One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.
~ Henry Miller
In plain sight, under my nose all along
The Plant-based Foods of our Continent
It's the last day of our road-trip on the last day of 2013 and it's a sunny 73*. Many separate ideas about the plant-based diet of the indigenous people of the southwest come together as I spend a pleasant half-hour wandering around El Tapatio Market in Corona, California. Here's a link: El Tapatio Markets.
The produce department impresses, with both the quality and the low prices of tomatoes, tomatillos, all kinds of peppers, potatoes, cilantro, lemons and limes, onions and garlic. It's New Years Eve - winter - yet the produce looks radiantly ripe and fresh.
The farther south and the closer to the equator you go, the plant-based foods of the southwest can be grown nearly year round. (In Northern California, I plant tomatoes after the last frost, which can happen as late as mid-May. When my brother lived in Tuscon, Arizona, he'd plant tomatoes in January). Over the next few months, much of the fresh produce sold across our country will come from Mexico.
It's the last day of our road-trip on the last day of 2013 and it's a sunny 73*. Many separate ideas about the plant-based diet of the indigenous people of the southwest come together as I spend a pleasant half-hour wandering around El Tapatio Market in Corona, California. Here's a link: El Tapatio Markets.
The produce department impresses, with both the quality and the low prices of tomatoes, tomatillos, all kinds of peppers, potatoes, cilantro, lemons and limes, onions and garlic. It's New Years Eve - winter - yet the produce looks radiantly ripe and fresh.
The farther south and the closer to the equator you go, the plant-based foods of the southwest can be grown nearly year round. (In Northern California, I plant tomatoes after the last frost, which can happen as late as mid-May. When my brother lived in Tuscon, Arizona, he'd plant tomatoes in January). Over the next few months, much of the fresh produce sold across our country will come from Mexico.
Finds
And Then There's Chocolate - xocolatl
- Bins of dried chili peppers: Choose one or buy a dozen - you don't have to wonder what to do with any remaining peppers in the pre-packaged chili peppers. Just get what you need
- All kinds of hot-to-mild pepper sauces
- Lard: boxes, buckets, cans and fresh, looking like white bricks, in the meat department
- Dried corn milled in all kinds of ways, from flour to grits
- Prepared tortilla dough, sold in 10 pound bags, ready to cook and serve fresh and warm
- Quantities of dried herbs and spices in small bags
- Tamale making ingredients displayed together...hmmmm...everything that's needed to make tamales...okie doke...I'm going to try making tamales...mañana!
The Flavors of Our Continent
It's fun grocery shopping in a store that caters to the Mexican community. You can bet I'll check out local Mexican Grocery Stores when I'm back home. These stores essentially carry the indigenous foods of Central and South America. Foods enjoyed by Aztecs, Mayans...and me!
I may need to make a bumper sticker
I stop at Farm Stands!
Here's what we came home with:
- Pinto Beans, grown at high elevation in Colorado. I'm curious if the flavor differs from plain ol' pinto beans. Also, I love the burlap bag!
- Various types of dried chili peppers for chili powder, see my December 29, 2013 blog
- Roma tomatoes, purchased fresh at El Tapatio Market in Corona, they looked so good!
- Tomatillos, also looked awesome, so I bought these, too
- El Pinto Salsa, purchased at El Pinto Restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Piloncillo: unrefined whole cane sugar, typical in Central and Latin America, which is basically a solid piece of sucrose obtained from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. ~ Wikipedia. I'm curious how to cook with Piloncillo.
- Honey from the Dallas, Texas area
- Relatives in Texas love this hazelnut roast coffee from the H.E.B Markets in the Austin area.
- Indian Fry Bread mix...couldn't resist...I know I know, it's processed...just deal
- Pecans, from The Pecan Shed near Wichita Falls, Texas, www.pecanshed.com. The chocolate covered pecans did not make it all the way back home!
- Tortilla mix...okay, this is processed, too...but geez already!
- Various fresh peppers: I just love the color, smell and feel of great produce!
- Tamale flour: a coarser grind of dried corn
- Anasazi Beans: I'm starting to find these locally. The flavor is meaty and a bit smoky
- Beans: Frijol Rojo de Seda, may be plain red beans...just teeny
- Dried corn husks: These can be bought locally, but since they were part of a Tamale ingredient display, and I love being efficient, I bought them!
and T: Ingredients that will be used to make Tamales for the next blog.
And Then There's Chocolate - xocolatl
Can you imagine living in a world that never had chocolate? Say, Europe, Africa or Asia pre-1400? It makes me shudder...those poor people! I am grateful to be alive in 2014.
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| Happy New Year All y'All! |
You didn't mention that you went in for the steal during our white elephant gift exchange to get #7...the Texas honey! You didn't include the sardines in your collection though...:).
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