Saratoga Farmers' Market

Friends of the Market

Friend the Market!

By

By Kristin Cleveland

Connecting with community, supporting local agriculture and small businesses, and discovering new foods and recipes — that’s what motivates the Friends of the Market. The Friends organization was created in 2011 to support vendors and customers of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market and to help educate the larger community about the benefits of locally sourced food.

Alexandra Morgan, one of the original Friends, recalls “My favorite memory is of helping a vendor who was overwhelmed with customers. That situation led to a valued friendship. To be able to step into a situation and help out is very gratifying.”

Friends of the Market volunteer Chris Toole enjoys helping out. Photo by Pattie Garret.

Chris Toole, another long-time Friend, encourages others to volunteer for this “ambassador-like” position, particularly if they love meeting and helping people. She explains, “the joking and camaraderie of the vendors is a joy. I’ve made wonderful friends in all of the people here. They make me laugh and I’m always learning things.”

Often these lessons are about new foods to try. Toole describes, “The best new food I ever heard about here, from Pura Vida Fisheries, was for Blowfish Tails. I sautéed them in butter and garlic and they were marvelous!” Since Toole found that Blowfish Tails are only available seasonally, she now asks the Pura Vida folks for other recommendations depending on the season. Another Friend, Sally Willse, also loves a recipe she learned from a market vendor, The Vermont Spätzle Company, which combines their gluten-free spätzle with local Brussels sprouts, bacon and maple syrup. 

Friends help out in various ways depending on their talents and interests. Tasks include greeting customers and answering questions, helping people transport purchases to their cars, covering vendor stalls while the farmers and chefs take breaks, taking photos for use in social media and educational presentations, and teaching people of all ages about cooking and local food. Willse describes her favorite market experiences, “The times I help with kids’ activities. Once the kids were drawing vegetables at the market; it was fun to see and hear their perspectives about their favorite foods.”

Alexandra Morgan helps with a market children’s activity. Photo by Pattie Garrett

Darlene McGraw sums up her reason for becoming a Friend this way: “I volunteer because I love to support local small businesses. I celebrate ‘Small Business Saturday’ every week!”

To learn about joining the Friends of the Market, e-mail friends@saratogafarmersmarket.org or come to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, currently at its winter home in the Lincoln Baths on Saturdays, 9 am – 1 pm.

Learning to Cook, Farmers’ Market Style

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

Callie Noland started her senior year at Skidmore College full of excitement. She and her housemates had signed on for a weekly CSA share, and she was looking forward to a fall of kale, bok choy, and kohlrabi. With the Internet at her disposal, she felt sure she would be able “to find something to do” with all of the luscious, vitamin-packed vegetables.

Soon, reality hit. As a college student with limited time and few cooking skills, she felt almost intimidated by the prospect of cooking for herself. More often than not, she ended up picking up pre-made foods on campus or eating at the dining hall. Much of the produce went to waste.

From Noland’s frustration came inspiration. She and a group of Skidmore students are teaming up with Saratoga Farmers’ Market volunteers to create a series of cooking classes for students based on easy, healthful, and flavorful meals that feature seasonal items available at the market. The first class is this Sunday.

The menu includes two hummus dips – one featuring sweet potatoes and the other parsnips; a beet salad, kale with caramelized onions and barley, roasted vegetables, and a potato cheese soup. Students will work at cooking stations set up in the college’s test kitchen with market volunteers serving as guides. Produce and cheese will be obtained from market vendors tomorrow, and students will go home with a booklet of recipes for their own use.

The goal, from market volunteer Ann Haden’s perspective, is to teach how cooking with fresh food doesn’t have to be complicated.

For Noland, a public health major, the classes are a way of helping students feel empowered about cooking with local produce. For her, she says, “I’m hoping for myself to gain some confidence.”

Noland hopes to add a few staple dishes to a chili she tries to make weekly, based on a recipe from her father.

“I feel that the stakes for cooking on a given day are high,” she says. “It’s an investment of time, of money, of food that should not be wasted. If it ends up tasting bad or failing in some way, so much is wasted.”

Visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths Building in Saratoga Spa State Park; follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; and contact friends@saratogafarmersmarket.org for volunteer opportunities.

Farmers Fill Franklin Community Center Food Pantry

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

Franklin Community Center’s Fresh Produce Day, photo by Pattie Garrett

Every Saturday at the end of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, volunteers collect some of the best of our local bounty: apples, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and maple syrup, among other items. These donated goods go from the farmers directly to the food pantry at the Franklin Community Center.

I began facilitating this project last fall, after the farmers’ market and food pantry established a partnership, and currently collect 75 to 125 pounds of locally grown or made goods every week.

“This partnership ensures that food is not wasted,” says Julie Slovic, Franklin center’s food program administration. “Our customers are very grateful and excited to have access to these products. It is a great opportunity to introduce produce they may not be familiar with and discuss the health benefits and simple and easy ways to prepare fresh vegetables.”

Farmers see the donations as an opportunity to help those in need. The project also ensures that highly perishable produce will not go to waste. This reduction of food waste is especially valuable at times of year when items such as nutritious salad greens are in plentiful supply at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market but often limited for food pantry clients.

How does the project work? At market’s end, farmers and I chat about their unsold goods and the pantry needs. They donate items if and when they can. I then take these donations to the pantry, where I weigh, sort, and label the items by name, farm, and “use by” dates. I store the items so they will remain fresh for three or four days – refrigerators for greens, apples, and fresh herbs; shelves away from direct sunlight for tomatoes, eggplants, and zucchini.

If the items are unusual – say tatsoi or kohlrabi – I create a cooking tip for volunteers who arrive Monday morning to pass on to customers.

Franklin Community Center’s garden harvest, photo by Pattie Garrett

Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendors also provide seedlings in the spring to support the Franklin Community Center’s garden, another source of fresh food for the pantry. The garden through the summer yielded zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, beans, and herbs. Now, as fall approaches, we are harvesting chard and kale, and looking forward to our first baby pumpkins.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park through October. You also can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

White Skillet Pizza with Swiss Chard

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Adapted from recipe in Bon Appetit
Serves: 2 pies

Ingredients
*Ingredients available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated*
• ⅓ cup olive oil*
• 12 ounces grated low-moisture mozzarella (about 3 cups)*
• 5½ ounces grated Fontina (about 2 cups)*
• Flour for dusting
• 1 pound 6 ounces store bought pizza dough, halved room temperature
• Cornmeal for sprinkling
• kosher salt and ground pepper
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced, divided*
• 4 ounces young broccoli rabe (trimmed, divided) or 3 cups kale, or Swiss chard, divided*
• finely grated Parmesan*
• 1½ teaspoons finely chopped oregano, divided*
• lemon

Instructions

1. Place a rack in upper third of oven, preheat to 500 degrees. Place a 12 inch cast-iron skillet in oven and preheat 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix garlic and oil in a small bowl. Mix mozzarella and Fontina in a medium bowl.

3. Using lightly floured hands, stretch 1 piece of dough out on a lightly floured surface to an 11 inch round.

4. Remove skillet from oven and sprinkle pan with cornmeal (enough to cover most of the surface). Carefully set dough snugly in pan, Some of the dough may overlap. Brush dough with garlic-oil. Season with salt and pepper. top dough with 2 cups cheese mixture, half of spring onions, half greens. Top with another ½ cup cheese mixture, season with more pepper.

5. Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake pizza until crust is beginning to turn golden and cheese is melted, 6-8 minutes. Crack 1 egg onto center of pizza, season with salt. Continue to bake until whites are set and crust is golden brown., 5-6 minutes.

6. Transfer pizza to a cutting board and brush edges with more garlic-oil (reserve remaining garlic-oil for second pizza). Top pizza with Parmesan and half of oregano. Using a microplane grate a little lemon zest over top of pizza. Sprinkle cast-iron pan with cornmeal and make a second pizza with remaining dough and ingredients.

Market Creates Community at High Rock Park

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Shortly before 9 a.m. tomorrow, Saratoga Mayor Joanne Yepsen will cut a ribbon at High Rock Park to officially open the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s summer season. With her will be farmers and other vendors, volunteers and staff, artists and musicians, community service providers, dignitaries and other guests.

The brief ceremony captures a sense of how the market twice a week from May through October creates a sense of community that is vibrant, festive, and supportive.

“Community is our sustenance,” says market director Julia Howard. “It brings us all together.”

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market started in 1978 with starter plants and produce. Over the years, meats and dairy products, prepared foods, wool and fiber, household cleaners, gift items, and crafts were added the offerings.

For farmers and other vendors, the market is a vital source of income. But the market also is much more.

Running the River by Eric Jenks
Running the River
Photo by Eric Jenks

“Having music at every market helps local performers gain exposure,” Howard says. “Plus, we work with such organizations as Saratoga Bridges to offer employment for some of our janitorial tasks to individuals who need it. And our weekly children’s activities are often the result of our relationships with local businesses, libraries, and youth groups. We couldn’t be who we are without those networks of support.”

Tomorrow’s market will highlight these networks. CAPTAIN Youth & Family Services will offer a free planting of flower seeds to children of all ages. Musician Thomas Brady and the band Running the River will perform. Mamatoga will co-host a meetup from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for mothers and children. And new vendors – among them Zoe Burghard Ceramics, Freddy’s Rockin’ Hummus, The Smoothie Shoppe, Dickinson’s Delights, and Slate Valley and Nettle Meadow farms – will join the market’s regulars.

Setting up market at Rock Park by Eric Jenks
Setting up market at Rock Park
Photo by Eric Jenks

Behind the scenes, the Friends of the Market volunteers will operate its compost collection and recycling programs, assist shoppers with its veggie valet service, gather donations for the Franklin Community Center food pantry, and be on hand to relieve vendors. Also behind the scenes vendors will arrive early and stay late to put out market signs, traffic cones, and help clean up High Rock Park before and after the market.

“That cooperative spirit makes us so much more than a shopping place,” Howard says. “We’re in it together.”

Visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Markets at High Rock Park from 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.

Chopped Spring Salad

Adapted from recipe by Jenny Rosenstrach and Andy Ward featured in Bon Appetit
4 Servings

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• ½ cup plain yogurt*
• 2 tablespoons olive oil*
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated*
• ¼ teaspoon Vital Eats Sriracha Ketchup*
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives, plus more for serving*
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint, plus more for serving*
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• ½ Asian cucumber, chopped (about 1 cup)*
• 2 asparagus spears, chopped*
• 2 scallions, chopped*
• 3 radishes, trimmed, chopped*
• 1 cup pea shoots*
• ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered*

Preparation

1. Whisk yogurt, oil, lemon juice, garlic, Sriracha, 2 Tbsp. chives, and 2 Tbsp. mint in a small bowl to combine; season with salt and pepper and let dressing sit at least 1 hour to allow flavors to meld.

2. Just before serving, toss cucumber, asparagus, scallions, radishes, pea shoots, and tomatoes in a large bowl to combine; season with salt and pepper. Divide evenly among plates and drizzle with dressing. Top with chives and mint.

Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

What I Eat When My Wife’s Away

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By Jim Gupta-Carlson

My home state of Minnesota is known for a few things: SPAM, Prince, and hot dish. The beauty of “hot dish” is that one word: dish. Everything goes into a single dish.

Potatoes by Pattie Garrett
Photo by Pattie Garrett

I love food, particularly the good food that we make with produce and meats and other goods from the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, where I spend nearly every Saturday. I do not love doing dishes.

My wife Himanee is a good complement to my simple tastes – she believes every meal should contain 57 flavors, and every one of them should be prepared and served in its own dish.

Running our homestead by myself when Himanee travels for work is tough. But it comes with some pleasures: Simply prepared fresh food, bourbon, and listening to Prince and Phil Collins without ear plugs. So, as she began planning a trip to India with her parents, I started dreaming about food. Food that can be cooked in a few minutes. Food that can be eaten directly from the pan in which it’s cooked. Food that is healthy and flavorful but lacks frippery. For instance:

Saratoga Apple by Pattie Garrett
Photo by Pattie Garrett

• apples and cider from Saratoga Apple;
• carrots from Gomez Veggie Ville;
• Asian greens from Pleasant Valley Farm;
• Potatoes from Sheldon Farms;
• Steak from Longlesson, Lewis Waite or M&A farms.

These are good healthy, hearty local foods that can be cooked easily and cleanly – and without a kitchen full of dirty dishes.

My favorite meals when I’m home alone? To some extent, it depends on the season. But being a Minnesota kid, I’m a meat and a potatoes man. So a steak thrown on the grill, pork chops seared in a cast iron cooking pan, goat riblets, chicken roasted with a little rub of black pepper, paprika, and garlic is the first step. And then we have potatoes, which I like best as fries. I slice them up, wrap them in foil, bake them until they’re soft, and then give them a quick fry. I eat them with catsup or barbecue sauce that I make from our garden. I might also add some horseradish or Ballston Spa Apiaries’ honey mustard to my meat, and I will eat salad greens. Or maybe kale, as long as I can cook it quickly in a pan with nothing more than a little water, lemon juice and oil.

Visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

 

Jim’s Spicy Meatloaf

Recipe by Jim Gupta-Carlson
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced*
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • 1/4 cup milk*
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 eggs, beaten*
  • 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs*
  • 1 pound ground goat, lamb, mutton, or beef*
  • 1 pound ground pork*
  • 1 cup salsa*
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy 10″ skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic, and cook uncovered for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are tender.

3. Add the salt, peppers, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce and mix well. Remove the skillet from the heat and let cool 15 minutes.

4. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a bowl and stir in the milk, ketchup, eggs, and bread crumbs and mix well.

5. Then add the ground meat and ground pork and mix gently with your hands, just until combined. Place the meatloaf mixture into a greased, 9″x5″ loaf pan, patting gently and evening off the top.

6. Combine the salsa and tomato paste in a small bowl and spread over the top of the meatloaf.

7. Bake the meatloaf, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until it is dark brown and the meat pulls away from the sides of pan. The interior temperature should be 160 degrees F as measured with a meat thermometer. Carefully drain the fat from pan. Cover the meatloaf and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Remove it from the pan and put it onto a serving platter before slicing.