Shop Local, Eat Fresh at the Saratoga Farmers' Market | Food, Crafts, Music in Saratoga Springs

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

dessert

Leavened Dumplings with Blueberries

By

Leavened Dumplings with Blueberries

Recipe provided by Janek Palat, owner of Sweet Prophecy

Makes: 14 dumplings

Prep & cook time: 30 min

Ingredients:

For the dumplings:

  • 6 ¾ oz. (200 ml) lukewarm milk*
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast OR 4 ½ teaspoons of fresh yeast
  • 3 ¼ cups (400 g) flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 egg*
  • ¼ cups (40 g) sugar

For the filling:

  • blueberries (or any other fresh fruit: apples*, apricots, plums, peaches, etc.)

For the topping:

  • confectioners sugar
  • Farmers cheese (or substitute with chèvre*)
  • Melted butter 

*Ingredients available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

Instructions:

  1. Combine milk, yeast and a pinch of sugar in a bowl and cover it with a cloth. Allow it to set until it rises (about 10 min).
  2. Add all the other ingredients and mix together (by hand or using a mixer) until the dough has a smooth texture and does not stick to the spoon. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes. 
  3. Divide the dough into 14 pieces. Process each piece into a flat round shape then add the blueberries (3-5) and close it from all sides, shaping into a ball. You will prepare 14 balls from this batch.
  4. The best cooking method for these dumplings is steaming – just remember to allow enough space between dumplings when placing them into a steamer. They will grow dramatically during steaming and almost triple their volume. You don’t want them to stick to each other, which is why it’s best to leave enough space between each dumpling.
  5. Steam for about 5-8 minutes, check the dumpling with a skewer to ensure that dough does not stick. 
  6. Once the dumplings are ready, you can serve them immediately. Add some farmer cheese on top of each dumpling, sprinkle it with confectioners sugar, melt some butter and pour over the dumplings for a delicious multi-dimensional taste. “Dobrou chuť!” or Bon appetit!

Note: Another way to prepare the dumplings is to cook them in boiling water. Make sure you have a pot full of water and don’t overfill it, so there is only 1 layer of dumplings in the pot. Cook for approximately 8-10 minutes.

Know Your Farmer – and Get to Know a Few New Ones, too

By

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

We get it. It’s January. It’s cold. It’s COVID, year three. 

And while you might love the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, you feel it has changed.

You’re right. We’ve changed. Some longtime, well-established vendors are gone. Their owners retired or chose amid the COVID-19 pandemic to shift their operations toward online, home delivery, or mail-order sales.

But we are still the same market in many ways. We still offer some of the best locally grown, raised, or made foods and craft items. We’ve continued to do so by shifting our definition of local away from the six counties that traditionally defined our vendor base toward a more inclusive idea. That shift has helped bring in vendors from other counties, from anywhere within 50 miles of Saratoga.Our new vendors give our market a new face. But they value good products that are local. Stop by and say hello. In time, they’ll be quite familiar to you. 

Here’s the lowdown on a few:

  • Pork & Greens. This farm hails from the Hudson Valley and is woman-owned. Isabel Buenaga started the farm in July 2020, with a mission to create healthy soil, reduce food waste, and produce high-quality pork and nutrient-rich greens. Her pigs “graze and laze” on 15 acres of woodlands and receive a carefully monitored diet of repurposed foods. Foods that would otherwise be trashed or composted become nutrition for the pigs and yield nicely flavored pork chops, sausages, ham steaks, and other pork items. As for the greens, they are chosen for their ability to withstand our region’s bitterly cold winters and sweltering summers. Check out Buenaga’s kale, pea shoots, and lettuces.
    Pork and Greens, photo by Pattie Garrett.
  • The Mushroom Shop. This farm, based in Salem, is run by Jacob Howard and Elise Olsen. They joined the Wednesday market last spring and are continuing through the winter to offer gourmet specialty mushrooms for culinary and medicinal uses. Check out their oyster, beech, and cinnamon cap offerings.
    The Mushroom Shop, photo by Pattie Garrett
  • Boozy Moo. Yes, ice cream in winter. Boozy Moo, based in Albany, is the brainchild of Leila Kiosse. Kiosse had opened a craft cocktails bar and games house in early 2020. Like so many retail outlets, hers was shuttered amid the pandemic. Kiosse began experimenting with craft ice creams, infusing them with alcohol, and realized she had a great new approach to a popular dessert on her hands. Ask for a sample and let Kiosse’s cool treats warm your soul.
    Boozy Moo!, photo by Pattie Garrett

 

This week’s featured recipe: Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

Apple Pumpkin Upside Down Cake

By

Photo by Pattie Garrett

Recipe by Trish Aser of Brown Hound Downtown, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table, and originally printed for Edible Capital District
Yield: 1 cake

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● ⅔ packed brown sugar
● ½ cup butter*
● 2 Tablespoons apple cider*
● 1 teaspoon molasses
● 6 or more apples*
● 2 cups all purpose flour
● 2 teaspoons baking soda
● 2 teaspoons baking powder
● 1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
● ¾ teaspoons ground ginger or 3 tsp fresh grated ginger*
● ½ teaspoon salt
● 1 cup sugar
● ½ cup melted butter*
● 2 large eggs*
● ½ cup molasses
● ½ cup pumpkin* puree
● ½ cup boiling water

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 10 inch round cake pan.
2. Combine the brown sugar, butter, apple cider, and molasses in a saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves and syrup is smooth. Boil 1 minute. Pour evenly into prepared pan.
3. Core, peel, and cut apples into ½ inch slices and arrange in caramel in a decorative pattern.
4. Whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and sugar) together in a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients (melted butter, eggs, molasses, pumpkin and water) until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just blended. Do not over mix.
5. Dollop batter over patterned apples so as not to disturb your design and smooth batter to cover to the edges.
6. Place cake pan on a cookie sheet to catch spills and bake about 35 to 40 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes.
7. Place serving platter face down over cake pan and flip to unmold the cake. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Notes:
The original recipe calls for 2 to 3 apples. You may need as much or more than 6 apples for cover top of cake.
The original recipe has the baking time 25 to 30 minutes. You may need more, as much as 40 minutes.

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

By

Photo by Pattie Garrett

Adapted from the recipe by King Arthur Flour, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table
Serves: 8 to 10

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

For the cake:
● 3 large eggs*
● heaping ½ cup sugar
● 6 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
● 1 cup small curd cottage cheese (or part-skim ricotta)
● 1 cup plain Greek yogurt*
● 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
● ¾ cup all-purpose flour
● ½ teaspoon salt
● 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
● 1½ cups fresh blueberries*

For the glaze:
● 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
● zest from 1 lemon
● juice from ½ lemon
● 1 Tablespoon plain Greek yogurt*
● ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan that is at least 2 inches deep.
2. Beat together the eggs and sugar until smooth.
3. Add the butter, cottage (or ricotta cheese), yogurt, and vanilla to the eggs mixture. Beat until well combined.
4. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder, to the egg/cheese mixture stirring to combine.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and scatter the blueberries evenly over the top.
6. Bake the cake for about 50 minutes, until the tester inserted into the cake comes out clean.
7. Remove the cake from the oven. Let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to firm.

Glaze:
8. Whip together the confectioner’s sugar, zest, juice, yogurt, and vanilla. Adjust liquid for the desired consistency.
9. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

Goodway Caribbean Rum Cake Sundae

By

Photo provided by Goodway Bakery

Recipe by Goodway Bakery

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● Vanilla ice cream
● Goodway Bakery Mini Caribbean Rum Cake* (use any flavor of our cakes)
● Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions
Slice the rum cake into small cubes. In a milkshake glass or mason jar, layer the cubes of cake alternating with scoops of vanilla ice cream. If you want to decorate your milkshake glasses, brush a little corn syrup around the rim then roll the glass in sprinkles. Enjoy!

Butternut and Sweet Potato Pie

By

Photo by Pattie Garrett

Recipe from Lizbeth Gomez, Gomez Veggie Ville

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmer’s market

For crust:
2 cups graham crackers, ground (option: ginger snaps)
¼ cup sugar
1 cup butter, melted

For filling:
1 small butternut squash*
1 small sweet potato*
2 eggs*
1 can sweetened condensed milk (optional alternative: combination of cream* and honey*)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
pinches of nutmeg, ground ginger, and all spice

For topping:
1/2 cup heavy cream*
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon orange zest

Instructions
1. Combine crust ingredients in large bowl to make a smooth dough, pinching crumbs with fingers.
2. Press dough into a pie plate and refrigerate.
3. While crust is chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Peel and cut butternut squash into chunks, and peel and dice sweet potato.
5. Steam squash and sweet potato chunks until tender, approximately 15 minutes.
6. After vegetables have cooled, place in blender or food processor with eggs, milk and spices. Blend until smooth.
7. Pour mixture into crust, and place pie plate in a slightly larger pan with ½ inch of water at bottom. (This water bath helps to prevent cracks.)
8. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
9. For topping, beat together heavy cream, vanilla, confectioners’ sugar and orange zest until peaks form.
10. Cut pie into pieces, place on individual plates, and add topping with spoon.