Getting creative with goodies from the Mexican grocery store...

Mexican Scramble ~ my low fat breakfast this morning, full of the flavors & colors of Mexico!  Made with scrambled eggs that were tossed with sauteed onion, jalapenos, tomatoes, spinach, cilantro & lime; fat-free refried beans; & the best brand of corn tortillas that I've ever had, toasted in a pan with a little Pam.  What a GREAT way to start my day!!  Real-time cooking in my kitchen today.  :)

These are the best corn tortillas I've ever purchased!

I recently discovered the most WONDERFUL Mexican grocery store.  I happened to notice it while I was sitting in a traffic jam.  I must have driven by it 100 times in the past, but had never noticed it before.  Thank you backed-up traffic!  I've had fun creating spicy Mexican dishes with my authentic ethnic food booty, and there are lots more to be created in the days to come.  The grocery store also has prepared hot food for sale.  I only bought the tamales this time, but I will be going back in a week to get another fix of their fabulous cooked and fresh food items.

Check out the comments below the tamale photos to see just what taking a bite of those tamales meant to me. It was along the lines of what happened to Anton Ego, from the Disney movie Ratatouille.  BAM!  Years disappeared and I was transported to a beach in Mexico...

Armchair traveling, or should I say kitchen-table-traveling, at its finest!  I wouldn't miss exploring ethnic grocery stores for the world, they can take you places ~ at least they do for me! 

My Mexican foodie treasures ~ The grocery store was super colorful, with lots of pretty piñatas hanging from the ceiling.  It was FULL of authentic Mexican grocery items ~ fresh/canned & a bounty of other items.  The meat case had the best looking items, as did the produce case.  I felt right at home there, it was like I was back in Mexico...or back in Los Angeles. (I forget sometimes how much I miss living in LA!)   The employees in the store had very limited English & I have very limited Spanish, but we were all able to communicate with a lot of laughs & smiles.  This is my new favorite speciality store!

They also had the most AMAZING tamales for sale.  They had 3 different flavors ~ chicken & green chile, cheese with chopped chile and shredded beef & red chile.  They are all SO good, I don't care how many calories are in them!  They are a comfort food to me and I'm going to keep a little stash in the freezer... just for me when I need a little TLC.  :) 

 Beautiful Mona

These fresh grocery store tamales were homemade, served in a HUGE tamale steaming pot, stacked up and piping hot.  I haven't had a tamale this good since I used to eat those made by my friend Lupe's mother, Mona. These store tamales were made with love, just like Lupe's mother's were.  With the first bite, I was taken back to over 20 years ago ~ vacationing with Lupe & her family.  We were at Rosarito Beach, in Baja Mexico, about 35 miles over the California/Mexico border.  (that was just before it became the beach holiday destination it is today)  Staying at a place right on the beach, with tile floors, sandy beaches, bright blue skies and blue-green seas.  The older women cooking in the kitchen, the younger adults & kids playing in the water.  The whole beach smelled of home cooking ~ drifting on the ocean breeze, coming from the small kitchens of all the seaside bungalows.  A simple day, where family memories are made...

I'd forgotten that memory, and these $1 tamales brought that happy day back in a split second.  To me, that is the subtle essence, the profound power of food ~ and one of the many reasons I think it's great to be a foodie!