Hello my Foodie Friends! 

How many of us foodies have cookware, baking products, or cooking gadgets that have been handed down over the generations? As our children have grown and moved out of the house, we have also moved much of our cookware and cooking gadgets with them. Some of the items have been handed down from prior generations. Recently, my wife found a loaf pan that was her grandmothers. It brought back memories of various items that both her grandmother and mother made in that pan.  The loaf pan is a cool kitchen tool and often overlooked for its plain design. It is definitely an indispensable item in the kitchen.  Every kitchen should have a loaf pan to bake a variety of sweet or savory recipes – from meatloaf and lasagne to ice-cream and baked delicacies. A loaf pan is in the shape of a narrow rectangle, a convenient form which enables uniform slicing. 

A loaf pan is great to use when you’re looking to bake a smaller portion of a recipe or are cooking for one or two. This versatile pan is excellent for baking bread loaves, loaf cakes, and zucchini bread. You don’t have to make your own bread, or even bake, to love the loaf pan. Despite their specialized name, these rectangular pans are extremely adaptable to cooking, freezing, desserts, and more. And with all the creative ways you can use them, loaf pans are anything but idle in the kitchen. 

There a many uses for loaf pans. These pans are the ideal shape for the ultimate comfort food, meatloaf. Marinate meats. Keep more of each steak, chicken breast, tofu slice, or veggie skewer in contact with the marinade you made by placing the foods in a loaf pan, then pouring the marinade on top. Cover with plastic wrap, and slip the loaf pan into your fridge for the allotted time. If you have a bit of meat or a few sides of the skewers sticking out, use tongs to rotate them in the marinade for full coverage.

Rectangular pans are perfect for lasagna or baked ziti, especially if you’re only serving a few people. If you cut recipes in half, a square baking dish may be too big. Use a loaf pan instead. Savory pies like shepherd’s pie or chicken pot pie don’t have to be round just because that’s convention. You can bake them in a loaf pan and still have a hearty one-dish meal.

At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutler store located at 33 Railroad Place, we carry several different size loaf pans. Make some memories with the heirlooms that you have collected over the years. Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” 

Take Care,
John & Paula

Saratoga’s Wednesday farmers’ market, which concludes its 2021 season at the end of October, is a gem for finding less conventional varieties of fresh, local produce. This season, a crowd favorite has been the diverse offering of seasonal mushrooms by The Mushroom Shop, a new vendor.

Partners Jacob Howard and Elise Olsen have always enjoyed gardening, growing vegetables and flowers, and keeping houseplants. About six years ago, they decided to try growing something new, one of their favorite ingredients to cook with: mushrooms. That hobby turned more serious this past winter when a local farmer offered a part of their land in Salem to build a proper mushroom farm. Thus The Mushroom Shop began.

The past year has been full of learning curves for the young farmers. Through the seasons, weather affects how mushrooms grow – even in a controlled environment. To provide fresh, quality products, they don’t sell mushrooms cut more than three days before markets, so preparing the crop for harvest close to market days can be challenging.

The unpredictability of the crop also makes for happy surprises. This summer, Howard and Olsen changed the recipe for the medium they use to grow their fungi. The lion’s mane variety took very well to this change – just four of the mushrooms weighed over 15 pounds!

An abundance of lion’s mane wasn’t a problem for the couple since it’s their favorite variety to cook. 

“It’s so versatile. Its tender, meaty texture makes for a great seafood substitute, perfect for recipes like lion’s mane “crab” cakes, “shrimp” scampi, or hearty chowder. Or cook it like steak by searing thick slabs in a cast-iron skillet or on the grill,” says Howard.

The Mushroom Shop offers a variety of seasonal mushrooms, both farm-grown and foraged during the couple’s woods walks in Salem. Their products also include dried mushrooms, mushroom seasonings, and grow kits.

This November, The Mushroom Shop will join the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s winter season at the Wilton Mall with 50 other local vendors. Howard and Olsen look forward to sharing their enthusiasm for all things fungi with market customers, who can expect to see several new cold-weather varieties at their stand this winter, like enoki, beech, black pearl oysters, king trumpets, and nameko.

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 www.saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Hello my Foodie Friends! 

I love the scents of autumn. Everyone has a favorite season. It’s the one that makes them feel energized or serene. For me I have a favorite smelling season. While spring is my favorite part of the year visually, autumn is my favorite smelling season. My nose hits overdrive when October rolls around, and it has nothing to do with allergies. There’s a reason we love the smell of autumn. Think of all of the spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice. This is also why we covet fall-themed desserts. Cinnamon is the earthy spice that we all love in the fall and winter. I take it to the next level and add cinnamon sticks to the slow cooker with sliced oranges and a good amount of water. They simmer all day, and my home smells like a warm hug. Pies and autumn go hand in hand. Taking someone a pie represents love and comfort and pies are a wonderful way of bringing people together. Pies seem to generate a nostalgic longing for days gone by and simpler times. During the end-of-the-year holiday time, pie is a seasonal reminder of nature’s bounty and even though there is a pie to celebrate almost every month of the year, the fall is when they shine the brightest. Who doesn’t love the smell of a pie baking in the oven!!

Having the right tools to bake a pie is important. Virtually all pie-making equipment will prove useful for other baking chores as well, so each piece will be sure to earn its keep. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to level up, these are the pie-making essentials. It is difficult to make a great pie without a great pie plate. Pie plates come in a variety of styles, and the differences aren’t just aesthetic—a pie plate’s material, thickness, and color all affect the final product.

A pastry brush is the easiest way to apply a thin, even egg wash over pies with a double crust, like a classic apple pie. Choose between the natural (or thin nylon) bristles or the thicker silicone style.

If you’ve always felt anxious about rolling out pie dough, it’s worth playing the field to find a rolling pin that makes you feel confident in the kitchen. While choosing the best rolling pin is a highly personal process, I love the simplicity of a French pin, which is lighter and more maneuverable. After you’ve rolled out pie dough, a sturdy bench scraper will make quick work of any mess. It will scrape up all the flour and stubborn dough scraps left behind, helping you clean up in a few easy swipes. Plus, it’s handy for dividing blocks of dough without scratching the counters.

Hopefully, trying out fall pie recipes is at the top of your list of things to do this season. Making pies is a classic way to enjoy the season’s best flavors while pleasing your sweet tooth. Not much can beat the tastiness of a homemade pie! 

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place. Pick up the cool tools for cooks to help you with your Autumnal delights.  Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

Take Care,
John & Paula

One of the great benefits of shopping at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market is having access to the whole form of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. When making my recipe for sheet pan chicken with carrots, potatoes, and carrot top pesto, you can gather most ingredients from local farms at the farmers’ market.

You will find brightly colored piles of fresh young carrots in the fall with their vibrant green tops still attached. Carrot tops are highly nutritious and packed with vitamin A and vitamin C and a decent amount of calcium and iron. Carrot tops can be used just as any other dark leafy greens and can be stirred into soups, sauteed with butter and garlic, or blended into a flavorful fall pesto. 

If carrot tops are unavailable, you can make this recipe with fresh parsley instead. The carrots are sold with their tops attached, freshly harvested and have tender skin that does not require peeling. Just scrub the carrots well to remove any dirt and ensure the carrot tops are clean. You can leave 1-2 inches of the stems attached to the top for added visual interest for this dish. If your carrots vary in size, cut the larger ones in half lengthwise so they have a similar diameter to the smaller ones to ensure even roasting. 

Potatoes work well in this recipe, but other in-season fall vegetables such as delicata squash, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, or brussels sprouts would be delicious as well. You can use any size of potatoes, but, just like the carrots, make sure they are all cut to be about the same size. Cut smaller potatoes in half and larger ones into quarters. 

Any leftover carrot top pesto can be stored in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. This pesto also makes an excellent spread for grilled sandwiches, a topping for fried eggs, or a base for homemade salad dressing. 

I enjoy developing recipes and sharing wholesome food using my background in nutrition and culinary arts. For more seasonal, whole-food recipes for the everyday home cook, visit my Instagram @Lemon.thyme.kitchen. And visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market for the freshest, locally sourced ingredients.

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 www.saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. 

Hello my Foodie Friends! 

Autumn baking is here. Brown sugar is one of my favorite ingredients to bake and cook with. Brown sugar is widely available and comes in both light and dark varieties that are made by re-incorporating molasses back into refined white sugar. They boast complexity of flavor and a lovely, soft texture like moist sand. 

Many recipes for cookies, cakes, muffins, and other baked goodies call for either light or brown sugar. While nearly identical, dark brown sugar contains a higher content of molasses than light brown sugar, which accounts for the former’s slightly darker color, wetter texture, and richer flavor. If you want to achieve deeper, richer flavor like dark caramel, opt for dark brown sugar. For more subtle sweetness and less of an overpowering molasses flavor, go with light brown sugar. The deep flavor of molasses in brown sugar lends itself well to complementing cakes as much as dinner-fare such as meatloaf or fish. The soft texture of this type of sugar melts into glazes, rendering them smooth, luxurious, and ideal for drizzling, spreading, or slathering — whatever method you determine is appropriate. 

There are some unexpected ways to use brown sugar for purposes other than baking. 

Brown sugar is one of the go-to ingredients for pickling all varieties of foods. Pickled veggies or eggs get their nuanced flavors from a combination of spices, herbs, salt, and vinegars. However, it is the luscious brown sugar that serves as the counterbalance to the otherwise sharp, acidic brine. By mingling with the salt and acid, brown sugar lends balance to your favorite pickled treats

There’s a good reason so many people are enamored with the combination of sweet and savory flavors. They are glorious together. They have a magical way of mingling with the tastes. As such, brown sugar is the perfect texture and flavor when you’re looking for deep, thoughtful ways to season your main dishes of meat, poultry, or seafood. Whether you’re marinating a slab of steak to ultimate tenderness, slathering chicken for the grill, or glazing a fillet of fish, brown sugar proves to be indispensable. 

As many Asian-inspired stir-fries boast addictively sweet and savory flavors, brown sugar is the ideal ingredient for the sauce component. Mixed with soy sauce, vinegar, and aromatics like garlic and ginger, rich brown sugar manages to add just enough sweetness and depth to balance out the salty notes. Whether you’re cooking up a heap of vegetables or thinly sliced meats, you’ll want to consider using versatile brown sugar to elevate an average stir-fry. 

When vegetables cook, they naturally become sweeter and more caramelized. Brown sugar enhances this inherent sweetness, creating deep flavors you won’t be able to resist. As a moist sweetener, brown sugar gives veggies beautiful sheen and outstanding flavor. Whether you’re making traditional holiday favorite side dishes or whipping up whatever’s-in-the-fridge ones for busy weeknights, you’ll love what brown sugar can do for a heap of humble produce. Since most vinaigrette dressings simply contain oil and vinegar, they’re inherently easy to make at home. Add brown sugar to the mix and you’re instantly able to create dressings with complexity. Brown sugar is a fast way to make salad dressing taste amazing. 

Storing brown sugar can be a challenge. How often do you go for your brown sugar and find brown concrete instead! It is the moisture in the molasses that keeps this ‘glue’ soft. But when brown sugar is exposed to air, the moisture evaporates and the molasses syrup hardens and sticks together a bit like hard candy. This forms a rock-hard lump that can be almost impossible to completely break up. Store your brown sugar in an air tight container. Invest in a Brown Sugar Bear. Put a Brown Sugar Bear in your container with the brown sugar. The terra cotta, food-safe fired-clay keeps brown sugar moist for at least three months. Soak it in water for 20 minutes and stick that cute little bear in not just brown sugar, but also baked goods, cakes, cookies, marshmallows, and dried fruit to soften and maintain moistness. You can also use the bear without soaking it first to absorb moisture and keep spices, salt, crackers, pretzels and chips crispy and dry.

The tool helps sugar stay fresh for up to six months. 

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, to pick up your handy little sugar bear and tools to help you with your culinary delights. They are unbearably cute!! Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”

Take Care,
John & Paula

The fall harvest season is the perfect time to discover local agriculture, one of the many aspects that make this area unique. Explore, experience, and enjoy farm tours, U-pick opportunities, dining, farm stands, and community events. Here’s a peek at what Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendors are offering.

Pick Your Own

Saratoga Apple is a family farm and apple orchard located in Schuylerville, offering “pick your own” in the fall. On weekends, get your U-pick bags at the big tent next to the orchard store, and on weekdays get them inside the orchard store. The store is open daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; however, customers should purchase U-pick bags by 5 p.m.

Farm-to-Table Dining

Dancing Ewe Farm is an authentic Tuscan-style family farm in Granville, NY, crafting impeccable fresh cheeses and meats. They are currently taking reservations for their farm-to-table weekend dinners & lunches, featuring a selection of Italian wines and imported olive oil. Visit their website or Facebook page to see their menu and to make a reservation.

Fall Festivities

The DBA’s 2nd Annual Fall Festivities will be family-friendly and so much fun on two weekends: October 23 & 24 and October 30 & 31. On Saturdays, October 23 and 30, stop by the farmers’ market to shop with local farms and businesses. While you shop, enjoy live music and activities for all ages. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market will also host Customer Appreciation Day on October 27, their last Wednesday season’s market. Market-goers can enjoy special sales on market products, live music, and a free craft for children hosted by the Saratoga Springs Public Library. 

Farm Tours & Live Music

Nettle Meadow Farm has a fun-filled weekend planned. Tonight, enjoy Nettle Meadow cheeses and local wine at their Cheese Jam concert, with proceeds supporting the Kemp Animal Sanctuary. Then, on Saturday, October 9, enjoy the Thurman Fall Farm Tour. This self-guided tour of regional farms includes talks, tours, wagon rides, breakfast and lunch buffets, and more.

Farm Stands & Garden Nurseries

If you’re looking to enjoy fall flowers and produce, consider stopping at a farm stand or garden nursery. Butternut Ridge Farm, Burger’s Market Garden, Balet Flowers & Design, Gifford Farm, and Kokinda Farm have the season’s harvest available right at the farm!

While you’re marking your calendar for these events, skip to 2022 and take note of the Washington County Fiber Tour that takes place in late April, The Cheese Tour scheduled for mid-September, and the Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival in late September. These events are excellent opportunities to discover local agriculture.

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 www.saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. 

Hello my Foodie Friends! 

I love Pasta. There, I said it. It is a weakness I have. Homemade pasta is a bigger weakness. Once you experience homemade pasta, it is close to impossible to go back to the store brand pastas. Making homemade pasta can require extra time – but it is worth it. If you haven’t ventured past the convenience of dried pasta, it’s time to make some changes in your life. We have nothing against dried pasta — there is definitely a time and a place for it, and in fact, sometimes there’s nothing better for a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner. If you’ve ever tried homemade pasta, however, you understand what pasta is really all about. Homemade pasta is a little chewy and very tender; it really does just melt in your mouth. It may sound difficult, but making your own pasta is actually much easier than you might think. Fresh pasta comes together quite quickly. Mixing and kneading the dough takes about 10 minutes, then you let it rest for 30 minutes. You can use this resting time to pull together the ingredients for the pasta sauce. After resting, rolling out and cutting the dough takes maybe another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how fast you go and how many helpers you have.

Speaking of helpers, it helps to have a few. You can definitely do it by yourself, but it’s really nice to have an extra set of hands, especially if you’re hand-cranking the dough through a counter-top pasta roller. Whether working by yourself or with someone else, I find that you fall into a rhythm of rolling the sheets of pasta, cutting the noodles, and sprinkling everything with flour.

Once you’ve made your pasta, you can cook it right away, dry it, or freeze it for later. When you do cook it, remember that homemade pasta cooks much more quickly than the dried pasta you buy in stores. Give it about four minutes in salted boiling water, taste it, and keep checking in one-minute increments until the pasta is al dente. Add Spinach or carrots to create more colorful pastas. What’s fun about these pastas is that the dough is really colorful and contains very concentrated vegetable juices, but they don’t have an overt vegetable taste. They are delicious, and I am pretty sure they could still pass a picky eater’s taste test. Unless the picky eater hates colors. 

Note: The name of the game at this point is to keep everything well-floured to prevent the pasta from sticking to itself or the roller as you work. If the dough starts to feel sticky as you roll it, sprinkle it with flour. Also sprinkle flour on any pasta you’re not working (rolled, cut or otherwise) with and keep it covered with a dishtowel.

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store, to pick up a Pasta machine and other pasta accessories. Plan an evening with Italian wine and appetizers and then roll up your sleeves to make pasta from scratch. Work your magic in the kitchen. Enjoy dinner al fresco (Caesar salad, bread, pasta, chicken Marsala, tiramisu for dessert and, of course, finished with home-made limoncello) and share an evening with great company and interesting conversation – all the ingredients for a truly memorable meal. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen!” “Mangia.”

Take Care,
John & Paula

How Vashti Ma’at and Leon Carr met isn’t quite about food. But the 20-year friendship has grown to their partnership through Vashti’s Kitchen Delights is definitely about the food.

Vashti’s Kitchen Delights is among the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s new vendors. Ma’at and Carr bring the prepared meals and sides that Vashti’s Kitchen Delights features to market each Wednesday and Saturday.

Ma’at was born in Trinidad and Tobago, and Carr in Jamaica. Each emigrated to New York City with their families. Ma’at holds a degree in sociocultural anthropology, has trained as a pastry chef, and has had a career as a consultant. Carr has worked as an engineer and has run businesses. Vashti’s Kitchen Delights is an amalgam of their experiences and their fused Caribbean cultural cuisines. 

Ma’at and Carr met in Queens around 2001. Carr owned and operated a cyber café and computer-repair business, and Ma’at had a malfunctioning laptop. After a series of jousts and jokes, she decided she could trust Carr to fix it, and Carr proved himself reliable. He allowed clients to use the cafe computers for free while their devices were being repaired. Ma’at became a regular. Carr learned she had a small catering business and hired her to provide breakfast for a business meeting.

“No one remembered what happened at the meeting,” he recalled. “But everyone remembered the food.”

And so it went. Vashti catered meals, and Leon helped develop the business. They moved to Amsterdam in 2006. Ma’at was employed through a grant-funded position, and when the grant ended in 2017, she decided to devote herself to cooking. 

Vashti and Leon visited several area farmers’ markets. “We decided that, as caterers, such markets would offer potential customers the opportunity to sample our dishes and experience our cuisine,” she said. 

Vashti’s Kitchen Delights’ offerings are dairy and gluten-free, with many vegan options. Ma’at gives many of them a Trinidad and Tobago touch through using such ingredients as coconut oil, all fresh herbs like cilantro, and spices like cumin and cinnamon. She adds a touch of fun by giving them names like the Sassy Pig (pork) and Salacious Hen (chicken).

Vashti often makes time to shop at other vendor stalls for ingredients for the business and the meals she and Carr enjoy on their own time at home. The conviviality defines the business and the relationships she and Leon build with customers and others.

They’re all about the food. 

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 www.saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Hello my Foodie Friends! 

Back in early August, Paula and I had the opportunity to visit a beautiful part of our country to attend our treasured friend son’s and our son’s best friend’s wedding being held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. If you have never seen the Grand Tetons’ or Yellowstone Park, you need to put it as a “must” on your list. Part of Teton Village is a quaint historical inn called the Alpenhof Lodge. It is one of the original hotels in the village. It provides a warm, cozy, welcoming environment with a restaurant that offers tasty Alps-inspired food. Each morning we were offered a menu selection that included offerings from the Alps region that really highlighted some of the most unique and exciting European cooking with Swiss, German, Austrian influences.

One of my favorite breakfast foods was Rösti with ham and eggs. Rösti is a Swiss shredded potato casserole that’s perfect for brunch. It comes out of the oven, brown and crisp on the edges, melting cheese in the middle, soft-cooked eggs on top. Swiss Rösti recipe is more like a pancake than a casserole. It’s made by pressing shredded potatoes into a cast iron skillet to form a cake, and cooking it in hot butter until it’s brown on the outside and soft inside. Back in the early 1800’s this was a common farmer’s breakfast – cooked over the fire in a wood stove. Nowadays in Switzerland Rösti is served for breakfast, lunch or dinner and sometimes as a hearty side dish with meat.

To make this dish and many others that require peeling, we carry one of our favorite and best-selling kitchen tools; the Kuhn Rikon Swiss peeler. The Kuhn Rikon vegetable peeler can be one of the mandatory items that chef’s require you to come to work with and as part of the every-day kitchen. 

The Kuhn Rikon peeler has a little hole at the end, and you just loop your index finger into it, gripping the peeler with your thumb and middle finger; all you have to do to peel a vegetable is just pull. The flexibility of this peeler is fantastic — it curves around whatever vegetable you are peeling. You can peel using the entire blade — other peelers don’t allow you to do that. It is super light. It is easy to clean because it has no nooks, and easy to store because it has the hole, so you can hang it on a hook. And this design provides the most comfortable way to peel, and you don’t have to worry about nicking the end of your fingers.  Sometimes with kitchen tools you want complex, awesome technology, but sometimes you just want the simplest thing ever, and this is it—simplicity at its best. It’s the most efficient peeler that’s out there. Many of the Chef’s in the area will buy 10 at a time.  The ergonomic design works in right or left hand.

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store for your culinary needs. Trying out international food recipes and doing them in an easy and quick way is a fun way to learn about the different cultures of the world. The wedding in Wyoming was absolutely beautiful with a week filled with lifelong memories. Congratulations to Brad and Julia for a lifetime of magnificent adventures and happiness. Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

Take Care,
John & Paula

This past Wednesday officially marks the fall equinox. Still, without consulting the calendar, we start to feel the signs: the first leaves begin to turn, we wake up to cooler and darker mornings, and pumpkins and other winter squash make bold appearances.

At the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, we are preparing to fully embrace the transition to a new season by honoring pumpkins, a quintessential symbol of fall. This year, the market is kicking off the autumnal season by co-hosting the 6th Annual Saratoga Giant Pumpkin Fest, organized by the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, on September 25th. The giant pumpkins are brought in by local growers and will be displayed in the Saratoga Springs City Center Parking Garage starting at 10 am, with the official weigh-off at 11 am.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market, located at 112 High Rock Ave., will be open from 9 am-2 pm, staying open an additional hour from its usual times to accommodate event crowds. A select group of vendors will continue vending until 4 pm, coinciding with the end of the Chamber’s event. Stop by the farmers’ market before or after viewing the pumpkins to browse a selection of seasonal fall goods from local farmers and producers.

You will find fall staples like apple cider, cider donuts, and pumpkin-flavored products, including cheesecake, peanut butter, jams, pies, cheese, and granola. Vendors will also have plenty of fall decor (and apparel, too) like potted mums, gourds, and of course, plenty of pumpkins. The farmers’ market will welcome a new vendor, Snyder’s Brooms, offering old-fashioned handmade brooms ready for sweeping those fall leaves. 

In addition to the bounty of fall products on Saturday, families can enjoy free children’s activities, including a live book reading by Elizabeth Macy and Lucky the Dog at 10 am and live music by Brendan Dailey and Zak Trojano. Stay tuned for more family-friendly activities to be announced before Saturday’s event. 

This Saturday will have it all: leaf-peeping, pumpkin purveying, and a farmers’ market bursting with fall fun and local products. We are getting into the spirit of the season with a recipe for apple pumpkin upside-down cake, and many ingredients will be available at the market this Saturday.

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 www.saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.