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Sweets, Meats, and Easter Treats at Saratoga Farmers’ Market

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By Julia Howard

This weekend holds much significance in celebrating Passover, Good Friday, and Easter. Traditions may be cultural, spiritual, or simply individual, and this Saturday, Saratoga Farmers’ Market invites you to shop for your holiday feasts, festivities, and Easter baskets. We will also be giving away an Easter basket full of local goodies!

Kokinda Farm’s eggs, photo by Toni Nastasi.

Let’s begin with an Easter staple: eggs. Lovin’ Mama Farm, Kokinda Farm, Squash Villa Farm, and Elihu Farm have fresh, delicious, multi-colored eggs perfect for your Easter brunch and for dying in various colors—dying multi-colored eggs results in deep, earthy hues. You can even make natural dye using kale, beets, and onions. All are available at the farmers’ market. 

Saratoga Chocolate Co., photo by Toni Nastasi.

For those highly-anticipated Easter baskets, Saratoga Chocolate Co. makes Easter easy with pre-made baskets filled to the brim with their locally-made Easter-themed chocolates and sweets. They also have an assortment of chocolate bunnies in dark, milk, and white chocolate and in salted caramel. Ballston Lake Apiaries has honey sticks, and Slate Valley Farms has various maple candies. Brighten up a basket with crisp apples and apple chips from Saratoga Apple. 

The Food Florist, photo by Toni Nastasi.

Balancing breakfast preparation and egg hunts while pulling together a feast for later in the day can be challenging, but The Food Florist can help. Their Easter brunch menu includes a variety of take-and-bake quiches and ready-to-go breakfast casseroles like sausage, egg, and cheese; add a side of our homemade blueberry french toast.

For the main course, Bob and Mary Pratt from Elihu Farm are still taking orders for lamb cuts for Easter or Passover. Send your order to elihufarm@yahoo.com or call 518-744-3947. Other options include whole chicken from Ramble Creek Farm and Squash Villa Farm or brisket from Longlesson Farm. Pork & Greens and Hebron Valley Veal also have specialty cuts.

Goodway Gourmet, photo by Toni Nastasi.

For the desserts and sweets, Goodway Gourmet will have carrot cakes, rum cakes, cookies, brownies, and macaroons. Parchment will have a selection of their Scandinavian pastries, cookies, and bread. 

Don’t forget local bread, artisan cheeses, spirits and beer, seasonal produce, and more!

While you’re out shopping, be sure to stop by the Market Information booth to enter to win an Easter basket full of local products. There will also be live music and an activity for children and families to enjoy.

This week’s recipe: Roast Lamb

Baked Oatmeal with Maple Syrup

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Recipe shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk*
  • ⅓ cup maple syrup*
  • 1 egg*
  • 3 Tablespoons butter, melted, divided
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 apples*, peeled and cut into slices
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • 2 cups old fashioned oats
  • ½ cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, maple syrup, egg, 2 Tablespoons of melted butter, and vanilla extract.
  3. Arrange the apple slices in a single layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle ¼ cup of the raisins and ¼ cup of dried cranberries on top of the apples. Cover with oats. Spread the oats evenly over the apples. Drizzle the milk mixture over the top of the oats. Top with walnuts, cinnamon, and remaining raisins and cranberries.
  4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the mixture is set. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter and enjoy!

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

Farmers’ Market Frittata

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Adapted from the recipe by M&A Farm

Serves: 6

Prep & cook time: 15 min

INGREDIENTS

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • 4 large eggs*
  • 4 egg whites*
  • 2 TBSP milk*
  • ½ tsp salt, divided
  • ¼ tsp pepper, divided
  • 1 cup mushrooms* of choice, sliced
  • 1 cup kale*, chopped
  • 1 cup bacon*, cooked and chopped
  • ½ tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 TBSP chopped parsley leaves (reserve some for garnish)
  • ½ cup chevre* (or another soft cheese*), crumbled into tiny pieces

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat broiler and place top rack 4-5” from the element. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, ¼ tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper and set aside.
  2. On the stovetop, melt butter over medium-high heat in an iron skillet. Add vegetables and saute until they begin to soften for about 3-4 minutes. Add in the bacon, thyme, half of the parsley, 1/4 tsp salt, a pinch of pepper, and cook stirring for 1 more minute.
  3. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and stir to evenly spread the veggies around. Let it cook, about 3-4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and sprinkle cheese over the top.
  4. Place skillet under the broiler until eggs are slightly puffed and cheese begins to bubble and brown, 3-4 minutes. Watch carefully. Remove from the over, slide frittata onto a serving platter. Garnish with remaining parsley. Slice and serve. 

Simple Solutions to the Dinner Dilemma

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By Julia Howard

While there are usually easy meal solutions for breakfast and lunch, simple, healthy dinner ideas are no easy feat. Finding a recipe that your family will enjoy is only a part of the struggle. We crave a quick fix for dinner, something that doesn’t take hours to prep and cook, and something that won’t take an hour to clean up. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market has meal motivation and locally sourced ingredients to get you through these dinner difficulties.

Photo from iStock.

Sheet Pan Dinners

For an effortless, delicious meal with minimal cleanup, sheet pan dinners are one of our favorite approaches to dinner. Choose your favorite seasonal vegetable(s) and pair it with a protein like chicken, pork, or beef. Think steak with Brussels sprouts and potatoes, sausages with apples and carrots, chicken with mushrooms and tomatoes (tomatoes will return to the market in Feb.). The internet has many ideas, and finding the right ingredients is super simple between your pantry and the farmers’ market.

Photo from iStock

Farmers’ Market Frittatas

Frittatas can be very easy to make and are a great way to clean out your refrigerator. Ingredients include eggs, vegetables, fresh herbs (optional, and returning to the market in Feb.), cheese, and bacon or sausage – or omit for a vegetarian option. Simply sautee the vegetables, add cooked bacon and herbs, pour whisked eggs over the mixture, top with cheese, and broil for 3-4 minutes. We love M&A Farm’s recipe and remember that you can put just about anything in your frittata.

Photo of carrot and ginger soup by Pattie Garrett.

Simple Soups

Soups are one of the most satisfying, healthy, and easy one-pot meals to make. Simply chop up your vegetables, sautee the aromatics (leeks, onions, carrots, garlic, but the list goes on), add chicken or vegetable stock and simmer, then puree or leave chunky depending on the soup and your preference. Some ideas are vegetable soup, potato and leek soup, mushroom soup, and butternut squash soup.

Photo from iStock.

Slow Cooker & Instant Pot Meals

Slow cookers and Instant Pots have turned complicated, time-consuming meals into one-pot wonders. A quick Google search can reveal recipes for anything from tacos to pot roast to soups and stews. Once your ingredients are in the pot, you typically don’t need to pay attention to them until the meal is cooked and ready to serve. 

This weeks recipe: Farmers’ Market Frittata

Creating a menu at the market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Those who frequent the Saratoga Farmers’ Market know it’s a special space. For four hours, shoppers, farmers, other vendors, and volunteers come together to talk food, shop and sell, and bop to the music of the week. The energy is electric, and the food is beautiful. We go home a bit tired but with our taste buds alive, eager to cook and eat.

And sometimes you arrive and discover your favorite vendor has sold out of eggs. Beef stew meat or pork chops are unavailable on that particular day. Vendors have onions but not scallions. Fresh greens, particularly in the winter months, are scarce.

Pleasant Valley Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

In some ways, this unpredictability makes the market what it is. When farmers and other vendors bring to market foods that they themselves grow, raise or make, availability will vary from week-to-week, and certainly by season. The market cannot offer everything, but it can assure customers that our food has not traveled 1,500 miles to reach its destination – which is an average computed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for produce offered at grocery stores. Our foods are locally grown, raised, or made, and it is fresh.

How does one learn to navigate the unpredictability to take advantage of foods that are local and fresh?

Herb and spice blends from Muddy Trail Jerky Co, photo by Pattie Garrett

One answer is to throw away the shopping list. Come to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market instead with a blank sheet. Browse what’s available, talk with farmers – the ultimate foodies—and make your meal plans for the week. Set a goal perhaps of trying a new item every week, knowing that full meals can be built with what we offer.

Sound ambitious? We’ll help. Starting tomorrow, we will be in a more open space in the Wilton Mall, moving from the walkway between the Department of Motor Vehicles and Bath & Body Works to the food court. Find us and look then for a white board near the market information table. On it, will be a recipe based on ingredients one of our vendors or volunteers found a few minutes before the market’s opening. Take a look, snap a photo with your cell phone, and shop. Give the recipe a try and share your results.

This week’s recipe: Sweet Potato Fries with Yogurt Honey Dip

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market moves indoors on Saturday November 3rd

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by Kristin Cleveland

Tomorrow, November 3rd, is Opening Day for the Saratoga Farmers’ Market winter season! The market will be held from 9 am to 1 pm every Saturday, from now through the end of April, inside the Lincoln Baths building at 65 South Broadway in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

Just before the 9 am opening bell tomorrow, Saratoga Mayor Meg Kelly, NYS Parks Assistant Regional Director David Barone, Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau president Darryl Leggieri, Spa State Park General Manager David Guest, and longtime local conservationist Barbara Glaser will share in a brief ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the start of the winter market season and the benefits of having the year-round Saratoga Farmers’ Market. 

Then, at 9 am, customers can head indoors to shop from over 40 farmers, specialty foods vendors and local artists, hear acoustic music, and enjoy the camaraderie of connecting with the community on Saturdays throughout the winter in a beautiful and fully accessible historic building. 

Saratoga Farmers’ Market indoors at the Lincoln Baths. Photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

The musical guest for November 3rd will be an unplugged version of the ever popular Running the River band; information about additional upcoming Saturday musicians, sponsors of children’s activities, and other guests can be found on the calendar page of www.saratogafarmersmarket.org. Also on the website is a link to sign up for a weekly email newsletter, making it easy to find out about seasonal vendor offerings and special community events.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market has been in operation since 1978 with a commitment to providing local products from Saratoga county and surrounding Schenectady, Rensselaer, Washington and Warren counties. For the next six months on Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths, customers will find a wide variety of fresh, locally grown autumn and winter vegetables, fruit and mushrooms. Also available all winter season will be locally produced meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, homemade baked goods, jams, wine, spirits, soap, and freshly prepared and ready-to-eat foods. New farms at this year’s winter market are Ramble Creek Farm, Squashville Farm, Green Jeans Market Farm, and Saratoga Urban Farm. 

In addition to farm products, the winter “Holiday Market,” offered every Saturday in November and December, provides unique hand-crafted clothing, jewelry, elegant glass art, gourmet dog food and treats, baby items, and other artisan goods perfect for gifts for everyone on a holiday list.