new vendor

Indulge in Artful Delights with Pam the Baker’s Custom Decorated Sugar Cookies

March 31, 2023 By marketeditor

Graciela Colston

If you’re looking for a unique and delicious gift for your next special occasion, look no further than Pam the Baker’s custom-decorated sugar cookies.

Pam Sissons is a lifelong baker whose passion has always been baking bread, muffins, cookies, baklavas, and all sorts of goodies ‘just like Mom used to make.’ Once she started custom decorating cookies, the obsession took hold, and today she is a registered NY State home food processor. “My kitchen has always been my ‘happy place’!” Pam says fondly.

To Pam, every cookie she makes is a mini work of art. She uses high-quality ingredients and pays attention to detail to create custom cookies that are not just a statement for your next event but also a gift that is equally satisfactory for the giver as it is for the receiver. Sugar cookie designs begin with creative cookie cutters to create one-of-a-kind shapes. They are then baked and hand-decorated with royal icing.

Farmers’ Market Cookies by Pam the Baker

Pam’s decorated sugar cookies are perfect for any occasion, from birthdays and baby showers to weddings and christenings. Elegant and ornate cookies will please your hosts at a fancy holiday party, while vibrant colors, shapes, and characters are perfect for a child’s birthday party. Pam can even brand cookies for company events in a unique way. When asked about some of her most memorable orders, Pam recalls “I made several dozen very ornate baby shower cookies for an event in New York City. I packed every single cookie so carefully for shipping…it was quite an undertaking! It was all worth it when I was told the mother-to-be was in tears when she saw the cookies.”

Cookies are perfect for fun and meaningful edible art! Pam’s cookies come in all flavors, including vanilla, lemon, almond, and chocolate. She even offers ‘Paint Your Own Cookie kits’ that include a palette with four colors of edible food coloring, a brush, and a delicious home-baked custom cookie ready to paint with a fun image.

Paint your own cookie kits by Pam the Baker

You can find Pam the Baker and her cookies at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market or submit a cookie quote to her website. And if you’re looking for something extra special this Easter season, try Pam’s Bunny Butts! These cute little treats are available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market this weekend. And for all you chocolate lovers out there, they’re also available in chocolate.

In the Saratoga area, you can find Pam the Baker at the farmers’ market every Saturday. Pam also accepts custom orders on her website at pamthebakerny@gmail.com.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Wilton Mall Food Court. Find us online at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.

New farmer provides eggs and more

November 10, 2022 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta

In the Christian Bible, Jireh is a referent to “God provides.” In the Bible, Abraham describes a place as Jehovah Jireh, where it states that the “Lord will provide.”

Lou Russell worked for more than four decades in supply chain management. He spent 32 of those years in the Navy. In civilian life, he has worked with a pharmaceutical firm, Global Foundries, and Kellogg. Now, with his farm Jireh Organic Farms & Livestock, his goal also is to provide.

Lou started his farm in 2021. Now, as one of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s newer vendors, he sells eggs and chicken raised on his 26-acre farm in Galway and a site he owns in Fultonville. His philosophy is rooted in self-sufficiency, regenerative agricultural practices, and face-to-face interactions.

“As I think about what a farming community is, I think of it as a way that people look after each other, help one another out.”

Working with supply chains helped him understand the importance of efficiency within corporate food and other systems and the danger of what might result if the chain broke down. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as shortages of food and such basic essential items as toilet paper in grocery stores occurred, he decided to move forward.

Lou bought his land, established a flock of chickens, and began selling eggs out of a cooler. Neighbors and others purchased the items on an honor system. When he joined the Saratoga Farmers Market last spring, he did so in a quiet way. He set up a simple stall consisting of a table, banner, informational materials, and a cooler filled with eggs. People found him, bought his eggs, and came back.

Lou lives at his farm with two dogs, a few cats, his flock of chickens, and a herd of cows. The herd began with two Angus crosses that he purchased in 2021. One of them soon produced a calf, said Lou, adding, “I was so green I didn’t even realize she was pregnant.” The calf turned out to be a male. He bought two more Angus crosses last spring, one of which came with a calf. The other one produced a calf a few months later, giving him a herd of seven, and plans to offer beef to Saratoga marketgoers sometime in mid-2023.

**Unfortunately, Lou will not be at this week’s 11/12/22 Saturday market but he will be there every following week through April.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market will be open on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. from November through April. The market is held in the Wilton Mall Food Court, accessible from the TrustCo mall entrance, across from BJs, or the mall interior. Find us online at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Grower cultivates a love of plants at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

December 1, 2021 By marketeditor

By Julia Howard

“Plants need people, and people need plants,” is a motto that Jay Adkins lives and works by. “When you think about how plants give us life through food, medicinal herbs, our entire ecosystem, even flowers for joy and happiness… Why shouldn’t we care for plants the way they care for us?”

Adkins is the owner of J. Adkins Cultivation, one of the newest vendors at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. His winter market display is a lush abundance of tropical greenery with busts of red poinsettia arrangements special for the holiday season. Plants are displayed in decorative pots ready for purchase, and Adkins and his staff offer guidance and support to ensure plants flourish in their new homes.

For Adkins, what began as a hobby turned into a passion he didn’t realize he had. He was working as a full-time contractor when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and work came abruptly to a stop. “I had some extra time on my hands, and since I always had an interest in gardening, I decided to start growing plants inside my house,” explains Adkins. “I grew way too many plants and sold the extra starters, and the business took off from there.”

One year later, J. Adkins Cultivation is expanding. In the spring, they grow various fruit and vegetable starter plants and herbs – all using organic growing methods. Adkins also grows flowering perennials, annuals, and arrangements with availability based on the season. “We care about the health of each plant, and mix our unique recipe of premium soil, and even play the plants music as they grow,” says Adkins.

For Adkins, plants offer a new purpose for living. “I believe in the benefits that come from caring for living things,” says Adkins. “Inspiring others to grow gardens and fill their homes with house plants is very meaningful to me.”

In the future, Adkins is looking forward to providing live plant installations at local businesses and restaurants. Customers can find J. Adkins Cultivation at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Saturdays, at the Schenectady Green Market on Sundays and Ink & Ivy’s House of Beauty’s pop-up Christmas market this Sunday, December 5, 10 am-3 pm. This coming spring, customers can shop for plants directly at J. Adkins Cultivation’s greenhouse located in Rotterdam. For more information, visit their website www.jadkinscultivation.com.

This week’s recipe: Garlic & Herb-Infused Butter

The Mushroom Shop offers fungi for every season

October 19, 2021 By marketeditor

By Emily Meagher

Saratoga’s Wednesday farmers’ market, which concludes its 2021 season at the end of October, is a gem for finding less conventional varieties of fresh, local produce. This season, a crowd favorite has been the diverse offering of seasonal mushrooms by The Mushroom Shop, a new vendor.

Partners Jacob Howard and Elise Olsen have always enjoyed gardening, growing vegetables and flowers, and keeping houseplants. About six years ago, they decided to try growing something new, one of their favorite ingredients to cook with: mushrooms. That hobby turned more serious this past winter when a local farmer offered a part of their land in Salem to build a proper mushroom farm. Thus The Mushroom Shop began.

Elise Olsen tending to the mushroom crops, photo provided

The past year has been full of learning curves for the young farmers. Through the seasons, weather affects how mushrooms grow – even in a controlled environment. To provide fresh, quality products, they don’t sell mushrooms cut more than three days before markets, so preparing the crop for harvest close to market days can be challenging.

The unpredictability of the crop also makes for happy surprises. This summer, Howard and Olsen changed the recipe for the medium they use to grow their fungi. The lion’s mane variety took very well to this change – just 4 of the mushrooms weighed over 15 pounds!

An abundance of lion’s mane wasn’t a problem for the couple since it’s their favorite variety to cook.

“It’s so versatile. Its tender, meaty texture makes for a great seafood substitute, perfect for recipes like lion’s mane “crab” cakes, “shrimp” scampi, or hearty chowder. Or cook it like steak by searing thick slabs in a cast-iron skillet or on the grill,” says Howard.

Mushroom offering at the market, photo by Emily Meagher

The Mushroom Shop offers a variety of seasonal mushrooms, both farm-grown and foraged during the couple’s woods walks in Salem. Their products also include dried mushrooms, mushroom seasonings, and grow kits.

This November, The Mushroom Shop will join the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s winter season at the Wilton Mall with 50 other local vendors. Howard and Olsen look forward to sharing their enthusiasm for all things fungi with market customers, who can expect to see several new cold-weather varieties at their stand this winter, like enoki, beech, black pearl oysters, king trumpets, and nameko.

This week’s recipe: Lion’s Mane Scampi

Bringing Caribbean cuisine to Saratoga Farmers’ Market shoppers

September 28, 2021 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

How Vashti Ma’at and Leon Carr met isn’t quite about food. But how the 20-year friendship has grown to their partnership through Vashti’s Kitchen Delights is definitely about the food. Vashti’s Kitchen Delights is among the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s new vendors. Ma’at and Carr bring the prepared meals and sides that Vashti’s Kitchen Delights features to market each Wednesday and Saturday.

Ma’at was born in Trinidad and Tobago, and Carr in Jamaica. Each emigrated to New York City with their families. Ma’at holds a degree in sociocultural anthropology, has trained as a pastry chef, and has had a career as a consultant. Carr has worked as an engineer and has run businesses. Vashti’s Kitchen Delights is an amalgam of their experiences and their fused Caribbean cultural cuisines.

Salacious Hen and vegetable sides, photo provided

Ma’at and Carr met in Queens around 2001. Carr owned and operated a cyber café and computer-repair business, and Ma’at had a malfunctioning laptop. After a series of jousts and jokes, she decided she could trust Carr to fix it, and Carr proved himself reliable. He allowed clients to use the cafe computers for free while their devices were being repaired. Ma’at became a regular. Carr learned she had a small catering business and hired her to provide breakfast for a business meeting.

“No one remembered what happened at the meeting,” he recalled. “But everyone remembered the food.”

And so it went. Vashti catered meals, and Leon helped develop the business. They moved to Amsterdam in 2006. Ma’at was employed through a grant-funded position, and when the grant ended in 2017, she decided to devote herself to cooking.

Vashti and Leon visited several area farmers’ markets. “We decided that, as caterers, such markets would offer potential customers the opportunity to sample our dishes and experience our cuisine,” she said.

Vashti’s Kitchen Delights’ offerings are dairy and gluten-free, with many vegan options. Ma’at gives many of them a Trinidad and Tobago touch through using such ingredients as coconut oil, all fresh herbs like cilantro, and spices like cumin and cinnamon. She adds a touch of fun by giving them names like the Sassy Pig (pork) and Salacious Hen (chicken).

Vashti often makes time to shop at other vendor stalls for ingredients for the business and the meals she and Carr enjoy on their own time at home. The conviviality defines the business and the relationships she and Leon build with customers and others.

They’re all about the food.

This week’s recipe: Cabbage Medley

Nine Pine Soup & Design shares the benefits of white pine

August 30, 2021 By marketeditor

By Madison Jackson

Nine Pine Soup & Design, photo by Pattie Garrett

On Wednesday afternoons under the shade of the south pavilion in High Rock Park, you can find Janine Stockin, also known as Jai, owner of Nine Pine Soup & Design, behind a table of thoughtfully displayed products.

Nine Pine Soup & Design, photo by Madison Jackson

Pine cones adorn a table with jars of white pine needles, teas, and oils. Homemade soup broth gently steams nearby. Tree branches, carefully woven with colorful yarn, are placed around the space. The art of decorating these branches is known as Ojo de Dios or God’s Eye; a traditional Mexican craft that symbolizes peace, protection, and prosperity. Jai handmakes each piece in various sizes and colors meant to inspire meditation and a sense of calmness.

The main focus of her business is the needles of the white pine tree, a conifer traditionally used for lumber and sap. In this case, Jai uses the pine needles to brew tea and oils rich in vitamins and antioxidants.

Jai sought a spot as a vendor with the Saratoga Farmers’ Market to share the many benefits of white pine needles with the community. She has been studying plants since age 14 and pursued an education, earning a degree in Botany and Earth Science. In January 2019, Jai became inspired by information on white pine from well-known herbalists like Susan Weed and Dina Falconi.

White pine has a rich history with Iroquois roots and is known as the “Tree of Peace” for helping to end a conflict between the Five Nations. White pine needles are rich in compounds linked to better health, and, historically, they have had many uses as natural remedies. They are high in antioxidants, Vitamin C, calcium, and potassium.

Jai makes a healing massage oil infused with white pine oil and almond oil, which deeply conditions the skin. She notes the uplifting aromatherapy of the tea and oil, which soothes and nourishes the body. Jai also makes white pine broth and white pine iced tea.

Stop by the Wednesday market to speak with Jai about her products and sample her fresh white pine needle tea and broth. For more information on her products, contact Jai at 9pinedesigns@gmail.com.

This week’s recipe: Pine Needle Vegetarian Broth

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