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

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

Saratoga Farmers' Market

Classic Meatloaf

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Recipe by Amanda Finks

Servings: 10 slices

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 55 min

Ingredients

*Ingredients available at the farmers’ market

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef*
  • 1 cup dried bread crumbs (try making your bread crumb from local bread*)
  • 1/2 cup diced yellow onion*
  • 1/2 cup milk*
  • 1 large egg*, beaten
  • 2 tbsp. ketchup
  • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley leaves
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

For the Topping:

  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° F.
  • In a large bowl, add the beef, bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, 2 tablespoons ketchup, worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Use your hands to mush and mix these ingredients until well combined.
  • Add the meat mixture to a loaf pan. Pat the meat down into an even layer.
  • In a small bowl, add ¼ cup ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar. Stir to combine. Pour the sauce on top of the meatloaf and spread it into an even layer.
  • Bake uncovered for 55 minutes.
  • Let the meatloaf rest for 8-10 minutes before serving (or it may fall apart).

 

Eating with the seasons – even in February

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By Himanee Gupta

 

One belief about eating local is that we cannot do it in February. The ground is frozen. Nothing is growing. It is cold. 

We grit our teeth as we head for the grocery store, knowing that what we’ll find will have traveled several hundred miles and will not be cheap.

Pretty bleak? 

It need not be.

While it is true that farmers cannot grow much in frozen soil, they still can offer foods grown, raised, or made at their farms. That is what the Saratoga Farmers Market brings you every Saturday. Even though the offerings and number of vendors are smaller at this time of year, there’s good stuff available for delicious meals throughout the week.

Consider: 

  • Soups made with butternut squash, carrots, turnips, and potatoes. Gomez Veggie Ville and Lovin’ Mama Farms have these classic winter vegetables. Cook them with bone broths from King’s Creek Farm or simply water. For a creamy touch, give the soup a light puree with a blender, and then stir in some A2 milk from the Argyle Cheese Farmer. Put some microgreens from the Perfect Plant Farm on top.
A2 milk from Argyle Cheese Farmer, photo by Madison Jackson
  • Meats. Chicken, duck, goat, pork, beef, and veal are currently available. Think about roasts, stews, meatloaf, chili, casseroles, and burgers – just to get started. Farm-raised meat might seem expensive by the pound. However, many cuts are available in smaller packages, such as stew meats and chops. And our meat producers are good cooks who know how to prepare a larger cut, such as a roast or a whole duck or chicken, and also how to create marvelous second, third, or even fourth meals with leftovers. They’re happy to share their tips. Stop by the tables of Hebron Valley, Hepatica, Jireh, King’s Creek, Longlesson, and Squash Villa farms, and ask.
  • Homemade sides and treats. In addition to sweet and savory baked goods are stuffed dates, pickled beets and cabbages, jams, cheeses, granola mixes, and hummus. Combining farm-made foods with vegetables and meats can add a healthy, flavorful balance to winter meals. Look for such items at Kokinda Farms, Nightwork Bread, Puckers Gourmet Pickles, Parchment, Sweet Prophecy, and The Cookie Lab, among others.
Kokinda Farm, photo by Toni Nastasi

And the days are getting longer, so popular items such as eggs, spinach, kale, and salad greens are becoming more available.
        One trick for making the most of a farmers market visit both now and year-round: Treat your shopping list as a guide, not a rule. Take in all of what the market offers. Let yourself make changes and substitutions because you can. That’s what makes eating local possible and exciting, even in February.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Wilton Mall Food Court. Find us online at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.

Soup: The Trick to Beating the Summer Heat

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By Stephanie Duscher

 

With the recent heat we have patiently been enduring, the last thing most people want to eat is hot food like soup. However, aside from being able to cook with all the delicious in-season fruits and veggies this season has to offer, enjoying a hot, spicy soup, like Mexican street corn soup, offers many practical health benefits. 

According to research, eating hot foods like soup in warm weather can benefit your body by cooling you even more than cold foods. Interesting, right? Eating hot food increases your body’s internal temperature, which causes you to sweat more. When your sweat naturally evaporates, your body becomes cooler than before. This effect is even more noticeable when eating a spicy soup, as spicy foods like peppers can cause you to sweat, making your body cooler. 

For this reason, hot soups like Mexican street corn soup are perfect for the heat. Not only is it super tasty, but you can enhance its flavor by using fresh, locally grown ingredients like peppers, cilantro, garlic, and onions from the farmers’ market. 

For this soup, the real spotlight is on fresh corn, and Gomez Veggie Ville has a plentiful supply this season. Their farming practices ensure that their corn is sweet and grown without using GMOs or harmful chemicals. So, whether you make street corn soup or use it in other seasonal dishes like grilled corn on the cob or a fresh summer salad, you’ll know that your food is grown with care and comes from a good place. 

Is corn not your thing? Plenty of other delicious in-season fruits and veggies are perfect for soup-making. Grab some soup supplies at the farmers’ market on Wednesdays or Saturdays. The market has plenty of watermelons, eggplants, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and many more summertime favorites. 

Don’t limit yourself to Mexican street corn soup either! The possibilities for soup-making are endless. Summer vegetable soup, zucchini soup, and even a creamy broccoli soup can be refreshing in the summer heat. Go ahead and raise your body temperature. Ultimately, it will cool you off!

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. at High Rock Park in downtown Saratoga Springs. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Farmers’ market programs help keep fresh food affordable

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By Himanee Gupta

 

Summer is the season of abundance for fresh fruits and vegetables. However, for some, rising food prices might make this bounty harder to afford.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market seeks to bridge that gap through several initiatives.

This summer, the market is participating in a partnership between the Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan and Greenwich-based Comfort Food Community that makes $5 vouchers available to CDPHP members for shopping at the farmers’ market. Through the program, participants in CDPHP Medicaid plans can receive up to $100 in vouchers throughout the outdoor market season. The vouchers are redeemable for food items from participating vendors at the farmers’ market. Comfort Food Community representatives distribute vouchers at the market every other Saturday.

Owl Wood Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

This program supplements the market’s year-round EBT token redemption program. Through this program, customers who own an EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card can exchange their SNAP benefits for farmers’ market tokens to purchase fresh foods, including fruit and vegetables, bread and baked goods, meat, fish, and poultry, dairy products, honey and maple products, and value-added foods like soup mixes, sauces, and jams and jellies. Herb plants and plants that produce food are also approved purchases with EBT coins. The market additionally offers SNAP incentive programs, such as FreshConnect, that provide extra coupons or tokens to spend, meaning customers receive more value than they spend. With FreshConnect, for every $5 a customer spends with their EBT benefits, they receive a $2 FreshConnect coupon to spend at the farmers’ market.

The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) also offers coupons in the summer months. Through this New York State program, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) participants and seniors can receive $5 coupons to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables at the farmers’ market. Our local WIC office distributes WIC coupons. Saratoga County Office for the Aging distributes senior coupons. Individuals aged 60+ with a limited income may pick up a booklet containing five $5 coupons (limit one per person).

Gomez Veggie Ville, photo by Pattie Garrett

Vendors cannot give change for items purchased with such coupons. However, many will work with you to ensure you receive that the goods you receive are of at least an equal value to the coupons used in making the purchase. 

To use FMNP coupons at the market, look for the blue poster at participating vendors’ stalls or simply stop by the market information table for a complete list of farms accepting FMNP coupons. The FMNP season runs from June through October.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. at High Rock Park. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Shakshuka

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Recipe by Suzy Karadsheh, The Mediterranean Dish

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 30 min

Makes 6 servings

 

Shakshuka is made with gently poached eggs in a simmering mixture of tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and garlic.

Ingredients

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion*, chopped
  • 2 green peppers*, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves*, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 medium tomatoes*, chopped (about 6 cups chopped tomatoes)
  • ½ cup tomato sauce
  • 6 large eggs*
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley*
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh mint*

Instructions

  1. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. Add the onions, green peppers, garlic, spices, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook a bit longer to allow the mixture to reduce and thicken. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
  3. Using a wooden spoon, make 6 indentations, or “wells,” in the tomato mixture (make sure the indentations are spaced out). Gently crack an egg into each indention.
  4. Reduce the heat, cover the skillet, and cook on low until the egg whites are set.
  5. Uncover and add the fresh parsley and mint. You can add more black pepper or crushed red pepper if you like. Serve with crusty bread of your choice.

Notes

  • Leftovers will keep for 1 to 2 days if stored properly in the fridge in tight-lid glass containers. Warm over medium heat, adding a little more liquid to the shakshuka sauce if needed.
  • If you want to add meat, cook about ½ ground beef or ground lamb in some extra virgin olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper. Once fully cooked, remove the meat from the skillet, wipe the skillet well and follow steps #1 and #2 to make the shakshuka sauce, only this time, add the cooked ground meat to the skillet to simmer with the tomatoes for 15 minutes or so before adding the eggs.

 

Eggs at Saratoga Farmers’ Market

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By Mary Pratt

 

Five vendors offer chicken eggs at Saratoga Farmers’ Market. All their hen shelters are on pasture in spring, summer, and fall. Most hens can choose to go outside their shelters in winter. 

Squash Villa Farm, from the Town of Easton, Washington County, raises vegetables, goat meat, and eggs. They’re the only vendor who has chicken and duck eggs and attends Wednesday and Saturday Markets. Himanee Gupta-Carlson said, “Jim and I started raising poultry for eggs in 2012.”

Photo by Pattie Garrett (eggs)

“Today, we raise heritage breed hens, such as Cuckoo Maran, Cuckoo Araucana, and Speckled Sussex.” They produce a variety of eggshell colors – brown, green, blue, and white. Their duck eggs are from Muscovy.

Laurie Kokinda from Kokinda Farm in Mechanicville offers vegetables, fruit, and jam, and began raising hens for eggs in 2012. They also raise heritage chickens, including Black Asterlop, Polish, and Olive Eggers, which produce several colored egg shells. 

Laurie explained that during pasture season, her hens can go all over their yard when she’s at home. They are fenced into a portion of her yard when she’s away. In winter, they can go outside under a covered area.

Lovin’ Mama Farm (eggs), photo provided

Mary and Bob Pratt’s Elihu Farm, also in the Town of Easton, offers lamb, wool, and eggs. They started raising hens for their own use; then, around 2000 began raising more and more hens for eggs to sell.

Their hens are hybrids produced by Moyer’s Chicks in Pennsylvania, which lay brown eggs. Their hen shelters and feeders are on pastures and frequently moved. In winter, their hens can still go outside. Chile powder and alfalfa powder are added to their feed to keep the yolk color orange.

Jireh Organic Farms and Livestock, newest to our market, is a disabled veteran owned organic farm out of Saratoga County. They use non-GMO feed for their cage free, hand raised hens. Later this summer they will also have grass fed beef available.

Lovin’ Mama Farm, according to Corinne Hansch, raises organic vegetables and flowers and also heritage breed hens for organic eggs. Their hens include Whiting True Blue and Whiting True Green, whose feathers have been used for fly fishing. Also, Cucu Marana, for dark brown eggs.

Their hens receive non-GMO feed and rotationally graze in summer.  From November to March, they live in vegetable tunnels with deep straw where they receive leftover vegetables and micro-greens for dark orange yolks.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at High Rock Park. And on Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. also at High Rock Park. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.