Saratoga Farmers' Market

Recipes

Creating a menu at the market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Longlesson Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Those who frequent the Saratoga Farmers’ Market know it’s a special space. For four hours, shoppers, farmers, other vendors, and volunteers come together to talk food, shop and sell, and bop to the music of the week. The energy is electric, and the food is beautiful. We go home a bit tired but with our taste buds alive, eager to cook and eat.

And sometimes you arrive and discover your favorite vendor has sold out of eggs. Beef stew meat or pork chops are unavailable on that particular day. Vendors have onions but not scallions. Fresh greens, particularly in the winter months, are scarce.

Pleasant Valley Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

In some ways, this unpredictability makes the market what it is. When farmers and other vendors bring to market foods that they themselves grow, raise or make, availability will vary from week-to-week, and certainly by season. The market cannot offer everything, but it can assure customers that our food has not traveled 1,500 miles to reach its destination – which is an average computed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for produce offered at grocery stores. Our foods are locally grown, raised, or made, and it is fresh.

How does one learn to navigate the unpredictability to take advantage of foods that are local and fresh?

Herb and spice blends from Muddy Trail Jerky Co, photo by Pattie Garrett

One answer is to throw away the shopping list. Come to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market instead with a blank sheet. Browse what’s available, talk with farmers – the ultimate foodies—and make your meal plans for the week. Set a goal perhaps of trying a new item every week, knowing that full meals can be built with what we offer.

Sound ambitious? We’ll help. Starting tomorrow, we will be in a more open space in the Wilton Mall, moving from the walkway between the Department of Motor Vehicles and Bath & Body Works to the food court. Find us and look then for a white board near the market information table. On it, will be a recipe based on ingredients one of our vendors or volunteers found a few minutes before the market’s opening. Take a look, snap a photo with your cell phone, and shop. Give the recipe a try and share your results.

This week’s recipe: Sweet Potato Fries with Yogurt Honey Dip

PB Banana Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats

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Recipe shared by Jamie Kelley, owner, and creator of Mugzy’s Barkery

 

Ingredients

*Ingredients available at the market

  • 32 oz. organic plain Greek yogurt *
  • 3 Tbsp organic peanut butter *  (make sure it contains only peanuts and no xylitol)
  • 1 organic banana
  • 1 Tbsp local raw honey *

 

Instructions

  1. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor
  2. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze for 2 hours or until solid. 

Your pup will enjoy a nice cold and nutritious treat on a hot summer day! 

Julia Child’s Daube de Boeuf or Stew of Beef

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Adapted from Julia Child’s recipe for Daube de Boeuf featured on www.juliasrecipes.com

Ingredients:

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • Cinnamon: one 3-inch stick
  • Orange zest: 2 stripes (each stripe should be 1.5-inch wide and 2.5 inch long)
  • Spring fresh thyme*: 2
  • Bay leaf: 2 (dried)
  • Black peppercorns: 1 teaspoon
  • Sprigs fresh parsley*: 4
  • Whole cloves: 3
  • Stalk celery: 2 (medium sized, cut into half inch slices crosswise and reserve the top leaves)
  • Onions*: 3 (thinly sliced)
  • Garlic*: 3 cloves (crushed and chopped)
  • Carrots*: 3 medium-sized (peel them and cut them into half inch slices crosswise)
  • Beef*: 3 lbs (cut into one-and-half-inch cubes)
  • Lean bacon slices*: 8 ounces (chopped into one-inch lengths)
  • Red wine*: 1 bottle full-bodied
  • Cognac:  1/4 cup
  • Extra virgin olive oil: 1/4 cup
  • All-purpose flour: 1/3 cup
  • Beef stock: 3/4 cup
  • Nicoise olives: 3/4 cup
  • Tomato paste: 2 tablespoons
  • Salt: 1 teaspoon
  • Chopped fresh parsley*: 1/4 cup
  • Basmati rice: 1 1/2 cup

Directions:

Put the orange zest, cinnamon stick, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, celery leaves and parsley onto a layer of cheesecloth and tie it up in order to make a bouquet garni. Put it aside.

Get a big, non-reactive dish and put celery, garlic, beef, onions, carrots, bouquet garni, and bacon into it, all at once. Pour the cognac and wine over the mixture. Put the mixture in refrigerator for marinating for about 24 hours.

Preheat your oven accurately to 325 F. Get the beef out of vegetables, and put it on a kitchen towel for draining. Get a skillet and put oil into it. Heat the oil on medium heat. Put the beef into the pan along with some flour. Cook it until it turns brown. Remove the beef and deglaze the skillet with tomato paste and beef stock. Scrap all the browned bits of beef from the pan’s bottom.

Mix the pan sauce, salt, olives, beef, and vegetables-wine mixture together in an ovenproof dish. Cover it. Next, you need to braise the beef for 2 to 3 hours, until it is tender. If you want your stew to be thicker, check after 2 hours of cooking and remove the lid for the rest of the time.

Prepare the rice according to the direction given on package. Garnish your stew with cooked rice and parsley.

Serve and enjoy!

Moussaka

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Adapted from recipe by Kenton and Jane Kotsiris of www.lemonandolives.com

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 4-6

 

Ingredients

*Ingredients available at the farmers’ market

  • 1 medium eggplants*, peeled and cut lengthwise into ½ inch thick slices
  • 1 lb ground beef*
  • ½ onion*, chopped
  • 1½ tsp tomato paste
  • ½ cup red wine*
  • 1 cup feta*
  • ¼ cup bread* crumbs
  • 2 cloves crushed garlic* (to preference)
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Cinnamon
  • -Bechamel Sauce-
  • 2 cups milk*
  • 2 tbsp butter*
  • ½ cup flour

Instructions

  1. Take sliced eggplant and place them in a bow with water and salt to soak for 15min.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF and take eggplant slices and place them on a baking tray. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven for 10-12min, or until tender. Remove and set aside.
  3. In a large skillet, add olive oil and chopped onions and cook for 5min, or until tender.
  4. Add beef and brown. Once brown, add: wine, tomato paste, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and garlic.
  5. Simmer and reduce all liquid.Once reduced, add bread crumbs and feta cheese. Remove from heat.
  6. Sprinkle bottom of an oiled baking dish with breadcrumbs.
  7. Line bottom of a dish with ½ of eggplant, cut to make even and make sure entire bottom is covered.
  8. Add meat mixture on top and spread evenly. Then add remaining eggplant slices to cover the top.

Bechamel Sauce:

Heat milk in a pan. Then add butter and melt. Once, hot – slowly stir in flour. Stir continually over low-med heat until thick. Once thick, remove from heat and pour over eggplant/meat mixture. Spread bechamel evenly over top

  1. Sprinkle with cinnamon and feta
  2. Bake for 30min at 350ºF, until golden brown

Notes

Moussaka is an interesting dish. It can be made many different ways. Some people substitute eggplant for potatoes or zucchini. The specific blend of herbs is even debated and or changed. If anything, use this as a base and experiment. You’ll get it different ways depending on where you have it in Greece. So make it your own!

Delicate Squash with Maple Syrup and Jam

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Adapted from recipe by Dinner at the Zoo, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table

Serves: 4

 

INGREDIENTS

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • 2-3 pounds delicata squash* (about 2 average sized squash)
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus more for coating the pan*
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup*
  • 2 Tablespoons raspberry jam*

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut the halves into ¾ inch slices.
  2. Line a sheet pan with foil and coat with olive oil.
  3. In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, maple syrup, and jam.
  4. Pour the olive oil mixture over the squash and toss to coat.
  5. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the squash is tender and starting to brown. Serve immediately.

Spaghetti with Sausage, Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

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Adapted from recipe by Lindsay Funston on Delish.com, shared by Courtney Kramer

Makes 4 servings

 

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available

  • 12 oz. spaghetti
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil*
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped*
  • ¾  lbs. cooked Italian sausage links, sliced*
  • 3 cups of baby spinach*
  • ½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • ¾ cup of chicken broth
  • ¾ cup of heavy cream*
  • Kosher salt for seasoning
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish*

 

Directions:

  1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Cook garlic until fragrant, 1 minute. Add sausage, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes and cook until sausage is browned and spinach is cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Let thicken until sauce is creamy, then add spaghetti to skillet and toss until fully coated. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Garnish with Parmesan and serve.