If you’re looking for a unique and delicious gift for your next special occasion, look no further than Pam the Baker’s custom-decorated sugar cookies. 

Pam Sissons is a lifelong baker whose passion has always been baking bread, muffins, cookies, baklavas, and all sorts of goodies ‘just like Mom used to make.’ Once she started custom decorating cookies, the obsession took hold, and today she is a registered NY State home food processor. “My kitchen has always been my ‘happy place’!” Pam says fondly. 

To Pam, every cookie she makes is a mini work of art. She uses high-quality ingredients and pays attention to detail to create custom cookies that are not just a statement for your next event but also a gift that is equally satisfactory for the giver as it is for the receiver. Sugar cookie designs begin with creative cookie cutters to create one-of-a-kind shapes. They are then baked and hand-decorated with royal icing.

Pam’s decorated sugar cookies are perfect for any occasion, from birthdays and baby showers to weddings and christenings. Elegant and ornate cookies will please your hosts at a fancy holiday party, while vibrant colors, shapes, and characters are perfect for a child’s birthday party. Pam can even brand cookies for company events in a unique way. When asked about some of her most memorable orders, Pam recalls “I made several dozen very ornate baby shower cookies for an event in New York City. I packed every single cookie so carefully for shipping…it was quite an undertaking! It was all worth it when I was told the mother-to-be was in tears when she saw the cookies.” 

Cookies are perfect for fun and meaningful edible art! Pam’s cookies come in all flavors, including vanilla, lemon, almond, and chocolate. She even offers ‘Paint Your Own Cookie kits’ that include a  palette with four colors of edible food coloring, a brush, and a delicious home-baked custom cookie ready to paint with a fun image.

You can find Pam the Baker and her cookies at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market or submit a cookie quote to her website. And if you’re looking for something extra special this Easter season, try Pam’s Bunny Butts! These cute little treats are available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market this weekend. And for all you chocolate lovers out there, they’re also available in chocolate.

In the Saratoga area, you can find Pam the Baker at the farmers’ market every Saturday. Pam also accepts custom orders on her website at pamthebakerny.com, pamthebakerny@gmail.com. 

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, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.

Happy Spring! March can still be a winter-type month with brisk days and cold evenings. However, it is time to begin thinking about our gardens and getting inspired with some healthy spring meal prep ideas. Meal prepping can include prepping a few ingredients each week to make meals a bit easier. Cutting up vegetables can be a great snack or store them for future use. Food prep can help with making better food choices and controlling our serving sizes. 

To do this: prep meals for the upcoming week. Meal prepping for the week can be time consuming but worth it by helping to create healthy food choices for the week. Therefore, there are no excuses for the unhealthy food choices. This is an excellent way to stay on track and become fit – which is our goal. To help save time, one key item that can assist is the use of a food chopper. Keep a food chopper on the counter top to make short work out of chopping vegetables. Mini food choppers are especially good for chopping small amounts of vegetables such as celery, onions, bell peppers, carrots, and other firm vegetables. Choppers take the hassle out of slicing and dicing. The use of a food chopper can cut your food preparation time and help you get to the serving stage sooner. Food choppers come in different styles and sizes, but they generally have a similar function – to chop – coarse or fine. They can efficiently chop onions, nuts and vegetables, and cleans up easily. 

Simplify chopping onions and other vegetables with an easy-to-use hand chopper. Most hand-held choppers involve pressing down on the soft knob that rotate blades for easy chopping while the internal soft bumper absorbs shock. Chopped product is enclosed in a cup or directly on a cutting board. The blade cartridge is removable for easy cleanup. Hand-held food choppers will be considerably smaller in comparison to a food processor. In the event that you would like to chop vegetables, you can utilize this type of vegetable chopper to give you a hand. This may undoubtedly help save time from chopping the food items. Chopping foods like garlic and onions is really simple if you use choppers. Various other foods, for instance, tomatoes, celery, and also apples are additionally suitable for chopping by using a food chopper. In addition to that, even hard food items  like nuts can in fact be severed to form smaller pieces; you just need to use your chopper. 

Food prep is an important part to planning and making our meals. Don’t try to prep it all!

First and foremost, when starting out, don’t try and make ahead your entire weekly menu plan. This will completely overwhelm you – it can still overwhelm me. Start slow. The first week, prep one or two recipes ahead of time and as you get comfortable with the process you can prep more. 

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place to find those cool tools that can help you as you plan out your menus and get chopping. 

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

Take Care, John & Paula

Preparing and sharing delicious, wholesome vegetarian Indian food is a labor of love for Sneha Narayanan and Sathya Raghavan of Daily Fresh. 

Sneha and Sathya came from Chennai, South India, and began their cooking journey while living in Atlanta, Georgia, where Sathya studied. Because Sneha couldn’t work or study then, she developed her passion for cooking, inspired by her parents, brother, books, blogs, and travels. Eventually, Sneha compiled over 150 tasty, tried-and-true recipes on her cooking blog, Cook with Sneha (www.cookwithsneha.com). 

The vibrant international student community at Georgia Tech was the first to fall in love with Sneha’s cooking. During festive weekends, the couple held informal gatherings at their home and cooked for as many as 50 people, with home-style Indian dishes frequently taking center stage. These events fostered community and connection.

In 2014, they moved to the Albany area, and in 2018 Sneha and Sathya began their cooking and catering business, Daily Fresh. They joined the Saratoga Farmers’ Market in 2019. Sathya also works full-time as an engineer, and they are raising three young children. 

Sneha prepares all her dishes from scratch, using fresh, preservative-free ingredients. Her sauces are homemade, and she grinds her spices by hand. 

Daily Fresh offers specialties from both North and South India. North Indian food has dynamic flavors, including onions, tomatoes, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and garlic. South Indian dishes stand out in different ways, highlighting vegetable stews, lentils, rice, and flavors like coconut, fenugreek, curry leaves, and tamarind. For example, dosas, flat savory flourless/eggless crepes made of rice and black lentils (urad daal), are 100% South Indian. This summer, Daily Fresh will again offer their fresh dosas and rotis (whole wheat flatbreads) at the market. 

Recently, Sneha and Sathya moved to a new commercial kitchen, which has inspired them to expand their business. They will attend four markets this year! Sneha and Sathya are excited to share more of their food with the community and are grateful for everyone’s encouragement and support. Find Daily Fresh online at www.dailyfreshfood.online/.

Let’s connect to our history, traditions, and community with flavorful food! On Saturday, March 25, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, celebrate world foods at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s International Flavor Fest at the Wilton Mall food court. Our friends at the World Awareness Children’s Museum invite children to make paper fortune cookies, and families and market-goers may pick up a passport for a “journey around the world,” earning a prize when filling it with stamps from vendors. Learn more at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.  

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Many of us have traditional St. Patrick Day practices that we have carried over either from family or have created over the years. The holiday is honored in myriad of ways around the world, ranging from the preparation of classic Irish food like Irish Potato Pie, or the classic Corned Beef and Cabbage, to adorning homes with clever green-and-gold decorations, and even making leprechaun traps. Though the festivities have changed over the centuries, St. Patrick’s Day’s traditions still showcase much of what makes Irish culture so unique. What will bring you luck?  We can hope a little luck of the Irish rubs off on us when we partake in them. We think of leprechauns’ pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, pints of Guinness, bagpipers marching, and symbols like four-leaf clovers. Originally a religious feast honoring the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has turned into a day to celebrate all things Irish. Surprisingly, the way the holiday is celebrated in Ireland looks a little different, as some of the customs we associate with it are actually Irish American traditions. But either way, we can hope a little luck of the Irish rubs off on us when we partake in them.

Here is a list of tools you may need to make your lucky St. Patrick day foods:

Cooking corned beef in a cast iron Dutch oven is definitely one of the preferred methods. A low-temperature oven combined with cast iron cookware creates the perfect environment for the tough meat to slowly break down, resulting in incredibly juicy, fall-apart-tender slices of beef. Also, remember your Chef (cook’s knife) to help you with your Irish Potato pie (use a tart pan) with cutting your potatoes.  You will need the chef’s knife for carrots and corned beef too. 

Are you making your favorite Irish Soda Bread, a sweet-and-savory bread that tastes like a mix between scones and bread? This quick bread is incredibly easy to make using your cast iron skillet. We also carry scone pans to assist 

If you’ve got leftovers, break out the skillet for corned beef hash. The layer of food making contact with the pan, will sear nicely, giving you crispy potatoes, while the food above it will continue to cook by the heat from the skillet.

Irish lemon pudding is a favorite dessert and is easy to make. You can bake it in a springform cake pan or pie dish. As it bakes, the batter separates into two layers. The top layer has the texture of a sponge cake while the bottom layer, on the other hand, is custard-like. The pudding can be topped with fresh whipped cream and served with berries.

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store, as you prepare your lucky foods this St. Patrick’s Day. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen”.

Take Care, John & Paula

Have you eaten something that transports you back in time or to a different place? That sense of nostalgia may be found in a soup your mother cooked or a special dessert your family shared on a religious holiday. 

Preparing, sharing, and eating cultural foods is an act that links us to many things; family history, community, traditions, and even local and seasonal ingredients.

A unique blend of cultural foods at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has inspired a celebration of world flavors on Saturday, March 25, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, at the Wilton Mall food court. 

The farmers’ market’s International Flavor Fest will highlight offerings from around the globe. 

Your tastebuds will backpack across Europe with Sweet Prophecy’s frgál cakes from the Wallachia region of the eastern Czech Republic. Explore flavors from Scandinavia with Parchement’s Julekaker and Rugbrød, bread inspired by Scandinavian family traditions. Visit the Eastern Mediterranean with Euro Delicacies’ savory burek and classic dolma. Just to name a few stops.

Catch a flight of flavors to the Caribbean (with a touch of Trinidad and Tobago) with prepared food from Vashti’s Kitchen Delights, where herbs like cilantro and spices like cumin and cinnamon sing in dishes of pork and chicken.

Take a culinary shortcut to Asia, where warm scents of turmeric, cardamom, and chili fill the air. Daily Fresh brings curries, samosas, and mango lassies for a delicious experience from India. Bangladesh is inviting with a flavorful chicken and rice dish at Irin Wellness.

You can find many more flavorful foods from across the globe at the farmers’ market every Saturday, with special highlights and activities at the market’s International Flavor Fest on March 25.

Also, joining us for this celebration, the World Awareness Children’s Museum will bring activities and invite children to make paper fortune cookies. Families and market-goers may pick up a passport for their journey around the world at the farmers’ market, earning a prize when filling their passport with stamps from market vendors. 

Reconnecting with food traditions, eating food prepared with nourishing ingredients, and slowing down to savor and experience food, creates a culture that we at the farmers’ market love sharing with the community

The Saratoga Farmers Market is 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturdays in the food court of the Wilton Mall. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for previews of what’s fresh.  

Hello my Foodie Friends!   

Often times when I am asked what I want for dinner, I respond “whatever you make, I want potatoes with it.” Growing up with an Irish father, potatoes where often a staple to each meal. However, my father did not like it when I played with my food, and I enjoyed playing with my mashed potatoes. I loved melting butter in my potatoes and then taking the gravy and making a mashed potato and gravy volcano or mashed potato snow men. 

As I was restocking kitchen gadget supplies in our store, I had to smile recalling my childhood antics and the feel of my father glaring at me during my kitchen table play time. Part of my play time did also include going through my mother’s gadget drawer and trying to figure out what everything did. Many of us have a kitchen full of gadgets. Some we use daily, and some are hiding in our cupboards because we have no idea how to use them. Sometimes it’s good to take a good long look at the gadgets you own and determine what’s really useful and what is just taking up space.

Whether you’re a proud avid cook or just starting your cooking endeavors, learning about different kitchen tools can be helpful. Some devices might seem like they only have one use. However, this certainly isn’t the case for potato ricers. I can clearly recall my mother using the potato ricer as she made various recipes with potatoes. This was one of her much-used gadgets. If you’ve never seen a potato ricer, it is built like an oversized garlic press. It has two handles you squeeze together, pressing the food and pushing it through the basket’s holes. Many potato ricer discs can be switched out to have different-sized slots, which makes it a versatile kitchen utensil.

My mother would often attest that the only way she would make mashed potatoes was using a ricer. The reason is that mashed potatoes made with a ricer helps to prevent over mashing that may make your mashed potatoes gluey. The ricer is gentle on potatoes and provides an even mash that gives them a nice texture. 

To achieve clump-free mashed potatoes, most experts recommend using a ricer. A ric-er is made up of the hopper, where you place the potato, and the plunger, which you press down to force the potato out. Forcing the cooked mealy potato through the ricer’s small holes creates rice-sized pieces of potato (hence the name) and the air that is in-corporated while pressing contributes to the light fluffiness.

We love cool tools for cooks. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place for the tools that make life a bit easier and can help you make your best spuds. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

Take Care, John & Paula

Masabacha looks like hummus. But it’s not. 

Masabacha is an Israeli take on hummus, with a signature Pucker Gourmet Pickles flair. The word itself is a Romanized version of an Arabic word that roughly translates to “soaked in” or “swimming,” explains Ben Hillis, who owns Puckers with his wife Kelley. In the classic version, whole-cooked chickpeas are mixed into tahini and served warm for breakfast, drizzled over pita bread. 

The Puckers version is closer to hummus in thickness but is creamier and more acidic. It contains whole chickpeas and tahini along with avocado oil, fermented apple cider vinegar, garlic, Himalayan rose sale, peppercorns, lemon juice, and smoked paprika. It can be eaten as a dip, spread, or condiment.

“It’s a little untraditional, but then so are we,” says Ben. “We like to take old traditional classics and put a contemporary twist on them.”

Puckers specializes in probiotic-rich pickles and has nearly two dozen such items. 

But, Ben notes, “Not everyone enjoys pickles, so we wanted to branch out a little.”

Both he and Kelley maintain a plant-based diet that includes many sandwich spreads. They noticed that commercial spreads were delicious but nutritionally weak. 

Hummuses were an exception, but they were hesitant to create a product that friends were selling at the farmers’ markets they brought their pickles to. Over time, however, many of these friends downsized or closed their businesses, which created a void in market offerings and an opportunity for them. 

Masabacha made its first appearance on their tables at the Saratoga Farmers Market and elsewhere during this winter. Ben explains, “We wanted to roll it out at a time of year when farmers’ market sales are low.”  

So far, the product has been popular, thanks in part to a return post-pandemic to the ability for artisanal food-makers to offer samples. 

As for how to enjoy eating masabacha, try scooping it with crackers or chips. It also works well as a salad dressing over lettuce and vegetables with chopped nuts or a hard-boiled or poached egg on top. One of Ben’s customers reported mixing it into a sauce for chicken wings. One of Ben’s favorite preparations is “Heavenly Eggs,” in which the mayonnaise of Deviled Eggs is replaced with masabacha, making the eggs “heavenly” in flavor and health benefits, too.

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, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.

March is here. As we are in the final stretch of the colder weather, our appetites may still yearn for heartier meals. Recently, I went through my kitchen looking at the basics of what I use often. I found that I use a handful of reliable pots and pans. However, I also found that I reach for a rimmed baking sheet often. A rimmed baking sheet can be used for baking, roasting, toasting, and broiling. You can also use it with a wire rack to hold foods before and after frying for baking cookies, scones, vegetables, potatoes, fish, meat, croissants, pastries, breads, pouring out toffee or chocolate bark, cookies and so much more. 

Sheet pan dinners have skyrocketed in popularity because they are such an easy way to cook veggies and proteins together in one pan, allowing flavors to blend and avoiding a sink full of dishes to clean. For too long this workhorse of the professional kitchen was a chef’s secret, helping bear the loads for prep cooks, caterers and big-batch bakers. No more. Sheet pans are popping up in the kitchens of recent grads and grandmothers alike — and not a moment too soon. These sturdy rimmed stainless steel or aluminum sheets are good for so much, there is little this pan cannot do. 

We carry Nordic Ware and USA Pan rimmed baking sheets. Both of these brands are excellent quality and have stood the test of time (and frequent use). The 12×17-inch size is just the right size for a dozen cookies, and the rimmed edges prevent any sauces/syrups from dripping off the sheet.

The Nordic Ware naturals was Voted “Best Baking Sheet,” the Baker’s Half Sheet is an essential tool in the kitchen you will use in a variety of ways from sheet pan dinners, to baked goods to food prep. Our top-rated Naturals® Bakeware collection is made of pure aluminum for superior heat conductivity and produces consistent evenly browned baked goods every time. These premium pans have a lifetime durability and will never rust. Encapsulated galvanized steel rims prevent warping. Creativity meets natural aluminum sustainability. 

The rimmed baking sheet from USA Pan includes a unique fluted design that facilitates air circulation and maximizes pan strength to help resist warping. It is Made with the same standard high-performance features used for bakeware in commercial bakeries. The USA Pan is easy for clean up with a nonstick silicone coating: FDA approved for safe contact with food.

Looking for those basics for your kitchen? Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place. Let us assist you with the cool tools that make a difference in your kitchen. Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen”.   

Take Care, John & Paula

It’s 4 p.m. on a February evening in Latham, and the temperature is falling. Mahbub Rahman, his wife Irin Naher, and their three children, Masrur, Haniam, and Surah, hurry to cover flowers growing in their hoop house. 

They carefully lay tarps over ranunculus, snapdragons, tulips, and other flower varieties. They will bring these flowers to farmers’ markets beginning in May.

The family works together to support their farm and holistic wellness business, Perfect Plant Farm, a NY State Grown and Certified farm. The farm participates in Agricultural Environmental Management and is free of chemicals and pesticides. 

Their products include microgreens, seasonal flowers, potted succulents, and ready-to-eat foods like microgreen smoothies, salads, soups, and rice dishes.

“Our goal is to make and grow real food for good health because everyone should have the right to be healthy,” explained Rahman.

Microgreens are a crucial part of what is produced at Perfect Plant Farm as they contain 4-40% more nutrients than mature vegetables and herbs typically consumed. The tiny greens are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Vibrant flats of microgreens are available from the farm at weekend farmers’ markets in Saratoga.

“It is very important to understand what foods support our health needs because we are all different,” said Rahman. “What makes your body happy is different from mine.”

The family also promotes their holistic business, Irin Wellness. Naher, a licensed holistic health professional, offers personal nutrition consultation. “The goal is to help people to make the right food choices,” explained Rahman.

Perfect Plant Farm supports the understanding that food should be delicious and healing. They bring lentil soup with vegetables, herbs, and lemon, chicken and rice take-home meals, spring rolls, rice pudding, vegetarian pakora (fritters), and more.

“We really enjoy offering our food at farmers’ markets,” said Rahman. “It is where real people come to shop, the food is the best, and it helps the community,” he added.

You can also find Perfect Plant Farm at the Spa City and Colonie Farmers’ Market. This summer, they will also attend the Clifton Park Farmers’ Market. Their products are available for pick-up in Latham by preordering by email at perfectplantfarm@gmail.com and by phone at 646-591-6046. Ask about their CSA shares to save on prepared food, flowers, and microgreens.

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, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.