Friday, August 8, 2008

Mexican Fresh Food Markets


One of the reasons that I agreed to take a few of my remaining vacation days to go to Mexico for two small presentations at the International AIDS Conference was so that I could visit some local fresh food markets and bring back mole and vanilla beans. I posted queries on Chowhound and the Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree Forum to see if people had recommendations about where to go and whether I would have any trouble bringing things back. I didn't get very many responses, and didn't have a clear idea of where to go or what to do when I got there. Luckily, I ran into a friend of a friend of a friend at a breakfast on the first day I was there who is from Mexico City and told me to visit Mercado de Xochimilco and Mercado de Coyoacan.



Public transit in Mexico City is easier than in any other city I've ever visited, so it was easy to get around, even though both of these markets were very far from where I was staying, and from where the conference was being held. I spent time practicing my Spanish, taking pictures, and buying food stuffs to bring home. These are just a few pictures of the produce in these markets. In the coming days, I'll post more about what I've done with some of the ingredients I brought back. First up: mole verde chicken breast.

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