Hello my Foodie Friends!

Valentines Day is right around the corner. As we get ready to celebrate Valentines Day and truly show those around us that we love them, it is a perfect time to remind ourselves of our focus to eat healthier and take care of our heart.  A heart healthy eating plan and lifestyle are considered the best weapons against heart disease.  Turning your kitchen into a heart-healthy area of your home can involve including certain items to assist you.  Developing a healthy living routine can include using a technology seeking approach by using a food scale to help make your plan work for you.  Weighing out foods and ingredients is the most accurate way of calculating how much you actually eat.  A food scale can be a fun way of double checking portion sizes and helping to keep yourself accountable. 

There are several types of food scales. The mechanical scale has a platform on which you can place whatever it is that you want to weigh. The weight is then displayed after the weights of the ingredients that you want to measure have pushed down a spring that is connected to the meter of the scale. The main advantage of mechanical scales is that they are cost effective and are not complicated when it comes to operating them. The kitchen digital scale is one of the most reliable scales in the world. The reason why many people perceive it as the best kitchen scale is because of its precision. In fact, it has the ability to measure even the smallest quantities with an accuracy of up to four decimal places. Another advantage of digital scales is that they give you the measurement as you add more weight so there is no need for you to wait for the scales to balance. Making healthier food choices can help with improving the quality of your diet.  However, regulating the size of food portions is a simple process that can help with weight loss.  Weighing out food before it is eaten is a convenient method of controlling portion sizes and is something you can easily do at home with basic kitchen equipment. A digital kitchen scale helps with measuring. 

A pointer to assist with weighing: Weigh out the desired portion size. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a standard portion for most meats and fish is 3 ounces. Look for portion size information on packages and use on-line resources such as MyPyramid.gov to learn about the recommended portion size of other foods. Weigh the food before it has been washed or cooked. Place the plate of food on the scale. The calibrated scale will measure the weight of the food only. Remove or add more of the foods until you reach the required portion. You can remove the plate as many times as you like provided that you do not press the tally button for a second time. For Food Safety reasons, you need to wash the plate thoroughly with hot water and detergent between weighing different foods.

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery Store. We can help you with selecting the culinary tools you need to create that special meal this Valentines Day. “Cooking is love made visible.” Make something special for those that you want to show your love to. Remember: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Who doesn’t love a good bagel? Once you find that place that makes the perfect bagel, it is difficult to avoid making a bagel a regular event especially when thinking of the crusty outside and chewy interior along with the amazing flavors that are now available. If you only think of bagels in terms of breakfast and the occasional pizza, you’re missing out on using a surprisingly versatile weapon in your kitchen’s arsenal. Not only are there more things you can do with bagels than you’re thinking, it is a perfect recipe start for those with a hectic schedule. Keeping an extra sleeve of bagels in the kitchen cupboard can be surprisingly useful. 

Whip up a batch of Bagel French toast with a hint of cinnamon, some amazing egg custard, and whatever fresh fruit is in season, and you’ll never use bread again. How about Mac n cheese? Bagels are the last thing to be added to the mac n’cheese (and you can definitely use your own favorite recipe or cheesy combination) before it’s baked for ten minutes to finish it off, giving the top of the cheesy, flavor-filled casserole a crispy brown crust. It will be filled with bubbling cheese underneath and all the flavor of your favorite bagel and will change the way you make mac n’ cheese. How about adding it to your salad? Whatever bagel you choose is going to turn into the perfect salad garnish. After just a few minutes in the oven, your shredded bagel pieces will crisp up as they cool, and your Caesar salads will never be the same when they’re topped with croutons. Get creative with breakfast. Rather than making a hole in a perfectly fine slice of bread for the egg-in-a-hole recipe, use the hole that’s already in a bagel for a heartier morning egg. If you’re already updating this favorite by swapping in a bagel, spread your toasted bagel with smashed avocado — seasoned just the way you like it — and then add your egg.

Is you mouth watering yet? When you are attempting to slice a bagel with a knife, you understand the difficulty, as well as the potential safety issues. You need a safe tool to easily slice bagels. Choose a bagel slicer. 

It is designed for heavy-duty usage made with high quality bases and guards and solid handles to prevent breakage. Never worry about cutting yourself.  The guillotine blade safely slices the bagel behind the protective finger guards. It is dishwasher safe in the top rack only. It is engineered for safety and performance.  All you have to do is insert the bagel, push down, and remove the perfectly sliced bagel. There are so many delicious dishes to make with bagels. 

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery for a bagel slicer to assist you with slicing your favorite bagel. Let the one you love know that they are your “everything.”  Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

With The Big Game quickly approaching, football fans might be thinking about the field, but we’re all looking forward to the snacks! 

The array of creamy dips, bite-sized snacks, and decadent desserts are certainly something to anticipate, even for those who aren’t big sports fans. Appetizers and finger food are the traditional spread for most, making for easy snacking between plays or the much-anticipated commercials. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market has options to meet all your snacking needs for next Sunday. Get your shopping done at the Saturday market to incorporate fresh, locally made ingredients into your Sunday spread. 

Whether you are cooking for a crowd or keeping it lowkey this year, we put together a few recipes that are sure to impress, using fresh ingredients from the market. And for the hardcore football fans looking forward to more traditional snacks, you can, of course, pick up plenty of wings or spinach and cheese for artichoke dip at the market too!

FRIED PICKLES
Kick off the game with some savory and sweet fried pickles. Mix 1 cup flour with 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp Cajun spice, and ½ tbsp cayenne pepper. Preheat an air fryer to 400. Grab 2 cups of your favorite flavor of pickles from Puckers Gourmet (we’re using the Dilly Sweet pickles, but you can substitute whatever you like) and coat with the flour mixture. Place in a single layer in the fryer and spray with olive oil. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce. 

BUFFALO GOAT CHEESE BALLS
If you’re craving something cheesy and a little unique, make some fried buffalo goat cheese balls. Add ⅓ cup of flour and a pinch of pepper to a medium bowl. Add one large beaten egg and 2 tablespoons of water to a separate shallow bowl. Add 1 ½ cups of panko breadcrumbs to another medium-sized bowl. Then your favorite flavor of goat cheese from Nettle Meadow or R&G Cheesemakers and roll it into 20-24 balls. Roll each ball in the flour, then dip in the egg mixture, and then cover in the panko mixture. Place the balls on a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes or until firm. Then heat 1-2 cups of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and fry the goat cheese balls in batches for 1-2 minutes until crispy brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel-lined surface. Serve hot with spicy buffalo dip from Argyle Cheese Farmer!

APPLE NACHOS
For dessert, try making apple nachos, which are easy to customize to your taste and perfect if you’re looking for something a little lighter after all the afternoon snacking. Just cut Fuji apples (or apple of choice) from Saratoga Apple into thin slices and arrange on a plate. Then drizzle about ¼ cup of melted peanut butter (we’re using Plain Jane creamy from Saratoga Peanut Butter Company) and ¼ cup of melted semi-sweet chocolate over the apples. Top with a handful of chocolate chips or some granola to serve. 

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. For online pre-ordering and curbside pickup, visit localline.ca/saratoga-farmers-market.

Hello my Foodie Friends!

So many foodies are getting back to the basics with using the mortar and pestle as part of their food preparation. The mortar and pestle is one of the most primitive kitchen tools. You place ingredients in a bowl usually made of stone or ceramic and then pound them with a tiny club. In an era of specialized kitchen gadgets, mortars and pestles have maintained their relevance remarkably well. The mortar and pestle is versatile, easy to use and provides more control than its electric counterparts, allowing for both rustic and refined preparations. It is an excellent addition to any kitchen, and who can resist the allure of using an ancient tool to create something truly handmade? This tool adds fun and flavor to any kitchen. Grinding herbs and spices in a mortar and pestle releases their delicate natural oils, something an electric appliance cannot do. It is perfect for making healthy dips like guacamole (the Mexican version of a mortar and pestle is called a molcajete) and fresh tomato salsa as well as flavorful pastes and pesto from fresh herbs and olive oil. Mortars and pestles are also ideal for grinding spices into rubs and toppings to sprinkle over your favorite dishes.

You can choose the best mortar and pestle for your kitchen by anticipating how it will be used most frequently. Smaller mortars and pestles are perfect for grinding spices, whereas larger versions are better suited for grinding large leafy items and nuts, or for mashing avocados.

Here’s a list of cooking tasks you can accomplish with a mortar and pestle:
• Grind your own peppercorns and spices including cinnamon sticks, coriander, and cloves.
• Remove cardamom seeds from their pods and then crush to use in Indian cooking.
• Grind sea salt to the fine texture of popcorn salt and season your movie night treat.
• Crush whole dry chilies into flakes. Crush capers to use in homemade tartar sauce recipes. Smash fresh peeled ginger to use in Asian recipes. Crush some flax seeds to release their benefits and add to yogurt for a nutritious breakfast or snack.
• Crush lavender to use in baking or potpourri. Crush herbs and seeds to make medicinal teas. Make fresh, homemade nut butters. Turn fresh garlic cloves into a paste and spread on Italian bread with olive oil for some intense garlic bread. Crush some fresh basil, garlic and pine nuts together in the larger sized units. Then mix in some olive oil to make super fresh and flavorful pesto.

One of the most classic uses of the mortar and pestle is for pesto. Combining the flavors of basil, pine, nut, Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil can make a wonderful pesto to add to pasta, spread on a sandwich, or eat by the spoonful. When it comes to making pesto, you can’t go wrong with a pestle and mortar. You could make it in a food processor, but you just won’t get the same flavors as when you’re pounding and crushing all that lovely basil by hand. 

Cooking can be fun! No matter how long you have been cooking, there is always something new to learn. The mortar and pestle may take a little elbow grease, but it is the tool that will not fail you. Go back to the old grind for a while, stepping away from modern technology and use the mortar and pestle for your incredible culinary creations. Stop into Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place to get your “cool” tools for your favorite foodie. Remember, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

If you’ve seen Shane Avery at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, you’ll know he’s a busy man operating two businesses at once. Avery started at the market as Saratoga Urban Farm, selling microgreens and wheatgrass shots. The latter inspired him to make holistic wellness products more accessible to customers. The creation of both Earth To Mind, a CBD product line, and Junbucha, a green tea and honey-based twist on kombucha, soon followed.

Earth To Mind was born at just the right time: “People were asking if anyone at the market produced CBD products, so it seemed like a great opportunity for me to try to fill that gap,” says Avery. Earth To Mind’s product line includes tinctures, topicals, rubs, and now also soft gels. Its CBD Assistance Program aims to improve accessibility and gives 40% off to veterans, low-income customers, and those on disability. And CBD isn’t limited to humans; the products are also great for pets, to calm anxiety and to ease inflammation.

The origins of Avery’s Junbucha, “the champagne of kombucha,” were also at the market: loyal customers demanded more of the homemade kombucha that Avery would share. “Jun is a tough to brew culture, but the honey makes for a lighter, floral brew that still has those same probiotic properties.” Made with organic ingredients, Avery produces flavors like blueberry & lemon, pineapple & turmeric, and ginger & yerba mate. Cold-pressed juice is added just before bottling to make a fruitier brew than the often vinegary kombucha.

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Avery’s companies both aimed to fill customer demands at the farmers’ market. The regard for community wellbeing is evident from the way they operate, whether it be through sourcing local ingredients to support other small businesses or renting out their shared commercial kitchen space for others to incubate new ideas. “You need a healthy ecosystem for your business to grow in, and I try to take an active role to help sustain that ecosystem for others.” The brands also value environmental sustainability, using recycled packaging and reusable bottles (a recent favorite was a customer using bottles for sand art). “It’s obvious to consider the earth when you’re a farmer; your hands are literally in the dirt. But other food producers are equally responsible for operating sustainably,” Avery says.

Avery is grateful for the platform that the farmers’ markets have given him. “In my opinion, it’s the best place to incubate new products and ideas. You get instant feedback, and customers’ reviews are honest, accurate, and high-quality. As a farmer or producer at the market, you’re adding value to a larger marketplace of ideas.” Find Earth To Mind and Junbucha at the farmers’ market every Saturday, or order online on earthtomind.com and junbucha.com.

Are you looking to grow your business in 2021? Vendor applications for our summer markets are open until January 31! Local farmers, artisans, crafters, and specialty food makers are welcome to apply. For more information visit saratogafarmersmarket.org/vendor.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. For online pre-ordering and curb-side pickup, visit localline.ca/saratoga-farmers-market.

Whether you spend your days working from home or out and about, these long winter months are hard on us all. What could be more comforting than a warm bowl of soup full of fresh and nourishing ingredients after a long day? Soups are generally healthful with benefits including high nutritional value and low fat. They are also easy to prepare, inexpensive, and delicious!

January is National Soup Month, so we encourage you to put together a simple soup by stocking up on vegetables, meats, and herbs at Saturdays’ farmers’ market. You will be all set to enjoy a satisfying meal on Sunday or a busy weeknight when you are low on time.

Soups are easy to customize to your liking; make a simple soup a bit heartier with some noodles, beans, or rice. Or if you’re looking for something light, you can keep it basic with broth and vegetables. Just follow this introductory method and tailor it to your preferences and available ingredients.

Start with stock – preferably homemade, by simmering chicken or beef leftovers in water, or utilize vegetable parts like onion skins, root vegetables, and herbs. A good quality stock can make a good soup great! Then choose your aromatics such as carrots, celery, onion, garlic, leek, etc. For a little smokiness, add an item like a hambone or bacon. Saute your aromatics in a big stockpot with oil or butter until softened, then stir in herbs and spices to enhance the flavor. Bay leaves and thyme rarely goes wrong. Add a carb if desired, like vermicelli or potatoes. And then, lots of vegetables to add nutrition and bulk to your soup. Seasonal vegetables to consider are kale, chard, and mushrooms. Add the stock and let simmer until ingreadients are tender. You can optionally puree your soup after simmering for a silky smooth finish. Finally, add any extra meats, garnishes, and flavorings (like cream, lemon juice, or even hot sauce) for added fullness and flavor. 

We’re sharing a recipe featuring produce from Gomez Veggie Ville’s “soup bags,” which you can pick up every Saturday at the farmers’ market. If you pick up a soup bag from the market, you’ll have several options, including carrots, onions, beets, potatoes, turnips, and cabbage. 

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. For online pre-ordering and curbside pickup, visit localline.ca/saratoga-farmers-market.

Hello my Foodie Friends!

What new culinary creations are you craving during these colder months? One approach that many of our foodies are using is to stir-fry. Stir-frying is the quintessential weeknight supper! If you have a fridge full of ingredients, and half an hour to put dinner on the table, cooking with a wok is definitely the go-to method. Vegetables retain their bright color and crunch and you can watch meat and aromatics go from raw to crisp in seconds, making stir-frying in a wok a fun way to cook. 

A wok is a wide bowl shaped cooking vessel with handles used commonly in Chinese and Asian cooking. The types of foods generally cooked in woks are stir frying, stewing, boiling, braising and steaming. Compliments to the Chef carry a large assortment of high quality woks and Stir Fry’s that suit the needs of the Asian cooking enthusiast. Some of the best companies carry this cookware Joyce Chen, Helen Chen (her daughter), and Ken Hom to name a few. Both the carbon steel and non-stick woks spread heat evenly and are easy to clean up. The handles are designed to stay cool on the stovetop, so you can easily remove the pan from the burner without using potholders. The curved sides of a wok diffuse heat and extend the cooking surface, which helps with tossing and stirring. The great depth allows ample room to cook a whole fish, if so desired. Simmering, deep frying, or steaming, are just a few of its multiple uses. Season them with vegetable oil before use and after cleaning.  With the carbon wok, the more you use a wok, the more flavor it will  take on, and the better your food will taste. As you cook with the wok, the metal pores open, and the fat you’re cooking with seeps in. 

There are other ways to use a wok that we may not typically think of. 

With its wide top and plenty of room, a wok is great for tossing a salad. Woks are great for making taco filling or any of the rice-and-pea type of dishes like arroz con pollo or paella. Consider a wok for scrambling eggs especially in large quantities. The eggs cook almost instantaneously, with no sticking, even if you’ve pre-cooked some vegetables before adding the eggs to the wok. When cooking a Mexican-style meal, cook on very low heat and use it to keep tortillas warm. Another use can be as a steamer by placing a steamer rack on the bottom with water. A wok is great for steaming lobster.

Where ever your tastes take you, this pan can deliver while you “wok this way.” 

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store for those cool tools to help you with your special dinner. Also knife sharpening is still available! Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Hello my Foodie Friends!

January reminds us that we are in the midst of winter and colder temperatures, we find ourselves reaching for the dinner staples that keep us warm an full. This time of year we love to make the most comforting recipes. After a day filled with snow adventures, my mother would often reach for one of her winter staple items, Stuffed Peppers, to make for a family of seven. I can recall how delicious it would smell in the house when the herd of kids came busting through the door after a day of playing in the snow. When making this dish, my mother would always reach for her favorite saute’ pan. Using the right cookware to help you with your winter recipes is important. A good dish is made up of different ingredients: a good recipe and having good cookware. Owning a few well-chosen pieces will give you the flexibility to cook whatever you want and the performance you need to cook it better. They may look different, but they all share essential qualities you should look for. Good pans are worth their price because they manage heat better.  Terms such as; “Good conductor” and “heavy gauge” are the key features of good cookware. Here’s how these characteristics affect cooking.

You get responsive heat. Good heat conductors, such as copper and aluminum, are responsive to temperature changes. They’ll do what the heat source tells them to do—heat up, cool down—almost instantly. You get fast heat flow. Heat flows more easily through a good heat conductor, assuring a quick equalizing of temperature on the cooking surface. You get even heat diffusion. A thicker pan has more distance between the cooking surface and the heat source. By the time the heat flows to the cooking surface, it will have spread out evenly, because heat diffuses as it flows. Depending on what you’ll be cooking in the pan, you may also need to look for other attributes.

My mother always reached for her sauté pan sautéing and other cooking that called for quick temperature changes. She would use it to sauté garlic just until fragrant and then turn down the flame, so that the pan would cool down quickly so the garlic did not burn. 

Love is all around especially when we make the family tradition recipes that bring back memories of a time past. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, Your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store. We have an assortment of cookware to assist you with your cold weather recipes. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Many of us start a new year with a fresh set of resolutions, new habits to live by for a healthier, happier self. But a few weeks in, the cold, dark winter can make it hard to keep up our motivation. If you can’t get your healthy food resolutions to stick, change the way you approach them.

Instead of cutting out foods you love and feeling guilty when you inevitably “cheat,” upgrade your favorite comfort meals with real, fresh ingredients to treat both your body and soul. Here are a few tips on what to look for at the farmers’ market.

BACK TO THE ROOTS
In the winter months, farmers bring loads of root vegetables to the market. Himanee Gupta-Carlson from Squashville Farm takes this opportunity to get the comfort of a chicken pot pie in a healthier jacket. Make a roux with a good quality bone broth. Potatoes and turnips help thicken the sauce to reduce additional ingredients needed, and carrots add flavor and color.

SLOW-COOKED FOR THE SOUL
Good quality, fresh meats don’t need many additives to taste great. Lay off on the salt and extra fats and enjoy a cut from the market in its full glory. Longlesson Farm’s Christophe Robert suggests trying beef shanks. It is a leaner (and cheaper) meat, cooked low and slow in a crockpot (bonus: your kitchen will smell amazing!). Simmer with non-starchy vegetables like carrots or turnips. Serve with a quick polenta made from Squashville Farm’s dried heirloom Abenaki corn. Then use the shank’s marrow bone to create a nutrient-filled bone broth and blend it up with the stewed veggies for a hearty soup. Add in a statement ingredient towards the end of cooking, like beet or tomato, to add color.

PLANT-BASED OR GLUTEN-FREE?
If you are trying a no- or low-meat lifestyle, mushrooms can provide a fantastic, bold alternative. Jeff Killenberger from 518 Farms suggests using brain-boosting lions’ mane to make “crab” cakes. Or go for sweet by combining lions’ mane, cinnamon, and sugar for a vegan and gluten-free “apple crisp.”

Butternut squash can also lift a dish by adding nutrients, color, and creaminess. Try a vegan mac & “cheese” by replacing the dairy with butternut squash. Up the health factor by using whole-wheat pasta or go gluten-free by swapping spätzle from The Vermont Spätzle Company.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. For online pre-ordering and curbside pickup, visit localline.ca/saratoga-farmers-market.

The winter season of cold weather and lots of snow has come, and the farmers’ market is feeling grateful for our indoor home at the Wilton Mall. Since November, indoor markets have been running safely and smoothly every Saturday. Still, many customers who would like to eat fresh food and support local farms and producers understandably do not feel safe shopping indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While our vendors can’t be outside in the cold anymore (frozen vegetables don’t taste so fresh!), we can bring fresh products to our customers. We have launched a new online ordering platform with contact-free curbside pickup every Saturday morning.

The platform currently offers various products from about 20 winter season vendors, though more products and producers are added weekly based on customer requests and community needs. 

Available products will also change weekly due to local food seasonality, ensuring the freshest products are listed every week.

The online storefront is open weekly from Monday evenings until Thursday nights at 9 p.m. Between these times, customers can navigate to the store using the link below. Products from multiple vendors can be added to a virtual shopping cart, with just one credit or debit card payment required at checkout. SNAP/EBT customers may defer payment until they pick up their order, and deferred credit/debit and cash payments are accepted on-site as well. The minimum order amount is $15, and there is a $3 flat fee per order to cover the time and money spent by the market to run the online system and prepare orders.

On Saturday mornings, customers may park in reserved curbside pickup spots located right outside the Bow Tie Cinemas entrance to the Wilton Mall and receive prompt delivery to their vehicles. This service is also available to pedestrians and those taking public transportation.

The farmers’ market’s mission is to provide access to fresh, healthy, and locally produced food to everyone in our community; thus, the market hopes this contact-free curbside pickup program will provide another way to help meet this goal during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Access SFM2GO at localline.ca/saratoga-farmers-market or navigate there on our website: saratogafarmersmarket.org. Customers can sign up there to receive a weekly email update about new products offered and other curbside pickup news.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter: www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.