cucumbers

Popsicles for All

June 14, 2023 By marketeditor

Adapted from recipes by Cooking Light and The View from the Great Island, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table

Serves: 6

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

Cucumber Lemon Pop:

2½ cup spring water
1 lemon, washed and thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 slender Asian cucumber*, thinly sliced

Yogurt Berry Pop:

1 cup plain Greek Yogurt*
½ cup lemonade*
½ cup strawberries*, chopped

Wine Pop (for grownups):

16 ounces strawberries*
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
1 cup wine (rose or wine)

Instructions

Cucumber Lemon Pop: Insert lemon and cucumber slices into pop molds. Fill with water and let sit for one hour on counter. Freeze until solid.
Yogurt Berry Pop: Mix ingredients together. Pour into molds and freeze.
Wine Pops: Puree strawberries, sugar, water and wine. Once mixture is smooth, pour into pop mold. Freeze for 5-6 hours or overnight.

Potato Salad with Pickled Cucumbers

May 24, 2021 By marketeditor

Recipe by Smitten Kitchen and Bon Appetit, Shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table
Serves: 8

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● 6 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar
● 4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
● 2 English cucumbers*, very thinly sliced
● a few branches plus 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill*
● 3¼ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes*, about 10 medium, peeled
● Additional coarse kosher salt
● 1 cup very thinly sliced white onion*
● 8 radishes*, trimmed, thinly sliced
● ¾ cup mayonnaise

Instructions
1. The day before, make the pickles: Pour vinegar and 4 teaspoons salt into a bowl with a cover. Add the cucumbers and dill branches. Stir gently to coat. Refrigerate overnight. Stir occasionally.
2. Cook the potatoes by boiling them the night before. Refrigerate to ensure they are very cold.
3. The next day, drain the cucumber mixture in a colander for an hour. Discard the brine and dill.
4. To assemble the salad, Cut the potatoes crosswise into ½ inch thick slices. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Add the drained cucumbers, onion, sliced radishes, and remaining 3 Tablespoons dill. Toss to blend.
5. Add the mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. Serve cold.

Options: Cook the potatoes with the skins on and remove them after cooking, or leave the skins on.

Growing memories and traditions through the love of food

August 17, 2020 By marketeditor

Madison Jackson with her Grandma Jo, circa 2006

By Madison Jackson, market intern

Each year I find myself looking forward to the late summer when everything seems to slow down a bit as we soak up the last long, hot days that mark the bittersweet end of another summer. Before we trade our swimsuits for back to school and office outfits and switch our summer salads for pumpkin recipes, we enjoy one last late summer harvest.

Growing up, the late summer always brought with it one of my favorite treats: my Grandmother’s fresh chocolate chip zucchini bread. My Grandma Jo’s beloved garden sat in the field behind her and my grandfather’s home in Upstate New York, surrounded by a small fence to keep out the deer and rabbits that frequented the property. She tended to her garden often, loading her many tools onto a four-wheeler and setting out to work in the hot sun to ensure her fruits, vegetables, and herbs were properly taken care of.

In early August, her small garden overflowed with an abundance of zucchini, raspberries, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The meals of the following weeks were filled with produce from the garden in every way imaginable. Zucchini bread and muffins for breakfast, cucumber and tomato salads for lunch, and cakes with sweet raspberry sauce for dessert.

*Madison Jackson at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market*

This flood of fresh fruits and vegetables brought some of my favorite meals of the summer, as well as some of the most cherished memories of my childhood. Long afternoons surrounded by my siblings and cousins, following directions to make delicious raspberry jam we liked to call “Grandchildren Jam” and enjoying her homemade desserts out on the deck surrounded by family as we watched the sunset. But what I looked forward to most was the late summer surplus of zucchini that meant homemade zucchini bread, with a special batch she would set aside for me made with chocolate chips.

As we enter the last few weeks of summer, as always, I look forward to sharing this recipe with my family and taking in the dog days of August.

Cooking provides such a special way to connect with family and friends and emphasizes the importance of nourishing ourselves with fresh, healthy foods. Come browse the market this month to stock up on seasonal summer produce grown by your favorite local farmers. It is food that you can feel good about eating and sharing.

This week’s recipe: Grandma Jo’s Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread