Shop Local, Eat Fresh at the Saratoga Farmers' Market | Food, Crafts, Music in Saratoga Springs

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

Mrs. London's

Local bakers continue to offer quality goods

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By Madison Jackson

Mrs. London’s, photo by Pattie Garrett

Chocolate croissants, cinnamon rolls, coconut rum cakes, and blueberry scones are just a handful of the freshly made baked goods you can find at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market every Saturday. With choices like these, you can’t go wrong picking a treat to enjoy throughout the week, if it even lasts that long.

The farmers’ market has many talented bakers that bring their ‘from scratch’ goods to sell you each week. There is something for everyone’s taste and necessity, from decadent desserts like triple chocolate teacake from The Chocolate Spoon to wholesome bread like fresh honey oat bread from Kokinda Farm.

Mrs. London’s bakery offers fresh croissants, pastries, bread, and scones at the farmers’ market. Their recipes are rooted in the French culinary tradition and have been perfected over decades to bring you authentic and traditional baked creations from scratch using high-quality ingredients.

The Chocolate Spoon, photo by Pattie Garrett

The Chocolate Spoon has irresistible baked goods with distinct flavors and unique combinations. Owner Marcie Place has spent years perfecting her classic recipes like banana chocolate chip muffins and chocolate chip cookies, but she never stops experimenting with her baking. Try something new like a sour cream coffee cake with maple glaze or chocolate-orange chocolate chip cookies.

Goodway Gourmet is famous for its Caribbean rum cakes but has other baked options like cinnamon rolls, cookies, macaroons, and pound cakes. The best part about buying their sweet treats is that each purchase contributes to teens’ educational opportunities.

Goodway Bakery, photo by Pattie Garrett

The Food Florist is well known for their prepared frozen meals like pot pie and lasagna, but they also make various traditional sweet pies. Pie varieties include classic apple, cherry, blueberry crumb, and quadberry (a mix of blueberry, cherry, strawberry, and red raspberry).

You may be surprised to find baked goods from vendors like the Argyle Cheese Farmer and Kokinda Farm. Argyle Cheese Farmer, known for their prize-winning yogurts and cheese, also makes fresh cinnamon rolls, donuts, finger rolls, and bread. And Kokinda Farm sells a variety of baked bread like honey oat, cinnamon raisin, and honey wheat with pumpkin seeds. The next time you need fresh bread, sweet rolls, cookies, cakes, or something fresh from the oven, stop by the farmers’ market or preorder online for pickup on Saturdays.

 

This week’s recipe: Apple Kuchen

Exploring the Sweet Side of the Farmers’ Market

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By Julia Howard

The Chocolate Spoon, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

Beneath a dozen eggs and some carrots with sprawling greens lay some of the most delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted. The Chocolate Spoon was the last stop on my list this past Saturday, and the farmers’ market crowd was beginning to swell. Once the cookies were safely tucked away in my basket, I headed for my car.

Indulging in a sweet treat has become a part of my Wednesday or Saturday shopping ritual – a reward for working hard all week. The rewards vary. Last week, it was applesauce from Saratoga Apple. The apples, slowly and gently cooked, have the perfect chunky consistency and balance of sweetness and tart. With no sugar added, I felt like I was doing something good for myself. The week before that, my treat was Mrs. London’s famous buttery almond croissant. And, the week before that, I fondly recall rich, creamy chocolate milk from Battenkill Valley Creamery.

Slate Valley Farms, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

Whatever farmers’ market sweets I choose to indulge in, they are always fresh, delicious, and an ode to quality, local ingredients. Perhaps that’s why they have become my shopping tradition. And, they are treats that I don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen preparing myself.

Argyle Cheese Farmer, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

Market sweets come in a variety of sizes to accommodate any desire or occasion. Satisfy a small craving with a honey stick from Slate Valley Farms or personal-sized Sweet Greek yogurt from Argyle Cheese Farmer. Looking for a larger quantity to share? Perhaps a pie from The Food Florist or cheesecake from Grandma Apples Cheesecakes. Tiramisu from Giovanni Fresco is some of the best you’ll try, and baklava from Euro Delicacies is authentic and sweetened with local honey. Dickinson’s Delights’ Nutella crepes are filled with seasonal fruit and make for a decadent and gooey dessert that could be eaten for breakfast.

Looking for gluten-free or dairy-free options? Farmers’ market vendors have those too.

What about the unique chocolate craving that we all succumb to? Saratoga Chocolate Company has a variety of handmade cocoa creations to satisfy that specific desire that must be met.

The next time you’re shopping at the farmer’s market, make time for something on the sweeter side. You’ll be glad you did.

For this week’s recipe, I leave you with chocolate chip zucchini muffins. They are cake-like, sweet, and satisfying with a healthy touch.

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

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By Emily Meagher

Easter evokes images of eggs hunts and other community events. We invite you to make next Saturday at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market a part of these events. On Saturday, April 20, arrive early and fill your shopping bags and baskets with our fresh, locally grown, raised and produced foods.

Kokinda Farm Eggs, photo courtesy of Pattie Garrett

Near the market entrance, look for the eggs. Not the edible ones – those come next – but rather the reusable gift containers, available while supplies last. Inside each will be a coupon offering a discount from one of the market vendors.

 

Now, for real eggs. Elihu, Kokinda, and Squashville farms are offering them in abundance. Check out their hues and try them for their fresh, farm-raised flavor. Keep an eye out, too, for rich duck and giant goose eggs.

Saratoga Chocolate Co. Easter Basket, photo courtesy of Saratoga Chocolate Co.

This weekend, the market also will be featuring chocolate eggs. Further in the market are such treats filled with maple cream and maple marshmallow at Slate Valley Farms. Other sweet treats include homemade marshmallows from The Chocolate Spoon, chocolates formed into nest and bunny shapes from the Saratoga Chocolate Co., hot cross buns from Mrs. London’s, and cheesecakes in a range of sizes and flavors from Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes.

That’s dessert. Now, let’s look for vegetables and main course meats.

Many vendors are offering Easter specials on their farm-raised meats: At Lewis Waite Farm, fresh and smoked ham roasts and steaks are five percent off. Longlesson Farm is offering 10 pounds of ground beef for $60 (instead of $80), and Mariaville Mushroom Men is taking 20 percent off its pork. If poultry is your preference, try Ramble Creek Farm’s turkey or Squashville’s chicken.

And there are the early spring vegetables to consider: Pea shoots from Saratoga Urban and Pleasant Valley farms, along with Pleasant Valley’s super-sweet spring parsnips. Storage vegetables remain abundant at Gomez Veggie Ville and Pleasant Valley, and mushrooms at Mariaville and Ramble Creek.

Looking for libations? Try Saratoga Apple’s farm-brewed hard and sweet ciders, spirits from Yankee Distillery, cyser from Ballston Lake Apiaries, Battenkill Valley Creamery milk and Something’s Brewing’s home-roasted coffees.

And, there’s more: apples, pickles, cheeses, and cured meats.

 

Traditional Meals for Traditional Holidays

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By Mary Pratt

As we approach our traditional winter holiday season, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market offers delicious selections for traditional preparation. Whether you’re gathering guests or enjoying a quiet celebration, the Market supplies ingredients from appetizers to entrees to desserts. Scotch Ridge Trees and Berries completes your home with holiday decorations.

What better cocktail to serve in New York State than a Manhattan made with Yankee Distillers rye whiskey, made from 100 percent Saratoga grains. You can top it with a fermented black cherry from Pucker’s Pickles.

Battenkill Valley Creamery makes eggnog that’s ready for adding optional liquor. Or prepare homemade with their dairy products, and Market eggs, using SimplyRecipes.com.
For appetizers, check the holiday cheeses from Argyle Cheese and Nettle Meadow. Argyle’s annual gift baskets will work for a cheese platter along with yogurt dips for Market vegetables. Nettle Meadow’s holiday cheeses include pfeffernusse, cranberry, and eggnog fromage frais. Pura Vida expects to have Peconic Bay scallops, and try their blowfish, either sautéed or fried like chicken wings. Add Freddy’s Rockin’ Hummus to your appetizers, and serve with Saratoga Crackers and Mrs. London’s breads.

For entrees, Longlesson Farm and Lewis Waite Farm offer glorious beef rib roasts. You can pre-order three or four rib, or whole roasts. Elihu Farm will have fresh lamb again, including bone-in or boneless legs, whole or half racks, and loin strips. Mariaville Mushroom Men features gift baskets and teas, along with grow kits. Their mushrooms make an excellent side dish with beef or lamb.

Don’t leave the Market until you pick up salad greens, tomatoes and herbs, potatoes and vegetables, and Momma’s Secret Salad Dressings. For an alternate starch, try Mangiamo’s pasta. And add Saratoga Apple’s hard cider to your basket.

Finally, no meal is complete without dessert and coffee. The Chocolate Spoon offers cookies and cakes all year, and for holidays one can order fruit or cream pies and cheesecakes. From Saratoga Apple you can choose varieties to make baked apples and apple pie. Grandmas Apple’s also makes cheesecakes. In addition to serving cup after cup of coffee at the Market, Something’s Brewing now roasts organic coffee beans in several flavors. Add this, and treats from Saratoga Chocolate, to complete your basket of products for holiday celebrations.

Pack a Spring Picnic at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

Spring takes its time coming to the Saratoga area. Still, as we near the end of April, we can feel the change: balmier breezes, spots of sunshine, receding snowlines and daffodils and crocuses starting to bloom.

With the beckoning of better days, we invite you to visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market for the final two Saturdays of our indoor market with picnicking in mind. Fill your basket with our vendors’ newest items and head into the Saratoga Spa State Park for a feast.

 

Here are a few of our newest treats to consider:

  • Apple Cider Elixir. This beverage prepared by Beth Trattel of Something’s Brewing features all natural ingredients and no added sugar. It blends sweetness with a twist of tart for a thirst-quenching sensation. Try it with a lemon garnish.
  • The Everything Croissant. For a starter snack, try this newest offering from Mrs. Londons. It takes the concept of the “everything bagel” and applies it to the croissant, creating a light yet savory pastry that features a cream cheese swirl and an “everything” topping.
  • Fermented veggies. Puckers Gourmet Pickles’ Kelley Hillis has been delighting market goers with her lacto-fermented pickles, kim chi, and sauerkraut for years. This year, she has unrolled something new: crunchy crisp vegetables preserved the natural way. Stop by the Puckers table for a jar of asparagus, dilly beans, and even beets.
  • Buck Mountain Cheese. Nettle Meadow Farm is introducing this goat cheese with an Adirondack touch for spring. Buck Mountain is fresh and unaged, symbolizing the newness spring, and encrusted with juniper, sumac, rosemary, and thyme. The herbs embody the fresh smell of the thawing ground.
  • Vanilla Ricotta Tea Biscuit. No spring picnic is complete without a sweet touch at the end. For that, try Marcie Place’s latest creation at The Chocolate Spoon. The biscuit is light and fluffy as a biscuit should be but decadently delicious like a dessert should be as well. If you’ve finished your elixir, try pairing it with a cup of Upper Hudson Coffee from Something’s Brewing or a glass of milk from Battenkill Valley Creamery.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market will be 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 21 and 28. at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. The outdoor season at High Rock Park begins 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 5.