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For a Light and Lovely Supper, Try Cousa

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson, photos courtesy of Pattie Garrett

Photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

Marcie Place’s grandfather emigrated from Syria in the 1940s. Her father spent his weekends with his Syrian aunts learning to cook the dishes of his home country. In the decades that followed, he passed his passion for that food to his children.

Today, Place, owner of The Chocolate Spoon, pours her love for Syrian food into many of her baked goods at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. And even when she isn’t baking, she makes many of the dishes that her father mastered through his aunts.

“I will never try to be as good at cooking Syrian food as my father is, but honoring his heritage is a great privilege to me,” says Place. “After all, food is love.”

She especially looks forward to mid-summer when cousa comes into season. This lime-green squash is like zucchini, only lighter and a bit rounder. It is the base for one of her father’s favorite dishes – Stuffed Cousa, which is made by hollowing out the squash, filling it with a rice mixture, and then simmering it in a tomato broth.

Place shared her father’s recipe with me, and a few weeks ago, Debbie Stevens of Butternut Ridge Farm told me cousa was in season. Since then, I have been buying it at the Wednesday market from her. Kokinda Farm also carries cousa on Saturdays.

Cousa often is mixed into bins of zucchini and summer squash, which can make it hard to find. But the hunt is worth the effort.

Photo courtesy of Pattie Garret

Stuffing cousa takes a little work, but it also takes advantage of some of the best of the market’s current bounty. Imagine heirloom tomatoes, basil, newly harvested garlic, sweet pepper, and the satisfying crunch of summer squash.

That’s cousa with its added touches. It emerges from its cooking broth looking a little like a sausage and tasting sweet and spicy. Use whatever broth is left as a simmer sauce for meatballs or, as I did, for fish.

Stevens said cousa is a favorite among eastern European customers who like it stuffed. Stevens enjoys the squash sautéed, as a side.

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, Twitter, and Instagram, and check us out on the FreshFoodNY app. E-mail friends@saratogafarmers.org for volunteer opportunities.

Grilled Oyster Mushrooms

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Recipe courtesy of Ramble Creek Farm

 

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • 1 lb. blue oyster mushrooms*
  • Lime juice from 2 limes
  • 3 Tablespoons avocado oil
  • Sea salt

 

Instructions

  1. Pull apart the oyster mushroom cluster. The cap and stem will pull off from the base with ease.
  2. Rinse the mushrooms and toss with 1 Tablespoon avocado oil.
  3. Juice two limes and mix with the remaining avocado oil.
  4. Grill over medium heat with the cap side down. While the mushrooms are on the grill, baste the gills of the mushrooms with the lime marinade. Grill for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms soften and have nice grill marks.
  5. Sprinkle sea salt over the blue oyster mushrooms and enjoy!

Spicing Up Your Summer Meals

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By: Mariah Rankin

Summer is a time when we find ourselves enjoying the company of others while dining on the fresh and vibrant ingredients that the season brings. Nothing embodies this more than a barbeque, and here at the Saratoga Farmers Market, we have just what you need to “spice” yours up. Three of our vendors specialize in spices and marinades that will help you transform your summer meals.

Momma’s Secret Salad Dressings & Marinades, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

 

Salads are a seasonal favorite, and Momma’s Secret Salad Dressings offers amazing gluten-free dressings made from all-natural ingredients. “Momma’s House Dressing” is a market favorite that also doubles as a marinade. It will add a special touch to any salad or meat. With just a small amount of their dressings, your food will explode with flavor. A portion of their proceeds is also donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

 

 

Muddy Trail Jerky Co., photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

 

Grilling is another summertime favorite, and Muddy Trail Jerky Co. offers 15 different spice mixes specifically for grilling that will leave your meat bursting with flavor. Their classic “Steak Seasoning” is a customer favorite that contains a delicious blend of onion, garlic, and a variety of herbs and peppers. Along with their other spice mixes, it will give any beef, lamb, pork, or poultry dish a flavorful kick.

 

Saratoga Spicery, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

 

Each week the owners of Saratoga Spicery look forward to hearing their customers share the unique ways they use their products. There are no set rules or guidelines on how to use their spice mixes, the options are limitless. These “spiceries” are unique because almost all of them can be turned into a delicious dip by combining two tablespoons to 4-parts sour cream and 1-part mayo or Greek yogurt. These tasty dips will be sure to please at any summer barbecue.

 

To learn more about these products and get some of your own for your next summer gathering, stop by our market on Saturdays.

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

Easy, Almost Instant, Hollandaise Sauce

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Recipe courtesy of Mary Pratt of Elihu Farm

Total time: 10-15 minutes

 

If you’ve thought about making Hollandaise Sauce, do you shrug, because you’ve heard it’s too complicated? This “egg sauce” is ideal sauce for spring.

Ingredients

*Ingredients available at the farmers’ market

  • 1 lemon
  • 1 whole egg *
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter*  (or 1 tbsp olive oil* and 3 tbsp butter* or 2 tbsp of each)
  • 1 tbsp heavy cream*
  • Salt to taste
  • Optional additions:

Lemon zest

Whipped heavy cream*

Parsley *

Capers

Orange zest and orange juice

Instructions

  1. Whisk 1 whole egg in a bowl which will fit atop a 1½ quart saucepan. Whisk in 1 tbsp lemon juice; add a pat of cold butter. Using a whole egg instead of egg yolks makes a more forgiving sauce that’s less likely to curdle. (Use 2 egg yolks if you prefer a richer sauce.)
  2. Heat the olive oil and butter, or just butter, in another pan, until the butter foams but doesn’t burn, (If you like a more lemony sauce, add some lemon zest.) Keep warm.
  3. Bring to a simmer about half an inch of water in a 1-1/2 or 2-quart pan. Put the bowl of egg mixture over the simmering water (no need for an official double boiler). The bowl cannot touch the water.
  4. Whisk constantly as the egg heats up and the butter begins to melt. Don’t heat too fast, or the sauce might curdle. Then, add the hot butter or butter and oil to the bowl, in a slow stream while whisking briskly. Allow the sauce to heat slowly, whisking more and more, until it changes texture and appears custardy.
  5. If the sauce begins to curdle, remove from the bowl from the heat. Add a bit of lemon juice and a smidgen of butter or oil and whisk until the sauce becomes smooth. Then put the bowl back on the pan and continue, until all the butter or butter and oil are incorporated.
  6. Remove from the heat; whisk in 1 tbsp heavy cream to make the sauce more spreadable. Keep warm until ready to serve on asparagus, broccoli, fish, or atop eggs Benedict.

 

Additions and substitutions: For orange flavor, add orange juice and half the lemon juice, and substitute the zest of half an orange. Other additions can include, whipped cream * (Sauce Mousseline), capers (don’t overdo), finely minced parsley, or some paprika.