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process of cooking

Cooking with what’s fresh

February 17, 2020 By marketeditor

 

Photos by Pattie Garrett

 

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

What makes cooking with farm fresh foods at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market a success? In my mind, two things: Let “less is more” be your guide, and have a few basic supplies on hand.

Let me elaborate.

When food comes to market from a local farm, it is about as fresh as it gets. Our freshest foods are harvested within a day or two of the market. Our frozen meats and stored apples, cabbages, potatoes, and other root vegetables are from harvests of just the past fall. Even such shelf-stable items as dry beans and corn come to you straight from the farms where they were grown. This means the flavor is at the peak. Often, just baking, steaming, or a quick fry in a hot pan followed by a low simmer for a few minutes is enough to make our farm foods taste delicious.

Second, cooking is easier and faster when one has a few basics on hand: staple ingredients and simple pots, pans, and cooking utensils.

Staple ingredients include oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Butter or animal fats like pork fat can substitute for oil, just as lemon juice or apple cider can stand in for vinegar. Seasonings as simple as salt and pepper often suffice. Herbs, alliums like garlic and onions, and spices like coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika, and others can help enhance the flavor of meals, but they are not necessities. Simply put, a basic oil, acid, and salt and pepper are usually enough to ensure that your market purchases taste as good cooked as they look fresh.

As for cooking, keep your supplies simple, especially if you’re just getting started: a frying pan, a Dutch oven or similar deep oven-safe lidded pot, a smaller stovetop pan for boiling water; a chopping board, a good sharp knife, a spatula, and a couple of wooden spoons are a good start.

Many cookbooks, weekly recipes in newspapers, and preparations featured on popular cooking shows and in videos emphasize the complexity of cooking. And, indeed, there is a creative and dramatic flair to the culinary arts. But there is creativity, too, in cooking simple and in letting the flavors of fresh foods stand alone.

 

This week’s recipe: Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

Filed Under: Featured Article, homepage feature, News Tagged With: basic supplies, basics, kitchen supplies, market cooking, process of cooking

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We have plenty of heirloom tomatoes, green beans, We have plenty of heirloom tomatoes, green beans, and sweet corn at this week’s market! Perfect for a summer salad, or roasted with zucchini for a fresh pasta dish. 🍅🌽🥬

Flowers are in abundance here too, and make the perfect gift for anyone 💐🌼🌻

Stop by and grab a breakfast sandwich, coffee, scone, and hash brown while strolling in this gorgeous weather! We’ll be here from 9-1 🍃⛅️
Connecting our community with locally produced foo Connecting our community with locally produced food is a priority of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. While this connection supports the local economy, it also ensures that people of all economic levels have access to fresh, locally-sourced food. With this purpose, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has partnered with the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), CDPHP, Comfort Food Community, the FreshConnect program, and the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program for WIC participants and Seniors (FMNP). Check out this week's article to learn more at: https://www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/category/featured-article/

Photo: Summer melons from Gomez Veggie Ville

#saratogasprings #freshconnect #healthyliving #communityfirst #saratogafarmersmarket #agriculture #nonprofitorganization #farmtotable
Join us this Wednesday, 8/9, for a musical scaveng Join us this Wednesday, 8/9, for a musical scavenger hunt and farmers’ market song! Hosted by Caffe Lena, we’ll have plenty of fun activities for our awesome POP Club members 🤩🎶

Be sure to get a stamp on your POP Passport and a $2 POP coin!

We hope to see you tomorrow, rain or shine 🌤
Meet our newest Clifton Park farmer, Suzanne Fishe Meet our newest Clifton Park farmer, Suzanne Fisher! Our Clifton Park market runs every Monday, 2-5pm, at the Shenendehowa Methodist Church parking lot 971, Route 146 🌾🌽🍅 Today we will be joined by the Saratoga Office for the Aging! They will be passing out FMNP coupons for people that are 60+ and on a limited income. Hope to see you there!

#cliftonpark #farmersmarket #upstateny #agriculture #farmtotable #dinnerideas #shopsmall

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