Holidays at the Market

Saratoga Farmers Celebrate Easter with Colors, Flavors of Spring

April 12, 2017 By marketeditor

By Julia Howard, Market Director

Our late winter snowstorms and early spring chills are finally giving way to warmth. Daffodils and tulips are popping open, the berry bushes and fruit trees are starting to bud. And with spring of course comes Easter, and a plethora of bright colors and festive foods to mark the symbolic rebirth that the holiday encompasses.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market invites you tomorrow to celebrate Easter with us. Our day-before-Easter Saturday market will offer several specials on fresh vegetables, meats, and prepared foods.

And, of course, we will have eggs. For children of all ages, the volunteer Friends of the Market group is offering a no-mess egg dying activity. If dying your own eggs isn’t your thing, pick up some pre-decorated eggs at Malta Ridge Orchard & Garden.

Mrs. London's by Pattie Garrett — Mrs. London’s
Photo by Pattie Garrett

As for food, start with breakfast. Mrs. London’s is featuring freshly baked hot cross buns among its other selections of pastries, breads, and sandwiches. To further sweeten the palate, visit The Chocolate Spoon for teacakes in citrus ricotta, chocolate, bourbon butter, carrot cake and lemon varieties. Malta Ridge also has freshly baked fruit pies and cookies among its offerings.

If your Easter dinner features a ham, consider pre-ordering one from Lewis Waite Farm by calling 518-692-3120. They will bring it to the market for you to pick up thawed and ready to cook.

Every Easter dinner should include veggies. Our vegetable vendors have a wide selection of root vegetables, fresh greens, onions and garlic. Think about parsnips, the funny carrot-shaped roots that are wonderful roasted or mashed. Also, think mushrooms. Mariaville Mushroom Men is selling its variety boxes of chestnut, shiitake, lion’s mane, and oyster mushrooms for 25 percent off. They’re also offering a buy one, get one for half-off special on their other boxes.

No Easter is complete without a basket. Fill yours with spun maple sugar and molded maple sugar candies from Slate Valley Farm, jars of Saratoga Peanut Butter, packages of Saratoga Crackers, and Ballston Lake Apiaries honey products. Add a package of Wash Green & Clean’s all natural laundry soap, and top it with Malta Ridge’s fresh cut pussy willow branches.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays through April. The market moves to High Rock Park 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays on May 3.

Natural Dye Easter Eggs Photo by Pattie Garrett — Natural Dye Easter Eggs
Photo by Pattie Garrett

Coloring Easter Eggs Using Natural Dyes

Shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table

Supply List
*supplies available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• 1 dozen eggs, any color*
• 1 cup chopped red cabbage per cup of water* — makes blue on white eggs, green on brown eggs
• 1 cup shredded beets per cup of water* — makes pink or purple on white eggs, maroon on brown eggs
• 2 tablespoons ground turmeric per cup of water — makes yellow eggs

Cooking Instructions:

1. Bring 1 inch water to rolling boil in medium saucepan over high heat.

2. Place eggs in steamer basket and place the basket in the saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook eggs for 13 minutes.

3. Combine 2 cups ice cubes and 2 cups cold water in medium bowl. Using tongs or spoon, transfer the eggs to ice bath. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Dyeing Instructions

1. Add a cup of water for each color into a saucepan. Add cabbage, beets or turmeric and bring the water to a boil.

2. Cover, and turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes. You can cook longer for a deeper color. Drip a little of the colored water onto a white dish to check the color. When it has reached to color you like, remove the pan from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

3. Pour the cooled colored water through a fine-mesh strainer into another saucepan or bowl.

4. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar per cup of strained colored water. Pour the water over cooled cooked eggs in a bowl. The eggs must be completely under the water.

5. Refrigerate until the desired color is reached. My Saratoga Kitchen Table refrigerated eggs overnight.

6. Try rubbing dry dyed eggs with oil (olive or melted coconut oil) will allow them to shine.

New Lambs Usher in Spring at Elihu Farm

April 5, 2017 By marketeditor

By Mary Pratt

Lambs, lambs and more than 70 new lambs were born on our farm in Easton last month; we call it a lambalanche. As we watch those healthy lambs race through the barnyard, we celebrate our 31st year of raising sheep.

When we named our farm, Elihu Farm, we honored Elihu Gifford, a Revolutionary War patriot and the first person on our deed. We began with 43 acres and later added another parcel. Gifford’s cemetery will always look out on fields and pastures, because 108 acres of our land is now protected as Forever Farmland by the Agricultural Stewardship Association.

When we bought our farm in 1985 we thought about raising specialty vegetables and small fruits. Then a friend saw our rolling land and said, “You could raise sheep!”

We always enjoyed eating lamb, and perhaps our friend’s suggestion was serendipitous: We found a book that the previous owner had left behind, entitled Raising Sheep the Modern Way. We were hooked.

We joined the Saratoga Farmers’ Market as vendors around 2007. These days, we sell eggs, holiday geese, and lamb. The customers at are among our best ever. They’re friendly and knowledgeable, and appreciate our work and the care we give our animals.

The quality of our products has always been the top priority, as shown by numerous chefs who have used our products. David Britton and Larry Schepici both took cuts of our lamb to dinners at the James Beard Foundation. Steve Barnes from the Albany Times Union followed one of our lambs from birth to plate.

We show our sheep and our wool at fairs and festivals throughout the area, and have won several championships. In addition to our lamb and eggs, we look forward to making our lovely, soft wool available when the market moves to High Rock Park.

For Easter and Passover, we’re taking orders for any cut of fresh lamb through April 11. Customers can pick up their orders on in Saratoga Springs on April 14 or at the market on April 15. Call us at 518-744-3947 or e-mail us at elihufarm@yahoo.com.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Saratoga Spa State Park through April. The first outdoor markets will be 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at High Rock Park.

Family Favorite Lamb Leg with Roasted Potatoes

Adapted from recipe by American Lamb
Makes 12 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 2 ½ hrs

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

6 to 7 pounds lamb leg, trimmed of visible fat*
Salt and pepper to taste
12 medium red potatoes*
8 rosemary sprigs*
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup apricot jam*
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons dried thyme, crushed

Directions

1. Coat potatoes with oil and place around edge of roasting pan. Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt. Place rack in pan and arrange lamb roast on rack. Season lamb with salt and pepper to taste. Roast at 325ºF.

2. Combine jam, mustard seeds and thyme. Halfway through roasting, baste lamb with jam mixture.

3. Roast to desired degree of doneness. When lamb is done, cover and allow to stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Slice and serve with roasted potatoes.

Celebrating the Irish, Slow Food Style

March 16, 2017 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

“I’ve always known inside that I’m Irish. Literally, I look like a leprechaun, there’s no denying it.”

Ben Hillis, who owns Puckers’ Gourmet Pickles with his wife Kelley, made this statement with a laugh. But Irish-ness runs deep through his veins, giving him a sense of identity that he associates with values of hard work, humility, taking care of family, and savoring lovingly home-cooked meals slowly at a common table.

“We’re the salt of the earth,” Hillis says. “No nobility here.”

That identity comes full force around St. Patrick’s Day as he prepares his corned beef and cabbage. The dish with which the holiday is often associated grew out of Irish and Jewish immigrants inter-mingling in Manhattan.

“Corned beef didn’t become a thing that was associated with Irish until the Irish came to America and found the beef brisket that was sold in delis,” Hillis said. “It was the closest thing to the salt pork they could find back home and afford.”

While cured corned beef can be purchased, Hillis prefers to prepare his own. He starts 11 days in advance by preparing a brine that he cooks over a low heat to meld its flavors together, and cools down overnight.

Then begins a 10-day curing, in which the brisket is placed in a giant brine-filled zip-locked bag, and cured for 10 days in the refrigerator.

Carrots, Pleasant Valley Farm Photo by Pattie Garrett — Carrots, Pleasant Valley Farm
Photo by Pattie Garrett

On St. Patrick’s Day, Hillis begins cooking the meat “slow and low” on his stovetop, though he says using a slow cooker is acceptable. The beef simmers for several hours in the brine, additional liquid and a puree of such vegetables as cabbage, carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes. Hillis gauges its readiness on texture and “how good the house smells.”

Toward the end, he adds more root vegetables and cabbage, cooking them through but not to mush. He then puts down a bed of Puckers’ sauerkraut, tops it with meat, and nests the vegetables around it.

The result is meat, deeply flavored by the initial puree, another layer of soft but still crunchy vegetables, and a crisp dash of brightness from the sauerkraut.

“Eating is such a visceral experience,” Hillis says. “When you slow down, tend to your food, you enjoy it all the more.”

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market operates 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths building in the Saratoga Spa State Park through April. The market moves to High Rock Park in May.

Corned Beef with Vegetables

Recipe by Ben Hillis

Ingredients
* Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• 3 quarts water
• 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into several pieces
• 2 1/2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 12 whole cloves
• 12 whole allspice berries
• 20 whole juniper berries
• 3 bay leaves, bruised
• 3/4 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon celery seed
• 1 – 4lbs trimmed beef brisket*
• 3 small onions, quartered*
• 4 large carrots, roughly chopped*
• 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped*
• 3lbs potatoes, cubed*
• 2 heads of cabbage, quartered*

Directions

1. Place the water into your largest stockpot, at least 3 quarts. Add the salt, sugar, and all of the spices.

2. Bring the brine to a boil. Then simmer until the salt and sugar have dissolved and your kitchen smells delicious. Refrigerator brine overnight.

3. Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon Ziplock bag and add brine. Seal bag and place the bag inside of another container as to prevent possible leakage. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Each day make sure the brisket is covered by the brine.

4. On the 10th day, remove the brisket and rinse well under cold water. Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the brisket and vegetables. Fill the pot so that the contents are well covered. Heat on high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 hours or until the corn beef is perfectly tender.

5. Add the vegetables approximately 45 mins before desired finish. If you prefer more tender vegetables, add them at the very beginning of the cooking process.

* I like to purée some of the the veggies and add it to the cooking liquid. Typically, before the cooking liquid is boiled, purée the celery, 1 carrot, a half of an onion, and half of a head of cabbage in a blender and add it to the boil for a deeper flavor. If you cannot fit all of the purée items in your blender, you may need to do it in more than one batch.

6. Remove the corned beef from the pot and allow the meat to rest for 3 minutes. Thinly slice the meat across the grain and serve with the vegetables. Enjoy!

Loving Your Chocolate … Even More

February 9, 2017 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Chocolate brigadeiros from Bon Bon Brazil

What defines a chocoholic? Well, maybe me. I can eat chocolate every day, or drink it. I love it as a sweet, topped with fruit, and even sometimes shaved finely over a kale and walnut salad or stirred into a savory dish like chili. I have been known to sneak a couple squares of a chocolate bar into my breakfast. And, as Valentine’s Day advances, I find that the lengthening but still cold and damp days of February increase my longing for the sweet warmth of that substance even more. As a result, I can’t help but feel heartened when I read reports that indulgences in chocolate are actually good for you.

At the same time, I realize that something as sweet, as caloric, and as sugary as chocolate can’t exactly replace whole foods. So, I wonder, what is the proper way to make chocolate a part of a balanced diet? When must one put the brakes on chocolate and say, “enough”?

My Empire State College colleague, Dr. Kim Stote, a professor of health services, has some answers to my questions. For starters, she does affirm that chocolate can be good for you. She notes that its origin likes in a tree-grown fruit – the cacao pod – whose seeds (cacao beans) are then dried and roasted.

Like many researchers, however, Stote suggests that not all chocolate is created equally. She draws a distinction between dark chocolate and milk chocolate, the latter of which contains significantly less chocolate liquor (which is the result of the processing of cacao beans from which the natural product of chocolate is derived). Milk chocolate also has a slightly higher number of calories, a higher level of cholesterol, and lesser amounts of dietary fiber, caffeine, and theobromine, a compound sometimes used in the treatment of high blood pressure.

Chocolate cheesecakes from Argyle Cheese Farmer

Stote cites a number of studies that have found chocolate – in small quantities, again – to be useful in reducing high blood pressure, staving off heart disease, and, if kept to 90 to 100 calories a day, in supporting weight management. She further notes that chocolate has been found to help suppress appetite and to offer temporary elevations of mood.

But she also advises that the healthful intake of chocolate is all about moderation. To improve your health, manage your weight, and perhaps maintain good spirits, the best level of chocolate consumption is 1-2 ounces of dark chocolate daily, or 1 tablespoon of cocoa.

So for chocoholics, what might that mean?

A cup of hot cocoa for breakfast? A couple squares of dark chocolate before retiring for the night? Chocolate shavings over well, whatever you wish. And perhaps this recipe from The Splendid Table, shared by another one of my Empire State College colleagues, Dr. Dana Gliserman-Kopans:

The Duke’s Hot Chocolate

from The Splendid Table
5 minutes prep time; 5 minutes stove time.
Serves 4 to 6.

Hot chocolate holds on the stove for an hour or longer, and can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Ingredients

* 1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or the seeds scraped from the inside of a whole vanilla bean)
* Generous pinch of salt
* 1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper (optional)
* 1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
* Fine-grated zest of a large orange
* 3 cups water, or half-water, half-milk, or half-water, half-cream
* 10.5 to 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Lindt Excellence 70%, Valrhona 71%, Scharffen Berger 70%, Guittard L’Harmonie 72%, or Ghiradelli 70% Extra Bittersweet, in our order of preference), broken up

Instructions

1. In a 3-quart saucepan combine all ingredients except the chocolate. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 2 minutes.

2. Pull the pan off the heat, let it sit a few minutes, then whisk in the chocolate until smooth. Taste the chocolate for sweetness and enough allspice. Serve hot.

Finding Gifts of Love at the Farmers’ Market

February 7, 2017 By marketeditor

By Julia Howard

What do the Saratoga Farmers’ Market and Valentine’s Day have in common?

Love. Love that is colorful, flavorful, sweet and savory, hearty and light, decadent, delightful and healthy.

This Saturday, we invite you to share the love and use the farmers’ market as your venue for creating the best valentines on the planet.

I did it myself last Saturday. I created a few valentines for a few of my loved ones – my mother, my partner Sean, and my 2-1/2 year old daughter Taiga.

My mother has everything she needs. But what does she want? Chocolate, for starters. I snagged a few milk chocolate heart-shaped stir sticks from Something’s Brewing, along with a ceramic ring holder from Zoe Burghard and a bottle of Northern Cross Vineyard’s Oak Marquette. Oak leaves from this vineyard help create the earthy taste of this red wine, a romantic twist that appeals to my mother’s artistic side.

Next up was Sean, the epitome of practicality. Give him a hammer and gloves and he’s happy. But he’s got a soft spot for infused spirits, and so I chose a maple moonshine from Springbrook Hollow Farm and Distillery. They use New York grains and Adirondack spring water to create their small batch spirits. To Sean’s valentine, I added a loaf of Murray Hollow Bake House bread and basil and garlic cheese curds from the Argyle Cheese Farmer. Practical, right?

And finally Taiga, the love of my life. I can’t shower her with enough gifts, so I had to practice self-restraint. I thought about a honey crisp apple from Saratoga Apple and a basket of cherry tomatoes from Shushan Valley Hydro Farm. Ultimately, I went with a flannel shirt from Feathered Antler that featured a moose hand-painted by artist and owner Gretchen Tisch. For Taiga, I also tucked in a jar of Slate Valley Farm’s beeswax based Sugar Maple lotion and an oatmeal raisin cookie from Rock Hill Bake House.

As market director, I often am too busy running the market to shop for myself, let alone others. But Valentine’s Day creates an excuse to indulge in some love. Shopping for others was a gift to myself. I invite you to give yourself that gift at our market every week.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths building in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

Red Beet Chocolate Cake

Adapted from recipe by Rita~ on Food.com
16 servings

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• 1 ³⁄₄ cups unbleached flour, sifted
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
^{• 1}⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups sugar
• 3 large eggs*
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted (or substitute vegetable oil)
• 1 -1 ¹⁄₂ cup beet, pureed (3-4 medium beets, roasted, cooled, peeled)*
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (melt and cool the 4, 1oz squares of baking chocolate.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions

1. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast at 375 degrees F for 45-60 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool, then peel and puree. Set aside

2. Preheat oven to 350 and grease 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.

4. Combine sugar, eggs, and oil in a mixing bowl.

5. Beat with an electric mixer set at medium speed for 2 minutes.

6. Beat in the beets, cooled chocolate, and vanilla.

7. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating well after each addition.

8. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until cake tests done.

9. Cool in pan on rack. If desired, cover and let stand overnight to improve flavor.

10. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Box Stocking Stuffers

December 19, 2016 By marketeditor

Looking for last-minute gifts or small items to tuck into stockings. Several Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendors have created special stocking stuffer items, such as the two-pack bon-bons from Bon Bon Brazil and the Bon Bon Mittens knitting kits from Blind Buck Farms. Also, consider the following items:

• The bright green cilantro pesto hummus from Freddy’s Rockin’ Hummus.
• Cheesy treats from Longview Farm such as their herbal cheese balls, Serendipity logs, goats milk fudge, and jars of caramel-like Cajeta.
• Baby bow-tied honey bears from Ballston Lake Apiaries.
• Mini maple syrup bottles from Slate Valley Farms.
• Essential oil infused room sprays and other products from Wash Green and Clean.
• Maple cream from Sheldon Farms.
• Apple chips and lemon verbena from Saratoga Apple.
• Cheese curds and Sweet Greeks from Argyle Farm.

Also, keep in mind fresh produce. Think tomatoes in hues of green, red, and yellow; red, purple, yellow and orange carrots bunched together; purple, red, yellow, and white russet potatoes bagged together; kale bouquets; and more.

And, if all else fails, Farmers’ Market tokens make a perfect gift.

Latkes, Saratoga Farmers’ Market Style

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson
The Jewish festival Hanukkah begins this year on December 24, which also is the final shopping day before Christmas. Throughout this season, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has invited shoppers to to get creative by giving longstanding traditions an innovative twist.

Now, as the countdown to both Christmas and Hanukkah come, we turned to our local latke making expert, Kelley Hillis, owner of Puckers Gourmet Pickles, for her best tips on making these savory fried potato cakes.

Hanukkah celebrates the reclamation of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks in the second century before the Christian era. With only a single cruse of olive oil, the Jewish army led by Judah the Maccabee kept the temple’s menorah lit for eight days. In honor of that oil, it is customary to dine through the eight days of Hanukkah on fried foods. Over time, latkes, which are of Eastern European origin and are made in a manner similar to pancakes, became a central item for at least the first night’s meal.

Potato Latke Toppings available at the Saratoga Farmers' Market — Potato Latke Toppings available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

But, says Hillis, a one-time winner of a latke cook-off at the temple she attends, it is not just oil and potatoes that make the savory cakes special. “It’s also the toppings. Play with them, experiment, get creative.”

Walking around the market reveals a host of tempting toppers: Saratoga Apple’s applesauce, Laurie’s Jams, Argyle Farm’s Greek yogurts, Longview Farm’s soft cheeses, and Hillis’s own kraut, kimchi, and pak dong.

Hillis favors sweet potatoes as the base for her cakes but also will use Yukon golds for their soft yellow hue. Regardless of what type is used, fine shredding is essential. “Also, be sure to press out the excess liquid,” she says. “Otherwise, they won’t fry properly.” Hillis likes to flavor her latkes with green onion, a touch of garlic or garlic salt, as well as a “touch of cayenne” for some heat.

Hillis serves matzoh ball soup, a special Hanukkah beer, and doughnuts, also Hanukkah fare. She sometimes tops her latkes before serving them, matching colors and flavors of both the cakes and the toppings but also advocates giving guests choices.

“Create a toppings bar,” she says. “It’s all about having fun and being creative.”

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market will be open Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its usual location at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

Last Minute Potato Latkes

Recipe adapted from ‘Easy Potato Latkes’ recipe by Martha Stewart
Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• 1 yellow onion, grated or minced*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten*
• ¼ cup matzo meal
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and grated *
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and grated*
• Oil for frying (peanut or vegetable oil)
• Select your topping(s): Sour cream, applesauce, kimchi, yogurt, jam*

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine onion, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Add eggs, and stir until incorporated. Add matzo meal, and stir until incorporated. Add potatoes, and toss until combined and evenly coated.

2. Fill a large skillet with about 1/2 inch oil. Place over medium heat until oil is almost smoking. (To test, drop a small bit of batter into the skillet; it should sizzle upon contact.)

3. Working in batches so as not to crowd skillet, carefully spoon about 2 tablespoons batter into oil for each latke. Lightly tamp down to flatten. Cook, turning once, until golden on each side, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer to a paper-towel-lined wire rack to drain. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately with desired toppings.