Mexican food again :)

Fortunatly, I cook and Mexican is my specialty.  I know pretty much what I'm looking for in terms of ingredients.  So far, I've been pretty lucky when shopping at the grocery stores here. 

As for Mexican restaurant....right now I'd settle for El Torito! 

Does anyone know where to get  black beans here?  I LOVE Mexican and can make some of my own, but can't seems to find them. 

Does anyone know where to get  black beans here?  I LOVE Mexican and can make some of my own, but can't seems to find them. 

Funny, on Friday I was just telling a Brazilian girl at work where to find black beans! Try a health food store--they usually have a good selection of dried beans, grains, etc. Or Sainsbury's carries them through their online service:
http://www.sainsburystoyou.com/webconnect/index.jsp?bmUID=1179084830519

Larger grocery stores should have them too. Our small local stores don't, if I remember right. Good luck!

My husband got a big can of La Costena black beans either at Taqueria or Mestizo in London, can't remember which.  Otherwise, yes you can get dried black beans in mostl arge supermarkets or health food shops. I know I've seen them at Tesco Extra. Cool Chile also sells an overpriced black bean "kit" which is a bag of black beans and all the bits to go with it.

Oops, I didn't even think about canned beans! But I've seen them the same sorts of places, I think.

I will go to Holland and Barratt today!  Thanks!!!

What is with every place I go to here that serves Mexican food wanting to add courgette to all of the dishes?  Very bizzarre.

Pepitos in Derby is gross.  Courgette all over the place, and tiny tiny "margaritas" that taste like alcoholic kool aid. 

I have found that Sainsbury's own brand Mexican seasoning is pretty good, though!  It comes in little packets by itself, without the need to buy an entire taco "kit."

we tried old el paso's bean & beef chili burrito kit this week.

oddly, there were no beans in it at all. so i added a can of red kidneys & a can of pintos, and a can of crushed tomatoe along with a bag of quorn chicken pieces.

it rocked.

we ate it with the flour tortillas in the pack, shredded lettuce & shredded cheddar.

I'm not much of a fan of the Old El Paso kits sold over here. The smoky bbq fajitas just didn't do it for me. I bought some Discovery fajita mix spice a few weeks ago and we really loved it, it had a good kick to it. Just last night we bought a few Discovery fajita kits and tried one, it was great. It comes with the fajita spice, tortillas, and some salsa, but we just bought fresh hot salsa at Tesco to use. We also bought the Discovery refried beans to go with it, and I loved those. I might try the Old El Paso ones since I could eat a big tin of them, but I'll see if there's a sale on next time I go to the grocery store.

Fajitas have become dish to cook since I've moved here. I just really miss good Mexican food, and fajitas are all I can do at the moment. I really want to learn to cook proper Mexican food, or at least expand beyond tacos and fajitas. Any recommendations for a good cookbook here?

A bit off-topic, but while buying the above fajita kits in Tesco, a lady asked me how much the tortillas were. Nothing too abnormal, but she pronounced the l's in "tortilla", and as soon as we were in another aisle my boyfriend and I cracked up. He used to do the same thing, but I know enough Spanish that he pronounces things properly now and he laughed harder than I did.

The Discovery spices are pretty good, I have used their Mexican fajita sauce on nachos, you have to try it. Unorthodox but incredible.

Also, you can buy Cool Chile Co. masa from Salisbury's in the specialty food section if you want to try making your own corn tortillas. It's not cheap but the quality is good. My tortillas haven't turned out fabulous, though. I think I didn't knead them enough... the texture isn't right but the taste is spot on.

Asda in Portsmouth sold a fresh salsa that was pretty good, not hot enough but that's easily fixed with a chili or two.

I don't really add many spices/seasonings to fajitas when I cook them. Just marinate them in some beer and fresh lime juice and then grill them. Yum.  

I don't really add many spices/seasonings to fajitas when I cook them. Just marinate them in some beer and fresh lime juice and then grill them. Yum.  

I used to go with Liquid Smoke or Allegro Marinade, some chllies & cilantro.

Have you seen the Ainsley Harriets liquid spray that taste just like liquid smoke?


It really is nice!

Have you seen the Ainsley Harriets liquid spray that taste just like liquid smoke?


It really is nice!

Thank MeShell - I'll have to keep my eye out for that!

I don't really add many spices/seasonings to fajitas when I cook them. Just marinate them in some beer and fresh lime juice and then grill them. Yum.  

wonder if that would work with quorn...