Ingredients:

Salsa Chunkage
• 1 package (1 lb.) frozen sweet, whole kernel corn, thawed
• 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ cup chopped red onion
• 3 Italian plum tomatoes (Roma) chopped (I used 6 tomatoes)
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

Salsa Dressing
• 1 tablespoon kosher or regular salt
• ¾ teaspoons ground cumin
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice – 2 limes (I bought a bottle of 100 percent lime juice and used that. It’s in the juice section at the grocery store)
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees; in a bowl mix the corn and oill; spread mixture out on a cookie sheet; bake 18-22 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until corn starts to brown; let cool.

Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl or Tupperware container; shake well.

In large bowl, combine cilantro, onion, tomatoes, jalapenos, bell pepper, garlic, beans and roasted corn; mix well; add avocados and dressing just before serving; toss gently.

Serve with corn chips. You guys will chow this one down!!

Rinse well and drain jalapeno peppers. Slit lengthwise on one side; remove seeds and veins, leaving stem attached. Beat cream cheese till fluffy. Beat in cheddar cheese and green onion. Stuff each pepper with part of the cheese mixture. Arrange on heatproof serving plate or baking sheet; bake in 350 degree oven about 10 minutes or till cheese melts. Top each pepper with a pimento strip. Makes 12.

The Mission Cafe (of which there are two) combines great American and Mexican breakfasts into an eclectic but good menu that’s good for breakfast or lunch.

The Mission Beach location is usually much busier during tourist season (March through about October/November), and it’s hard to find parking on the narrow Mission Beach strand, but both can be very popular. The North Park location is almost more fun because it’s right next to an art gallery/shop, Sumner and Dene, that sells everything from sculptures to paintings to jewellery, all wonderfully eclectic and fun, and sometimes affordable too. (We’re not normally “art people”, but we’ve bought some pieces from this place.) The best part is that the maitre’d from the cafe will come into the gallery to call your name when your table is ready, so you don’t have to keep checking back every 5 minutes lest your table be given away. This is only at the North Park location, though.

Breakfast includes several interesting pancake types (I’m a fan of the blackberry pancakes), the standard breakfast staples (eggs, bacon, etc.) and some special dishes. The Mission Rosemary is a favorite — a rosemary omelette thing with the famous house potatoes on the side. I also like the Mission Croissant — a croissant with cream cheese, tomatoes, scallions, and eggs. There’s a smoked apple sausage plate as well, and the Zen Breakfast — a vegetarian’s delight with several different kinds of veggies and some tofu.

There’s also a set of Mexican-ish dishes (burritos and wraps), for those who like that style of food, and some smoothies for the liquid dieters. They make a mean espresso mocha, adding chocolate chips into the frozen version of this drink.

Expect about a half hour’s wait for a table, depending on what time you get there, but the food is worth the wait.

Rancho’s Cocina (known simply as Rancho’s) is one of the better Mexican restaurants in San Diego. It’s very unassuming, but their food is excellent and inexpensive.

Traditional Mexican fare (tacos, burritos, etc.) can be found on the menu, sometimes with a twist, along with some more obscure dishes, as well as some of their own creation. Their grilled fish tacos are among the better found in San Diego, and their fried calamari appetizer is amazing — fresh and tender, not a trace of the chewiness one might find at a lesser establishment.

They also have a good deal of breakfast items on the menu, as well as smoothies (liquados) made from fresh fruit.

Over half of their menu consists of vegetarian items, some with just vegetables, others with tofu or other meat substitutes. Every ingredient they use is fresh; we once had to walk through the back area to get to a bathroom at the original location on Point Loma Ave. (which also contains their grocery store), and the owner proudly pointed out that the only thing that came from a can was tomato paste — everything else was in fresh bundles from their suppliers.

They’re usually busy, so every now and then it can take a little time for the food to arrive, but it’s always worth the wait. The only thing cheaper are the “*berto’s” restaurants one finds interspersed around San Diego, but it’s worth the extra buck or two for real, quality Mexican food.