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A Farm-to-Table Thanksgiving Guide: The Meats (and Meat Alternatives)

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By Emily Meagher

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and at the farmers’ market, there will be holiday offerings aplenty the next two Saturdays. Whatever the size of your gathering or the dietary preferences of your diners this year, market vendors are bringing plenty of options for every course. This week, we are looking at the various local meats in stock.

Ramble Creek Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

If you plan to host a traditional Thanksgiving meal, a turkey is likely to be on your shopping list. Preorder a pasture-raised, non-GMO-fed turkey at Ramble Creek Farm, with various bird sizes available from 10 to 18+ pounds. Order at the market or online, and pick up at the market on November 20.

Other meat vendors offer a full range of meats for those looking to try a different main course this year. Chicken may fill that turkey craving but better serve a smaller group of diners. This year, Squash Villa Farm offers Delaware breed heritage birds, a critically endangered species that is rare to find but offers great meat. Longlesson Farm offers whole chickens as well, and Ramble Creek Farm has various parts available.

Elihu Farm, photo by Emily Meagher

For non-poultry meats, find many different cuts of lamb, such as shanks, loin chops, and riblets, at Elihu Farm. Hebron Valley Veal will have roasts, chops and cutlets of veal available. Squash Villa Farm offers goat leg roasts.

Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Pork, including roasts, hocks, and sausages, will be available at three vendors: Pork & Greens (a new vendor at the farmers’ market offering various breeds of sustainably raised pork), Ramble Creek Farm, and Longlesson Farm, where pork returns in stock on November 20th. The latter farm has plenty of beef available, as well.

Looking for a vegetarian or vegan centerpiece instead? You can use various in-season produce items to create a flavorful and visually stunning meal without meat. Try dishes like whole roasted cauliflower, lentil shepherd’s pie with a parsnip and potato mash, or a “squashducken” (a squash, stuffed in a squash, stuffed in another squash!).

For the other courses, the farmers’ market is sure to fill your needs as well. More on the vegetable sides, desserts, and dressings you can source at the market in next week’s edition.

This week’s recipe: Accidental Turkey

Local Restaurants Use Products from Saratoga Farmers’ Market Vendors

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By Mary Pratt

Kelsey Whalen, owner of Whole Harvest, stocks up at the Wednesday market, photo by Pattie Garrett

Top quality local restaurants give huge compliments to many Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendors by using their products. Vendors make sure they also have plenty of products for the Market.

Kelley Hillis of Puckers Gourmet, photo by Pattie Garrett

Kelley Hillis, from Puckers Gourmet, explained that Saratoga Springs restaurants approached them for their pickles. They sell Kim Chi and Pak Dong to Thorn + Roots at the Fresh Market Plaza, and five-gallon pails of Kim Chi to Kraverie on Beekman Street. Their pickles have won several awards, including first place at the International Rosendale Pickle Festival.

Amy Smith from Saratoga Arms B&B first approached Elihu Farm for their eggs. In addition, The Mouzon House uses their eggs, as well as lamb. In June, Mouzon bought several boneless butterflied legs of lamb. Elihu Farm also sells lamb to Amuse on Broadway, and eggs to 15 Church, Adelphi Hotel, Comfort Kitchen, and Whole Harvest.

Leaning Birch Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

The Mouzon House, a Farm to Table restaurant, buys products from many farms. Dave Pedinotti said they use vegetables from Gomez Veggie Ville, including their heirloom tomatoes for Caprese. A recent article in Saratoga Living discusses three new cocktails Mouzon makes with tequila, one which uses Gomez’s strawberries for “Strawberry Rhubarb Sparkler.”

Dave and Marge Randles, from the award-winning Argyle Cheese Farmer, sell their yogurt to Dizzy Chicken Barbecue in Saratoga, cheese curds to Northway Brewing in Queensbury, buttermilk to Common Roots Brewing Company in South Glens Falls, and Unified Beer Works’ café in Malta.

Nettle Meadow Farm, based in Thurman, makes cheese from milk from goats, sheep, and cows. Their varieties have won many awards, especially in 2018 and 2020 from the Good Food Foundation for Kunik. That award was special for Sheila Flanagan and Lorraine Lambiase because the Foundation also considers care for animals, the environment, and staff. Distributors send their cheese to all states, except Alaska.

Another vegetable farmer, Leaning Birch Farm, sells to Hamlet & Ghost in Saratoga. Nic Fera said they use their salad mix, pea shoots and tomatoes. Bobby Chandler noted that Mariaville Mushroom Men sells to Jack’s Oyster House in Albany, and Common Roots. And Laurie Kokinda sells Kokinda Farm’s French beans to Lake Ridge Restaurant in Round Lake.

This week’s recipe: Cucumber Salad with Greek Yogurt

Cooking Advice for Farm-to-Table Meats

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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.

Every morning, A Farmer Greets His Bees

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By Kara Winslow

Jason Heitman starts his day of farming with a quick stop at the beehive, where he listens to the happy whir within and then greets the bees. The ritual fits into his philosophy of farming, which is all about learning how “to read the land better and influence it less.”

Heitman owns Green Jeans Market Farm, one of the new Saturday vendors at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. He farms on one-eighth of an acre of land leased from another market vendor, Otrembiak Farm.

The land – uncultivated – was covered with perennial grass, six feet tall. It now hosts rows of intensively cultivated vegetables and herbs.

Heitman was an English major in college. He graduated, landed a job in technology, and then decided he wanted to become a farmer because he saw it as a means of offering safe and healthy food to his community. He wanted to “do it right” so he picked up a book and learned about how food systems operated.

He completed internships at a farm in Denver and with Pleasant Valley Farm, also a Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendor, for a year and a half, “every moment of which was precious.” He also worked with other market vendors to learn how different farming systems worked.

Green Jeans became “certified naturally grown” before Heitman sold his first radish. The designation indicates that the farming is done without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified organisms. It is comparable to being certified organic except that the certification relies upon peer inspections and direct relationships between like-minded farmers.

Heitman does his farming by hand and remains attentive to the natural processes of the land. The evidence of his labor is found at his booth at the south end of the market in the array of greens he brings each week.

Heitman credits his ability to farm to the help he received from other farmers. Now, he too wants to reach out and help others. “It’s always on the back of my mind,” he says. “I know this farm is small, but I hope to be able to help others as they’ve helped me.”

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.

VEGGIE ROLL UPS

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Adapted from the recipe by Amanda’s Cookin’ and shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table 
Serves: 10
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INGREDIENTS:
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers market
  • 1 cucumber*
  • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt*
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced*
  • 1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped*
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 carrot, finely diced*
  • ¼ cup finely diced scallions*
  • ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese*
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Chop the ends off of the cucumber and use a mandolin or wide vegetable peeler to peel thin slices, lengthwise. Lay the slices on paper towels and pat dry.
  2. Combine yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, and the salt and pepper. Spread onto the cucumber slices. Top with the bell pepper, onion, and feta. Roll up and keep together with a toothpick.