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

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

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Leaning into farming

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Leaning Birch Farm, photo provided

It’s about an hour before sunset. A truckload of deep brown compost has just arrived at Leaning Birch Farm. It sits in a heap near the garden beds and high tunnels that Dan and Rose Fera began putting in their backyard five years ago.

Nic, their son, greets me as I pull up, but his focus is on the compost. A former coffee shop worker and musician, he pays close attention to the aesthetics – the color, the texture, the smell. He thrusts his arms deep into the heap and pulls out a handful. He forms a ball and lets its crumble through his palms back into the pile. He then buries his nose into a handful, savoring its smell.

Photo provided by Leaning Birch Farm

Leaning Birch Farm is among several new produce vendors at this year’s Saratoga Farmers’ Market. The Feras grow dozens of varieties of vegetables in approximately 1.5 acres of space. They use intensive, high-yield planting techniques to maximize their space, which as Nic notes, teaches that “you don’t need a lot of land to make a decent living.”

Nic grew up in Saratoga Springs, where his parents were renters. Dan restored violins and Rose worked as a clinical director for a special education school. All three had a flair for art and a fondness for fresh food. Nic began playing music at coffee shops, and ultimately worked in the business himself.

Dan and Rose had a garden and relatively low rent. Still, they yearned to build equity by doing something they loved. That desire led them to purchase a house in Broadalbin. The house came with a yard filled with good soil and abutted a pond. It also came with a mortgage that was nearly twice the monthly amount they had been paying in rent.

Dan had a plan: Pay the mortgage with garlic.

“I had heard somewhere that you could make $40,000 a year on an acre of garlic,” he said with a laugh.

Nic and Ashley at Leaning Birch Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Garlic as a sole moneymaker never materialized, but the idea helped the Feras see the hunger for fresh local foods. They began selling to restaurants, via a farm stand, and through a CSA. About three years ago, they joined their first farmers market, and now sell at markets in Schenectady, Glens Falls, and Saratoga.

“It’s a cool feeling to realize how many other people also are sitting down to dinner, eating our vegetables,” adds Rose. “We’re not just taking care of ourselves but our community, too.”

This week’s recipe: Ginger Sesame Salmon Salad

Cold-hardy grapes yield soul-warming wines

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Michael and Kelly Spiak, photo provided

The Fossil Stone Vineyard bottles of wine almost seem to glitter on display tables at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market: The golden hue of La Crescent, the ruby glow of Marquette, the fiery dark pink of their Rose, a blend of the two.

Fossil Stone is among the market’s newest vendors, joining in late August. But for owners Michael and Kelly Spiak making wine is not new. Their journey, like much of farming, is all about having a passion and the patience to transform that passion into products.

For Michael Spiak, passion began while traveling through New Zealand with the military.

“New Zealand was blanketed with vineyards, which I had a strange fascination with,” he says. “I loved everything about them … the posts, the vines, the grapes, and of course the wine.”

Fossil Stone Wines, photo provided

He and his wife Kelly owned land in Greenfield Center. They decided in 2006 to try growing grapevines. Their first wines came from vines planted in 2009, and they began selling wine in 2014. Today, Fossil Stone consists of more than 3,000 wines and a winery barn. A tasting room is set to open next summer.

The Spiaks grow cold-hardy French hybrid grapes developed by University of Minnesota viticulturist Peter Hamstead to produce LaCrescent – a crisp white with hints of apricot – and Marquette – a smooth medium-bodied red with hints of cherry and plum. They also craft a Rose from a 30-70 blend of Marquette and LaCrescent.

“It is darker than most Roses,” says Spiak, “but don’t let that fool you. It behaves very much like a Rose.”

At Fossil Stone, winter is a time to craft wines before the growing cycle begins in late February when vines will be pruned prior to bud break in late April/early May. The grapes grow through late summer and are harvested in fall.

Fossil Stone wines pair well with many winter farmers’ market offerings, such as beef brisket. “I used to work for the Saratoga North Creek Railroad as a locomotive engineer,” Michael Spiak recalls. “The chef on board used our Marquette to make a wine reduction and poured it over a broiled brisket and then paired it with our Marquette.”

“It was delicious.”

This week’s recipe: Marquette-Braised Beef Brisket

Michael and Kelly Spiak, photo provided

Hebron Valley Veal: A Difference You Can Taste

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By Madison Jackson

Hebron Valley Veal, photo provided

A passion for dairy farming is what fuels Ariel Garland and her boyfriend Matt Campbell every day at Hebron Valley Veal. To maintain Matt’s fourth-generation family dairy farm in North Hebron, the pair decided to start raising veal as well, backed by his lifetime of farming experience and Ariel’s knowledge as a calf and heifer specialist at an animal feed company. This opportunity has offered the couple the ability to carry on family tradition while using their vast knowledge of farming to bring high quality, naturally raised veal to their community.

Hebron Valley Veal prides themselves in the care they provide their animals, which are always locally born and raised. The calves are whole milk fed from the farm’s herd of pastured Holsteins with no added hormones or antibiotics. Using their herd as the milk source for feedings, they can keep their cows once they calve and produce milk. The calves are also allowed to move freely through the farm, never tethered, and are offered free-choice water and hay in addition to milk feedings. This natural style of raising the calves results in the highest quality of veal, a difference you can truly taste.

Ariel Garland at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, photo by Madison Jackson

Hebron Valley Veal’s rosé veal, characterized by the meat’s rose-colored appearance, is synonymous with humane veal or young beef. The meat is very lean and tender and has a delicate flavor, making it a versatile meat for cooking. The veal can be purchased as cutlets, chuck roast, ground, sirloin steak, loin chop, rib chop, and many other varieties of cuts.

Joined by their chocolate lab, Gusto, who spends his days watching over the farm and playing with the cows, Matt and Ariel enjoy spending their time working together and watching their little herd grow and develop. They appreciate that each animal has its own unique personality, from the blind jersey Helen who loves neck scratches and grain, to their spunky red Holstein, Mounds. The couple is grateful to help feed the community while also feeding their passion for dairy farming.

Hebron Valley Veal attends the Saratoga Farmers’ Market every Saturday, bringing locally and humanely-raised veal to the local area. Their products may also be preordered and picked up by appointment at the farm.

This week’s recipe: Veal Piccata Meatballs

Longtime Garlic Grower Finds a New Home at Farmers’ Market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Photo provided by Saratoga Garlic Co.

Bill Higgins began growing garlic in 1998 on farmland in Northumberland, a community between Schuylerville and Saratoga. He sold the garlic to a food distributor at the Chelsea Market in Manhattan, and over time, began consulting with chefs to create a line of prepared products.

Over the years, his enterprise Saratoga Garlic Co. expanded, supplying grocery stores, restaurants, and wholesalers with sauces and pickled products.

The business kept growing, and then last fall Higgins went small. He applied to become a new vendor with the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, joining the market’s cadre of local farmers, home producers, and artisans.

Photo provided by Saratoga Garlic Co.

Now, Higgins spends Saturday mornings at the market’s winter location in the Wilton Mall, offering samples of their garlic products, greeting new customers, and reconnecting with friends.

Their experience is helping them understand better what their customers like. It also captures the community feeling that the Saratoga Farmers’ Market creates.

“We wanted a more direct connection and additional insight to what our end consumer is looking for,” says Max Higgins, who coordinates sales for Saratoga Garlic and is Bill Higgins’s son.

So far, the experience has been great. “Everyone at the market has been very welcoming and we’ve really enjoyed the positive atmosphere each Saturday,” Max Higgins says.

On top of that, they have discovered that old friends from elementary and high school days are market regulars, as well. And, says Max Higgins, “the live music is great.”

Saratoga Garlic Co., photo by Pattie Garrett

Saratoga Garlic Co.’s signature product is aioli, a garlic sauce with a mayonnaise base. The company offers five varieties, along with a pickled garlic product. The sauces can be used to season dishes, as a spread on crackers or bread, or as a condiment to such things as steaks, pork or goat, chops, or fish.

Bill Higgins worked with a number of chefs to perfect his recipes over the years. He and his family still grow their own garlic, which is German white, a porcelain variety known for big bulbs, a robust flavor, and high tolerance to his sandy soil. The family also occasionally grows dill for their pickled products and has discussed the prospect of trying out such items as saffron, which flavors one of their aioli sauces.

This week’s recipe: BLT Burritos with Sambal Aioli

Wood-fired Pizza Gets “Fired Up” at the Farmers’ Market

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By Julia Howard

Fired-Up Pizza, photo by Pattie Garrett

Wood-fired, artisan pizza might be one of the most perfect foods on the planet. Crispy, cheesy, full of flavor — but it has to be done right. Locals Tina Rafferty and Paul Dudka discovered that the best pizza begins with fresh ingredients and the right oven.

Rafferty and Dudka own Fired Up Pizza that ‘opened shop’ at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market just 3 months ago. In that short time, Fired Up has become well known for its breakfast pizza and classic pepperoni, among other 10” specialty pies available every Saturday.

Photo courtesy of Fired Up Pizza

For Rafferty and Dudka, Fired Up Pizza is a pop-up pizza shop and retirement plan all-in-one. “I love the positivity at the farmers’ market,” says Rafferty. “As a new business, it’s a great place to offer and perfect our products, and customers love to watch their pizzas being prepared.”

At the farmers’ market, Dudka runs their custom-built, wood-fired pizza oven just outside the mall entrance. Dudka burns hardwoods to keep the oven at a constant 600 degrees no matter the weather. For him, this temperature guarantees the perfect, crisp crust with the right amount of char. Meanwhile, just inside the building, Rafferty creates pizzas made to order.

“We truly enjoy working together,” said Rafferty on beginning a business with her boyfriend. “And, we both love the farmers’ market,” she adds.

Photo courtesy of Fired Up Pizza

Pursuing a pizza business has meant a lot of trial and error for the couple. One of their biggest challenges has been perfecting their dough recipe to a consistency that, when dusted with cornmeal, will come off a peel without sticking. A ‘peel’ is the shovel-like tool used to slide the pizza into and out of the oven. Rafferty and Dudka have also had to experiment with cook times and temperature while getting to know their wood-fired oven.

Despite these challenges, Rafferty and Dudka’s goals have remained the same: to offer a great artisan pizza with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients.

What’s next for Fired Up Pizza? “We’re always experimenting and taste-testing,” explains Rafferty. “We are looking forward to expanding our offerings to calzones and pizza rolls in the future,” she says. The couple hopes to attend more local events and to offer catering options for private parties and gatherings in the near future. But, for now, you can find them at the Bow Tie entrance at the Wilton Mall serving up fresh pizzas to hungry shoppers every Saturday.

 

This week’s recipe: Breakfast Pizza