Yay! For Tomatoes

I’m sooo happy I can eat tomatoes again. I mean, come on, what is Mexican food without tomatoes? Of course, you should still wash and cleanse any and all vegetables and fruits you buy before consuming. But that’s only common sense.

I read the FDA report today and it clearly states that tomatoes grown and sold out of Texas and New Mexico are OK to eat. What a relief. So, now that the scare is over and done with, at least in my little corner of the border, let’s eat tomatoes. Here are a couple of recipes you can make with these delicious little vegetables (or are they fruits), hmm?

Coach Nolan Richardson's Homemade Rolled Tacos

Coach Richardson was a coach at Bowie High School when I was in high school….a long, long time ago. When my husband and I decided to turn our website, Aprovecho, The Mexican Kitchen into a cookbook, we asked several people to contribute to the book by submitting a favorite recipe. Coach, and his lovely daughter Madelyn, sent us this recipe. He called it his version of El Paso’s infamous taqueria. Won’t say the name…the owners are sensitive that way. Go figure!

Makes 1 dozen rolled tacos

1 pound ground beef
Garlic powder, to taste
Salt, to taste
6 tomatoes
6 jalapeños
1 pound cheddar cheese
1 dozen corn tortillas
Vegetable oil

Cook the ground beef in a small amount of water. After the meat releases all the grease, drain it. Add garlic powder and salt to taste. When the meat is ready, set it aside. Boil tomatoes and jalapeños until soft. Put 5 of the boiled tomatoes in a blender and blend. Pour this mixture into a saucepan with water. Make the mixture as thin or as thick as you want it.

Mix all 6 jalapeños with 1 tomato in the blender. Add 1 tablespoon of the jalapeño mixture to the sauce and add salt to taste. If you're feeling a little wild, add more of the jalapeño mixture. Grate the cheese. Place meat mixture in tortillas and roll them up. Fry in hot oil until rolled tacos are crispy. Pour the tomato-jalapeño sauce over the tacos. Cover with shredded cheddar cheese.

Mando's Salsa















Armando (my brother), father of ten was born and raised in El Paso, in El Segundo Barrio. Graduate of "La Tech." Musician, printer, and computer technician, worked for El Paso Times and Digital Corp. for thirteen years. Now works for the Albuquerque Independent School System in their Multi-integrated Computer systems department.

Makes approximately 4 cups

2 pounds jalapeños
2 tablespoons oil
Garlic salt, to taste
½ large onion, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, minced

Rinse the jalapeños. Remove the stems. Boil in 4 quarts of water with the oil. Add garlic salt to taste. When the water starts boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 1½ to 2 hours. Periodically check to make sure the water level in the pot remains full. Drain the chiles, reserving some of the juice, and set aside. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, mash the jalapeños with a potato masher or a pastry cutter. Make sure all the jalapeños are completely broken up. Cool slightly. Add the onion, tomatoes, and cilantro. Add reserved chile juice to achieve desired consistency. Cover bowl and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Hope you enjoy these. I’m thinking “TEQUILA” for the next blog.
©2008