Elihu Farm

Fall Favorites at the Farmers’ Market

September 28, 2020 By marketeditor

By Madison Jackson and Emily Meagher

Before the farmers’ market moves back indoors, we spend one last month with our tents up and our coats on to share fresh, local products with our community. Summer produce makes way for the fall harvest; a time for comforting food and drinks and festive seasonal products. Here are ten fall favorites you can find at our markets in October.

1. Apple cider and cider donuts
Saratoga Apple and Slyboro Cider House both operate their own orchards. Try their fresh apples, pressed apple cider, hard cider, and cider donuts. A real Upstate NY treat!

*Saratoga Peanut Butter Company, photo by Madison Jackson*

2. Pumpkin Pandemonium Peanut Butter
The name says it all. This Saratoga Peanut Butter Company creation is chock-full of rich pumpkin and peanut flavors. A guilt-free treat at only 2 grams of sugar per serving, it’s great on sandwiches, apples, ice cream, and more.

3. Hand-painted hats
Artist Gretchen Tisch, owner of Feathered Antler, gives hats a fall makeover. Pick up a leaf-accented fedora or hand-knit beanie at the market.

4. Hot chocolate cheesecake
Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes’ flavors vary with the season. Our current favorite is hot chocolate cheesecake. It’s perfect for when you have company, but perfectly acceptable to eat all by yourself! Also available are apple and pumpkin cheesecakes and cheesecake filled apples dipped in chocolate.

5. Apple cider fromage frais
Nettle Meadow does cheesemaking with a creative touch, and it shows with their seasonal favorites. Back at the market are the soft apple cider fromage frais, pumpkin spice and maple chevre, and the brie-like Early Snow.

6. Local wool
Elihu Farm’s sheep produce award-winning wool, sold as washed and unwashed fleeces at the market. Pick up a fleece to do some cozy fall crafting!

*Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, photo by Emily Meagher*

7. Spooky soaps
At Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, no shape of soap is too crazy. Their fall mineral soap collection includes ghosts, pumpkins, black cats, acorns, leaves, and owls.

8. Ornamental corn
Fresh summer corn is making way for ornamental fall corn. Pick up some calico or broom corn from local farms for fresh seasonal home decor.

9. Hand-ground cinnamon
Saratoga Spicery’s fresh-ground spices and spice mixes include hand-ground cinnamon. Give your baked goods an extra fresh flavor!

10. Pumpkins!
Farmers’ markets in October wouldn’t be complete without fresh gourds and winter squash. Local farms have a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes in stock – you can even find some hand-painted mini pumpkins.

This week: not a recipe, but a craft… how to make felt balls with wool roving!

Starting small begins with dreaming big

July 21, 2020 By marketeditor

By Mary Pratt

Before Bob and I started Elihu Farm, we lived in New Scotland, self-employed writing about acid precipitation and climate change (before it became a ‘hot topic’).

Eventually one of us said, “We should do something agricultural.” Soon we bought our Elihu Farm in Easton, named for Revolutionary Patriot, Elihu Gifford. Instead of raising vegetables and berries, the book left in our house, “Raising Sheep the Modern Way,” pushed us that way. We’ve raised sheep since 1987. And concentrate on lamb cuts, pastured eggs, and wool.

The way we started has made me curious about how other Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendors began.

*Argyle Cheese Farmer, photo by Pattie Garrett*

Before we joined the Market, we met Marge and Dave Randles. Dave and his brother ran Randles dairy farm, founded in 1860 in Argyle. Dave explained, “Seventeen years ago, the price of milk was abysmal, so we thought of doing value-added products.”

Making cheese was Dave’s first idea, at Argyle Cheese Farm. But “Marge is a visionary,” he said, “who thought about a variety of products.”

They offer fantastic yogurt, award-winning cheese, cheese spreads, cultured buttermilk, smoothies, gelato, and more. Check out tzatziki sauce, new breads, doughnuts, and baked goods.

*Something’s Brewing, photo by Pattie Garrett*

When the Market needed a new coffee vendor, Beth Trattel, Something’s Brewing, at first shared a small space with Argyle Cheese Farmer. “The Market was a better fit than my coffee shop in Greenwich.”

“About two years ago, I started coffee roasting.” with sustainable beans. “It’s like making wine, or cooking,” she said. “…more creative and flexible.”

Her Battenkill River Coffee has several varieties, and she blends her own teas, blueberry lavender this week. In addition, she makes lemonade, iced black tea, iced mocha, Italian cream soda.

Mark Bascom and Lindsay Fisk, planted Owl Wood Farm in Salem five years ago. They heard owls in woods at a leased farm and their current farm.

*Owl Wood Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett*

They studied environmental science at two colleges, including sustainable agriculture. Lindsay explained, “We started working on farms during summers, and took various apprenticeships after college.”

After the apprenticeships, they decided to raise Certified Naturally Grown vegetables, herbs, and strawberries. Lindsay said, “It’s a grassroots alternative to the National Organic Program, and we do it so we can be third-party verified.” At Farmers’ Market, salad greens are the most popular.

This week’s recipe: Iced Mocha

The revival of community-supported agriculture

May 18, 2020 By marketeditor

By Julia Howard

*Echo Creek Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett*

While the mainstream media reports on crops rotting in fields due to the food chain disruption caused by COVID-19, the local agriculture scene is experiencing a different reality. Local farmers are responding to the demand for fresh food and CSA’s, once considered to be a niche market, are gaining momentum.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) by Echo Creek Farm’s definition is “a mutually beneficial commitment between farmers and their community.” Members of a CSA ensure a customer base and stable income for farmers throughout the growing season. In return, the farmer provides CSA members with a weekly share of seasonal produce.

Local farms are experiencing a surge in CSA signups as consumers are looking for food that has been handled minimally on the journey from farm to table. Consumers are also looking to avoid the stresses of shopping and CSA shares offer a solution: a variety of ripe, freshly-harvested products on a consistent schedule.

Echo Creek Farm, Owl Wood Farm, and 518 Farms currently offer CSA shares. These shares vary in pricing, products, and frequency, and each farm offers pick-up and delivery options to meet customers’ specific needs.

Echo Creek Farm offers a ‘harvest share’ that runs for 15 weeks from June through September. “Our share relies heavily on familiar items. Each week you’ll receive a collection of vegetables that are in season and grown using organic methods. The amount varies a little as the growing season changes, but it’s generally appropriate for a family of 2-4 people,” says Mike Palulis, farm owner. Pickup is at their farm in Salem.

Owl Wood Farm offers two CSA options: a standard ‘box share’ that runs for 20 weeks from June through October and a ‘market share’ where credit is added onto a gift card in increments of $100 and customers use this credit while shopping at their farmers’ market stand. Owl Wood offers ‘box share’ pickup at the farmers’ market, drive-thru pickup at their farm in Salem, and home delivery.

518 Farms offers a variety of mushrooms in their weekly ‘small ½ lb. share’ or ‘ large 1 lb. share’. Subscribers may select from blue and yellow oysters, lions main, nameko, chestnuts, maitake, and shiitake with pickup on Tuesdays at the farm in Hoosick Falls.

In addition to these CSA farm shares, Elihu Farm offers an egg subscription, Slate River Farms offers ‘box selections’ on their pastured pork and grass-fed beef, and Goode Farm offers a weekly flower subscription.

This week’s recipe: Rhubarb Cake

Cooking Advice for Farm-to-Table Meats

October 22, 2019 By marketeditor

By Julia Howard

I consider myself to be a decent cook but I will confess that I have always felt insecure preparing dishes with meat. So whenever I want to prepare lamb, beef, goat, or pork I look to the experts; the farmers who raised the animals and know the cuts and flavors best.

*Steak from Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett*

An upcoming dinner with friends prompted me to visit the farmers’ market for the right meat and cooking instructions for my visionary main course. First, I visit Christophe Robert of Longlesson Farm. “Keep it simple and cook the meat (steak) at a low temperature and finish with a sear,” Robert advises.

Caroline from Lewis Waite Farm gave similar advice. She explains that pasture-raised, 100% grass-fed meats cook differently. “They have less fat so you need to adjust how you approach cooking it with lower temperatures and less time,” she explains. Caroline recommends flat iron steaks, which are from a tender part of the shoulder. “Just a few minutes on each side on a low-heat pan works great,” says Caroline. The meat may be sliced up for fajitas and soups, or served as a steak.

Mary Pratt of Elihu Farm has a variety of cuts of lamb that may be bought fresh year-round at the farmers’ market. Pratt recommends a lamb shoulder roast or shoulder chops, bone-in neck, and shanks which make excellent stew. “You can use lamb stew cuts in recipes from many cultures,” explains Pratt. One of her favorite recipes is for lamb osso bucco, which can be found in the cookbook From the Earth to the Table. In addition, Pratt recommends lamb recipes from Paula Wolfert’s cookbooks and USA Grilling.

Goat is another meat option available at the farmers’ market. Jim Gupta-Carlson of Squashville Farm recommends goat rib chops and loin chops. “They are flavorful and quite simple to prepare,” says Gupta-Carlson. Simply season with salt and pepper and sear the chops on both sides on either a grill or skillet. Then let them cook at a lower temperature until they are medium-rare. Gupta-Carlson recommends letting the chops rest for a few minutes before serving.

The farmers’ market will move indoors to the Wilton Mall on Saturday, November 2 from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. There, customers may peruse offerings of goat, lamb, beef, and pork, and gather cooking advice from Elihu Farm, Lewis Waite Farm, Longlesson Farm, Mariaville Mushroom Men, Moxie Ridge Farm, Ramble Creek Farm, Slate River Farms, and Squashville Farm.

Planning a Summer Supper on the Grill

July 16, 2019 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

A great perk of summer is eating outdoors. My husband and I do this as often as we can manage. About 7 p.m., he gathers up wood and gets a fire going in our old charcoal goal. As the wood burns down to coals, I prep. Then, we cook and eat slowly, sipping wine and beer, watching the sun set and sky darken to dusk.

What goes on the grill? Where does it come from?

Most of what we eat comes from the Saratoga Farmers’ Market or our farm. What goes on the grill depends on what’s in season.

Grilled sirloin from Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

The centerpiece of most of our meals is meat, farm-raised and brought to an ambient temperature, maybe brushed with a bit of Dancing Ewe Farm’s olive oil, maybe sprinkled with black pepper or garlic, maybe topped with finely chopped rosemary or sage.

The “maybes” are truly that. Options. The meats our farmers bring to market come from animals that feast on the flavorful bounty of outdoor pastures, and rarely require much to enhance their flavor. We rotate between chicken, goat, pork, fish, lamb, and beef.

With meat as the main course, vegetables in all shapes, textures, and tastes enhance the overall meal.

I plan a supper’s vegetables around three basic cooking styles: roasted, sautéed, and right on the grill. Roasted is usually a starch – such as hakurei turnips, trimmed, wrapped in foil and cooked until fork-soft and slightly caramelized. For sautéed, try a bunch of seasonal greens such as tatsoi, tossed into a frying pan or wok with olive oil, lemon juice, and maybe chopped onion, green garlic, or chive. Stir fry the greens for 2-4 minutes until they have wilted. Right on the grill is anything that likes a slight singe. For instance, zucchini, cooked until tender with a blackened patten from the grill.

Grilled lamb chops from Elihu Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Summer supper possibilities on the grill are endless. Try your own combinations and stop by the market to share your results.

On Wednesdays, locally raised meat and poultry may be found at Ramble Creek Farm, Slate River Farms, and Squashville Farm. On Saturdays, Elihu Farm, Lewis Waite Farm, Longlesson Farm, M&A Farm, and Ramble Creek Farm. Fish and seafood may be found at Pura Vida Fisheries. And, cured meats not for grilling may be found at Dancing Ewe Farm.

How to Buy an Egg

June 11, 2019 By marketeditor

By Mary Pratt

When shopping for produce or meat in supermarkets, there’s often no information about the origin of those products or how they were raised. At Saratoga Farmers’ Market, customers can easily get the “where and how” from our farmers.

One exception in grocery stores is the overwhelming amount of information on egg cartons. Some information is based on USDA definitions; some is advertising. Farm locations are often on the back of the cartons.

*Ramble Creek Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett*

According to USDA, farms can raise egg-laying hens in various ways. If a carton states nothing, this probably means the hens are in “battery cages,” 67-76 square inches per hen, smaller than a standard sheet of paper.

Other housing methods are cage-free, free-range, and pastured. “Cage-free” hens live indoors, with no requirement for the amount of space for each hen. “Free-range” hens have access to the outdoors, but that area may be very small and covered with concrete.

*Otrembiak Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett*

Although USDA hasn’t defined “pasture-raised,” pasture for hens should contain young grass and plants in addition to standard feed. Hens will also catch earthworms and insects. Research done by Mother Earth News and Penn State University concludes that these eggs are higher in Vitamins A, E, and D, and Omega-3 fatty acids, and lower in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Cartons labeled pastured eggs in winter should come from states where grass grows year round such as Texas, California, Georgia, Arkansas. In the Northeast, there is no pasture once the snow falls, until spring comes.

“No Hormones” on cartons means nothing because the Federal government
doesn’t allow hens to receive hormones. “No Antibiotics” means farms add none to the hens’ feed or water.

For eggs to be labeled ‘local’, the 2008 Farm Bill requires flocks to be less than 400 miles from processing, or within the state where eggs are laid and processed. Those eggs may be shipped anywhere in the U.S. By contrast, eggs at our Market come from farms less than 30 miles away.

These are the farms that provide you with delicious, fresh, and truly local eggs: Elihu (Sat.), Gifford (Wed.), Kokinda (Sat.), Longlesson (Sat.), Moxie Ridge (Sat), Old World Farm (Wed./Sat.), Otrembiak (Wed./Sat.), Slate River (Wed.), Squashville (Wed.)

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