Conscious Farming

Dreaming of Summer with Winter-Time Steaks

February 23, 2017 By marketeditor

By Pattie Garrett

Winter is edging toward spring. We might be daydreaming of summer evenings on the deck, savoring a steak from a pasture-raised cow raised by Longlesson, Lewis Waite, M&A, or Norseman farms grilled over a barbecue. Yet, as the chill from the still lingering snow emanates upwards, we quickly shift that line of thinking toward the warmth of indoors.

Fortunately, the meat and produce farmers at the weekly Saratoga Farmers’ Market can help us navigate that seasonal divide. The secret to a successful steak lies of course in how you prepare it. But that preparation is also enhanced by the tantalizing toppings that you add.

Grilled Sirloin Steak with Arugula by Pattie Garrett — Grilled Sirloin Steak with Arugula
Photo by Pattie Garrett

So consider fresh arugula from Pleasant Valley or Shushan Hydro Farms as a topping or side dish. Or mushrooms from Mariaville Mushrooms sautéed with bacon, garlic and rosemary. Or even perhaps a garlic herb butter with fresh pea shoots as a side.

Steaks that you buy at the farmers’ market will be frozen upon purchase. To enjoy their flavor to the fullest, give them some time to thaw completely. Don’t rush this process, advises Janet Lampman, of Lewis Waite Farm.

Before preparing the thawed steak, give it 30 minutes on the kitchen counter to come to room temperature. Then, dry it with a paper towel, and place it in a skillet – ideally cast iron – that is big enough to allow at least one inch of space around the steak.

Lampman suggests cooking the steak at a high heat for 2 minutes on each side, and then placing the skillet in an oven, heated to 200 degrees F, for an additional five to seven minutes. Then remove the steak from the pan but allow it to sit for about 5 to 10 minutes, which allows it to continue to cook as the internal temperature rises, then falls.

To top your steak, try:

Combining chopped garlic and herbs such as rosemary and thyme with butter. Roll the mixture into parchment paper, chill for two hours, and then slice over the steak.
Sprinkling fresh pea shoots or arugula over the steak before serving.
Sauteeing chopped bacon, oyster mushrooms, chopped garlic, herbs, and a dash of wine together and then pouring over the steak just before serving.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market operates from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays through April at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

Salads Year Round | Did You Know…

January 23, 2017 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Did you know that you can grow greens for salads year round? Without a greenhouse. Without grow lights. Without a heating mat.

Peter Burke has come up with an ingenious idea for year round indoor salad gardening, which he shared in a workshop at last year’s Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY)’s annual Winter Conference and details in his book Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening. The idea is simple: you round up a bunch of small containers (Burke proposes the aluminum bread tins that you might have received gifts of fruitcake and zucchini breads in), a few growing implements, and a ton of seeds. You soak the seeds overnight. You also will want to soak newspapers or other acid free papers in water, and in a separate bucket some standard germination soil mix in water.

From there, you place a ½ teaspoon of sea kelp and 1 tablespoon of compost in your container and mix them together. Spoon your soil mix on top, level it so that it lies about ¼ of an inch from the top and drain the water from your seeds. Then, spread the moistened seeds over the soil so that they are touching one another but not overlapping. Cover the seeds with your water soaked newspapers and place them in a warm, dark place. Forget that the containers exist for four days.

On the fifth day, retrieve your containers, remove the covers and water the containers. Keep these containers in a well-lit windowsill, watering them with about two to four tablespoons daily.

Burke says that generally the green shoots will be ready to be clipped with scissors and eaten within three to four days of being in your windowsill. He advocates planting five small containers at a time, each one with a different seed, and to get into a routine of doing this planting on a daily basis. In this way, he says, you have the potential to have salads made from your own freshly harvested greens every day. The salads can include almost anything, but he has a fondness for pea shoots, radish and kohlrabi sprouts, kale and small lettuce greens.

So does it work?

I went home from the NOFA-NY conference with a container of pea seeds that I’d planted, courtesy of Burke’s workshop. The peas did sprout, and I did have greens – greens that I combined with farmers market purchased salad greens, sliced winter radishes, carrots and turnips, and occasionally pumpkin and squash seeds. In this way, my little garden lasted nearly three weeks. Inspired, I tried doing my own planting of five more containers. I have to admit that I didn’t follow directions as well as I could and had marginal success. But the idea intrigues me, and I hope to give it another, more focused try this winter.

Details on the book: Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening, Peter Burke, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015.

Try Bacon Grease as Cooking Oil

January 4, 2017 By marketeditor

By Janet Lampman, Lewis Waite Farm

Many of us recall growing up with a container of bacon grease near the kitchen stove. My family did not eat a lot of fried food, but a little dab of the melted bacon grease often offered an economical and flavorful way to fry fresh perch, not to mention eggs and pancakes.

Bacon grease from pastured pork is way too flavorful to pitch out. It adds a delicious flavoring to roasted root vegetables, a base for sauteing fresh greens such as kale, and even a smoky sweetness to apples in apple pie. You can get pastured pork from many Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendors including Lewis Waite, Longlesson, and Longview farms. Lewis Waite Farm also offers ground beef, chorizo sausage, and a variety of beef and pork products.

The Joy of Cooking recommends clarifying bacon fat before storing it for long-term use. Reheat it slowly in a frying pan and add four to five slices of potato to help absorb unwanted flavors. After the potato has turned brown, strain the fat through cheesecloth into a jar, cover the jar and refrigerate. It will keep up to six months.

What are some of my favorite ways of using bacon grease? Try roasting cut up onions, garlic, leeks, potatoes, parsnips, rutabagas, carrots and any other root vegetables and placing them in a baking dish. Drizzle them with two to three teaspoons of warmed-to-liquid bacon grease, sprinkle salt and pepper and perhaps some chopped herbs on top and roast at 350 degrees until fork tender (usually 45 minutes).

Or try warming a tablespoon of bacon grease in a skillet just to bubbling. Then add a bunch of thinly sliced kale or chard leaves. Stir to saute about two minutes and toss in a few well-chopped garlic cloves. Cover and cook at low heat, and then serve topped with a sprinkling of grated parmesan, asiago, aged smoked gouda or your favorite cheese. You can also add ground beef, chorizo, Cajun andouille or hot sausage sautéed with plenty of onion.

Bacon grease is saturated fat, which can be unhealthful in large quantities. But many experts have found that saturated fats in moderation can support physical and mental longevity. In addition, the use of bacon grease supports sustainable farming because using it ensures that less of the animal goes to waste. Use it moderately and it will go far.

Visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

Bacon - Photo by Pattie Garrett — Photo by Pattie Garrett

Cheddar & Bacon Cornbread

Recipe courtesy of Lewis Waite Farm

Ingredients
*Ingredients available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• 1 cup unbleached flour; try also ½ c. whole wheat + ½ c. unbleached
• 1 cup high quality (organic varieties are non-GMO) coarse cornmeal or corn flour
• ¼ cup maple syrup or coconut sugar (you can also reduce amount to 2-3 T.)*
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp (or less) salt
• 1 cup grated or shredded sharp aged cheddar, smoked cheddar, or jalapeno cheese*
• 1 cup buttermilk (can substitute a short cup of milk, mix in 1-2 T cider vinegar)*
• 2 large eggs*
• 4 T melted bacon grease (not hot)*

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Grease or butter a 8 x 8 inch metal baking pan or an 8-9 inch cast iron skillet.
3. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, and salt in large bowl. Stir in cheese.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs lightly, add buttermilk and melted bacon grease.
5. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stir gently until just mixed –less is definitely more here.
6. Transfer batter to prepared pan or skillet.
7. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, approximately 25-30 minutes.

Turkeys and the Farmers Who Grow Them

November 8, 2016 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Fresh and local defines the ethos of the farmers who bring their products each week to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. That commitment presents an especially strong challenge to the farmers who raise turkeys for market customers, when one considers what it takes to sustainably raise a delicious turkey from birth to maturity.

Bobby Chandler, of the Mariaville Mushroom Men and one of three vendors approved to offer turkeys at the Saturday market, puts it quite simply: “They’re big birds that require a lot of time and a lot of grain to grow to their best eating size.”

turkey-at-malta-ridge-orchard-gardens — Turkey at Malta Ridge Orchard Gardens

That size is about 16 to 25 pounds, according to Megan Baker of Malta Ridge Orchard & Garden, which also will have turkeys available at the market tomorrow and on Saturday, Nov. 18. “We like them to be no smaller than 13 or 14 pounds, and ideally a bit bigger than that,” Baker said. “Otherwise, the meat tends to be stringy, and not taste very good.”

Raising a high quality turkey requires about 24 to 26 weeks. Chandler, for instance, typically receives his poults in May and feeds them a high-quality grain in brooders until they are feathered out enough to forage outdoors. Throughout the summer and early fall, his turkeys grow slowly to maturity on a combination of grains and whatever they can forage on his grounds. That style of feeding along with the active outdoor exercise that the turkeys receive deepens both the flavor and nutritional value of their meat.

Another crucial factor in raising turkeys is waiting for them to gain the added layer of fat beneath their skin. This fat adds weight to the birds and moisture to the meat. Fat does not begin to accumulate until the turkeys are 22 weeks old, or about 5-1/2 months. As a result, turkeys tend to be a big and at around $6 a pound, a premium purchase.

The cost, however, is worth the flavor. To order a turkey, you may contact the following vendors via telephone or e-mail, or visit their stalls tomorrow at the market:

Blind Buck Farm
518-854-9382
lubna@blindbuckfarm.com

Malta Ridge Orchard and Gardens
518-365-6015
maltaridgeorchard@gmail.com

Mariaville Mushroom Men
518-864-5234
mariavillecsa@gmail.com

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market invites you to celebrate the holidays with us 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

Accidental Turkey

Adapted from recipe by Ina Garten
Prep time: 1 hr 50 min
Cook: 45 min and based on weight

With nearly 100 basic preparations for roast turkey available online (and thousands more probably in recipe books and family histories), we were hard-pressed to come up with one singular recipe. We settled on the go-to recipe for mother of Saratoga Farmers’ Market director Julia Howard, the Accidental Turkey Recipe by Ina Garten:

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced*
• Grated zest of one lemon
• 1 fresh turkey (12-14 pounds)*
• 1 large yellow onion, unpeeled and cut into eighths*
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 10 sprigs thyme*
• ½ stick unsalted butter, melted
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Two or three days before you plan to roast the turkey, combine salt, rosemary and lemon zest.
2. Wash turkey inside and out. Drain well and pat dry.
3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt mixture into turkey’s cavity and rub the rest on the skin, including under the wings and legs.
4. Place turkey in a shallow dish to catch drips and wrap the whole dish tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate.
5. The day before you plan to roast the turkey, remove plastic wrap and leave turkey in fridge, uncovered, so skin can dry out.
6. On the day of roasting, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
7. Place onions, lemon and thyme in cavity. Using kitchen string, tie together legs and tie wings close to body. Brush turkey with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
8. Roast turkey for 45 minutes after placing in oven, legs first
9. Brush turkey with fat. After doing so, return turkey to pan.
10. Then, lower temperature to 325 degrees F. Roast for another hour or so, until it is 160 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh area.
11. Remove from oven, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
12. Carve and serve with pan juices.

Anticipating Fall Frosts

September 26, 2016 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

[pjc_slideshow slide_type=”frost”] Photos by Pattie Garrett

Frost advisory. That phrase popped up on my iPhone’s weather app last Saturday morning. My husband and I had a busy day, but we knew we would have to hustle if we wanted to save what was left of our garden.

Frosts are like bookends to a gardening season: The last frost in May marks the point where one can start thinking about transplanting and direct sowing the rich fruits of summer while the first frost in September signifies the end of the harvest of those fruits.

Like many others, my husband and I enjoy eating a wide range of seasonal vegetables and fruits, obtained from our favorite farmers at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market or grown ourselves. Yet, the first frost of fall often catches us by surprise.

Longtime Saratoga Farmers Market farmers, however, have learned to prepare for frosts in advance. Justine Denison, of Denison Farms, for instance, notes that advance preparations for frost begin well before one needs to worry about the sudden advisories. By the time a fall frost arrives, the summer crops have mostly been harvested, and either sold or stored, and Denison is busy preparing its fall crops for harvesting, curing or storage.

A light frost doesn’t have to mean the end of your gardening season. In fact, frosts can improve the flavor of some vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, kale, collards, and other hardier greens. Mark Bascomb and Lindsey Fisk of Owl Wood Farms, as a result, work at lengthening the season of their summer crops with row covers and tunnels. They also keep summer crops like eggplants in storage for as long as they’ll remain fresh.

It helps to have some understanding of the hardiness of various plants, and to start keeping records of what works in your own background. One small scale farmer, Pam Dawling, has come up with a good working list for her book Sustainable Market Farming: Intensive Vegetable Production on a Few Acres. She notes, for instance, that basil will usually die at 35 degrees Fahrenheit, while chives, collards, leeks, and kale can still be flavorful at 0 degrees.

But inevitably seasons change, and that’s not a bad thing.

After all, as Bascomb puts it, “eating locally means eating seasonally,” and even as winter approaches, the offerings of local produce still carry a lot of diversity.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is at High Rock Park through October, from 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

Cold Hardiness Guidelines

Pam Dawling, author of Sustainable Market Farming: Intensive Vegetable Production on a Few Acres, has created this set of guidelines for the temperatures in Fahrenheit for when some commonly grown fruit and vegetable plants will likely die. This list covers temperatures for plants with no row cover or other added protection. You can find more at her website www.sustainablemarketfarming.com/. Keep in mind that hardiness will vary with the location and growing conditions of your garden.

Temperature	Vegetables
35	Basil
32	Bush beans, cauliflower curds, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, okra, peppers, tomatoes.
27	Outer leaves of most varieties of cabbage
25	Broccoli heads, outer leaves of Napa cabbage, dill, most Asian greens (tatsoi, pak choi, etc.) fennel, large leaves of lettuce (onion scallions, radicchio.
22	Arugula
20	Beets, radishes, turnips
15	Broccoli leaves, cilantro, endive, kohlrabi, some varieties of kale
12	Carrots, multicolored chard, leeks
10	Brussels sprouts, green chard, collards, kale

Back to the Land with Blind Buck Farm

July 18, 2016 By marketeditor

By Carolyn Shapiro

[pjc_slideshow slide_type=”blind-buck”]

Located in Salem, New York, Blind Buck Farm is home to a variety of fiber-bearing animals, whose fleece is hand-collected, made into yarn and roving at local mills, and returned to the farm to be dyed with metal-free, nontoxic dyes. “By keeping our own flocks, we can guarantee that all of our fiber is natural,” says owner Lubna Dabbagh.

A favorite yarn produced at Blind Buck is their Signature Blend which combines Merino mohair and Leicester longwool. Dabbagh notes that the fun part of yarn production is choosing a variety of colorways for the finished product. Inspiration comes from the abiding colors on the farm as well as from nature itself, including flowers, exotic fish and birds. The result is a delightful combination of tones from earthy to bright.

The farm is home to 25 purebred Angora goats, 30 Merino sheep, and seven Angora rabbits, all of which produce rare and exceptional fibers. In 2014, Blind Buck also acquired a flock of four Leicester Longwood sheep, an acutely endangered species. According to Dabbagh, contributing to the propagation of a rare and endangered species is one of the farm’s proudest accomplishments. All of the animals on the farm are naturally raised, spending the summer months in pastures. During the winter, they are fed a diet of organic hay and grain.

In addition to fiber products, Blind Buck Farm cultivates many uncommon vegetable varieties. Among these are chocolate bell peppers, chocolate tomatoes, Delmonico squash, and watermelon turnips, all grown from organic and heirloom seeds, and never treated with chemical pesticides. Dabbagh also raises turkeys and chickens which are housed in pastures and fed organic grain. Eggs produced by the hens are a colorful array of blue, brown, and white, which customers call “the Easter egg collection.”

Back to the land is the sustaining principle of Blind Buck Farm. Conscious of the impact of high quality goods on the sustainability of community and environment, Dabbagh advocates the purchase and use of local products to nurture and support local economies. As Dabbagh says, “I always point out that during this last economic downturn if communities had been more self sufficient, with more exchange of local goods and services, many families would have suffered less than they did.”

Open all year, Blind Buck Farm has a store on the farm which carries their full line of yarn products and produce. Dabbagh encourages visitors to tour the farm, sample produce, and taste the fresh farm eggs. A special delight of a visit to the farm is letting children gather their own eggs from the chicken coop . In addition to the farm store, Blind Buck’s products can be found at the Saratoga, Bolton Landing, and Warrensburg farmers’ markets where Dabbagh also offers free knitting instruction.

Visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market at High Rock Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays.