To market, to market, to buy fresh mole (mow-lay!)

We went to the market today in search of mole verde (MOW-lay). Hahaha, I have a list of food items that I am trying to gather and bring home since we have the car. The collection is mounting in my bedroom and it looks like a restaurant could be opened at any moment! Sea salt, orange blossom honey, pink pinenuts, chia seeds, etc. The woman who cleans the house is from Oaxaca, and told us which market has the best moles, so we were off. For those who have not tried mole, it is basically a sauce that is made from grinding seeds/nuts, chiles, spices, and sometimes chocolate. When you buy it as a paste, you reconstitute it with chicken stock and then serve it on chicken, pork, or turkey. Most times it is spicey, but it can even be a little sweet. The famous places in Mexico to eat mole are Puebla (mole poblano), and Oaxaca (many kinds). The first picture is of different moles, and then the different chiles they use:

Here is some fresh canela (cinnamon):

Lots of beans and legumes:

Yummy piloncillo! Piloncillo is basically UNrefined sugar- very sweet and caramelly. When they cut the sugar cane, the juice that comes out is boiled and then poured into molds to harden. People here regard it as healthier because it is unrefined. I don't know if it is exactly "healthy" (it is sugar!) but it definitely tastes better than regular sugar!

So the mole we bought was mole almendrado (a mixture of almonds, chocolate, chiles, and I'm not sure what else) and mole verde (a mixture of pumpkin seeds, greens, epazote, chiles, and more). I will let you know how our chicken in mole verde comes out!

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Here is the fruit stand across from the mole stand: