Azle Farmers Market Food Demos

There is now a small farmers market in Azle, Texas where I live. It was started by the Rasmussen family, Lisa and Kristoffer and their children, to bring locally grown produce to the community. There are many backyard gardeners in this area who have much more than their family can consume and the farmers market is a practical way to both meet others with a common interest and share great produce. Last year my own small garden produced an abundunce of squash, cucumbers and tomatoes so this year I'll be bringing them to the farmers market instead of trying to find people at work who even eat vegetables. You'd be surprised to know there are many people who live on meat, bread, and sugar and only eat deep fried vegetables.

When I first read about the market I asked the Rasmussens if they would like to have me come and do cooking demonstrations using the local produce. They were happy to include me so June 12 was week 2 and the first time I joined them. I've been there twice now and plan to come every Saturday when I'm available.

The farmers market is being held at 1425 Florence Dr. in Azle. It starts at 8:00 AM.

So far I've prepared Migas Tacos, Japanese Grilled Beef, Brown Rice with vegetable saute,

and Asian Slaw with ginger sesame dressing.

Here are some of the recipes:

Japanese Grilled Beef

2 lbs beef sirloin for fajitas

4 green onions, thinly sliced

2/3 cup light soy sauce

4 T lemon juice

4 T sugar

2 T vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

Mix together and marinate meat 3-4 hours or overnight. Grill over medium hot coals or on gas grill until desired doneness. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly. Serve with rice and salad.

Asian Slaw

Red leaf lettuce, cabbage, or any lettuce you prefer, shredded with knife

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 carrot, shredded

1 small cucumber, shredded

also add any garden vegetables such as bell peppers, hot peppers, zuchinni, squash, etc.

Dressing

1/2 tsp grated ginger

2 T rice wine vinegar

few drops sesame oil

few drops soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp Sambal Oleek

4 T vegetable oil

Mix together ginger, vinegar and all ingredients except oil, add oil a few drops at a time until thickened, then add rest of oil. Adjust taste by adding more vinegar or oil as desired.

Add dressing to slaw but only use enough to coat the salad, do not overdress it.

Brown Rice with Vegetable Saute

1 T olive oil or vegetable oil

1 small onion or 3 scallions, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T fresh ginger, grated

1/2 cup chopped zuchinni, squash, eggplant, or other fresh vegetable in season

2 cups cooked brown rice

3 T light soy sauce

few drops sesame oil

2 T chopped cilantro or parsley

Heat oil, quickly saute the onion, garlic, and ginger, stirring constantly. Add vegetables and cook until tender but still a little firm. Add brown rice, soy sauce and sesame oil. Sprinkly with cilantro or parsley and mix well.

Perfect Brown Rice

I read these instructions in Saveur Magazine a couple years ago and have made all brown rice this way since then and it's so much better than the usual method. Try it and decide for yourself!

1-2 cups brown rice

12 cups water

Kosher salt, to taste

Rinse rice in a strainer under cold water for 30 seconds. Bring 12 cups of salted water to boil in a large pot over high heat. Add rice, stir once and boil uncovered for 30 minutes. Pour the rice into a strainer over the sink.

Let rice drain for 10 seconds, then return to pot, off the heat. Cover the pot and set it aside to allow the rice to steam for 10 minutes. Uncover, fluff with fork.

This rice is great for using in fried rice.