Hello  my Foodie Friends! 

The new year is a great time to reflect on where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’d like to get to next. Reflection is the perfect way to close the old year and open the door to the new one. As I reminisce of accomplishments and changes in life, I am reminded of the time my wife and I began our adventure to Upstate New York as part of a corporate relocation. It is amazing to look back and see how quickly the many years have gone by. While Paula would travel weekly to the Rochester/ Buffalo area for work, I would often be taking our two children to dinner after work. One memory was while catching a quick dinner downtown. On the music speaker at the restaurant was a song that was very popular at the time.  Our daughter Aubrey, who was almost four at the time, recognized the song and with spontaneity, jumped on the table and started singing “If it makes you happy, then why the —- are you so sad!” by Sheryl Crow.  She sang with enthusiasm as if she understood what the words meant! I had to quickly cover her mouth.  Paula and I reflect on those times of when we were basically “two ships in the night” making life work while we were both working in the corporate environment.  The weekends were the only times we really had as a family to sit at the table and enjoy a good, home cooked meal.  We both would travel for our job and appreciated having something home cooked.  Paula often stated that cooking on the weekends made her happy. It was our true family time. How does cooking make you happy? Here are some reasons:

Once you start to look at cooking the same as driving your car, working at your career, or practicing your hobby, the things you do without thought every day, you will enjoy the same benefits of cooking that make you happy. #1) Freedom – You have the freedom to cook ANY ingredients that you can find, even if you don’t exactly know what they are. You can create fantastic meals from the items on-hand and don’t have to run to the grocery store for food that the recipe commands. Make recipes from what you already have.

2) Confidence – Have the confidence to know that meals will be a winner every single time because you can repeat a standard process on a wide variety of foods. Saute’ many different ingredients, or cook one ingredient in many different ways. Confidence makes you happy.

3) Health – You can be happy because you know you are improving your health with wholesome foods that you cook yourself.  Purchase nutrient rich fresh foods and you can experience more energy, more brain power, and better sleep patterns because of good food. Learn to cook fresh foods!

4) Family – Cooking is a social skill. My family is excited when we cook because they know it will be creative and interesting. We attend more parties because of our cooking skills, and can talk about food topics because we have been behind the stove and seen what happens when we apply heat. Being around friends and family with a good meal can make you very happy.

Life can be hectic. Planning our meals and being able to have the time to cook is not always an ideal situation. However, spending time at the dinner table discussing life events, plans, or simply savoring your own creation can make you happy. Let us help you with your culinary needs. One of Sheryl Crow’s favorite foods is sweet potato fries. At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, we stock a great French Fry cutter and other accoutrements to make your fries quickly and straight

I am not sure if the restaurant appreciated my daughter singing on their table. However, it is a story that we still laugh and talk about at the dinner table. That song is still one of our favorites! So, “If it makes you Happy” then make wonderful memories together. Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen”. 

Take Care,
John & Paula

Visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market to get playoff game ready!  Check out the winter market vendor list and come discover how you can fill your playoff menu with all things local.  There are endless possibilities with forty-five vendors representing both locally grown and produced items.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., November through April at Wilton Mall Food Court; accessible from the mall entrance across from BJs. The CDTA’s 450 (from Schenectady) and 452 (from Skidmore College via downtown Saratoga) run to the Mall hourly Saturday mornings.

Visit saratogafarmersmarket.org, sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Albany Distillery

Argyle Cheese Farmer

Awakened Tonics

Autumn Harvest Winery

Back to Zero Foods

Bakery Suzanne

Ballston Lake Apiaries

Daily Fresh

Eat with Aliens

Euro Delicacies

Gomez Veggie Ville

Grazin’ Acres Farm

Great Northern Pantry

Halfmoon Harvest

Hepatica Farm

Holly and Vine Farm

Jireh Organics & Livestock

Katie Bakes GF

Kokinda Farm

La Capital Tacos

Long Lesson Farm

Lovin’ Mama Farm

May-K-Mark

Muddy Trail Jerky Co.

Mugzy’s Barkery

Nally Coffee

Nettle Meadow

Night Work Bread

Parchment Baking Co.

Perogi, Pierogi, pyroogie

Puckers Gourmet

Radiant Living Healing Arts and Massage (on site chair massage)

Saranac River Ranch

Saratoga Apple

Saratoga Candles

Saratoga Peanut Butter

Scotch Ridge Berry Farm

Slate Valley Farms

Sweet Treats by Jennifer

Sydney Anechiarico Jewelry

The Bull and Bee Meadery

The Mushroom Shop, LLC

The Thymeless Homestead

Tyromance Fine Snacks

Yankee Distillers

Hello my foodie friends!

We are in that time of year where we plan for meals that warm us up during the chilly days and plan for the upcoming snow days. I reflect on many winter days that include my fondest childhood memories playing in the snow. I enjoy sharing this story with you each winter. I grew up during a time when the average household included at least four children and you were literally thrown outdoors to play and told not to come back home until the street lights came on. Playing in the snow included making homemade sleds to slide down the golf course hills, making snowmen, and of course, building the best snow fort in the neighborhood.  In our house we divided up the tasks to ensure that our “fort” could withstand repeated attacks of snowball wielding elementary school kids. In the creation of our snow fort, my brother Danny was the engineer and he mapped out how high and thick the walls should be. My youngest brother Billy was the builder and shaped the inside of the fort for the chairs, refrigerator and snow TV. The baby of our family Patty was the support staff.  Since I was the oldest of the Reardon children clan, I was the recruiter and went door to door finding my soldiers and builders. We were not allowed to use the phone back then (adults only), so when I came to the door and knocked you could hear a stampede of children in the house trying to get to the door. To get them to work on the fort I would tell them that my mother was making meatball sandwiches!  My mother’s meatballs were the envy of the neighborhood and far exceeded the bologna and spam the other kids were getting. My first stops were Dave and Karl’s houses and they lived next door to each other.  They were my age but already almost as tall as most of our fathers at the age of six. Dave turned out to be 6’8” and Karl is 6’6”. If you want your walls to be the highest, I thought, get the tallest kids.  My mother would grimace when she saw them coming as she knew she would need a lot more meatballs. Our first forts were wrecked at night by teenagers until my brother Dan came up with the idea to put water on the outside walls and it would turn them to ice.  You could hear the howls of the mean teenagers when they kicked the walls and they didn’t give so easily.  

To this day, when I talk with some of my childhood friends, they join me in reminiscing about the fun snow forts, and the reward of my mother’s meatball sandwiches. To this day, her meatballs remained unparalleled. However, Paula’s meatballs are on target with them especially since my mother did share her “secret” method with Paula. 

At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, we carry skillets to make your meatballs in, saucepans to make your sauce, baking sheets to pop your meatball sandwiches into the oven with, and other really “Cool Tools for Cooks”. Meatball sandwiches are a great way to deal with these frosty winter days.  The neighborhood kids will love you!! Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen”. 

Take Care,
John & Paula

As I read through the 2025 food trends, not every list is the same and there are varying opinions.  However, there are similar topics showing on more than one reputable source that are noteworthy in relation to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market;

Functional foods

Sourdough

Protein Love

Food Waste and Sustainability

Functional foods can mean several things by definition, but in general, consumers are following along with ‘food is medicine’ trends.  They are learning how different foods have an impact on longevity and vitality.  Less processed and more ‘whole food’ is the overall direction while increasing produce consumption.

Sourdough is around for the long haul, in my opinion, as we continue to learn that all carbs are not created equal.  Sourdough can have a beneficial impact on gut health, digestion and blood sugar levels.  It’s worth researching.

Protein is key.  Natural protein sources, including eggs, are on the rise as research demonstrates the importance of protein in a balanced diet.  However, consumers are looking at how their protein is raised and fed in their decision making as they shop.

Food and Sustainability feels open ended, but in short, consumers are more interested in supporting regenerative farming as a whole and the impact of food production on the environment. In fact, ‘Tastewise predicts that more consumers are craving accountability and transparency from the products they buy—and more than half are willing to pay more for items that have less of an environmental impact’.

The good news for the Saratoga Farmers’ Market?  Shopping and supporting local is always on trend. And at your local market, you can explore and interact directly with local growers and producers to learn more about the foods you consume and the processes they use in their production.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market, thanks to the generosity of Halfmoon Harvest a local flower farm and vendor at the market, composting is available every Saturday at the market located at Wilton Mall now through April. While they are currently stocked with dried flower arrangements they also offer beautiful hydroponically grown fresh flowers at various times throughout the winter and fresh flowers in the spring/summer months.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., November through April at Wilton Mall Food Court, accessible from the mall entrance across from BJs. The CDTA’s 450 (from Schenectady) and 452 (from Skidmore College via downtown Saratoga) run to the Wilton Mall hourly on Saturday mornings.

Find us online at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Hello  my Foodie Friends!   

We are in that week of after all of the holiday gatherings and bringing in the New Year. The office parties, holiday shopping, travel planning, family, friends, partners, and children have been grabbing your attention and can easily take its toll. We have started a New Year begins and back to our pre-holiday routines and habits. The start of a new year is time to reflect and look at our past year in terms of the relationships developed, the experiences we have had, and lessons learned. It’s that time again for us here at Compliments to the Chef to thank all the wonderful acquaintances that have helped us throughout the year. As Clarence said to George Bailey “No man is a failure who has friends.” We have foodie friends which is even better!  So many wonderful people have come through our door with questions and some with suggestions. We believe that we have a tremendous extended family who share in our joy of cooking and creating our own masterpiece meals. We have introduced many new tools into our store as a result of customer suggestions. Coming to work every day in one of the finest cities in America is a blessing. Now that we are at the end of another successful year, it’s time to gather in our kitchens and raise our glasses to our family, friends; past and present, and to the new friends to come. 

     While continuing to make toasts for our New Year, keep in mind some tools that can help to make your celebration run smoothly. Tools such as the foil cutter, wine openers, corkscrew, cocktail shaker and strainer, along with wine, whiskey, champagne, martini, and more types of glasses, can be very useful this time of year. Whatever your needs, we hope that our store can continue to be your first thought for your culinary and wine supplies. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place. And when you come through our door, you will notice that a bell rings…and we all know what happens every time a bell rings!  Have a safe and happy New Year. Cheers to a happy 2025! 

 Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen”. 

Take Care,
John & Paula

According to some recent publications, wellness priorities of 2025, look and sound similar to other years.  However, some of the trends behind the ‘buzz words’ have slightly different connotations.

* Weight Management no longer refers to the fad, extreme dieting and instead is embracing metabolic health, balanced nutrition, and sustainable habits for a longer term impact.

* Healthy Aging no longer means grab the latest and greatest cream, although they are still important.  Instead, individuals are looking to support their physical and cognitive function to boost longterm vitality.

* Immunity Boosting has grown in popularity to encourage supporting overall immune wellness as a foundation for healthy living through not only supplements, but to expand to include various foods, exercise, etc.

So, how can the Saratoga Farmers’ Market help you achieve some of these goals if they’ve made your list for 2025?

The market is packed with locally grown and produced products to help fill your plate with nutrient dense, sustainable foods that can help with weight management, healthy living and immunity boosting goals. In addition, there are two specific vendors specializing in vitality to help kick off your healthy new year with specific items;

* Awakened Tonics specializes in Apple cider vinegar (ACV) products; ACV is well-known for its amazing health and wellness benefits.  Visit Awakened Tonics at the market to learn more about their blends and how they can help your overall immunity and system support.

* Saranac River Ranch creates an all natural, 100% raw juice cleansing systems to help promote digestive health and overall wellness.  Visit to learn more about their juices and the benefits to trying their systems.

There’s always so much to discover at the market and it’s a great place to get in some steps while kicking off a healthy New Year!

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., November through April at Wilton Mall Food Court, accessible from the mall entrance across from BJs. The CDTA’s 450 (from Schenectady) and 452 (from Skidmore College via downtown Saratoga) run to the Wilton Mall hourly on Saturday mornings.

Find us online at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Hello  my Foodie Friends!   

Christmas Eve is right around the corner. For many of us, the holidays generate some of our most vivid memories. It can be funny the interesting things that stick with us. It’s often not at all the presents or the eggnog. It could be a story of spying on “Santa” setting up the presents in the living room, or the first time you watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart and watching it with a group of family or friends crammed on a couch. 

When I was a young boy, I shared a small bedroom with my two other brothers Danny and Billy. We had made a pact to finally catch Santa in the act. I was age five, my brother Danny was four and my other brother Billy was almost three. It was a huge undertaking for young boys because we were told that if we didn’t go right to sleep then Santa would not come. However, I needed proof of Santa’s existence. If you know me then you know if I say I’m going to do something then by golly I going to give it my best shot. My father was very aware of his oldest son’s determination and made sure we were all tucked in as he read: “The night before Christmas” to his three conspirators. Now Billy being very young and not quite age three, was really not up to the task after my father’s story reading. He was out fast asleep and Danny was wavering with heavy eyelids. I was focused on my spy caper. I could not sleep and waited about 15 minutes before shaking Danny and saying “let’s go”! We checked on Mom and Dad’s room and made out two figures sleeping. We then turned to go downstairs to say “hello” to Santa. 

We were almost frozen with fear and Danny clung to me like we were attached. We took one squeaky step at a time and our eyes were as big as saucers so we could see in the dark.  We made out a figure from the back in a red coat and a big red hat putting presents under the tree. We took another brave squeaky step to see him better and that did it! We then heard a booming low voice saying” WHO’S THERE”? Danny looked at me and tried to scream but nothing came out. We turned and ran back to our beds with so much fear and excitement that we had our proof that Santa really did exist. We repeated this story to our little playground friends for many years. It could not have been Mom and Dad because we were sure they were in their beds. Our parents never commented on the story and always just smiled. When my father passed in 2010 at the age of 88, we were cleaning out his things and I found a box with a Santa hat and a red coat hidden in the back of his closet. I never told my brother’s because I wanted to keep the Christmas magic alive. 

What was your best gift ever? Or what were the “little things” that were done that made your holiday special and created that pure holiday magic for you? Make sure you have the must –have supplies you need to stir up your holiday feasts. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place in Saratoga Springs.  Let us help you with the tools you need to make your food traditions and the gifts to help others create their own. Christmas time is a period of when our past, present and future come together in a magical experience. Our past blends together with our present as we hold dear the traditions set before while creating new memories and traditions in the present that will endure for the future. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen”. Put a little holiday magic on your table.

Take Care,
John & Paula

Breakfast is part of the overall holiday experience and there’s nothing like filling the table with all things local!  The Saratoga Farmers’ Market has a little bit of everything to help finish off those special recipes or to keep it simple with ready to eat options.

Are you planning Pancakes, Waffles or Eggs?  Consider fresh buttermilk from Argyle Cheese Farmer and fresh eggs from Grazin’ Acres Farms, Hepatica, Holly and Vine, Jireh Organic Farm & Livestock, Kokinda Farm or Squash Villa Farm.  

French Toast?  Grab fresh bread(s) from Bakery Suzanne or Night Work Bread.  Along with Muddy Trails perpetual vanilla and maple syrup from Grazin’ Acres or Slate Valley Farms.  

If you are planning omelets or hash browns, don’t forget the veggies from Gomez Veggie Ville, Lovin’ Mama Farm, Squash Villa Farm or Shushan Valley Hydro.  And, of course a little sprinkle of cheese from Argyle Cheese Farm or Nettle Meadow.  Gomez and Kokinda Farm still has potatoes available and mushrooms are always a great addition from The Mushroom Shop.

Looking for the savory sides like ham, sausage or steak?  Stop by to peek at all the goodies from Grazin’ Acres Farm, May-K-Mark (formerly Hebron Valley), Hepatica Farm, Jrieh Organic Farm & Lifestock, and Long Lesson Farm

Grab some fresh applesauce, dried slices or fresh apples from Saratoga Apple for the perfect garnish and/or side to your holiday plating.

Consider trying a breakfast charcuterie board.  You can fill it with bagels, specialty breads, muffins, croissants and other delicious baked goods from Bakery Suzanne, Caliva Cookies, Katie Bakes Gluten Free, Night Work Bread, Parchment Bakery,  Sweet Treats by Jennifer or The Great Northern Pantry.  Jams made fresh by Kokinda Farm or Slate Valley Farm, flavored peanut butters from Saratoga Peanut Butter or honey from Ballston Lake Apiaries or Slate Valley Farm are perfect additions along with assorted yogurts from Argyle Cheese Farmer.

Don’t forget the sips!  Fresh ground coffee is available at Nally Coffee along with fresh squeezed juices from Saranac River.

While all of these vendors have a diverse array of goods to offer for your shopping experience, don’t forget to also visit other vendors on site and take advantage of a few last minute gifts;

Gift the gift of health with Awakened Tonics

Find specialty items at Eat with Aliens, Good Way Gourmet, Halfmoon Harvest, Holly and Vine, Northbound Boutique, pebble and Fern, Puckers Gourmet, Saratoga Candle, Saratoga Suds n’ Stuff, Sydney Anechiarico Jewelry, and Tyromance Fine Snacks, 

Love the pups in your life?  Make a special stop at Mugzy’s Organic Barkery and Northbound Boutique.

Take a holiday break and grab ready to eat items at Daily Fresh, Euro Delicacies, La Capital Tacos, Perogi – Pierogi – Pyroogi, and Back to Zero.

And, last but not least, don’t forget to bring fine cheers from Albany Distillery, Autumn Harvest Wine, The Bull & Bee Meadery and Yankee Distillery

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., November through April at Wilton Mall Food Court, accessible from the mall entrance across from BJs. The CDTA’s 450 (from Schenectady) and 452 (from Skidmore College via downtown Saratoga) run to the Wilton Mall hourly on Saturday mornings.

Find us online at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Hello my Foodie Friends!   

It is officially the holiday season baking frenzy time. What better way to celebrate and get into the spirit than to share your baked treats with family and friends? Nothing gets you in the holiday spirit quite like making a mess in the kitchen with sugar, flour, and all of the sprinkles. 

As my wife and I exchanged childhood memories of making cookies, Paula shared that one year as a teenager, she made 72 dozen cookies. My stories were a bit more adventurous (due to five siblings trying to share a kitchen and help make cookies). Each year around this time, my mother would stock up on bags of flour and sugar to begin the process of making her treasured holiday cookies and goods. They were always a special treat in our family. Many of her recipes were handed down through generations before. Worn index cards have been handed down and shared with my siblings with recipes written in her perfect cursive; I am reminded of the winter days where we would watch her drop heavy balls of dough onto the floured counter in the kitchen and vigorously roll out the sticky batter until it was thin enough for cookie cutters. She would roll out the dough and try to give the five of us equal amounts that we could squeeze through our hands and attempt to help make shapes with. In an effort to keep each of us focused, my mother would give each of us a specific duty that ultimately created the end result of a cookie recipe. My sisters were given the task of gathering, measuring, and putting the ingredients into a bowl; my youngest brother would stand on a chair and help my mother mix the ingredients. I was the keeper of the rolling pin and had the responsibility of scooping the dough (based on what recipe we were making), while my other brother would select which cookie cutter we were going to use. The assignments did not always result in a well-oiled machine. Usually, heated words over who gets to stand closest to the mixing bowl would end with powdered sugar poofing all over the floor. Power struggles would occur between each of us on who would crack the egg, who got to hold the rolling pin, and who would do the dough-scooping (just try to pry that cookie scoop out of my hands). Santas, candy canes, Christmas trees, holiday bells, reindeer, snowmen, gingerbread men and women, and stars were our favorite shapes to create with cookie cutters. Decorating the cookies was always the most fun with sprinkles and icing. 

By the time the first batch came out of the oven, my brothers and I would wander off to play, while my excited sisters stayed around to help sprinkle sugar on warm cookies. How my Mom put up with us, I’ll never know. However, the cookies were so good that five children would be very quiet in order to receive a child’s handful of warm cookies. Our creations may not have been the most artistic, but they sure were delicious. 

This holiday season, use the secret weapon of cookies to win over your family. Stop in to see us at Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, Saratoga Springs. We have a large assortment of baking supplies to help with making everyone happy. Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” 

Take Care, John & Paula

Have fun baking and sharing your delights with those you love.

The market has been accepted to participate in the Saratoga Participatory Budget Process.  This year we are partnering with C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios on Beekman Street in hopes to bring a community created mural to our market space at High Rock Park.  

The theme of the mural is ‘Rooted in Community’ and the final design will be selected through a community process and there will be opportunities for the community to participate in the painting of the mural.

Voting for the market to receive the grant funding is easy: 

1. Scan the bar code in the photo to vote or visit pbstanford.org/2024-saratoga-ny

2. Grab your family & friends to vote!

Voting is now through December 14th and we need your help!  Thank you, as always, for supporting the Saratoga Farmers’ Market.

The Saratoga Farmer’s Market is open on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Wilton Mall in the food court area. The Holiday/Winter Market takes place from November 2nd through April 26th. Find us online a www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.