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Shop Local, Eat Fresh

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Home for the Holidays Calls for Local Decorations

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Scotch Ridge Berry and Tree Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

By Emily Meagher

The cold, dark month of December calls for bright, warm decorations to make all that time spent indoors cozier and more enjoyable. At the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, local farmers and artists bring Christmas greenery and other seasonal decorations that you can cherish through the winter season.

If you celebrate Christmas, Scotch Ridge Berry and Tree Farm should be your first stop at the market. Charles Holub sets up outside the Wilton Mall and has tabletop trees, wreaths, kissing balls, and door swags available every Saturday through December 18. Their Norwegian and blue spruces, noble fir, and white pine varieties are naturally grown at their farm in Duanesburg.

Lovin’ Mama Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

For a less traditional wreath, Lovin’ Mama Farm offers ones made from dried flowers they grow on their land. “We plant rows of flowers interspersed between our veggies for diversity and pollinator habitat and bring fresh bouquets to summer markets and our handmade dried wreaths during the holidays,” says owner Corinne Hansch.

Feathered Antler, photo by Pattie Garrett

To brighten up any room, stop by Feathered Antler’s stand. Gretchen’s colorfully painted items include wooden ornaments to go in your tree, cards and stockings you can display on your mantle, and decorative throw pillows for on your sofa. Or grab a painted plant pot and add a poinsettia plant from J. Adkins Cultivation.

Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, photo by Pattie Garrett

Lastly, add some smaller items to spruce up your home during the holiday season. Ballston Lake Apiaries makes candles from their beeswax in shapes like bears and Faberge eggs. Gather around their warm light on a dark night. Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff’s holiday soaps, including snowflakes, gingerbread men, and many more options, will add some holiday cheer to your bathroom.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market offers three more opportunities to shop local before Christmas: on Saturday, December 11th and 18th, markets will run as usual. On Wednesday, December 22nd, a special market will run from 1:30 pm until 5:30 pm for a last-minute grocery and gift shop.

This week’s recipe: Peak-of-the-Season Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Fall Favorites at the Farmers’ Market

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By Madison Jackson and Emily Meagher

Before the farmers’ market moves back indoors, we spend one last month with our tents up and our coats on to share fresh, local products with our community. Summer produce makes way for the fall harvest; a time for comforting food and drinks and festive seasonal products. Here are ten fall favorites you can find at our markets in October.

1. Apple cider and cider donuts
Saratoga Apple and Slyboro Cider House both operate their own orchards. Try their fresh apples, pressed apple cider, hard cider, and cider donuts. A real Upstate NY treat!

Saratoga Peanut Butter Company, photo by Madison Jackson

2. Pumpkin Pandemonium Peanut Butter
The name says it all. This Saratoga Peanut Butter Company creation is chock-full of rich pumpkin and peanut flavors. A guilt-free treat at only 2 grams of sugar per serving, it’s great on sandwiches, apples, ice cream, and more.

3. Hand-painted hats
Artist Gretchen Tisch, owner of Feathered Antler, gives hats a fall makeover. Pick up a leaf-accented fedora or hand-knit beanie at the market.

4. Hot chocolate cheesecake
Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes’ flavors vary with the season. Our current favorite is hot chocolate cheesecake. It’s perfect for when you have company, but perfectly acceptable to eat all by yourself! Also available are apple and pumpkin cheesecakes and cheesecake filled apples dipped in chocolate.

5. Apple cider fromage frais
Nettle Meadow does cheesemaking with a creative touch, and it shows with their seasonal favorites. Back at the market are the soft apple cider fromage frais, pumpkin spice and maple chevre, and the brie-like Early Snow.

6. Local wool
Elihu Farm’s sheep produce award-winning wool, sold as washed and unwashed fleeces at the market. Pick up a fleece to do some cozy fall crafting!

Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, photo by Emily Meagher

7. Spooky soaps
At Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, no shape of soap is too crazy. Their fall mineral soap collection includes ghosts, pumpkins, black cats, acorns, leaves, and owls.

8. Ornamental corn
Fresh summer corn is making way for ornamental fall corn. Pick up some calico or broom corn from local farms for fresh seasonal home decor.

9. Hand-ground cinnamon
Saratoga Spicery’s fresh-ground spices and spice mixes include hand-ground cinnamon. Give your baked goods an extra fresh flavor!

10. Pumpkins!
Farmers’ markets in October wouldn’t be complete without fresh gourds and winter squash. Local farms have a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes in stock – you can even find some hand-painted mini pumpkins.

Photo by Madison Jackson

This week: not a recipe, but a craft… how to make felt balls with wool roving!

Saratoga Farmers’ Market Gift Guide

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By Mary Pratt

When searching for holiday gifts, come to Saratoga Farmers’ Market for unique products.

At the Wilton Mall entrance, shop evergreens for your home or a gift, from Scotch Ridge Trees and Berries. Charles Holub noted, “We have farm fresh wreaths, kissing balls, door swags, and table top trees.”

He will take special orders for decoration, and you can fetch a fresh Christmas tree at his farm in Duanesburg. The balsam, blue spruce, and concolor fir trees are naturally grown.

Something’s Brewing, photo courtesy of Beth Trattel

Beth Trattel has been a foodie for a few decades. She worked at restaurants since she was 19, and ran “Something’s Brewing” coffee shop in Greenwich.

Now she does her own roasting. “Beans are extremely fresh, sustainably sourced; roasted and flavored in small batches. She’s offering ‘Gift Bags’ with toffee and two sampler bags of coffee. “The chocolate-nut toffee recipe is tweaked by adding maple syrup from Slate Valley Farms”.

Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, photo by Pattie Garrett

Mary Jane Pelzer, Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, is a third-generation soap maker. She’s created natural, homemade, handmade soap in small batches for 40 years.

Her basic body bars come in a variety of “flavors” with natural essential oils for “good clean fun.” For holidays her soaps include winter-woods trees, snowmen soaps-on-a-rope. Children (and adults) will enjoy cupcake soaps and ducklings floating on soap.

Feathered Antler, photo by Pattie Garrett

Gretchen Tisch’s life-time creativity is inspired by exploring the outdoors. Her handmade Feathered Antler products include stationery, jewelry, hand-knit scarves and hats, and clothing decorated with hand-painted antlers, moose, and trees.

Her unique pet portraits are created from owners’ photographs. Gretchen said, “I can still take orders in time for Christmas”. She’s also offering hand-painted mugs and wooden Christmas tree ornaments.

Zoe Burghard Ceramics, photo by Pattie Garrett

Zoe Burghard learned to be a potter at Earthworks in New York City. Later, like many other market vendors she concluded, “I’ve learned by doing.” From the City, she and her family moved to Saratoga because they liked the different pace.

Today her functional and Raku pottery is all wheel thrown and all one of a kind. The functional includes vases, jewelry holders, cups, spoon rests, salt and pepper shakers and clever bowls. Raku pottery originated in Japan, and Zoe’s is beautifully decorative.

Terri Smith from the Weaving Tree Studio said they offer a variety of gifts, such as snowmen socks stuffed with rice, glittery glass, hand-painted bottles with battery operated lights. She said her most popular gifts are egg crates, decorated with amusing phrases.

Big Breath Wellness makes jewelry, skin care, natural aroma therapy, and other gifts. Tierney Carey said their jewelry is “wearable art” with many stones from Columbia. They offer “Mommy, Daddy, and Me” jewelry sets. For “making holiday magic” they have handmade dream catchers, crowns and wands.

Tierney and partner, Yadira Roman, offer gift baskets with three themes: empress relaxation, blue goddess self-love, and sleepy witch self-care. This Saturday they’re featuring special baskets for $20.