bush sages require minimal watering and seem to do well with ocean fog and drizzle.

According to nursery notes from Mountain Valley Growers, Mountain bush sage offers good ground coverage for a minimum outlay of money.

More nursery information and purchase details follow:

https://mountainvalleygrowers.com/organic-plants/salvia-leucantha-all-purple-mexican-bush-sage/

My husband Laurent brought me a souvenir to go with my nature walk - a bag of Pebble Beach brand Espresso Maranello coffee beans for weekend breakfasts.

I thought that was a great souvenir for a garden walk and bird watching at Pebble Beach, California.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Cinco de Mayo at Home for Mom by Ruth Paget

I am an older mom now, so my daughter ordered me a Taco Bell dinner:

-crunch wrap 

-hard shell taco

-low-sugar strawberry agua fresca

I thought it was great, because I did not have to cook it.

Cheerios!

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

Veracruz-style Red Snapper Video Reposted by Ruth Paget

This recipe for Veracruz-style red snapper calls for onions, garlic, tomatoes, olives, jalapeño peppers, and oregano.  It is easy to do once you watch this video.

This is a perfect recipe for Tuesday, market day, in East Alisal Salinas, California.

Everything in this recipe can be obtained in Salinas and Monterey County, if you switch a local white fish for the red snapper.

The YouTube video recipe for this adaptable and seasonal fish recipe follows:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NCHC4MMs9Oc&pp=ygUSQmFrZWQgc3BhbmlzaCBmaXNo

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

Pico de Gallo Salsa with Chips and Greek Chicken Salad at Woody's Bar and Restaurant at the Monterey Regional Airport (California) by Ruth Paget

Pico de Gallo Salsa and Chips and Greek Chicken Salad at Woody’s Bar and Restaurant at the Monterey Regional Airport in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget 

A recent heat wave with temperatures in the 90s encouraged my family to dine at Woody’s Bar and Restaurant and the Monterey Regional Airport in Monterey, California for their great food and equally great air conditioning. 

I wanted salty food and ordered pico de gallo salsa and chips as a starter. This dish at Woody’s is made with chopped tomatoes, chopped and mild green and reddening Serrano peppers (probably from nearby Prunedale), chopped onions, chopped cilantro, salt, and freshly squeezed lime juice. 

This salsa bursts with Vitamin C and helps rid the body of free radicals that may cause cancer. This chunky salsa tastes wonderful on house-baked tortilla chips that are lightly salted. This appetizer definitely “opens the appetite” as the French say. 

As my main dish, I ordered one of my favorite dishes from teen years in Detroit, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois – a Greek salad. The Salinas, California version of this dish comes with sautéed chicken breast seasoned with lemon-pepper salt and oregano, a heaping mound of bitter red and green frisée lettuce, and red wine and vinegar dressing as the basic ingredients. 

The red wine vinegar is sharp, probably house-made with apple cider vinegar and aged. It is mixed with the addition of oregano. This dressing makes the salad outstanding. The chicken, lettuce, and dressing alone are full of vitamins and antioxidants that taste wonderful for bitter and sour flavor combination lovers. 

Woody’s adds the following items to their Greek salad for flavor and spa dining: 

-sour feta goat cheese cubes for calcium and protein 

-pitted small Niçoise olives 

-minced red onions 

-heirloom cherry tomatoes cut in half 

-slice yellow banana peppers 

I never get tired of tonic Greek salads. I always feel healthy and chipper after eating one. 

I drank a bitter, unsweetened tea with a squeeze of lemon juice with the salad. I like bitter tea when it is hot out and it made the bitter lettuce taste even better with the red wine dressing. 

Locals and visitors alike can benefit from eating Monterey County’s organic produce at Woody’s at the Monterey Regional Airport in California along with organic chicken from neighboring San Benito County.  

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

Chiles as Infection and Cancer Fighters Article Reposted by Ruth Paget

Chiles as Infection and Cancer Fighters Article reposted by Ruth Paget

I have always eaten spicy red and green chile peppers for their Vitamin C content and Vitamin A content for red chile peppers.  Vitamin A is good for your eyes while Vitamin C promotes immune function.

The article below details their antioxidant content which removes free radicals that may cause cancer from the body:

https://wmmc.com/chili-peppers-the-superfood/#:~:text=Fighting%20Infections,absorb%20the%20iron%20it%20contains!

If you like chile peppers you can usually find these in supermarkets and at the Farmers Markets in Salinas,  California in abundance.

Note: This Mayo Clinic Group Interview below is all about eating to prevent cancer;

https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/nutrition-fitness/a-cancer-fighting-diet-managing-symptoms-and-food-safety/

Note: National Institutes of Health examination of antioxidants in chile peppers:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6274000/

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Seven Seas Soup Seafood Tourism in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Seven Seas Soup Seafood Tourism in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

Over the years, I have tried and really enjoyed eating seven seas soup (caldo siete mares) at neighborhood restaurants in Salinas and Monterey County. 

Seven seas soup is a tasty seafood tourism food for staycations and on the road trips. Its tomato-based broth usually come with shrimp, crab legs, scallops, octopus, mussels, clams, and white sea fish to make up seven items for the seven seas soup.  the vegetables in the soup are onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes.  For a seafood soup, seven seas soup is very filling.

Chicago restaurateur and anthropologist Rick Bayless uses fewer seafood items in his seven seas soup, but makes a great broth. I have included his recipe for the soup below: 

https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/steaming-seafood-or-chicken-or-vegetable-caldo/#:~:text=A%20caldo%20in%20Mexico%20is%20a%20soul%2Dsatisfying,seven%20seas%20soup/stew%2C%20that's%20so%20popular%20on

There are six places listed for seven seas soup in Salinas online which I have listed below: 

-Guadalajara Grill - this restaurant is a Blue Zone designated restaurant

-Mariscos El Kora 

-Phil’s Fish Market (This might be a special there, so call to make sure it is on the menu.) 

-El Zacatecano 

-Mariscos Puerto Nuevo 

-La Casa del Sazón 

Online delivery services usually have a pick-up option, if you want to sample some seafood tourism close to home to brighten up winter. 

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

Cheese Enchiladas for Flavor and Maybe Catering at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Cheese Enchiladas for Flavor and Maybe Catering at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

Cheese enchiladas, one of my favorite Tex-Mex dishes, is also what I consider a great catering dish for small dinner parties, office meetings, and team events for several reasons: 

-you can count the enchiladas out so everyone gets a fair share

-enchiladas can be made with either corn or flour tortillas (flour tortillas are made with lard whereas corn is sticky enough itself to hold a tortilla together) 

-enchiladas can be baked in a tray and served buffet style or plated up at a dining venue 

-enchiladas can be made with a variety of melting cheeses or with meat 

-the dried chiles used to make the sauce in cheese enchiladas can be mild or spicy and contains vitamin c

-cheese and peppers are both plentiful in California because they are produced here, which keeps purchasing costs down 

-cheese has both calcium and protein in it 

-Spanish rice is the usual side dish for cheese enchiladas. Rice is a grain that grows in California, which also keeps production prices down on cheese enchiladas 

-Spanish rice is usually made with chicken broth and tomato juice with a few whole jalapeño peppers added. This rice has protein, Vitamin C, antioxidants, and carbohydrates for energy 

I like the cheese enchiladas at Super Pollo and think they could make them as catering items with advance notice. Interested diners could try them first for take-out for 6 to 8 diners to test flavors and presentation before asking about catering. 

Super Pollo’s cheese enchilada combination seems similar to the recipe for them in The Best Mexican Recipes by America’s Test Kitchen (the test kitchen is in Boston). 

The sauce makes the dish. The sauce is made with stemmed and seeded dried ancho peppers that are toasted with cumin before being ground into a powder. This powder is added to salt and spices with chicken broth added that reduces the sauce to thick brick red. 

Some of this sauce is placed on the bottom of the baking dish. America’s Test Kitchen warms flour tortillas in a microwave. You can also do this with corn tortillas, but they crack easily so you need to be careful wrapping the corn tortillas around grated cheese. 

The cheese-filled wrapped tortillas are placed seam-side down on the baking dish. Sauce is spooned over the tortillas. Grated cheese is sprinkled on top of the tortillas before baking. 

When the cheese enchiladas are done, chopped scallions are placed on top of the enchiladas before serving. 

Spanish rice made with chicken broth, tomato juice, and maybe some whole jalapeño peppers is the side with hot sauces served in small dispenser cups. 

Cheese enchiladas with Spanish rice are inexpensive to make, easy to prepare and serve, and very healthy in terms of protein, calcium, Vitamin C, and antioxidants. The salt used has iodine in it I assume as well.

 i understand how Texas is Football Nation with a great catering dish like cheese enchiladas to serve player and everyone involved in making football games a profitable venture. 

Personally, I am a fan of the cheese enchiladas at Super Pollo in Salinas, California and think anyone involved with having to organized catering might want to try this dish. 

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

Soup of the Seven Seas (7 Mares) at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Soup of the Seven Seas at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I tried the robust 7 Mares soup at Super Pollo in Salinas, California (next to Star Market) for a winter brunch and loved the somewhat exotic flavor of this generous seafood medley. 

The exotic seasoning I am referring to is the epazote herb. This herb is sautéed along with onions and peppers as a flavor base in the 7 Mares Soup according to the nuwavenow.com website.Epazote tastes like a combination of oregano, anise, citrus, and mint. Its flavor is strong and is said to aid in digestion even help deworm according to some websites. 

I like epazote’s flavor and thought it made the tomato juice soup broth even more pronounced. You could probably say the 7 Mares soup is also made with seafood broth due to all the shellfish that boil open in the fish. For seafood lovers, the soup’s combination of flavors is invigorating. 

At Super Pollo, they sauté chunks of daily catch fish before adding in shrimp, octopus, crab legs, clams, scallops, and mussels. Once those go in, Super Pollo adds in chunks of carrots, celery, potato, and cabbage. The soup boils till the shellfish shells open and the vegetables are soft. 

For garnish, there is a bag of minced onion and cilantro along with a lemon wedge. I made sure to add those to the soup before feasting away and dunking in several folded soft corn tortillas. 

People who love Manhattan-style clam chowder would probably love 7 Mares Soup as well. California is able to source the 7 Mares seafood ingredients from the Pacific Ocean alone. This keeps the cost down and the flavor up. 

For a spa-worthy Mexican soup, 7 Mares at Super Pollo in Salinas, California is a vacation winner for travelers to California’s Central Coast. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Ruth Paget Self-Portrait

Tamale Making Workshop at Earthbound Farm on December 28, 2025 reposted by Ruth Paget

A Monterey County skill everyone should have is Tamale Making.

Tamales are usually seasoned chicken filled corn meal masa dough that is wrapped in corn husks and steamed 100 at a time.  They freeze well and can be reheated in a microwave.

I ate these as a teen in Detroit, Michigan with my Mexican-American friends.  I got to make bunuelos, fry bread with cinnamon-sugar, when I went to tamale lunches, too.

On December 28, 2025, there will be a tamale-making party at Earthbound Farm Stand in Carmel Valley, California.

Details about this food that is a big helper for working parents can be found on the link to the Monterey County Weekly Online Community Calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/tamale-workshop-with-chef-christina-lonewolf-martinez/17699025/2025-12-28T11

This is a great community tradition to continue.

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Latinx Artist Amalia Mesa-Baines Information reposted by Ruth Paget

The artwork and scholarship of Amalia Mesa-Baines has had significant impact on the Central Coast of California.

Information about her presentations and how to purchase her artwork are available on her website below:

https://renabranstengallery.com/artists/amalia-mesa-bains/

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Ballet Folklorico of Mexico at El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Ballet Folklorico of Mexico is coming to El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista, California in September 2025.

For tickets and information about the Ballet Folklorico and other events at El Teatro Campesino, I have linked to their website below:

El Teatro Campesino Website

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Fusion Seafood Feast at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget

Fusion Seafood Feast at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget 

I enjoyed the fried calamari and linguini with clams meal that I ate on a prior visit to Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California so much that my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I planned another visit to SLO for another meal at Lure. 

The meal I ordered on my recent visit was a great California fusion feast. I started with mussels Basquaise from Spain’s northwestern Basque Country. (The Basque Country extends into Southwestern France as well.) The classic recipe has cooks sauté small chunks of Spanish chorizo sausage with garlic and tomatoes with white wine and parsley added to steam open the mussels. (The Portuguese also prepare shellfish with chorizo sausage.) 

Lure Fish House makes this dish a fusion by not adding tomatoes to the sauté and steaming sauce. Instead, Lure replaces the tomatoes with romesco sauce from the other end of the Pyrénées Mountains in Spain’s Catalan region. 

Romesco sauce is a purée of sautéed and roasted red peppers, tomatoes, almonds, garlic, and parsley. This is a very upscale steaming sauce and utterly delicious. 

I used the garlic toast that came with the dish to soak up the romesco sauce along with bread. Next time I order mussels Basquaise, I might also order a side of rice to add into the leftover sauce, so I can get every last drop eaten. 

My main dish was tequila lime shrimp pasta (made with house-made linguini). This dish is like Italian scampi but is made with tequila and lime instead of white wine and lemon. When you cook this dish, you sauté garlic and tomatoes in butter and oil. Then, you add in shrimp till cooked and add in tequila to flavor the sauce and shrimp. The cooked pasta is then added into the cooked sauce and shrimp and tossed before serving. Lime juice is squeezed over the pasta at the table. 

I now equally love Italian-American shrimp scampi and tequila lime shrimp pasta. The combination of cooked garlic (which becomes sweet when cooked), citrus juice, and parsley just tastes great with shrimp. The alcohol makes the sauce succulent and makes every morsel delicious. 

Seafood lovers willing to experiment with fusion dishes will find much to enjoy at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California including the city’s sunny, warm weather. 

(Note: Lure Fish House has two parking lots located down the street from the entrance. They fill quickly, but there is street parking within walking distance, too.) 

(Note: We stayed at the Towne Place Suites by Marriott this trip. The suite we stayed in had a full kitchen, living room, and separate bedroom with the option of reserving an adjoining room. The air conditioning worked with no problem. I like the shower products the hotel offers – Alice and Co Botanicals. Those products make me feel like I have done a spa day when I shower after dinner and sit in the AC room. There is a pool and complimentary breakfast. Marriott also has a good loyalty program that new visitors might be interested in.) 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Taquitos in Salinas, California Still Serves Hearty Meals to the Neighborhood by Ruth Paget

Taquitos Restaurant in Salinas, California offers a panoply of Mexican cuisine.  Must be on the Salinas bucket list of places to eat.  My review for the Monterey County Weekly follows:

Taquitos in Salinas, California

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Ranchero Shrimp at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Ranchero Shrimp at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I found a dish at Super Pollo in Salinas, California that I am pretty sure qualifies as a Blue Zones recipe, which is 95% plant-based with 5% of the dish being made up of six butterflied and sautéed jumbo prawns.  

This dish is called Ranchero Shrimp (camarones rancheros). This dish is almost a stir-fry using olive oil (California has a lot), white onions, fat Serrano green and spicy peppers, 1 pound of diced tomatoes, cilantro, and shrimp. (Recipe source: mexicoinmykitchen.com) 

Ranchero shrimp is delicious and full of Vitamin C and antioxidants like lycopene in the tomatoes that can help prevent cancer. 

The light tomato sauce and vegetables pair well with the Spanish rice that comes with the meal. I always love Spanish rice as it is made with chicken broth, tomato juice, and green pepper slices. The refried beans at Super Pollo were light and tasted as if they had been made with olive oil. 

Finally, Super Pollo also delivers a side salad with this meal made of crispy iceberg lettuce (tastes great in the heat), tomato slices, a ring of raw onion, shredded cheese, and ranch dressing on the side. The salad and all the vegetables that go into this dish make it country or ranchero. 

I think camarones rancheros at Super Pollo tastes great and is really a good value for your money when you consider all the organic food from the Salinas that go into making it. I also think it is a candidate for a Blue Zones designation. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Mexican Seafood Enchiladas at Hay's Place in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Mexican Seafood Enchiladas at Hay’s Place in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget 

For a West Coast family reunion, my daughter Florence Paget, husband Laurent, and I went to Hay’s Place at Pebble Beach, California for a Mexican meal overlooking the Pacific and golf course. This is a great spot for a family vacation photo. 

We began our meal with our standard order of smashed guacamole and salsa. The guacamole at Hay’s Place is a salad with chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, avocado, and a little tequila. The corn chips that come with the guacamole are mostly blue corn chips and have a smokier taste than yellow corn chips. 

I tried the enchiladas del mar trio (3 seafood enchiladas with different sauces). On the day we visited Hay’s Place, the daily catch for one of the enchiladas was tilapia. (I lucked out!) 

Enchiladas are warmed soft corn tortillas wrapped around fillings with sauces on top that are baked to oozing goodness. At Hay’s Place, the enchiladas were filled with seafood, roasted mild green peppers that could be New Mexico chili peppers, and creamy Oaxacan crema cheese that is less tangy than sour cream with a dairy flavor. 

As I mentioned, the first enchilada in this trio was filled with sautéed tilapia fillet, mild green pepper strips, and Oaxacan crema cheese. The filling was wrapped with a soft blue corn tortilla. The sauce on this enchilada was a mole poblano, a savory spiced chocolate sauce. 

The second enchilada was filled with lobster, mild roasted green peppers, and Oaxacan cheese. The sauce for this lobster enchilada was a mild red sauce that tasted as if it had been made with tomatoes, onions, garlic, chili peppers, and seasonings like oregano, cumin, and paprika. The sauce was light and let the lobster flavor shine. 

The third enchilada was filled with shrimp, mild roasted green pepper, and Oaxacan crema cheese as well. This enchilada was also wrapped in a soft blue corn tortilla. The sauce on this enchilada was a piquant green sauce most probably made with Mexican tomatillo green tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, cilantro, and garlic. 

This grandiose selection of enchiladas came with stewed black beans mixed with tequila and Spanish rice made with tomato juice, chicken broth, and a few chopped green peppers. 

As a beverage, I drank Mexican Jarritos Mandarin orange soda that is partially made with orange juice. It still has sugar, but also has Vitamin C. 

For a tonic, spa meal that is also a little exotic during a golfing trip or tour of 17-Mile Drive, I highly recommend Hay’s Place at Pebble Beach. (Definitely a Blue Zones Outing by the ocean in fresh air!) 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Carnitas Taco Salad at Taquitos in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Carnitas Taco Salad at Taquitos in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

The rodeo is coming to Salinas, California the second week of July, so my daughter Florence Paget and I went to lunch at Taquitos, which is right across from the Salinas Sports Complex where the rodeo takes place on Main Street. 

I ate a Mexican-American classic taco salad, which came with a choice of proteins. I opted for carnitas, roast pork that is cooked with bitter Seville orange juice and the rinds. The Seville orange juice tenderizes the meat and seems to rid the meat of greasy liquid. 

At Taquitos, they place the carnitas chunks in the bottom of a large salad bowl, spread on a thin layer of refried beans, place a thick layer of crunchy and sliced iceberg lettuce on top of the beans, and finish it off with grated Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese. 

On the very top of the salad, Taquitos uses sour cream, juicy chopped tomatoes, and guacamole salad as dressings. The guacamole is also a salad made with chopped onion, chopped tomato, chopped cilantro, and lime juice. Crispy, homemade tortilla chips were stuck in the various sauces. I have to admit, I love guacamole salad dressing.

I ate a third of the salad and made two more meals out of the leftovers at home. 

Diners who like roast pork might enjoy carnitas in this salad or alone as a tasty introduction to Hispanic cuisine. 

(Note: Taquitos is open for breakfast, lunch, and supper.)

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Enchiladas de Mole al Fogòn at Hay's Place in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Enchiladas de Mole al Fogón at Hay’s Place in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget 

One of my family’s treat outings is an afternoon lunch at the open air cantina Hay’s Place in Pebble Beach, California overlooking the Pacific Ocean. 

The food at Hay’s Place is traditional and contemporary Mexican. The last time my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I went for lunch, we began with smashed guacamole and yellow and blue corn chips. The guacamole was really a salad with tomato chunks, chopped onion, and chopped cilantro smashed with avocado and mixed with lime juice. This is a delicious combination for nibbling on while great dishes come from the kitchen. 

As my main dish, I ordered Enchiladas de Mole al Fogón. For this dish, soft corn tortillas encircle chicken strips cooked with poblano chiles, corn kernals, and warm and melted Oaxacan cheese, which is like mozzarella. 

The mole sauce is a specialty of Puebla, Mexico. It is a savory chocolate sauce mixed with chile peppers and spices. The mole sauce goes of top of the enchiladas (3 of them) and around them on the heated plate from the hearth, the fogón. Toasted sesame seeds are sprinkled on everything. 

As garnishes, Hay’s Places serves mild feta-like cotija cheese on top of the enchiladas along with red pickled onion slices and avocado slices. This dishes looks and tastes very good. Cotija cheese comes from Michoacán, Mexico. 

Black beans and Spanish rice accompany this scrumptious dish. Everything seemed to go very well with the horchata, a Mexican rice and milk drink topped with cinnamon that I ordered to go with this meal. Horchata is non-alcoholic and nice for designated drivers. 

The view, ambience, and delicious Mexican food at Hay’s Place in Pebble Beach, California make it a nice place for a relaxed lunch while touring 17-Mile Drive. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Shrimp Cocktail and Chile Verde from Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Gulf Coast Fare from Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

Super Pollo Taquería in Salinas, California offers delicious Gulf Coast Texan and Mexican fare for everyday dinners and special events. 

For my December birthday, I ordered a tonic winter meal made up of shrimp cocktail, chile verde con puerco, and Spanish rice. 

Super Pollo stuffs a large beverage container with briny shrimp that swim in a sea of pico de gallo salsa topped off with slices of avocado for its shrimp cocktail. 

Pico de gallo salsa is made with chopped red pepper, onions, tomates, and cilantro with the addition of spicy peppers and Tapatío hot sauce for Super Pollo’s shrimp cocktail. I wanted to eat the shrimp cocktail on a blustery day on a sailboat, but was happy at home with a Monterey Beer from Alvarado Street Brewery. 

Chile verde con puerco is made by browning onions and pork and making a spicy green sauce, the chile verde, to go with the browned pork. 

To make childe verde sauce, you roast Mexican tomatillo green peppers (minus the papery skin), jalapeño peppers and Anaheim or Poblano peppers. Once roasted, you place these items in a blender with a bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped yellow onions, and chicken stock and purée the sauce. 

You warm the sauce and browned pork cubes together and then serve the chile verde with Spanish rice. Spanish rice is made with chicken stock and tomato juice and is so delicious you can practically make a meal of it alone. 

This is a large and delicious meal. I add leftover chile verde to chicken noodle soup for a boost of Vitamin C. (I also add leftover salsa to chicken noodle soup for another meal for a Vitamin C and flavor boost as well.) 

If you want a tonic Tex-Mex meal in winter, the shrimp cocktail and chile verde meal I ordered à la carte at Super Pollo is pretty hard to beat.   

Salinas could do food tourism with all the Tex-Mex restaurants we have in town.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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