Saratoga Farmers' Market

Indoor Farmers' Market

A Peek into the Saratoga Farmers’ Market Winter Season at the Lincoln Baths

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by Kristin Cleveland

As the Saratoga Farmers’ Market wraps up its outdoor season at High Rock Park this week with Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday, October 27 and Halloween festivities on Wednesday, October 31, vendors are gearing up for the indoor winter market at the historic Lincoln Baths at Saratoga Spa State Park.

Moving into the Baths for the colder months means two floors full of a wide variety of nourishing foods from our local farms, dairies, bakers, distillers, and speciality foods producers, plus an array of unique hand-made jewelry, clothing, artworks, and other items made by area artisans. Acoustic music and free children’s activities round out the festive atmosphere, making the Farmers’ Market a perfect place to shop and connect with the community any Saturday of the year.

The Lincoln Baths location offers ample parking, wheelchair accessibility, and a warm place for shopping no matter what the weather outside. Many vendors now take credit cards, and an ATM is on site for when cash is needed. Customers can also take advantage of the new FreshFoodNY App to order and pay online and have local products delivered curbside right in front of the Lincoln Baths!

Every Saturday in November and December features our annual Holiday Market, a gathering of vendors who make a wide variety of items perfect for gift giving. Saratoga Farmers’ Market gift certificates are also available to help fit even the pickiest person on your holiday list.

Customers can expect to find fresh late-season vegetables like cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and many types of greens, plus hearty storage crops including squash, onions and all kinds of root vegetables, and even greenhouse and hydroponically grown tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and herbs! Our agricultural products also include local milk, yogurt, cheeses, eggs, frozen chicken, beef, lamb, pork, goat, duck and turkey. In addition there are hot meals ready to eat for breakfast or lunch, and frozen soups, casseroles and other prepared dishes to take home for an easy meal anytime! Specialty foods at the indoor market this year include homemade jams, pickles, hummus, wheat grass juices, coffee, baked goods, meat jerky and other trail treats, and even puppy treats and vegetarian dog foods!

Special events at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market are listed in the calendar section of our brand new website at saratogafarmersmarket.org. Sign up for the weekly email newsletter to get updates about special events, musical guests, vendor promotions, and all-ages activities and educational workshops. Come to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Saturdays November through April, from 9 am to 1 pm at the Lincoln Baths.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market Keeps It Local

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Carl Deppe of Row to Hoe by Pattie Garrett

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is all about being local: Fresh-from-the-farm produce, eggs, and meats fill many stalls. Locally produced cheeses and yogurt beckon buyers. And lemonades flavored with local lavender, wines made with local grapes, ciders pressed from local apples, beers crafted with regional hops, and locally distilled spirits add even more of a festive feel.

This sense of the local is what the market’s mission of being a producers-only market is about. In an era where one might wonder where one’s food is coming from, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market takes pride in saying, “It comes from right here.”

“Being a producers-only market has incredible value,” says market director Julia Howard. “We keep money in the local economy, of course, but more importantly we offer a sense of authenticity.”

The market association is accepting applications through August 31 for its winter market, which begins November 4 at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park and runs Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the end of April. Applications are available at the following link: https://www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/becoming-a-vendor/.

Among the factors that the market considers in reviewing applications are:

  • Whether the vendor is growing, raising or creating their product within Saratoga, Washington, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties. Occasionally, vendors are approved from outside these core counties in order to bring products that are not readily available at the market.
  • Availability of space.
  • Seniority within the farmers’ market organization.

Most importantly, says Howard, is the idea that the farmers’ market is about connecting farmers, customers, and the community.

This reliance on farmers has historic roots. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market, founded in 1978, was initially established as a venue for farmers to sell produce and meat raised on their farms to consumers desiring locally grown and raised food.

Over the years, the market evolved, adding items that were not necessarily made from local farm items but were still produced locally. Prepared foods, baked goods, and beverages came into the mix, as did certain items like fish caught off of Long Island and oils pressed from olives owned by a local farmer’s family in Italy. These changes prompted the market association’s board to make a pledge to ensure that the balance of vendors would always be majority agricultural.  

“We are 70 percent agricultural,” Howard says. “We rely on farmers to keep us who we are.”

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Getting Ready to ‘Go Outdoors’

By

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

More sunshine and balmier temperatures are filling the days, despite the overnight frosts that still threaten the tender seedlings being nurtured for the summer. With the increasing warmth, vendors at the year-round Saratoga Farmers’ Market are talking eagerly of “going outdoors.”

“Going outdoors” means the market will make its annual move from its winter location in the Lincoln Baths Building at the Saratoga Spa State Park to High Rock Park. The move begins next week: the final winter market at Lincoln Baths is tomorrow, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The summer season will kick off 3-6 p.m. Wednesday; the grand opening will be at 9 a.m. Saturday.

“I love being outside,” said Marcie Place, owner of the Chocolate Spoon. “We have a nice hearty winter market, but six months indoors is enough.”

“We’re back in the fresh air, and in town,” added Phyllis Underwood, owner of Shushan Hydro Farms. “It feels like coming home.”

High Rock Park has been home for the Saratoga Farmers’ Market since the 1990s. Having an opportunity to operate twice a week allows farmers and other vendors to provide Saratoga area residents with an abundance of fresh food, garden starting seedlings, prepared foods, and other items. It also lets the market reach several different groups of customers ranging from families and downtown Saratoga employees on Wednesdays to these groups along with weekend tourists on Saturdays. This gives each of the weekly markets a distinct identity.

Outdoor Market at High Rock Park

“We get so many schoolchildren on Wednesdays from the Lake Avenue Elementary School,” said Place. “It creates a sense of fun. And Saturdays are like a huge community festival, that everyone joins into.”

Market director Julia Howard encourages shoppers to stop by High Rock Park on Wednesdays, even if they make most of their purchases on Saturdays. The mid-week market continues to expand with 24 vendors in 2017, an end-of-school celebration on June 28, and the second annual Power of Produce Club for children.

“It’s an entirely different experience,” said Howard, of the winter to summer transition. “Indoors, we’re like a tight-knit community. Outdoors, everything gets bolder, brighter.”

Visit the final indoor Saratoga Farmers’ Market 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 29 at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Then, join us for the summer 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park.

Wednesday Market Vendors
Beginning on Wednesday, May 3, 3-6 pm

Agriculture

Burger Farm
Butternut Ridge Farm
Fresh Take Farm
Gifford Farm
Gomez Veggie Ville
Lewis Waite Farm
Mariaville Mushroom Men
Otrembiak Farm
Owl Wood Farm
Pleasant Valley Farm
Row to Hoe Farm
Saratoga Apple
Scotch Ridge Berry Farm
Slate Valley Farm
Slyboro Cider House
Underwood’s Greenhouse / Shushan Valley Hydro Farm

Prepared Food

Euro Delicacies
Healthy Gourmet Kitchen
Homestead Artisans
R&G Cheese Makers
Saratoga Peanut Butter Co.
The Chocolate Spoon
The Country Corner Cafe
The Food Florist

Service Providers

Mister Edge Sharpening

Coloring Easter Eggs Using Natural Dyes

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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.

Saratoga Farmers Bring Fresh Produce to Market – Even in February

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By Julia Howard, Market Director

February often feels like a frigid countdown to spring. A visit to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s winter location might change that perception. You’ll find tables loaded with tomatoes, cucumbers, salad greens and spinach, kale, cabbage, carrots, turnips, radishes, sweet potatoes and potatoes, winter squash, and beets.

            Where does this produce come from?

Not the grocery store. A growing number of local farmers grow it year round, using such structures as greenhouses and high tunnels to provide their crops with the water, sun, and soil nutrients needed to thrive.

Gomez Veggie Ville Photo by Brie Passano
Gomez Veggie Ville  |  Photo by Brie Passano

Five farmers at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market offer produce year round: Gomez Veggie Ville, Malta Ridge Orchard and Gardens, Pleasant Valley Farm, Sheldon Farms, and Shushan Hydro Farms (which grows its produce in a mineral rich water solvent). The Gomez family – Valentina and Efrain Gomez along with their daughter Lizbeth – share some of their winter growing tactics here.

Lizbeth Gomez said winter growing began about seven years ago in a single greenhouse on their Schaghticoke farm. “My mom had a small greenhouse behind our house, and we expanded from there.”

The family now operates five greenhouses. They begin planning their winter harvests with plantings of greenhouse crops of spinach, kale, baby lettuce, and arugula. Once the greens are harvested, it takes four weeks for the plants to regrow. So they plan their season around the plants’ growing schedules while keeping in mind that sudden freezes will stall the growth of more vulnerable greens.

If the day is warm, they open their greenhouses to bring in fresh air and sun. On cold days, they keep the greenhouse close to protect their young greens.

The family balances their supply of fresh greens with such crops as beets, carrots, butternut squash, potatoes, parsnips, dried beans, and onions. These items typically ripen in early fall and are stored in walk-in coolers so they can be made available to market shoppers until spring when warmer soil and longer days makes outdoor planting possible again.

Gomez Veggie Ville by Brie Passano 2
Photo by Brie Passano

“When people see our tables, they often ask if we really are growing everything,” said Efrain Gomez. He hopes that more people will continue to visit farmers’ markets in the winter as they realize the abundance available year round.

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

 

 

Sauteed Kohlrabi with Onions, Kale, and Cream

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipe for Sauteed Kohlrabi with Onions and Cream
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• 1 kohlrabi, peeled and chopped into small cubes*
• 1 thinly sliced white onion*
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4-6 kale leaves, finely chopped*
• Heavy cream*
• Salt and pepper
• Grated nutmeg

Directions
Cook kohlrabi and onion in butter over medium-high heat until almost tender. Stir in kale leaves, and cook until wilted. Add a generous splash of heavy cream, and cook for a few minutes to reduce. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Serve with chicken, pork chops, or steak.

 

 

Changing Places for the Season

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson
Photos by Pattie Garrett

 

Denison Farm at Saratoga Farmers Market
Denison Farm
Photo by Pattie Garrett

It’s a Saturday morning in mid-October at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. It’s cold this morning, gray and drizzly. Rain patters on the roof of the High Rock Park pavilion, which houses the market, and vendors are sporting wool caps, mittens, and heavy flannel and fleece jackets. Hot cider has replaced iced tea at Something’s Brewing, and customers are talking not about salads and grilled meats but about soups and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Clearly, there’s been a change of seasons. With it comes the market’s annual transition: The final outdoor market for 2016 is 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow. On Saturday, Nov. 5, the indoor market opens at 9 a.m. at the Lincoln Baths in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

“Going indoors brings us close together,” said Armin Hrelja of Euro Delicacies. “You can’t miss any one of us because we’re all bunched up together.”

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market, which started in 1978, held its first winter market in 2009 at the Division Street Elementary School. The market shifted its winter location to the Lincoln Baths in 2013. Winter plans include a Taste of the Market, holiday bazaar, weekly kids activities and other events. Most importantly, however, said Market Director Julia Howard, is the fact that the winter location provides access to locally raised produce, meats, dairy and other products year round. All of the market’s vendors hail from farms or businesses in Saratoga, Washington, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties, and nearly all items sold at the market are produced in these areas.

Like agriculture, the market’s winter location is rooted in Saratoga history. The area that now houses the state park was established in 1911 as a state reserve to preserve Saratoga’s natural springs for future use. The Lincoln Baths building opened in 1930 to make healing baths in the waters available to the public. While the building stopped being used for this purpose in 2004, its ties to the area’s natural environment and healing atmosphere linger.

Mary Pratt of Elihu Farm, a longtime Washington County farmer, appreciates that connection. “I like being in such a historic building,” she said. “For farmers who continue to do traditional practices, it’s a natural connection.”

Janet Lampman, who sells for Lewis Waite Farms, agrees. While she admits that she’ll miss the experience of being outdoors, she says, “the indoor camaraderie is wonderful.”

“We’re grateful to have such a space.”

recipe-grilled-cheese-with-apples

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Apples

Adapted from Alexandra’s Kitchen, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table
Serves: 1

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

• 2 slices hearty bread*
• 2 Tablespoons softened butter
• 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
• grainy honey mustard or Dijon mustard*
• 3 slices of sharp cheddar cheese*
• slices of tart, green apples (like Granny Smith)*

Instructions

1. Heat a cast iron skillet or grill pan to medium.

2. Stir together the mayonnaise and butter in a small bowl. Spread one side of each piece of bread with this mixture. On the other side of one slice, spread mustard, then one slice of cheese, apples, then another slice of cheese. Top with the second buttered slice.

3. Fry on both sides until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted and golden, 2 to 4 minutes a side.