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Christmas

Holiday Traditions on the Farm

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By Julia Howard

Laurie Kokinda’s horse Hyde, photo courtesy of Laurie Kokinda

The holiday season evokes traditions that create lasting memories while reinforcing our values and identity. This week, we look to our local farmers and producers as they share some of their favorite memories of their holiday traditions on the farm.

“When we were kids, Christmas Eve was always when we had our big dinner and presents,” shares Laurie Kokinda of Kokinda Farm and Laurie’s Jams and Jellies. “Christmas morning, we always saddled horses and went for a trail ride through Luther Forest. Back then, it was a single dirt road and especially beautiful if we got fresh snow.”

Christophe Robert of Longlesson Farm takes a traditional New Year’s Day family hike on their farm. “After a big New Year’s Eve celebration full of food and drinks, we hike to cure the hangover,” says Robert. They also bring their goats along as, according to Robert, “they hike better than the dogs.”

New Year’s Day Hike with the goats, photo provided by Longlesson Farm

At Slate Valley Farms, Gina Imbimbo happily anticipates the farm’s New Year’s tradition of making natural dyes from their farm-grown Christmas trees. The dye is a red-brown hue used to color yarn, socks, and linens. Their family also prepares for the maple season by tapping maple trees on the first full moon in January, the wolf moon, per Native American traditions.

Matthew Leon of Lovin’ Mama Farm describes their family traditions as “land-centric.” “Normally, around Thanksgiving, we do cider pressing, and in the New Year, we help with processing maple syrup,” says Leon. Processing maple syrup is just for their use, and Leon explains their rustic tradition of carrying buckets of sap to be boiled.

Nettle Meadow and The Kemp Sanctuary, photo provided

Nettle Meadow Farm and the Kemp Animal Sanctuary celebrates Christmas with a big holiday bash hosted by the farm owners for the employees. The farm’s annual party includes a feast, a secret Santa gift swap, games, and good conversation. Farmworker Sean Dean jokes that the farm’s senior rescue turkey has the safest home.

This holiday season, we encourage you to build traditions of your own. Perhaps by sharing a favorite recipe, shopping for your holiday feast at the farmers’ market, or simply spending time with loved ones — which is where the true spirit of the season lays. The farmers’ market will be closed on Christmas Day and reopen on January 1, 2022.

This week’s recipe: Buttery Breakfast Casserole

What the Farmers’ Market Chefs Themselves Eat for the Holidays

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By Emily Meagher

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s prepared food vendors offer a diverse range of cuisines: choose from Eastern European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Indian, or Caribbean foods. We asked our international group of vendors the traditional foods they, the chefs, actually make and eat with their families during this time of year.

 

Stuffed cabbage at Slavonian European Cafe, photo provided

At Slavonian European Cafe, husband and wife duo Aladin (originally from Egypt) and Nataliya (from Ukraine) primarily bring offerings to the market that reflect her homeland, with a sprinkling of Egyptian and Italian-inspired (after the couple’s long residency in Milan) dishes. Although Aladin’s family doesn’t traditionally celebrate Christmas, it’s a big holiday for the Ukrainian Nataliya, who fondly points out their stuffed cabbage as a must-have holiday dish. Pick up some ready-made ones at their stand, or to give it your own spin, find cabbage and ground beef at our farm vendors and add your preferred seasonings.

 

Baklava at Euro Delicacies, photo by Pattie Garrett

Euro Delicacies, the market’s longtime Mediterranean food vendor, brings meals to the market that reflect the Hrelja family’s Croatian upbringing. Their classic dishes like moussaka, grape leaves, burek, and baklava are usually part of their holiday spread. Lamb shanks are also a traditional festive dish for the Croatians, which you can find at Elihu Farm.

 

 

Petra Pocket Pies, photo by Pattie Garrett

For Sabreen Samman, owner of Petra Pocket Pies, her childhood holidays in Jordan would start with traditional holiday cookies: shortbread cookies filled with dates, walnuts, or pistachios. For the main meal, the family would gather over Mansaf, a lamb dish cooked in a yogurt sauce and served with rice or bulgur – considered the national dish of Jordan – or Msakhan, made of roasted chicken with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron, and fried pine nuts served over taboon flatbread. Find lamb, yogurt, chicken, and onions at our farm vendors and try creating these Jordanian dishes for yourself.

 

Daily Fresh, photo by Pattie Garrett

 

Daily Fresh owners Sneha and Sathya hail from Chennai in India and have brought their curries and dosas to the market for the past three years. Sathya fondly thinks of sweets, including rum-soaked fruit cake and Indian chocolates, as a major part of their families’ holiday gatherings.

 

 

Vashti’s Kitchen Delights, photo by Pattie Garrett

Vashti and Leon from Vashti’s Kitchen Delights enjoy a big glass of sorrel, a spiced hibiscus drink that is usually topped off with some rum to round out their Caribbean holiday meal. The couple quarrels about whose recipe is best, as Leon’s Jamaican family makes it with a ginger kick, and Vashti’s Trinidadian roots stick to the warmer spices like cinnamon and cloves. Other favorite drinks include fresh ginger beer and ponche-a-creme, a creamy, rich Trinidadian blend similar to eggnog. Fresh pigeon peas are an important part of the main holiday meal, and a rum-soaked fruit cake (or “black cake”) is a favorite at the end.

 

If you want to incorporate some new dishes in your Christmas and New Year’s lineup, try some of the items above to get you an internationally flavored meal. There are two more markets for you to stock up on ingredients, including Saturday the 18th from 9:30am-1:30pm and Wednesday the 22nd from 1:30pm-5:30pm, both at the Wilton Mall food court.

This week’s recipe: Stuffing

 

Home for the Holidays Calls for Local Decorations

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Scotch Ridge Berry and Tree Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

By Emily Meagher

The cold, dark month of December calls for bright, warm decorations to make all that time spent indoors cozier and more enjoyable. At the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, local farmers and artists bring Christmas greenery and other seasonal decorations that you can cherish through the winter season.

If you celebrate Christmas, Scotch Ridge Berry and Tree Farm should be your first stop at the market. Charles Holub sets up outside the Wilton Mall and has tabletop trees, wreaths, kissing balls, and door swags available every Saturday through December 18. Their Norwegian and blue spruces, noble fir, and white pine varieties are naturally grown at their farm in Duanesburg.

Lovin’ Mama Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

For a less traditional wreath, Lovin’ Mama Farm offers ones made from dried flowers they grow on their land. “We plant rows of flowers interspersed between our veggies for diversity and pollinator habitat and bring fresh bouquets to summer markets and our handmade dried wreaths during the holidays,” says owner Corinne Hansch.

Feathered Antler, photo by Pattie Garrett

To brighten up any room, stop by Feathered Antler’s stand. Gretchen’s colorfully painted items include wooden ornaments to go in your tree, cards and stockings you can display on your mantle, and decorative throw pillows for on your sofa. Or grab a painted plant pot and add a poinsettia plant from J. Adkins Cultivation.

Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, photo by Pattie Garrett

Lastly, add some smaller items to spruce up your home during the holiday season. Ballston Lake Apiaries makes candles from their beeswax in shapes like bears and Faberge eggs. Gather around their warm light on a dark night. Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff’s holiday soaps, including snowflakes, gingerbread men, and many more options, will add some holiday cheer to your bathroom.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market offers three more opportunities to shop local before Christmas: on Saturday, December 11th and 18th, markets will run as usual. On Wednesday, December 22nd, a special market will run from 1:30 pm until 5:30 pm for a last-minute grocery and gift shop.

This week’s recipe: Peak-of-the-Season Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Comfort Foods for Christmas

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Prepping Roast Chicken, Adobe Stock

Short days, long nights, and frigid wind chills characterize our winter holidays, even without a pandemic. This kind of weather offers an excuse to forgo extensive meals and focus on what is elegantly simple: dishes that require few ingredients and few steps to prepare. With foods from our local farmers, elegance is easy.

Think roast chicken. Pick up a half or whole chicken at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, fresh or frozen. If frozen, thaw. If fresh, immediately wrap the breast and wing in aluminum foil and roast in an open pot at 450 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven, cool the oven down to 325 degrees, unwrap the foil, put a lid on the pot, and continue cooking for an additional 15-17 minutes a pound, usually about 50 minutes for a three-pound chicken. You can add salt and pepper, lemon, herbs, or any other seasonings to the chicken beforehand. But farm-raised chicken is delicious as is.

While the chicken is cooking, consider adding mashed potatoes. Wash potatoes and scrub skins of debris. Boil until soft or cook in an instant pot. Then, melt butter or heat oil in a stovetop pot. Add potatoes, and mash until they’re of a consistency you like. Salt, pepper, herbs, and milk can enhance the flavor.

Pleasant Valley Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Carrots, turnips, and beets tossed in oil and seasoned with salt and pepper can roast nicely as your chicken cooks. Or try boiling these nutritious root vegetables on the stove until fork tender and tossing in a half or quarter head of cabbage toward the end.

Finally, try onion soup. Warm 5-6 cups of chicken stock (or any other meat stock or vegetable broth) in a soup pot. While the stock is simmering, thinly slice about five medium-sized onions. Cook with oil or butter in a skillet at medium-low heat until the onions have caramelized, about 25 minutes. The key is to get the onions soft but to stir often so they do not stick to the pan. Turn the heat down and add a tablespoon of flour. Toss well, then add to simmering stock, stirring gently to dissolve the flour. Serve with toasted bread and sliced cheese.

This week’s recipe: French Onion Soup

Christmas on the Farm

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By Julia Howard

Opening boxes of holiday decorations, preparing festive seasonal foods, and gatherings with friends and family are some of the ways that we celebrate the holiday season. This time of year evokes different memories for all of us. This week, we look to our local farmers and producers as they share some of their favorite memories of Christmas on the farm.

Laurie Kokinda’s horse Hyde, photo courtesy of Laurie Kokinda

“When we were kids, Christmas Eve was always our big dinner and presents,” shares Laurie Kokinda of Kokinda Farm and Laurie’s Jams and Jellies. “Christmas morning, we always saddled horses and went for a trail ride through Luther Forest. Back then, it was a single dirt road and especially beautiful if we got fresh snow.”

Jim and Himanee Gupta-Carlson of Squashville Farm explains that many religious and cultural traditions have shaped their holiday festivities. Their move to the Upstate NY area and involvement in local farmers’ markets has also guided their holiday rituals. “We always get a fresh tree from Charles of Scotch Ridge Farm,” says Himanee Gupta-Carlson. “We celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve with seven (or sometimes more!) types of shellfish or fish from Pura Vida Fisheries, and we like to do purple potato latkes during Hanukkah and a roast duck on Christmas Day,” Gupta-Carlson adds.

Slate River Farms, photo courtesy of Nellie Lovenduski

At Nettle Meadow Farm and animal sanctuary, Christmas is celebrated with a big holiday bash hosted by the farm owners for the employees. The farm’s annual party includes a feast, a secret Santa gift swap, games, and good conversation. Farmworker Sean Dean jokes that the farm’s geriatric rescue turkey has the safest home at the farm.

 

Slate River Farms, photo courtesy of Nellie Lovenduski

Nellie Lovenduski of Slate River Farms shares memories of family snowshoeing on the farm, taking chickens for rides in snow tubes, and ice skating on Ensign Brook.

Anna Mae Clark, a long-time market member and best known as ‘the jam lady’, recalls memories of cookies and sweet treats throughout the Christmas season. “My mother made New Year’s cookies around Thanksgiving, and the cookies aged in a crock until they were ready to be devoured at Christmas festivities,” reminisces Clark. Baking her favorite sugar cookies, her grandmother’s oatmeal-raisin cookies, and her brother’s favorite chocolate chip cookies evoke her most meaningful holiday memories of time shared with family.

This holiday season, we encourage you to build traditions of your own. Perhaps by sharing a favorite recipe, shopping for your holiday feast at the farmers’ market, or simply spending time with loved ones — which is where the true spirit of the season lays.

 

This week’s recipe: Buttery Breakfast Casserole

Mulled Apple Cider

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Adapted from the recipe by The Pioneer Woman, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table
Serves: 1¼ gallons

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

Mulled cider, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

● 1 gallon apple cider*
● 3 granny smith apples*
● 1 orange
● 1 Tablespoon allspice berries
● 5-7 cinnamon sticks
● ½ cup fresh cranberries
● ½ cup sugar
● 1 cup apple brandy* or other preferred alcohol beverage* (optional)
OR USE
● 1 packet Mulling Spices mix from Healthy Gourmet Kitchen or Muddy Trail Jerky*

Instructions
1. Pour the apple cider into a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Dice the apples and toss them into the cider.
3. Peel the rind off the orange in large pieces and toss them in the cider.
4. Add the allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, and the cranberries.
5. Add sugar and stir it around to dissolve.
6. Bring the mixture to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to
1 hour. Add the brandy if using, then simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.