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Shop Local, Eat Fresh

raspberries

Growing memories and traditions through the love of food

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Madison Jackson with her Grandma Jo, circa 2006

By Madison Jackson, market intern

Each year I find myself looking forward to the late summer when everything seems to slow down a bit as we soak up the last long, hot days that mark the bittersweet end of another summer. Before we trade our swimsuits for back to school and office outfits and switch our summer salads for pumpkin recipes, we enjoy one last late summer harvest.

Growing up, the late summer always brought with it one of my favorite treats: my Grandmother’s fresh chocolate chip zucchini bread. My Grandma Jo’s beloved garden sat in the field behind her and my grandfather’s home in Upstate New York, surrounded by a small fence to keep out the deer and rabbits that frequented the property. She tended to her garden often, loading her many tools onto a four-wheeler and setting out to work in the hot sun to ensure her fruits, vegetables, and herbs were properly taken care of.

In early August, her small garden overflowed with an abundance of zucchini, raspberries, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The meals of the following weeks were filled with produce from the garden in every way imaginable. Zucchini bread and muffins for breakfast, cucumber and tomato salads for lunch, and cakes with sweet raspberry sauce for dessert.

Madison Jackson at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

This flood of fresh fruits and vegetables brought some of my favorite meals of the summer, as well as some of the most cherished memories of my childhood. Long afternoons surrounded by my siblings and cousins, following directions to make delicious raspberry jam we liked to call “Grandchildren Jam” and enjoying her homemade desserts out on the deck surrounded by family as we watched the sunset. But what I looked forward to most was the late summer surplus of zucchini that meant homemade zucchini bread, with a special batch she would set aside for me made with chocolate chips.

As we enter the last few weeks of summer, as always, I look forward to sharing this recipe with my family and taking in the dog days of August.

Cooking provides such a special way to connect with family and friends and emphasizes the importance of nourishing ourselves with fresh, healthy foods. Come browse the market this month to stock up on seasonal summer produce grown by your favorite local farmers. It is food that you can feel good about eating and sharing.

 

This week’s recipe: Grandma Jo’s Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

A farmers’ market guide to berries

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By Julia Howard

Sweet, sour, tart, juicy — berries are a highlight of the summer season. At the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, local farms bring the very best. The variety includes gooseberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and saskatoon berries.

These locally sourced berries signify the diversity that grows in our region from late spring to early fall. Berries are known for their health benefits and antioxidants, but it’s their taste that makes them a coveted summertime treat.

Gooseberries are produced by a thorny shrub and are easy to grow, according to Laurie Kokinda, owner of Kokinda Farm. “Pick off the stems, rinse, and you can freeze them whole or cook them down first,” explains Kokinda. Gooseberries have a strawberry-grape flavor and are popular in jams, pies, and as a dessert topping.

Gooseberries, AdobeStock

Strawberries can be found in bountiful harvests in the early summer with additional everbearing varieties that produce berries into late September. Locally grown strawberries are often smaller than those found in stores, however, they have much more flavor.

Strawberries, photo by Pattie Garrett

Blueberries are just beginning to ripen and at Butternut Ridge Farm, Debbie Stevens reports that their harvest will begin in 1-2 weeks. Sweet, juicy, and loaded with antioxidants, blueberries are ideal for eating fresh, or in sauces and baked goods.

Raspberries are cold-hardy and long-lived. They produce sweet, flavorful fruit suitable for fresh eating, sauces, and preserves. “Our raspberry and blackberry bushes have been on our farm for generations,” says Andy Burger of Burger’s Market Garden. “We hand-pick these all-natural, small-batch crops fresh for every market, and our purple raspberries are really wonderful.”

Raspberries, photo by Pattie Garrett

Blackberries are renowned for their nutritional value as they are packed with fiber and vitamins C and K. The delicate fruit is popular in desserts, jams, seedless jelly, and sometimes wine. “Get them while you can because their growing season can be short-lived depending on the weather,” advises Andy Burger. “Freezing these berries is as easy as spreading them on a baking sheet to freeze overnight, and throwing them in a zip-lock freezer bag.”

Blackberries and blueberries, photo by Pattie Garrett

Saskatoon berries are exclusively available at Scotch Ridge Berries & Trees. Saskatoons are similar to blueberries in their composition and nutrition, though they are more closely related to the apple family. Many describe their taste as having a sweet, nutty almond flavor. They typically ripen in late June or early July depending on the seasonal climate.

Saskatoon berry, AdobeStock

This week’s recipe: Blueberry Fool