Today I thought I would give you some help on finding all the ingredients we have been using, and for future recipes. I’m lucky in the fact that I have a Mexican grocery store 5 miles from my house, which has made things for me pretty easy. So here we go, I hope everyone finds this information useful, and helps you on our quest in becoming great cooks in a Mexican Kitchen.
First up is local Mexican grocery stores, they seem to be popping up everywhere. If you live by one of the bigger cities in our great nation, they should be easy to find. In Illinois we have La Huerta. They have six locations around Chicago land, and is the store by my house. It’s a great place; I found them to be clean and organized. The staff was friendly and helpful…it was a real learning experience. They do not have a web site.
The first time I went in there my wife and I spent an hour just looking around and absorbing everything. I recommend doing this; nothing makes up for “hands on” learning. Here you can smell, touch, and look at everything in person. I think is the best way to get in touch with new ingredients.
Second I will give you some links to great web sites. Not quite the same learning experience, but very useful none the less.
Produce and Chiles - http://www.melissas.com/
Chiles, canned, ground - http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/
Everything Mexican - http://www.mexgrocer.com/
Fresh Herbs - http://www.herbchef.com/index.htm
Sausage, Cheeses and then some - http://www.vvsupremo.com/
This is very good resource info. Thanks for sharing. I know of MexGrocer and Gourmet Sleuth, but the others are new to me. As a Mexican food blogger who writes from Mexico, I often do not know where my readers north of the border can find all the ingredients. I just tweeted this to help others locate the right chile or spice.
ReplyDeleteGracias!
Kathleen
Kathleen