Saratoga Farmers' Market

beef

Farm to Pantry: Making meals with ingredients on hand

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By Julia Howard

Pleasant Valley Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Our responsibility, by direction, is to stay at home and only head out for essentials when absolutely necessary. As we settle in safely for the weeks to come, many are looking to foods that store well, foods that are easy to prepare, and, most importantly, foods that are available right now.

While food bloggers hail smart and savvy ‘pantry meals’ that utilize canned goods, rice, and beans, the farmers’ market offers an expanded palette of foods that are easy to store and last longer than most produce found at grocery stores.

Vegetables like onions, garlic, potatoes, and carrots are often at the core of savory, hearty meals. They are durable and have a good shelf life, and these vegetables work well in diverse meals depending on preparation methods and seasonings. Please note that garlic is currently unavailable at market.

Photo by Pattie Garrett

Milk, butter, cheese, and eggs are staples that most of us keep in constant rotation in the refrigerator. These binding ingredients are often what pulls the meal together. Milk may be used to create a creamy finish to soups and sauces like a classic roux – which is made from butter, flour, and milk. Eggs can be used to create satisfying omelettes and frittatas with endless possibilities for fillings. Cheese is essential for homemade pizza, quesadillas, baked ziti, and numerous other dishes.

Saratoga Apple, photo by Pattie Garrett

Shelf-stable vegetables like sweet potatoes, beets, and turnips can last for several weeks when kept in a cool, dry place. These vegetables can be the main stars of any meal, soup, or salad, and they are high in nutritional value. Even fruits like apples can keep for 2-3 weeks. Having a variety of these long-lasting fruits and vegetables inspires cooking that’s creative, comforting, and simple.

Meat and poultry are necessities for most, and they can be bought directly from farmers. Ground beef, whole chickens, and steaks and roasts can be kept frozen and thawed under refrigeration once you are ready to prepare them. Leftovers from a large roast or a whole roasted chicken may be used in a variety of dishes and soups as well.

While shopping at the farmers’ market, please remember to follow universal precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19. Please try to send one member of the household to shop and give 6’ space while shopping. Only touch products that you commit to buy and be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before and after shopping.

If you plan to shop for something specific, please check our website and social media pages for updates. These are changeable times and we are working to keep you up to date with vendor and product availability each week.

 

This week’s recipe: Pantry Pot Pie

Cooking Advice for Farm-to-Table Meats

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By Julia Howard

I consider myself to be a decent cook but I will confess that I have always felt insecure preparing dishes with meat. So whenever I want to prepare lamb, beef, goat, or pork I look to the experts; the farmers who raised the animals and know the cuts and flavors best.

Steak from Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

An upcoming dinner with friends prompted me to visit the farmers’ market for the right meat and cooking instructions for my visionary main course. First, I visit Christophe Robert of Longlesson Farm. “Keep it simple and cook the meat (steak) at a low temperature and finish with a sear,” Robert advises.

Caroline from Lewis Waite Farm gave similar advice. She explains that pasture-raised, 100% grass-fed meats cook differently. “They have less fat so you need to adjust how you approach cooking it with lower temperatures and less time,” she explains. Caroline recommends flat iron steaks, which are from a tender part of the shoulder. “Just a few minutes on each side on a low-heat pan works great,” says Caroline. The meat may be sliced up for fajitas and soups, or served as a steak.

Mary Pratt of Elihu Farm has a variety of cuts of lamb that may be bought fresh year-round at the farmers’ market. Pratt recommends a lamb shoulder roast or shoulder chops, bone-in neck, and shanks which make excellent stew. “You can use lamb stew cuts in recipes from many cultures,” explains Pratt. One of her favorite recipes is for lamb osso bucco, which can be found in the cookbook From the Earth to the Table. In addition, Pratt recommends lamb recipes from Paula Wolfert’s cookbooks and USA Grilling.

Goat is another meat option available at the farmers’ market. Jim Gupta-Carlson of Squashville Farm recommends goat rib chops and loin chops. “They are flavorful and quite simple to prepare,” says Gupta-Carlson. Simply season with salt and pepper and sear the chops on both sides on either a grill or skillet. Then let them cook at a lower temperature until they are medium-rare. Gupta-Carlson recommends letting the chops rest for a few minutes before serving.

The farmers’ market will move indoors to the Wilton Mall on Saturday, November 2 from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. There, customers may peruse offerings of goat, lamb, beef, and pork, and gather cooking advice from Elihu Farm, Lewis Waite Farm, Longlesson Farm, Mariaville Mushroom Men, Moxie Ridge Farm, Ramble Creek Farm, Slate River Farms, and Squashville Farm.

Three Sisters Chili

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Recipe courtesy of Squashville Farm
Serves: 4

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● 1 onion*, peeled and diced
● 1 tablespoon olive oil*
● 1 lb ground venison or beef*
● 3 cloves garlic*, minced
● 2 tsp chili powder
● 1 tsp cumin
● ½ tsp dried oregano
● 1 ear corn*
● 1 carnival squash*, seeded and cut into one-inch pieces
● 1 green pepper*, seeded and diced
● 3-4 fresh tomatoes*, cut into chunks
● 3 cups vegetable broth
● 8 oz dried red beans
● salt and pepper to taste
● Optional garnishes: fresh chopped cilantro*, toast pumpkin seeds, cheddar cheese*, plain yogurt*

Preparation

  1. Wash and soak dry beans for 30 minutes. Rinse and place in 1 cup of water until ready to use.
  2. Remove kernels from corn cob.
  3. Heat oil in a pot, and add onions and a pinch of salt. Saute until onions are translucent.
  4. Add ground meat and brown.
  5. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
  6. Add squash, corn, and green pepper. Stir in broth, beans with water, and tomatoes. Simmer until squash is soft and ingredients have combined to create a thick, chunky soup.

    Note: This chili tastes better if it is refrigerated overnight and reheated the next day.

Slate River Rekindles Family Farming Roots

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By Elizabeth Horgan

Slate River Farms made its debut at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market in May, with eggs, poultry, and beef. A few weeks later, predators ambushed their flock, causing them to lose half their egg layers.

“We still do not know exactly what happened, but we believe that a pack of coyotes essentially ambushed the flock in broad daylight,” says Nellie Lovenduski, who owns the farm with her husband Eric and father-in-law Paul. “Not only is that super sad for us to lose so many animals all at once, but that also seriously cut into our egg supply for the summer.”

The family, however, regrouped, and Slate River now offers its eggs and meats regularly at the Wednesday market.

Photo courtesy of the Lovenduski Family

Risks of such loss are realities of farm life, and the Lovenduski family has lived with them for generations. The family began farming more than 100 years ago, after Joseph Lovenduski arrived in Burlington, New Jersey, from Poland. The farm saved his struggling family of 16 children through the Great Depression. Later, Eric’s grandfather moved to the Finger Lakes region of New York and farmed more than 2,500 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, and other crops. Eric’s uncle and father continued that practice for decades.

In 2016, Eric, Nellie and Eric’s father decided to re-invent the farm with a goal of providing high-quality meats and eggs to local markets. They acquired land in Easton and began what Nellie calls a “back to our roots” approach, focusing on intensive rotational grazing as the core of their practice. Such a method allows a herd to graze in a section of the pasture one day, and then another the next, rotating so as to allow the pasture time to regenerate.

Nellie Lovenduski of Slate River Farms, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

At Slate River Farms, cattle live outside all year, eating grass from the pastures summer, spring and fall, and during the winter eat hay from their own field as well as organic minerals and sea kelp to boost their health. Chicken spend their days outside and at night are placed in shelters to protect them from predators.

Slate River Farms has received certifications from A Greener World as Animal Welfare Approved and as Certified Grassfed, as a result of their practices. The family takes pride in this achievement.

Sweets, Meats, and Other Easter Treats at Saratoga Farmers’ Market

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By Emily Meagher

Easter evokes images of eggs hunts and other community events. We invite you to make next Saturday at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market a part of these events. On Saturday, April 20, arrive early and fill your shopping bags and baskets with our fresh, locally grown, raised and produced foods.

Kokinda Farm Eggs, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

Near the market entrance, look for the eggs. Not the edible ones – those come next – but rather the reusable gift containers, available while supplies last. Inside each will be a coupon offering a discount from one of the market vendors.

 

Now, for real eggs. Elihu, Kokinda, and Squashville farms are offering them in abundance. Check out their hues and try them for their fresh, farm-raised flavor. Keep an eye out, too, for rich duck and giant goose eggs.

Saratoga Chocolate Co. Easter Basket, photo courtesy of Saratoga Chocolate Co.

This weekend, the market also will be featuring chocolate eggs. Further in the market are such treats filled with maple cream and maple marshmallow at Slate Valley Farms. Other sweet treats include homemade marshmallows from The Chocolate Spoon, chocolates formed into nest and bunny shapes from the Saratoga Chocolate Co., hot cross buns from Mrs. London’s, and cheesecakes in a range of sizes and flavors from Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes.

That’s dessert. Now, let’s look for vegetables and main course meats.

Many vendors are offering Easter specials on their farm-raised meats: At Lewis Waite Farm, fresh and smoked ham roasts and steaks are five percent off. Longlesson Farm is offering 10 pounds of ground beef for $60 (instead of $80), and Mariaville Mushroom Men is taking 20 percent off its pork. If poultry is your preference, try Ramble Creek Farm’s turkey or Squashville’s chicken.

And there are the early spring vegetables to consider: Pea shoots from Saratoga Urban and Pleasant Valley farms, along with Pleasant Valley’s super-sweet spring parsnips. Storage vegetables remain abundant at Gomez Veggie Ville and Pleasant Valley, and mushrooms at Mariaville and Ramble Creek.

Looking for libations? Try Saratoga Apple’s farm-brewed hard and sweet ciders, spirits from Yankee Distillery, cyser from Ballston Lake Apiaries, Battenkill Valley Creamery milk and Something’s Brewing’s home-roasted coffees.

And, there’s more: apples, pickles, cheeses, and cured meats.

 

Winter Time Is Stew Time

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By Mary Pratt

In the cold of winter, it’s time for the comfort of warm savory stews. The Saratoga Farmer’s Market has the needed ingredients and ideas from different cultures to spice your stews up. 

Arnold Grant, of M & A Farm, is celebrating his 20th year at the market. Although most known for his family’s delicious breakfast sandwiches, he also raises and sells pork. Stewing pork is versatile; it can be used for Indian curry or French stew. Longlesson, Lewis Waite, Moxie Ridge, and Mariaville also raise pork. Pork butt (a shoulder cut) makes an excellent stew, as does fresh pork leg.

Christophe Robert, of Longlesson Farm, grows weaned piglets on pasture from spring until the snow falls. He also raises grass-fed beef until they are three to four years old to insure flavorful and marbled meat. Since Christophe is from France, he recommends making boeuf bourguignon, a stew with red wine and vegetables including onions and mushrooms, or a Flemish stew, boeuf carbonnade, with dark beer. He offers cubed beef for stew, but suggests that chuck will make stew that is more moist and flavorful.

Lewis-Waite Farm also raises grass-fed beef. Janet Lampman, who works for owners Nancy and Alan Brown, said it’s important to stew or oven-braise grass fed beef very slowly. She likes shanks or round roast. 

Ann Carnes, of Ramble Creek Farm, offers a variety of chicken. She finds the best cuts for cooking a chicken stew are thighs or drumsticks. Squashville Farm’s Himanee and Jim Gupta-Carlson offer fresh heritage-breed roasting chickens, from which they use leftover meat for soups and stews. In the last ten minutes of cooking, the chicken is added to warm through. Most recently Himanee made a Peruvian stew called Cazuela (casserole). 

Bob and Mary Pratt, of Elihu Farm, have raised lambs for over 30 years. After weaning, lambs graze for three seasons, and eat hay or baleage in winter. The best stew cuts are shoulder, shanks and neck. They enjoy making Moroccan tagine, Indian curry, and osso bucco. 

Come talk with the farmers at the market to get recipe details and other ideas.