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Seasonal shifts offer opportunities to experiment

October 19, 2022 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta

 

We know and love/hate the vagaries of fall: sun and warmth, then rain and chill; mornings in the 30s; afternoons in the 70s. We await those first hard frosts with worry about our gardens even as we wonder at Nature’s beauty amid it all. 

Fall’s seesaw weather patterns are showing up these days at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, where pumpkins, potatoes, and frost-tolerant mustard greens share space with peppers and tomatoes. If you like to eat with the seasons, you can enjoy summer and fall together.

I used to fear hard frosts as early as September. Those frosts would kill the vines that give us squashes, peppers, and tomatoes. Now, with changes in our climate patterns, these plants often make it through mid-October, and their fruits might remain fresh into early November. 

Adapting our diets to these shifting patterns allows for a new array of flavors. 

Squash Villa Farm, photo provided

Keep some sweet, mild, and hot peppers on your countertop, along with the garlic, onions, ginger, lemongrass, and turmeric at the market now. When it’s time to create a stir fry, soup, stew, or a dish like meatloaf, try replacing the dried black and crushed red peppers from most recipes with fresher, plumper green bell or frying peppers.

Many farmers market regulars have come to enjoy shishito peppers, blistered with a little oil in a hot skillet. Padron peppers offer a similar sweet-with-a-kick flavor with a more sustained warm burn. Both work well as a snack or can add a spicy edge to stews, casseroles, and risotto. 

Green tomatoes are abundant now, partly because our warmer fall lets outdoor plants keep producing fruits. These fruits seem less buggy than their summer counterparts but are not ripening red because, in part, of diminished daylight. Still, a tomato is a tomato and can be eaten green.

Multiple unripe tomatoes ready to be pickled.

Consider a green tomato sandwich, with slices of a firm, plump green tomato in between toasted and buttered slices of artisanal bread with perhaps a bit of cheese and spicy mustard greens. Or keep a few on the counter to chop up and toss into whatever happens to be cooking. Their moisture helps keep other ingredients from drying out, and their tangy taste complements other flavors. Green tomatoes can replace tomatillos in taco fillings, salsas, or chili Verde. 

And at least one meal of fried green tomatoes is an October must-have.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at High Rock Park. The farmers’ market will move to the Wilton Mall on November 5. Find us online at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. 

Filed Under: Featured Article, homepage feature, News Tagged With: acorn squash, between seasons, fall cooking, October

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Get ready to mushroom into a world of flavor at th Get ready to mushroom into a world of flavor at the Saratoga Farmers' Market! 🍄🌱 This week, we're thrilled to highlight the Mushroom Shop and their incredible selection of locally grown and harvested mushrooms. We spoke with owner's Jacob and Elysee to learn more.

Q: What are some of the health benefits associated with consuming mushrooms?

A: Mushrooms contain a multitude of medicinal compounds. The mushroom species Cordyceps militaris contains cordycepin, which increases your blood's ability to absorb and transport oxygen, improving exercise performance. Mukitake or Panellus serotinus possesses compounds that have shown in recent studies to improve liver function in people suffering from fatty liver disease. Reishi mushrooms improve immune health, warding off sickness and reducing inflammation. Other medicinal mushrooms include Turkey Tail, Chaga, Agarikon, Maitake, and Lions Mane.

Q: What inspired you to start selling mushrooms at the farmers' market?

A: We initially got our inspiration from a mushroom farm based in Tennessee called Mossy Creek Mushrooms. They have many videos on Youtube covering every aspect of operating a mushroom farm from building and maintaining equipment to harvesting and marketing mushrooms. Jacob has had an interest in growing mushrooms as a hobby for about eight years when he discovered a patch of oyster mushrooms growing in the wild. We got the opportunity to lease land in the beginning of 2021 and shortly after started selling at farmers’ markets.

Q: How do you recommend customers prepare and cook the mushrooms they purchase from you?

A: At our farmers markets we always provide printed recipes that utilize the mushrooms available during the current season. Like meat, mushrooms can be cooked in a variety of ways, such as sautéing, roasting, and grilling to create a flavorful dish. One of our recent favorites is a Spicy Crispy Lion's Mane Sandwich- a thick slab of Lion's Mane mushroom battered and fried on a toasted bun with spicy mayo and pickles. This is a delicious take on a chicken sandwich made entirely of whole, natural produce. 

*Find the Mushroom shop year round at our Saturday markets!*

#saratogafarmersmarket
Get ready for a mouth-watering adventure! 🍴🌍 Get ready for a mouth-watering adventure! 🍴🌍 Join us on Saturday, March 25th from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Saratoga Farmers' Market's International Flavor Fest in the Wilton Mall food court! 🎉 Indulge in frgál cakes, julekaker, burek, curries, samosas, and more, representing cuisines from all around the world! 🌎 There will be live music, family-friendly activities, and food tastings that will take your taste buds on a journey around the globe! 🎶👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Plus, our friends at the World Awareness Children's Museum will be hosting a paper fortune cookie making session for the kiddos! Don't forget to pick up your passport for a chance to win a prize by filling it with stamps from market vendors! Let's celebrate our traditions, history, and community through the language of flavorful food! 😍🍴

 #InternationalFlavorFest #SaratogaFarmersMarket #FoodieAdventure #CommunityConnection
Join us tomorrow for our Saturday market! From 9:3 Join us tomorrow for our Saturday market! From 9:30-1:30 you can find all your favorite vendors in the Wilton Mall Food court. We’ll by joined by the Academy of Life Long Learning, AIM Services, and musician Lee Paquin. Hope you can make it!!!

Photos of: @squash.villa.farm , KOKINDA Farm, and @eurodelicaciesco by Graciela Colston

#saratogafarmersmarket #saratogasprings #farmersmarket #agriculture #shoplocal
The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is seeking donation The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is seeking donations to help improve our market and keep our nonprofit organization running. Your donation will be used for essential functions of the market as well as helping us reach more of our long-term goals for the community. We are looking for additional resources to expand our community offerings such as hosting family friendly events, programs and activities.

You can help us by donating via our GiveButter account (link in bio) or in person at the market via our market manager. Thank you for your ongoing support. We couldn’t do it without you! 

#saratogafarmersmarket #supportlocalfarmers #nonprofit #communitylove #givebutter

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