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

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

eating seasonally

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market moves indoors on Saturday November 3rd

By

by Kristin Cleveland

Tomorrow, November 3rd, is Opening Day for the Saratoga Farmers’ Market winter season! The market will be held from 9 am to 1 pm every Saturday, from now through the end of April, inside the Lincoln Baths building at 65 South Broadway in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

Just before the 9 am opening bell tomorrow, Saratoga Mayor Meg Kelly, NYS Parks Assistant Regional Director David Barone, Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau president Darryl Leggieri, Spa State Park General Manager David Guest, and longtime local conservationist Barbara Glaser will share in a brief ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the start of the winter market season and the benefits of having the year-round Saratoga Farmers’ Market. 

Then, at 9 am, customers can head indoors to shop from over 40 farmers, specialty foods vendors and local artists, hear acoustic music, and enjoy the camaraderie of connecting with the community on Saturdays throughout the winter in a beautiful and fully accessible historic building. 

Saratoga Farmers’ Market indoors at the Lincoln Baths. Photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

The musical guest for November 3rd will be an unplugged version of the ever popular Running the River band; information about additional upcoming Saturday musicians, sponsors of children’s activities, and other guests can be found on the calendar page of www.saratogafarmersmarket.org. Also on the website is a link to sign up for a weekly email newsletter, making it easy to find out about seasonal vendor offerings and special community events.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market has been in operation since 1978 with a commitment to providing local products from Saratoga county and surrounding Schenectady, Rensselaer, Washington and Warren counties. For the next six months on Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths, customers will find a wide variety of fresh, locally grown autumn and winter vegetables, fruit and mushrooms. Also available all winter season will be locally produced meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, homemade baked goods, jams, wine, spirits, soap, and freshly prepared and ready-to-eat foods. New farms at this year’s winter market are Ramble Creek Farm, Squashville Farm, Green Jeans Market Farm, and Saratoga Urban Farm. 

In addition to farm products, the winter “Holiday Market,” offered every Saturday in November and December, provides unique hand-crafted clothing, jewelry, elegant glass art, gourmet dog food and treats, baby items, and other artisan goods perfect for gifts for everyone on a holiday list.

Sugar Snap Peas with Garlic and Mint

By

Adapted from the recipe in Fine Cooking, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

  • 2 garlic cloves*, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil*, plus 2 teaspoons olive oil*
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound sugar snapped peas*, trimmed
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh mint*
  • Fresh lemon juice
  • Sea salt flakes

 

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Heat the 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the snap peas and cook without moving until blackened in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Take the skillet off the heat, add the garlic mixture and stir until fragrant, 15 to 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving bowl, toss with the mint and season to taste with lemon juice and salt.

Enjoying What’s Fresh

By

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

 

Early Summer Produce at Owl Wood Farm’s Stand, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

The many vegetable farmers who bring their harvests to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays offer an abundance of early summer freshness – thick luscious leaves of kale and Swiss chard; bountiful bags of lettuce and salad mixes; tender carrots, sprightly radishes, and bright baby beets accompanied by long leafy tops.

This festive array often makes one want to buy everything. But then comes the question: How to enjoy it all before it wilts?

“How to store it, how long will it last? These are questions we get a lot,” says Justine Denison, of Denison Farm.

Such issues might particularly perplex subscribers of community supported agriculture (CSA) programs who receive boxes filled to the brim with produce every week. CSA subscribers are vital to many farmers’ livelihoods and the boxes, in return, are intended to offer up ample supplies of produce for up to a week. Many others also rely on their weekly or twice-weekly market visits for much of what they eat. As a result, it is in the interest of everyone to know how best to keep these seasonal vegetables fresh.

Denison offers the following tips:

  • Shop early. Farmers harvest and cool vegetables within a day if not hours before market. As a result, produce is most fresh right at the market.
  • Bring coolers to keep produce cool if you’re not heading straight home.
  • At home, give leafy greens like kale a cold water bath if they appear wilted. Drip or spin dry the leaves before storing them.
  • Store vegetables in a crisper in bags that are left open, allowing the produce some room to breathe.
  • Don’t wash vegetables until you’re ready to eat them.
  • Strategize. Radishes, turnips, and beets last longer than their green tops, all of which are delicious steamed, lightly sautéed, or in salads. Clip the tops off and eat them first. Save the roots for later.

And don’t hold back. What’s in season changes fast. Owl Wood Farm’s snap peas have been a hit. Now, though, “That season is about done for us,” says owner Mark Bascom. Meanwhile, “green beans are just starting and we’ll start to pick them next week.”

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.