It’s been quite a summer, with COVID-19, nationwide protests and calls for police reforms, presidential politics, school reopenings, and the fate of the U.S. postal service dominating the news.

Still, we’re surviving, thanks to the best local foods and drinks that our vendors bring each week to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. 

In that spirit, we suggest a brief celebration. Visit the market and fill your basket with what you need for your upcoming meals. Top it off with a bottle of a handcrafted artisanal liquor and the ingredients for a cocktail or two.

The market’s three spirits vendors are Lake George Distillery, Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery, and Yankee Distillers. Collectively, they bring gin, vodka, and whiskey to the market each Saturday, not to mention fruit- and spice-infused spirits, such as Lake George’s Apple Pie Moonshine and its Lake George Lemonade. A simple quarter-cup pour from one of their bottles over two or three cubes of ice makes a hearty but not too boozy cocktail in and of itself. 

If you want something a little more fancy, try these suggestions:

• LAVENDER LEMONADE COCKTAIL
Yankee’s Steve Hamilton recommends either vodka or bourbon for this beverage made with Slate Valley Farm’s lavender lemonade and freshly chopped cucumber from one of the market’s produce vendors. Strip off some of the outer cucumber skin with a vegetable peeler and chop the cucumber. Place it in a cup with ice cubes, and add one part spirit and three parts lavender lemonade. The lemonade lightens the intensity of the liquor, while the lavender and cucumber impart a floral freshness. I tried this concoction with bourbon and found it delicious.

• GIN & TONIC WITH CELERY
Springbrook Hollow’s Tara Solomon suggests muddling a bit of chopped celery in the classic gin and tonic beverage consisting approximately of one part gin, two parts tonic, and ice. She also suggests allowing the celery to remain in the glass until the beverage has been consumed for snacking. Cucumber makes an excellent alternative. 

• MOCHA AND MINT WHISKEY
Hamilton suggests a malt whiskey for this cocktail, which is made with coffee and chocolate milk from the market’s new Bunker Hill Dairy vendor. It can be made with a take-home version of the mocha drink that Something’s Brewing offers. A little bit of crushed mint adds a flavorful boost.

Just remember, no drinking at the market.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter: www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter. 

Hello my Foodie Friends!

This past week and weekend celebrates my mother-in-law and my mother (who has passed) birthdays. As my family celebrate both of their birthdays, I reflect on my treasured childhood experiences especially during the end of summer weather. Along with this time of year came the time to work in the garden and harvest the incredible vegetables that we worked hard to grow and maintain over the summer. I love garden grown tomatoes. It often took all of my control to not bite into them as I was pulling them from their stems. Fresh tomatoes smell so good.  My grandmother and mother always loved to make their sauce from home grown tomatoes. Therefore, in August and September, when tomatoes are at their ripest, it was a very busy time for me to help them in the garden. Every summer, when the garden was coming up tomatoes, my family would pass them through a chinois or food mill to get rid of skins and seeds. We would have fresh tomato sauce year-round. When you use a chinois or a food mill, tomatoes stay dense and rich.

The chinois is a cone-shaped strainer with a tightly woven mesh for filtering impurities from stocks, soups and sauces. To make the best use of a chinois, you’ll need a pointed wooden pestle, tailored to closely fit the bottom of the cone. The pestle allows you to easily press every last bit of juice and flavor from the solids. A stand is useful for holding the chinois upright over a pot or bowl. A chinois can be used for taking lumps out of gravy or even for taking the juice from citrus fruit. However, the most common use for a chinois is for making soup stock or sauces. For example, a chinois can be used to remove the seeds from tomatoes to prepare a fresh tomato sauce. Some people use a chinois to prepare apple sauce. It is also known as a bouillon strainer and it is commonly used for preparing soup stock as the conical shape helps funnel the stock into your pot. The fine mesh also keeps the bigger pieces of meat from the bones from going into the soup stock and clouding the clear broth.

To make a fresh sauce, dice tomatoes, then toss them in a pot and set it over moderate heat, stirring frequently. The tomatoes quickly begin dumping out their water as they heat up. Simmer the tomatoes until most of the excess liquid has cooked off, then transfer them  to a chinois or a food mill. To peel the tomatoes, cut out the stem end and score an X into the skin with a sharp knife. Then drop them in boiling water until the skins just start to show signs of coming loose around the score marks (just about 30 seconds to a minute). Finally, transfer the tomatoes to an ice bath to shock them and stop the cooking; this will help loosen the skins even more. You should be able to just peel them right off with your hands. Dice the remaining tomato flesh, transfer it to a mesh strainer/ chinois or food mill, set over a bowl, and sprinkle it liberally with salt, which will draw out moisture. After about 30 minutes to an hour, puree the pulp with a blender. The puree has a very bright, fresh flavor, like gazpacho—but without any of the other ingredients, obviously. Included is a recipe for a fresh tomato sauce. 

At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, we carry cool tools for cooks to help with those culinary traditions.  Working in the garden can make for some lifelong memories made with family and friends while sharing your culinary creations.  Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” 

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Calling all Cherry lovers! As I think back on my childhood memories, I can remember the sheer joy of seeing my mom bringing a heaping bowl of bright red cherries to the table. Now we know that eating cherries as a part of a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables may provide health benefits. Cherries are a good source of vitamin C.  Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant. Cherries are also low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Last night I pitted and ate some delicious cherries and I slept like a baby. Who knew that they helped with sleep?  Recently Dr. Russell J. Reiter, professor of neuroendocrinology at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio put some hard science behind the cherry folklore. He conducted a five-month study and found that tart cherries contain significant amounts of melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain’s pineal gland that has been credited with slowing the aging process, and fighting insomnia and jet lag. It’s also being studied as a potential treatment for cancer, depression and other diseases and disorders. The findings mark the first time melatonin has been pegged as a naturally occurring substance in food, although trace amounts are evident in bananas, corn and other foods, Reiter says.

You can also freeze cherries. You can freeze sweet cherries to enjoy in baked goods, smoothies, and sauces throughout the year. Simply rinse the cherries with cool water and remove the stem. Pitting them will make it easier to pop into a recipe later if they’re frozen without the pit. Once the cherries have been pitted, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer overnight to freeze. After they’re completely frozen, put them in an airtight container or freezer bag to store in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. You won’t even need to thaw them before using them. 

So kick back and enjoy those heartwarming childhood memories, while of course, savoring your own bowl full of sweet, juicy cherries—it’s a treat you can feel good about!

Use a cherry pitter to help you with taking the pits out. It will make your life easier. Most cherry pitters can also pit olives. At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place in Saratoga Springs, we carry cherry and olive pitters that can quickly and easily remove pits from cherries and olives without bruising or crushing fruit or wasting fruit. They are perfect for canning, freezing, dehydrating and baking cherries. One of our favorites is made by OXO. This cherry/olive pitter will make your life a lot easier with all of the delicious cherry recipes that are out there. The OXO pitter has a removable splatter shield that keeps juices contained and directed downward. It has a large holder that accommodates larger cherries and a recessed cup for smaller variety cherries. 

By the way, I still love listening to Neil Diamond songs; especially while we are in the kitchen cooking or driving in the car. One of our favorites is “Cherry, Cherry.”  Remember Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” 

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Each year I find myself looking forward to the late summer when everything seems to slow down a bit as we soak up the last long, hot days that mark the bittersweet end of another summer. Before we trade our swimsuits for back to school and office outfits and switch our summer salads for pumpkin recipes, we enjoy one last late summer harvest.

Growing up, the late summer always brought with it one of my favorite treats: my Grandmother’s fresh chocolate chip zucchini bread. My Grandma Jo’s beloved garden sat in the field behind her and my grandfather’s home in Upstate New York, surrounded by a small fence to keep out the deer and rabbits that frequented the property. She tended to her garden often, loading her many tools onto a four-wheeler and setting out to work in the hot sun to ensure her fruits, vegetables, and herbs were properly taken care of. 

In early August, her small garden overflowed with an abundance of zucchini, raspberries, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The meals of the following weeks were filled with produce from the garden in every way imaginable. Zucchini bread and muffins for breakfast, cucumber and tomato salads for lunch, and cakes with sweet raspberry sauce for dessert. 

This flood of fresh fruits and vegetables brought some of my favorite meals of the summer, as well as some of the most cherished memories of my childhood. Long afternoons surrounded by my siblings and cousins, following directions to make delicious raspberry jam we liked to call “Grandchildren Jam” and enjoying her homemade desserts out on the deck surrounded by family as we watched the sunset. But what I looked forward to most was the late summer surplus of zucchini that meant homemade zucchini bread, with a special batch she would set aside for me made with chocolate chips.

 As we enter the last few weeks of summer, as always, I look forward to sharing this recipe with my family and taking in the dog days of August.

Cooking provides such a special way to connect with family and friends and emphasizes the importance of nourishing ourselves with fresh, healthy foods. Come browse the market this month to stock up on seasonal summer produce grown by your favorite local farmers. It is food that you can feel good about eating and sharing. 

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter – www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter. 

Normally, farmers’ markets are a space for customers to interact with their local food producers and community, sipping iced drinks while watching musicians play. But in the age of social distancing, making that gathering happen is impossible.

On March 20, Governor Cuomo declared farmers’ markets essential businesses. Local food vendors were allowed to sell their products as long as they followed certain requirements, such as limiting the number of customers at their tables and changing the presentation of their stalls in order to encourage social distancing.

Fast forward nearly half a year, and our vendors have settled into the new way of doing business. We caught up with some of our vendors to see what this means for them, and noticed a trend: for many, the coronavirus has all but slowed down sales.

“My sales have been up 200%,” states Christophe Robert, a local meat producer who runs Longlesson Farm, as he chalks “sold out” next to another one of his products. He notes that since markets are outside and enforcing social distancing, more customers feel at ease. Robert continues, “Customers know that it’s only one person who’s touched the packaging, it’s not a big store where you don’t know where the product has been before it landed in your hands.”

In an effort to maintain these safe production lines, vendors have changed their displays to allow for more visual browsing. 

“Usually, I have more of a built-up display, but now I make sure everything is spread out and visible, so [customers] don’t have to pick it up in order to admire it,” says Gretchen Tisch, artist and owner of Feathered Antler. She believes that the alterations have changed shopping behaviors, causing customers to make more instant decisions about the products they purchase.

One concern has arisen for vendors that work with outside businesses. When chatting with Trisha Nussbaum from the Food Florist, which specializes in pre-made meals, she mentions that it became harder to acquire raw ingredients, encountering a chicken, pork, and beef shortage due to COVID. Though this has slowed down their production, it hasn’t slowed down their order demands. 

“For us, we’re just doing what we always have, but with more ovens,” she summarizes with a laugh.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter: www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.

Hello my Foodie Friends!

There is something magical about the act of preparing meals and eating together. It is an act of giving and sharing. During this summer as we continue to practice social distancing, we find ourselves making more family dinners, lunches, and breakfasts. Some of the joy that has emerged during this period has been the increased experience of eating together as a family. Our relationship with cooking has also changed. Many have used this time to become more adventurous with trying out new culinary skills and recipes we have wanted to try. In preparing that special culinary creation, there may be some cool culinary tools you need to help.

One tool that has become a “must have” in the kitchen drawer is the bench scraper. A bench scraper, which is also called a pastry scraper or dough scraper, is also used in working with pastry, bread, and other doughs. But even if you don’t bake regularly, it can still be a worthy investment for general cooking prep. It’s also space-efficient and easy to stow away in a prep drawer, and is a crazy-easy-to-clean, dishwasher-safe tool that can last you for decades.  A bench scraper is one of those inexpensive utensils that lasts a lifetime and has a million uses. 

When chopping vegetables, a bench scraper makes short work of transferring the veggies from the cutting board to the skillet or soup pot without losing half the veggies onto the floor during the transfer. Think of that flat piece of metal as a wide extension of your hand. Imagine the joy you would feel by only making ONE journey from your cutting board to your soup pot instead of your usual six trips as you balance those diced veggies on your knife or in your hand. You can also use your trusty scraper to smash whole cloves of garlic or to smash boiled potatoes before frying them.

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.  Relish the memories of cooking and eating together as a family! Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” 

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Hello my Foodie Friends!

This week, the must have gadget for your kitchen are onion goggles.  Let’s start by telling you about my first job in a restaurant when I was 16 years old. The manager brought me to the back of the restaurant and said to me “son, we are going to make you a ‘boss,’ being the boss of onions!”  I was so happy and I couldn’t wait to tell my mom. The manager told me that they needed me to peel, cut and chop onions for my entire shift. Yes, life was going my way as a 16 year old might perceive. I had received my driver’s license the week before and started a new job. On one particular day after my shift ended, I was going on my first date with Anna, a cheerleader at my school. My plan was to take her in my used 1966 Ford Mustang that had a 289 engine, factory air, and an eight-track tape player with a reverberator! On the day of the date at work, the manager handed me a knife that seemed to me to be two feet long in length. He said “now have at it.”  I was nervous, however; I wanted to be the superstar “Boss of Onions.” So I started working on peeling, cutting, and chopping the mountains of onions in front of me. I believe that they last sharpened this knife in 1922, so I figured it was safe. Peeling was no problem for boss man because I peeled a mountain of them.  Now it was time to cut the onions in half.  I steadied my “Crocodile Dundee” knife and pressed down on the onion.  Did you ever try that with a dull knife? As I attempted to cut the onion, the juice proceeded to squirt everywhere, and you guessed it, landed right into my eyes. Down goes boss man as I put my hands on my stinging eyes. As I continued to persevere into my task, I simply stated to myself that this was no problem and I could just rub my eyes and I would be fine.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t working the way that I had hoped. Soon I was looking like “Rocky Balboa.” I knew I had a job to do so I carried on but by now the tears were like waterfalls while I was wondering if I would be victorious over the onions. By the end of my shift the mountain was sliced and chopped.  Yep, I did it and the manager told me I was great but suggested I take a long shower before my big date. When I got home my mother screamed and called my Dad in to see his oldest son.  I had onion hair gel and my clothes were covered with juice and pieces of onions.  My eyes were very puffy and I had about seven Band-Aids on my fingers. Ah yes, my hands I noticed were now permanently yellow and it was one hour to my date. At his point I exclaimed; “Mom, you have to help me. I am a walking onion.”  I could not come within 20 feet of anyone without someone saying whew you reek.  I took my shower but it didn’t help. Mom and my two sisters went into full date prep mode. My sister Patty grabbed the lemon juice, my older sister Carol Ann stole Dad’s Hai Karate cologne and mom grabbed a nail brush and went to work with the lemon juice to rid me of yellow hands.  She also had Patty hold ice cubes on my eyes, which worked. She wasn’t going to let her son mess up his first date. The yellow and smell did not go away but the date was a success. Anna was very nice and said it made her think of salad and she like the Hai Karate cologne smell. 

Why do onions make us cry?

When onions are cut, an enzyme called sulfoxide lyase and sulfuric compounds are released from the broken cells. When exposed to air, they react with one another to form a vapor called thiopropanal sulfoxide. As this vapor evaporates, it irritates our eyes and causes us to cry.  Kitchen folklore remedies such as burning candles or matches, slicing onions under water and freezing the onions before cutting are comical at best. The two methods proven most effective in preventing onion-cutting tears include; wearing goggles or contact lenses. Onion goggles are a unisex design and fit most adults.  Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store to help you with those culinary items that make life a bit easier for you. Remember my Foodie Friends “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”

Take care, 

John and Paula.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 small white or yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

• 4 large garlic cloves, minced

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock   

• 2 cups milk (recommend 2% or whole milk)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided

• 4 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds

• 2 cups freshly-grated sharp cheddar cheese*, divided (feel free to add more cheese if you’d like)

• 1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prep oven and baking dish: Heat oven to 400°F.  Grease a  9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set it aside.

Sauté the onion and garlic. Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add onion, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent.  Add garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant.  Stir in the flour until it is evenly combined, and cook for 1 more minute.

2. Simmer the sauce. Gradually pour in the stock, and whisk until combined.  Add in the milk, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme, and whisk until combined.  Continue cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes until the sauce just barely begins to simmer around the edges of the pan and thickens.  (Avoid letting it reach a boil.)  Then remove from heat and set aside.

3. Layer the potatoes.  Spread half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan.  Top evenly with half of the cream sauce. Then sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese, and all of the Parmesan cheese.  Top evenly with the remaining sliced potatoes, the other half of the cream sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

4. Bake: Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  The sauce should be nice and bubbly around the edges.  Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.

5. Cool. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of thyme and extra Parmesan.

6. Serve. Serve warm.

The escarole sat crisply in my display bin at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. It caught the eye of a customer.

The escarole sat crisply in my display bin at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. It caught the eye of a customer.

I greeted him, and he asked, “Is this lettuce?” As he did so, his fingers wrapped impulsively around the leaves, cradling them.

“Please,” I said. “Can I ask you not to touch?”

The customer felt bad. I did, too. But as the COVID-19 pandemic continues we all are adapting to new practices of interacting with each other and the fresh foods at the market. Asking customers not to touch products until they have committed to buying them now is among the Saratoga market’s safety rules.

As we celebrate National Farmers’ Market Week this week, we also highlight how not touching fresh fruits and vegetables minimizes damage while also easing the risk of Coronavirus spread. In addition, the food remains safe and healthy with the farmers being the only ones touching the produce prior to purchase.

But how does one buy without touching?

Jason Heitman of Green Jeans Market Farm helps customers choose tomatoes by asking them what sizes they prefer and when they plan to eat them. He checks the bottoms of tomatoes to gauge their ripeness, noting that not fully ripened fruits will continue to ripen until consumed.

Brian Talmadge of Talmadge Farm encourages customers to choose beans that look wrinkle-free and shine. Cucumbers, he says, also have a shine.

Charles Holub of Scotch Ridge Farm brings handpicked berries to market that have attained enough sweetness to be eaten immediately or frozen for later use. 

Such greens as lettuce, kale, and escarole are harvested one or two days before market so they can be washed and cooled for maximum crispness. They might wilt during a market from exposure to sun and wind but will rebound when rinsed in cold water. If stored in a produce bag in the refrigerator, they’ll remain fresh for up to a week. 

I explained to my customer who mistook escarole for lettuce that it was a green from the chicory family and often used to make Beans and Greens. I also noted that it, like many other greens, was delicious sautéed with a bit of olive oil, black pepper, and garlic.

He bought the escarole and, like many others, thanked us for keeping the farmers’ market safe.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter – www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.

The escarole sat crisply in my display bin at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. It caught the eye of a customer.

The escarole sat crisply in my display bin at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. It caught the eye of a customer.

I greeted him, and he asked, “Is this lettuce?” As he did so, his fingers wrapped impulsively around the leaves, cradling them.

“Please,” I said. “Can I ask you not to touch?”

The customer felt bad. I did, too. But as the COVID-19 pandemic continues we all are adapting to new practices of interacting with each other and the fresh foods at the market. Asking customers not to touch products until they have committed to buying them now is among the Saratoga market’s safety rules.

As we celebrate National Farmers’ Market Week this week, we also highlight how not touching fresh fruits and vegetables minimizes damage while also easing the risk of Coronavirus spread. In addition, the food remains safe and healthy with the farmers being the only ones touching the produce prior to purchase.

But how does one buy without touching?

Jason Heitman of Green Jeans Market Farm helps customers choose tomatoes by asking them what sizes they prefer and when they plan to eat them. He checks the bottoms of tomatoes to gauge their ripeness, noting that not fully ripened fruits will continue to ripen until consumed.

Brian Talmadge of Talmadge Farm encourages customers to choose beans that look wrinkle-free and shine. Cucumbers, he says, also have a shine.

Charles Holub of Scotch Ridge Farm brings handpicked berries to market that have attained enough sweetness to be eaten immediately or frozen for later use. 

Such greens as lettuce, kale, and escarole are harvested one or two days before market so they can be washed and cooled for maximum crispness. They might wilt during a market from exposure to sun and wind but will rebound when rinsed in cold water. If stored in a produce bag in the refrigerator, they’ll remain fresh for up to a week. 

I explained to my customer who mistook escarole for lettuce that it was a green from the chicory family and often used to make Beans and Greens. I also noted that it, like many other greens, was delicious sautéed with a bit of olive oil, black pepper, and garlic.

He bought the escarole and, like many others, thanked us for keeping the farmers’ market safe.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter – www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.

After his first day of work at Pleasant Valley Farm, Mike Palulis came home to his wife Jennifer and told her that he had bought a tractor and wanted to try his own hand at farming. Despite his lack of experience in the field, the efficiency and dedication he saw at the farm resonated with him. 

As the owner and operator of The Sushi Bar at Stratton Mountain, Mike’s work was seasonal, and with a growing interest in where his food was sourced, he decided to spend his off-season working with Paul and Sandy Arnold at Pleasant Valley Farm in Argyle, NY. Jennifer, a former gardener, while caught a bit off guard, agreed to dive headfirst into this new adventure with her husband. 

Now in their seventh season of farming at Echo Creek Farm and joined by their three children, the Palulis have worked hard to make their small, family-run farm produce top quality, USDA certified organic vegetables that anyone could feel good about eating.

Jennifer speaks very highly of the Arnolds, who also attend the Saratoga Farmers’ Market every Saturday, describing their help as invaluable over the years. The efficiency of Pleasant Valley Farm is what initially grabbed Mike’s attention and impressed him so highly, that it inspired a change in his career and livelihood. The Arnolds have mentored the Palulis over the years on everything from the timing of planting their seeds to new and innovative structures that will improve growing capabilities in all seasons. The mindful manner of farming practiced by the Arnolds has been one of the strongest impressions that influenced Echo Creek Farm over the years.

When asked why Echo Creek chose to become a certified organic farm, Jennifer replied, “we’re a family farm, growing food in a respectful manner is so important.” With their three young children growing up and playing on the property, Jennifer and Mike knew they wanted the farm to be the cleanest possible environment. While it is not an easy process to become certified organic, the Palulis want to grow produce that they can feel good about feeding their children as well as the rest of the community.

Echo Creek Farm attends the Saratoga Farmers’ Market every Saturday, ensuring their natural, organic produce is accessible to all. Along with an assortment of vegetables and greens, Echo Creek also produces honey, eggs, potted herbs, and flowers. 

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter – saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.