Migas Tacos

I made these migas tacos for the June 12 farmers market. I wanted to find a way to use the bell peppers, hot peppers, onions and tomatoes from my garden and this worked perfectly (and tasted soooo good) Try it for breakfast or dinner. If you want to skip frying the tortillas you can substitute baked tortilla chips.

4 corn tortillas

1 Jalapeno

2 bell peppers, green, red, yellow or any combination

1 small onion, diced

12 eggs

4 oz Cotija or Monterey Jack cheese (any cheese is OK)

1/4 cup milk or half and half

1 T vegetable oil

1 T butter

1/2 tsp New Mexico red chile powder or Chipotle seasoning blend

Cilantro, fined minced

Salt and pepper

Sour cream or creme fraiche

Finely sliced Jalapeno peppers

10 flour or other grain tortillas

Optional: 8 oz chorizo, turkey, soyrizo, cooked and crumbled can be added prior to the eggs, if desired.

Fry corn tortillas in vegetable oil until crisp. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with Kosher salt. After cool, tear into strips or cut into strips or squares. Set aside. Whisk together egg and milk in bowl, add salt and pepper, set aside. Melt butter (or vegetable oil) in large skillet over medium heat. Cook onions and peppers for 3-4 minutes, add tomatoes and tortillas, reduce heat to low. Add egg mixture and cook with other ingredients on low heat. Add cheese and cilantro.

Place migas inside flour tortillas and top with cilantro, creme fraiche, and more peppers, as desired. Migas are also fine all by themselves!

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Oven Dried Tomatoes or "tomato candy"

I posted this photo on Facebook and got some requests for the instructions. I have lots of cherry and other small tomatoes ripening in my garden right now so I wanted to roast them and use them in sauces, frittatas and on salads. (But you can use any size tomato in this recipe)Here's how I did it:

Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and place them cut side up on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or lightly oiled. Season with sea salt and spray lightly with olive oil. Let stand for 20 minutes, then roast in 250 degree oven until slightly dry but still juicy, about 4 hours. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme or other herbs. Keep in refrigerator or they also freeze well. Enjoy! I liked eating them straight--just like "tomato candy" to me.

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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.

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