Food you can't get in Saint-Aignan

Yesterday I went shopping for food products that we can't get easily in France. Mostly, that means Latino food, though there are also some Southern U.S. product like grits and corn meal that I take or ship back too.

By the way, polenta substitutes naturally for grits in my shrimp and grits recipe. Actually, polenta is to grits as corn meal is to masa harina. And masa harina is one of the Latino products that I will take or ship back to France. After all, Chris and Tony brought us a very nice tortilla press when they came to France last spring. So into the box will go 5 lbs. of masa harina and 5 lbs. of white grits.

A grocery store in Morehead City, N.C.

And into the box will also go the things I bought yesterday at El Mercadito, a Mexican grocery store in Morehead City. It's unbelievable that such a store even exists here in coastal Carolina. Times and countries change quickly nowadays.

Peppers in adobo sauce

What did I buy that you can't get in France? First, three cans of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. I think I will go back and buy some more of those next week if I can fit them in the box I plan to ship back to Saint-Aignan.

Si señor, three bags full

I also bought three bags of dried red peppers labeled Chile de Nuevo Mexico, Chile de California, and Chile de Arbol. Plus a bag of Epazote en Rama and a bag of Oregano Entero. Rick Bayless uses all these in the recipes in his cookbooks, of which we have two. All of the above products are Mi Costeñito brand and distributed by a company in Chicago.

Long may she wave...

Meanwhile, across the highway from El Mercadito is a big shopping center where you can buy, buy, buy at WalMart, Staples, Lowes Home Improvement Center, Best Buy, Sears, Belk, and many more stores. Along the road there's a car dealership that flies an over-sized American flag.