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strawberries

Kitchen Gardens

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By Andrea Grom

 

Have you been thinking about adding more fresh vegetables, herbs, and fruit to your diet? Going to the farmers’ market and purchasing produce from local vendors is a great start. Better yet, try creating a kitchen garden. 

 

Kitchen gardens are special in that they’re totally geared toward your preferences. The scale and variety of plants is up to you. For example, if you like cooking with fresh herbs, consider planting a variety in a nearby patch of earth or in pots on your patio. If you love salads, plant lettuces, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, and cucumbers. 

Old Tavern Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett (Kitchen Gardens)

 

When creating a kitchen garden, consider how much time you can devote to it, your space, and who can help. Most food plants prefer full sun, a well-drained, fertile soil, and enough water to get them established and keep growing. Locating the garden close to your kitchen will make it easy to grab things for meals. Having a small garden is ideal for beginners and busy people. For those with kids or grandkids, encourage them to help and try a few things that they might like.

Gomez Veggie Ville, by Pattie Garrett (Kitchen Gardens)

Many Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendors are selling plants that are perfect for a kitchen garden. Here are their ideas: 

 

Green Jeans Market Farm: Jason and Andrea enjoy fresh herbs, so they always plant a lot in their kitchen garden. They especially love rosemary, basil, dill, thyme, cilantro, and parsley. 

 

Lovin’ Mama Farm: Lucas likes oregano because it’s easy to grow, versatile and it overwinters. Also special are violas (an edible flower) and their salad bowls with a variety of lettuces in a large pot.

 

Gomez Veggie Ville: The Gomez family suggests large tomato plants and mixed herb pots for an instant garden.

 

Balet Flowers: The crew recommends planting basil for an abundant supply, herbs like mint for teas and salads, sweet peppers, and tomatoes. 

 

Burger’s Market Garden: Andy recommends planting lettuce, tomatoes, greens, cucumbers, and herbs. Their hanging baskets of tomatoes, green beans, and strawberries are perfect for smaller spaces. 

 

Old Tavern Farm: Nicole suggests their herb pot packages. They have three levels with a collection of herbs for every chef. 

 

Scotch Ridge Farm: Ryan recommends their everbearing strawberry baskets, which will produce an abundance of delicious strawberries over the entire summer. 

 

Happy gardening!

Summer Berry Parfait

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Photo by Emily Meagher

Summer Berry Parfait
Recipe shared by TogaNola
Serves: 1

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● 6 oz vanilla Greek yogurt*
● 3/4 cup blueberries*
● 3/4 cup strawberries*, sliced
● 1/2 banana, sliced
● 1 Tbsp wheat germ
● 1/3 cup TogaNola Granola Clusters*

Instructions
Layer 1/4 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/3 container yogurt, 1/3 tablespoon wheat germ, 1/3 of the sliced banana, and about 2 tablespoons of granola in a large bowl. Continue to build the parfait, repeating the layers until all of the ingredients are used completely. Enjoy!

Popsicles for All

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Photo by Pattie Garrett

Adapted from recipes by Cooking Light and The View from the Great Island, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table
Serves: 6

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

Cucumber Lemon Pop:
● 2½ cup spring water
● 1 lemon, washed and thinly sliced, seeds removed
● 1 slender Asian cucumber*, thinly sliced

Yogurt Berry Pop:
● 1 cup plain Greek Yogurt*
● ½ cup lemonade*
● ½ cup strawberries*, chopped

Wine Pop (for grownups):
● 16 ounces strawberries*
● ½ cup sugar
● ½ cup water
● 1 cup wine* (rose or wine)

Instructions
1. Cucumber Lemon Pop: Insert lemon and cucumber slices into pop molds. Fill with water and let sit for one hour on counter. Freeze until solid.
2. Yogurt Berry Pop: Mix ingredients together. Pour into molds and freeze.
3. Wine Pops: Puree strawberries, sugar, water and wine. Once mixture is smooth, pour into pop mold. Freeze for 5-6 hours or overnight.

Kentucky Kiss Cocktail

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Recipe by Colleen Graham, The Spruce Eats
Prep time: 3 mins
Yield: 1 cocktail

Kentucky Kiss Cocktail, photo by Madison Jackson

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● 2 large fresh strawberries*, sliced
● 1/2 ounce lemon juice
● 1/2 ounce maple syrup*
● 2 ounces bourbon whiskey*
● 1 splash club soda
● A fresh strawberry*, for garnish

Instructions
1. Gather the ingredients. In an old-fashioned glass, add the strawberries, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Muddle well, until the berries are mashed.
2. Add the bourbon and fill the glass with ice. Stir well.
3. Add a splash of club soda.
4. Garnish with a strawberry. Serve and enjoy.

Week 1: Strawberries

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Photo by Pattie Garrett

Welcome to our first week of POP Club! This week, our theme is strawberries. We’re reaching the end of this delicious berry’s season at the market, but some of our vendors have a kind that grows way longer – until the end of summer!

Strawberries are a tasty early summer treat at the farmers’ market. They are the first of many berries to be grown around us, like blueberries, blackberries, and even more unusual kinds like gooseberries and Saskatoon berries, which you’ll all see at the market over the course of the summer.

Strawberries are a great source of vitamin C, which does many important things in your body, like help you heal from a wound. It also has plenty of fiber, which helps you feel full (and to go to the bathroom!).

 

Activity

Although strawberries are delicious to eat, today we are going to use strawberries in a science experiment! We’re going to get DNA out of a strawberry.

What is DNA? Our bodies are all made up of many, many tiny cells and each cell has its own job. Some cells make up our muscles, some make up our bones—and all together they make up our bodies! But how does each cell know what to do? That’s where DNA comes in. It tells the cells what to do. DNA is like the boss of the company. It gives cells instructions.

Plants, like strawberries, have cells and DNA too. DNA looks a little funny – like a swirly ladder (Google it to see for yourself!). When we get DNA out of a strawberry, it won’t look like this because it’s way too small to see. But if you used a microscope to look at it, you might see what the DNA looks like up close!

Here’s how to do our experiment:

Source: National Human Genome Research Institute (click on the photo to make it bigger!)

 

Recipes

After doing the experiment, you might just want to eat strawberries! We don’t blame you – they smell, look, and taste so yummy. Here are some recipe ideas that are easy for kids and their parents or caregivers to make together. Don’t forget to grab some fresh strawberries from the farmers’ market!

 

Breakfast:

Super Strawberry Fritters – just 4 ingredients, no added sugar, and a yummy energizing treat in the morning.

Dinner:

Strawberry and Spinach Salad – the spinach will help you feel strong, and the strawberries let you sneak something sweet into dinner!

Sweet treat:

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars – this recipe takes a little longer, but is a fun and delicious way to get baking.

Other:

Quick Strawberry Jam – super easy and a great way to preserve strawberries to last longer!

 

Share with us your photos doing this week’s activities by messaging us on Facebook (at Saratoga Farmers’ Market) or tagging us on Instagram (@saratogafarmersmarket)! Stay tuned for next week’s activities, going live on Wednesday, July 15.

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