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Ramble Creek

Grilled Oyster Mushrooms

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Recipe courtesy of Ramble Creek Farm

 

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • 1 lb. blue oyster mushrooms*
  • Lime juice from 2 limes
  • 3 Tablespoons avocado oil
  • Sea salt

 

Instructions

  1. Pull apart the oyster mushroom cluster. The cap and stem will pull off from the base with ease.
  2. Rinse the mushrooms and toss with 1 Tablespoon avocado oil.
  3. Juice two limes and mix with the remaining avocado oil.
  4. Grill over medium heat with the cap side down. While the mushrooms are on the grill, baste the gills of the mushrooms with the lime marinade. Grill for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms soften and have nice grill marks.
  5. Sprinkle sea salt over the blue oyster mushrooms and enjoy!

Rambling from Colorado to New York

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By Kara Winslow

While living and vegetable farming in Fort Collins, Colorado, Ann and Josh Carnes decided to move east, after discovering their Ramble Creek Farm near Greenwich in Washington County. Ann’s background with her permaculture degree from Indiana University and Josh’s experience as a retired lieutenant firefighter and handyman has created a well-rounded partnership in farming.

This ambitious couple became vendors at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market less than seven months after establishing Ramble Creek. They currently raise mushrooms, blueberries, poultry, and livestock, and are applying for organic certification and starting a commercial kitchen to expand their products.

Ann explained, “There is an unfulfilled niche for growing and selling mushrooms.” Currently, they raise a variety of mushrooms such as lion’s mane, shiitake, maitake, and blue and canary oyster, in truck-sized refrigerated coolers.

Most of their meat production is still in progress, but they’ll be offering pasture raised chickens in the near future. Beef production will start in October, and customers can pre-order turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Ann and Josh emphasize the layout of the land so all animals work together to create a happy and healthy environment. Their heritage breed Berkshire and Tamworth pigs are “forest pigs,” which control the underbrush on the farm’s edge. In August, pork ordered through their website will be available for on-farm pickup.

When the pigs move to a different section, they wag their tails excitedly ready to take on the next spot. Ann and Josh will use wood from the cleaned-out sections and watch for new wild plants and ferns.

Young chicks and turkeys start their lives in the two barns that are on Ramble Creek’s distinct logo. After growing for several weeks, they continue on pasture. They follow the cattle in movable coops, to eat the plants the cattle haven’t grazed and scratched the soil. When the grass regrows, it is beautiful, rich, nutritious and green.

Ramble Creek Farm is as impressive as the products they offer at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. Visiting their farm showed the dedication Ann and Josh have put towards their land and their animals. Ramble Creek Farm participates at the Market on both Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays at High Rock Park. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and check us out on the FreshFoodNY app. E-mail friends@saratogafarmers.org for volunteer opportunities.

Planning a Summer Supper on the Grill

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

 

A great perk of summer is eating outdoors. My husband and I do this as often as we can manage. About 7 p.m., he gathers up wood and gets a fire going in our old charcoal goal. As the wood burns down to coals, I prep. Then, we cook and eat slowly, sipping wine and beer, watching the sunset and sky darken to dusk.

What goes on the grill? Where does it come from?

Most of what we eat comes from our farm or the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. What goes on the grill depends on what’s in season at the market.

The centerpiece of most of our meals is a meat, farm-raised and brought to an ambient temperature, maybe brushed with a bit of Dancing Ewe Farm’s olive oil, maybe sprinkled with black pepper or garlic, maybe topped with finely chopped rosemary or sage.

The “maybes” are truly that. Options. The meats our farmers bring to market come from animals that feast on the flavorful bounty of outdoor pastures, and rarely require much to enhance their flavor. We rotate between chicken, goat, pork, fish, lamb, and beef, and often grill double portions so as to have leftovers for the next day’s breakfasts and lunches – or an indoor stir-fry or stew for dinner if it happens to rain.

While meat is the main course, the real stars are the sides: vegetables in all shapes, textures, and tastes.

I plan a supper’s vegetables around three basic cooking styles: roasted, sautéed, and right on the grill. Roasted is usually a starch – such as hakurei turnips, trimmed, wrapped in foil and cooked until fork-soft and slightly caramelized. For sautéing, try a bunch of seasonal greens such as tatsoi, tossed into a frying pan or wok with olive oil, lemon juice, and maybe chopped onion, green garlic, or chive. Stir fry the greens for 2-4 minutes until they have wilted. Right on the grill is anything that likes a slight singe. For instance, asparagus, cooked to a bright green, about two minutes.

Summer supper possibilities on the grill are endless. Try your own combinations and stop by the market to share your results.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park. Find us on Facebook Twitter, and Instagram, and check us out on the FreshFoodNY app. E-mail friends@saratogafarmers.org for volunteer opportunities