Summertime is salad time in our household. Why heat up the house with cooked food when there are so many fresh, local vegetables available? As a celebration for the abundance of summer produce, I tossed together a baby kale salad with ingredients inspired by Mexican food. It was tasty, if I do say so myself. Since this is my blog, I guess that’s rather redundant, but there you go. Why the bad pun title, you may ask? Well, when it comes to Mexican food married with California cuisine, laid out on a bed of kale — I just couldn’t help myself. Blame the journalism training.

This salad is perfect on its own, but if you wanted to get even fancier, you could add some crumbled, blue corn tortilla chips and a sprinkling of queso fresco to create a taco salad. Whichever way you go, serve this bad boy with a beer. We paired our dinner with a Big Sky Brewing Co. I.P.A. I’m not a fan of I.P.A.s that beat up your taste buds with hops, but Big Sky’s version has enough of a malty backbone to make for an enjoyable drinking experience.