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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.

 

Maple Syrup Pudding

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Adapted from the recipe by Schoolhouse Maple, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table

Serves: 4

 

INGREDIENTS

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • ⅓ cup dark maple syrup*
  • 2 cups milk*
  • 3 Tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 large egg* yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 Tablespoon butter*

 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Whisk syrup, milk, cornstarch, and egg in a saucepan. Cook on medium high heat for 8 minutes while continually whisking. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter.
  2. Pour in 4 individual dishes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

 

NOTES:

Top with whipped cream:

1 cup whipping cream (heavy cream*)

3 Tablespoons maple syrup*

Beat cream until soft peaks begin to form. Add maple syrup and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

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STRAWBERRY RHUBARB SAUCE

Adapted from the recipe featured in Taste of Home

Serves: 12 servings or 3 cups

Total time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

*Ingredients found at the farmers’ market

  • 2-1/2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb*, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries*, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

INSTRUCTIONS

In a saucepan, combine rhubarb, water, sugar, lemon zest and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until rhubarb is soft, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in strawberries, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cool. Serve over cake, yogurt, ice cream.

 

Cheesecake Maker Brings Family Favorites to Farmers’ Market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

Photo courtesy of Grandma Apple’s Cheesecake

Tucked into a corner of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market is a cheesecake maker. To market regulars, she is coming to be known as Grandma Apple.

Grandma Apple is Connie Capasso, owner of Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes. She handcrafts her cheesecakes from high-quality, locally sourced ingredients and transports them to the market via a portable refrigerator that keeps the cheesecakes chilled and ready for on-the-spot eating.

The cheesecakes are available in individual cups for $4.50 each.

“Customers love the individual size,” says Capasso. “I appreciate that I can bake right in the cup and that the cup itself is recyclable.”

Like many artisanal businesses, Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes grew from a passion.

Capasso has a large family and often would bake cheesecakes for them, trying out different crusts and flavors. Her family encouraged her to turn the baking into a business, so Capasso did some research, had a commercial kitchen built, and established a limited liability corporation. She joined the Saratoga Farmers’ Market last November during its indoor season and now sells at the Wednesday and Saturday markets and at a market in Albany.

Like the business, the name Grandma Apple has family roots. As Capasso tells it, her eldest grandson – now 21 and one of nine – used to call a number of women in the family “Grandma.” Some of these women were grandmothers and some were great-grandmothers. She knew that he loved apples so she always had them on hand when he would come to visit.

“When he was old enough to start speaking, I became Grandma Apple,” Capasso says. “Now all nine grandkids know me as Grandma Apple.”

The cheesecakes come in several flavors in a range of flavors including some standards such as traditional, chocolate, lemon, and peanut butter. But Capasso likes to experiment and often adds different flavors once her experiments have passed the ultimate taste test — her family’s approval.

“Every so often we have a taste test day,” she says. “It’s a blind tasting. I bring out the flavors, and they give me their feedback.”

Capasso also makes larger cheesecakes, which are available through special order. Visit her at the market, on the FreshFoodNY app, or email GrandmaApplesCheesecakes@gmail.com to learn more.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park. Find us on Facebook and Instagram, and check us out on the FreshFoodNY app. E-mail friends@saratogafarmers.org for volunteer opportunities.

Baked Apples

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Adapted from recipes shared by Christine Gaud of Saratoga Apple and ‘bakes apples’ on Foodnetwork.com

Makes 4 servings

Prep and cook time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 large baking apples*, such as Honeycrisp
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Wash and core apples, leaving enough of the core at the base of the apple to contain the filling.
  3. Combine the butter, cinnamon, and chopped nuts in a small bowl. Roll log shapes of the mixture and press enough into each apple to fill the core.
  4. Fill a 2-quart baking dish with about 3/4 cup water, or enough to cover the bottom. Place the apples upright in the dish. Bake until the apples are soft and the filling is browned, 1 hour.

Cranberry and Jam Bars

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Adapted from recipe by Bake from Scratch, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table

Serves: 15 to 18

 

INGREDIENTS

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon orange zest
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1½ cups strawberry preserves*
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

For Streusel:

  • 1½  cups old fashioned oats
  • ½ cup flour
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 13X9 inch baking pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of the pan.
  2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until butter turns a medium brown color and has a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Pour browned butter into a bowl. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, rub together granulated sugar and zest until fragrant.
  4. In a bowl, beat browned butter, sugar mixture, vanilla, and salt at medium speed until combined. With a mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, beating until combined. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. Spread preserves onto warm crust. Dot preserves with cranberries and sprinkle with streusel.
  6. Bake until streusel is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 35 minutes more. Let cool at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  7. Using excess parchment as handles, remove from pan and cut into bars. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
  8. To make streusel:
  9. In a medium bowl, whisk together oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.