Hot chocolate weather and I dream of Mexico

We’re having one of our first real cold spells, so after an errand in the dark this evening it was definitely time for a hot drink. I know this time last year I was singing the virtues of Swiss Miss but tonight I was in the mood for something a little more substantial. I broke out the last box of Mayordomo chocolate we toted back from Mexico almost two years ago and made some real Mexican-style hot chocolate.

We’re lucky enough to be visiting our southern neighbor again in January and I’m already looking forward to the warm weather, of course, but also to one of my favorite tourist activities: grocery shopping. The grocery stores in Puerto Vallarta were our main source for souvenirs the last time we went, and we toted back fun finds like “salsa en polvo,” a salt/chile/lime mixture that tastes great on sprinkled on popcorn and corn on the cob, and cajeta, goats’ milk caramel candies. We also brought back a tortilla press and a gift for my brother of a really fine bottle of tequila (really, you could sip it like scotch!) I searched for a molinillo, the wooden tool used to froth up the hot chocolate, but I didn’t know what it was called (and didn’t have much of a voice, thanks to a nasty cold I managed to catch on the plane there) so I’m not sure if I couldn’t find it because we were in the wrong region of Mexico or because I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. I’ll certainly try again this time!

We do have a few Mexican grocery stores here in town and even our regular grocery stores carry quite a selection of Mexican items both local and imported, but nothing beats deciphering labels and exploring the aisles of other peoples’ markets, shops, and stores. Any favorite grocery finds from your travels? Anything we shouldn’t leave Mexico without?

Breakfast in Mexico