Dia de los Muertos

One of our favorite themes parties is Día de los Muertos– Day of the Dead. Falling on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, Nov. 1 and 2 respectively, it is a day to remember family members who have past. Having friends over to drink and munch on food adds to the fun – with no costumes required.

With the party scheduled for Friday evening, We’re looking for food that is easy to make.  This is a great opportunity to visit two larger Mexican grocery stores, Rancho Liberio and Advanza. Both had the common amenities of a one-stop-shop market; however there is a distinct small market feel that creates a unique hybrid atmosphere.

Ranch Libero had a nice selection of meats, including heart and tripe. Tripe is on its way back into fame because it’s good taste and low cost. On sale at $0.99 per pound, tripe can help make a healthy, cheap dinner. The seafood here was alright. We weren’t ogling over the fish but they did have fresh octopus which is nice. Produce was great, with everything you expect from a chain store and more. Aloe leaves, fresh figs and chayotes, both in the prickly and non-prickly variety. Chayotes are a water based vegetable much like jicama, but with a bit more of a green taste to it. The prickly variety is hard to handle.

Avanza was much like Rancho Libero, with an alright fish section and a decent meat section. The produce section was a bit bigger and included a few extra things like Banana leaves. The one big difference here is that, noticeably in the meat section, there isn’t much translation. Rancho Libero had everything in English and Spanish, while I did notice a lot of things at Avanza that weren’t labeled in English.

At Ranch Libero, we bought some fresh Hojarascas, lovely sable-like cookies from Northern Mexico. Dusted in powdered sugar, these cinnamon cookies would go great with coffee. Of course, we had to taste-test the cookies once we got home – make sure they were as delicious as they looked. Which led to one slight problem…

This one survived the onslaught of hungry stomachs and quick fingers. 

We now need to go buy more for the party.

Christine and Zach

Going Global, Looking Local

I was hankering for kofte, the Middle Eastern specialty of ground lamb, beef, onions and parsley. While it was not difficult to make, sometimes finding the ground lamb is. When my local supermarket fell short, I recalled a co-worker telling me about a cool Middle Eastern market in Aurora. “Great food,” she said, “You should go.”

Since Zach has a love of all food, especially the slightly odd and very fresh, we headed to Aurora to check it out. I could pick up some pomegranate molasses, I thought, just a couple of things. We walked in the door to find a bright up-beat market that had us filling up a cart.

How did we not know about this? Why aren’t we coming here all the time?

Hence the birth of this blog.

We knew of some European markets in our side of town, the Polish deli, the Russian market. When I mentioned these places to friends or neighbors, there was a quizzical, “Where is that at?” These markets are hidden gems, which is a culinary shame. Grocery shopping should not be a segregated experience.

Our blog aims to find the little Mom and Pop places, as well as the larger ethnic markets, that many people would drive by on their way to the chain supermarket with their loyalty card. We’ll be completing our reviews on a map to help you locate these gems and recipes to help you use some of these new ingredients.

Is there a little Thai market in your neighborhood? Or maybe you’ve been looking for that illusive ingredient to complete your grandmother’s favorite dish. Maybe you’ve found some exotic ingredient and want to know how to use it. Let us know! We’ll be updating the blog weekly, and look forward to your comments.

Christine and Zach