Hello my Foodie Friends!

This past week both my wife and I celebrated our birthdays (having a birthday one day apart from each other was one of the many reasons I married her!). Recently I found a birthday card that my mother gave me for one of my milestone birthdays. I lost my mother in 1999.  However, I think about her every day. Back to school time brings back memories of my childhood and the chaos of getting five children to do their homework, eat dinner, brush their teeth and get to bed every school night. I often reminisce about the work my mother had in raising three boys and two girls.  In many of my articles I have talked about growing up in an Italian family.  I was reminded by one of my customers that Italians are a matriarchal nationality. It’s the women who carry on the traditions and hand out the majority of discipline, wisdom and nurturing to the children. As a child, every room in the house where I grew up included constant teaching and training by my mother. The bedroom task was making your bed, dusting furniture, sweeping the floor or vacuuming the rugs and organizing your clothes. The bathroom was to be kept clean at all times and the living room was “keep your feet off the couch!” The kitchen was the most intense training, washing and drying dishes to cleaning and setting the table. When we all sat at the kitchen table, our family discussions were learning times.  We shared everything from how our day went to how to pass the potatoes. We learned manners, how to hold a fork and at the beginning of the meal watching how much Mom did to prepare the meals and us for dinner.  One of my mother’s favorite cooking tools, and is my wife’s favorite, is the wooden spoon.  My mother used a wooden spoon for all of her daily cooking tasks. She would let us “taste” her sauce using a wooden spoon. There were wooden spoons for frying the meatballs, stirring the sauce and one that would sit at the kitchen table while we ate. 

At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store, we have Tools for Cooks. Stop by and shop our line of Beechwood wooden spoons and instantly take your culinary, dining, and entertaining experience to the next level. The wooden spoon was a primary cooking utensil used by Julia Child and other great chefs around the world. Each of our beechwood  spoons are made in France where they are lovingly handcrafted to standards of unsurpassed quality. For centuries wooden spoons and wooden cooking utensils have been preferred by chefs for their numerous advantages. Unlike metal or plastic, a wooden spoon can be left in the pot without the risk of melting, burning your hand, or ruining a temperature-sensitive dish. A wooden kitchen utensil will not change the taste of acidic foods the way metal will. Wooden spoons are versatile. Simply wash your kitchen utensil with warm soapy water and allow to air dry. Restore your wood utensils to their satiny finish by treating them with a little mineral oil or beeswax compound.

As we all are working through our hectic schedules, remember that family time is the most important time. Eat together as a family, share stories, talk about your day, listen to each other, enjoy good food, and remember to compliment the chef. Bring your family together for at least an hour a day. Meal time is family time. Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Goodway Bakery has been baking a variety of cookies, cakes, pies, and brownies in Troy, New York for over 40 years. However, the bakery’s roots dig deeper than a passion for sweet confections explains Goodway’s marketing manager Danielle Croley.

“My uncle started the business in 1979 as a fundraiser to offset the cost of educational opportunities for African American students,” explains Croley. “ When you purchase one of our delicious, made-from-scratch products, your contribution is an investment in the education of our youth.” Several hundred students have benefited from Goodway Bakery’s efforts to date.

This purpose became known as the Founder’s Choice Scholarship program and has helped bring Goodway Bakery’s confections across the country as organizers use Goodway’s baked goods to fundraise in various cities and states. Through this exposure, Goodway Bakery’s products have made a reputation for themselves. The bakery’s notable cookies, cakes, brownies, and pies have become sought after nation-wide. 

Goodway Bakery’s product line shifted about 10 years ago when their head baker traveled to the Caribbean islands. While there, he developed a passion for Caribbean cuisine, namely rum cakes. Today, rum cakes have become Goodway Bakery’s signature product. They bake 8 different flavors of rum cakes in various sizes and even offer gluten-free options.

 “Our baked goods are made fresh daily and contain no added preservatives or artificial ingredients,” says Croley. She attributes the quality ingredients including Madagascar vanilla and Bacardi rum to the popularity of their products. The rum cakes, in particular, have an excellent shelf life and stay moist and delicious for 2-3 weeks at room temperature making them excellent gifts and party favors.

Since COVID 19, Goodway Bakery has made yet another shift; from traveling the country to pursuing a more local customer base through farmers’ markets. Their variety of sweet, moist rum cakes, as well as macaroons, cookies, brownies, and pound cakes, can be found at several regional farmers’ markets. 

“We love being a part of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market,” states Croley. “The farmers’ market has been a wonderful experience for us and we enjoy connecting with our customers now that traveling to fundraisers and food shows has become difficult,” she explains.

Online ordering through their website is also a convenient way to acquire their famous cakes. Goodway Bakery has shipped its goods worldwide; even to Australia. For local shoppers, Goodway Bakery can be found every Saturday at the Saratoga Farmers’ 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 coming week Paula and I will each celebrate another birthday (we stopped counting the years). One of our favorite desserts to have to celebrate is with a cupcake that allows us to each choose our own creative flavor. With so many special events such as baby and bridal showers, birthdays, and weddings, bakeries and small businesses have been busy making delectable desserts for these events. The cupcake is a baked good that has gained tremendous popularity over the past two decades. The big business and trend of making cupcakes has expanded through entrepreneurial bakers and bakeries taking advantage of the multiple varieties and creativity that can come with cupcakes.  However, making your own cupcakes can be an endearing gift that you can make for yourself or for someone special. 

So, what is your cupcake personality? Do you prefer to indulge in rich double chocolate or simply vanilla? Maybe a wonderful red velvet or carrot cake with cream cheese frosting?  Peanut butter fudge sounds delicious or even salted caramel, mocha, or coconut. Whether your personality is fun and festive, salt and sweet, business like, lovey-dovey, colorful, adventurous, or serious, there is a cupcake flavor for you. Since their creation, cupcakes have become a pop culture trend in the culinary world. They have spawned dozens of bakeries devoted entirely to them. While chocolate and vanilla remain classic favorites, fancy flavors such as raspberry meringue and espresso fudge can be found on menus. There are cookbooks, blogs, and magazines specifically dedicated to cupcakes. 

The history of cupcakes (retrieved from All About Cupcakes) is interesting to learn about. The cupcake evolved in the United States in the 19th century, and it was revolutionary because of the amount of time it saved in the kitchen. There was a shift from weighing out ingredients when baking to measuring out ingredients. According to the Food Timeline Web, food historians have yet to pinpoint exactly where the name of the cupcake originated. There are two theories: the cakes were originally cooked in cups, and the ingredients used to make the cupcakes were measured out by the cup. In the beginning, cupcakes were sometimes called “number” cakes, because they were easy to remember by the measurements of ingredients it took to create them: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, and one spoonful of soda. Clearly, cupcakes today have expanded to a wide variety of ingredients, measurements, shapes, and decorations – but this was one of the first recipes for making what we know today as cupcakes. Cupcakes were convenient because they cooked much quicker than larger cakes. When baking was done in hearth ovens, it would take a long time to bake a cake, and the final product would often be burned. Muffin tins, also called gem pans, were popular around the turn of the 20th century, so people started creating cupcakes in tins. 

At Compliments to the Chef, your neighborhood kitchen and cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, we carry various accessories to assist you with making your favorite cupcake recipe. Cupcakes are a sweet way to please a crowd, and to say “thank you” or “I love you” to your little cupcake and to celebrate “another” birthday!! Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

What are your farming practices? As a farmer, I receive this question in varying forms often from customers who visit the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. So do many of the other agricultural vendors who bring fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, cheeses, spirits, and other locally produced items to market. 

I appreciate the question. It creates an opportunity to chat and build a relationship through a sharing of farming philosophy. But because farming is a personal endeavor, how the question gets answered varies.

I decided last Saturday to ask a few of my farmer friends at the market to share their philosophies and practices. Here’s what I learned:

From Lee Hennessy, owner of Moxie Ridge Farm, which brings goat milk, yogurt, and cheeses to market as well as pork: “The philosophy behind my farm … is based in terroir (a French term that depicts a sense of place in food and wine).” 

For Hennessy, terroir is achieved through what his goats and other animals eat: “Everything is non-GMO and comes from within 10 miles of my farm. That sense of place in milk and in meat is what makes it unique.”

From Andy Burger, of Burger Farm, a multi-generation family farm that brings seedlings, potted plants, and vegetables to market: “We are no-spray, non-certified organic. We try and keep as close to naturally grown as we can.” 

Burger’s use of the terms no-spray, organic, and naturally grown offers a means to differentiate many practices. “No spray” means no chemical insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides are used to protect crops from pests. “Organic” allows for certain spraying and fertilizer use, while “naturally grown” further limits these uses to materials that are fully natural. 

“Non-certified” highlights the fact farms use organic and naturally grown methods but have not sought formal recognition. Such is the case twith my farm. We do not use sprays and minimize organic fertilizer use by incorporating animal manure into our soil. 

Organic certification comes from the USDA. It is expensive and time-consuming, but it ensures crops are grown in the cleanest possible environment, as Echo Creek Farm owner Jennifer Palulis has explained.

And the difference between certified organic and certified naturally grown? “The single biggest difference is the certifier,” says Jason Heitman of Green Jeans Market Farm, which receives its certified naturally grown recognition from another farmer. “I don’t use the USDA; I use a colleague.”

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

Hello my Foodie Friends!

The summer sure went by fast with this being Labor Day weekend.  With the weather still being warm comes the yearning for lighter fares such as salads. Creating imaginative salads was always a favorite thing to do by my children. When they were young (and still occurs) our eldest child, John would be accused (by his sister Aubrey) of not wanting to help in the kitchen with the making of the salads.  One of the best and fun solutions was to get a Salad Spinner. This tool assisted us back then and still does today. How did we know our son liked it? When we would come home and the video game would be on pause and salad ingredients everywhere (we knew he was having fun and using the tool).

Why would you consider using a salad spinner? No one likes a wet salad. But there are two important reasons that go beyond personal preference that make spinning your salad a necessity. The first is that most salad dressings are oil-based. Water repels oil, and so salad greens covered in water will repel dressing. This will result in the dressing pooling at the bottom of your salad bowl instead of coating the greens.

The second reason to remove water from your salad is to retain its freshness. The more moisture that’s in your salad, especially if you’re not dressing the whole thing at once, the more quickly it will go bad. The leaves will turn brown and everything will lose its crisp texture if it sits in excess moisture. If you’re not planning on consuming all of your salad immediately, make sure each of its components is as dry as possible before combining them. 

If those two essential warnings against wet greens have not convinced you that you need a salad spinner in your life, fear not, there are plenty of other reasons to get one. Many people think of salad spinners as one-trick ponies that only serve a single purpose and otherwise occupy more than their fair share of precious space in your home, but they actually have quite a number of alternate uses. Salad spinners are useful for washing and drying a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. They are ideal because you can wash and dry things in a single container, and the spinning action they use is delicate enough that it won’t damage or bruise your produce. The next time you need to wash berries, broccoli, green beans, or mushrooms, try using a salad spinner. You’re sure to delight in how dry its contents become, and how quick and easy it is to use. You can also use the internal compartment of your salad spinner as a colander for fresh-cooked pasta. If you’re making a cold dish like pasta salad, spinning the noodles to remove the excess starchy water will cool them more quickly and also help keep them from sticking together.

The basket is also great for defrosting meat and drying before cooking. Vegetables from which it is good to remove excess moisture before frying like zucchini, eggplant, and shredded potatoes, can also be dried in a salad spinner, rather than squeezed out by hand. It also works well as a small dryer for hand-washed delicates.

Do you wash your greens and berries?  Washing your salad ingredients can reduce the risk of illness.  Listeria and E-Coli are dangerous food-borne illnesses that have been present in unwashed salads.  It is difficult to wash salads. The Salad Spinner is a tool that has become a kitchen must-have. 

One of our favorites and best sellers is the OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner. We have them in larger and smaller sizes. Dry salad greens with a simple press of the soft, non-slip knob. The non-slip base keeps the bowl steady on the countertop and the built-in brake button stops the Salad Spinner for unloading. The basket doubles as a colander, and the lid comes apart for easy cleaning. The OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner was selected as one of People Magazine’s 2017 50 Food Faves. Salad Spinners, they bring siblings together! Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place to check out the OXO Salad Spinner and an assortment of other cool tools for cooks.  Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day Weekend.

 Take Care,
John & Paula

The Saturday Saratoga Farmers’ Market in the Wilton Mall parking lot is exceptionally busy. In addition to selecting veggies, meat, fruits, and prepared foods, customers can explore vendors offering gifts to purchase. 

It’s easy to start the Saturday market with Something’s Brewing coffee. Beth Trattel roasts her coffee beans and sells many varieties of Battenkill Coffee. 

Other foodie gifts include packaged cheese. In addition to yogurt, Dave and Marge Randles, Argyle Cheese Farmer, prepares cheese varieties. “Amazing Grace” won a silver medal at the NYS Fair. Lee Hennessy, Moxie Ridge Farm, specializes in cheese from his Alpine goats. You can choose fresh cheese such as chevre or feta, or ripened Valencia and Cannonball. R&G Cheesemakers in Troy uses goat’s or cow’s milk from nearby farms. Sean O’Connor continuously creates new flavors to accompany his goat’s milk chevre, Camembert, and cow’s milk cheeses. Nettle Meadow also has a unique variety of hard and soft cheeses and chevre.

Or for a sweet treat, shop Saratoga Chocolate Company founded by Hank and Allison Rose. They use “only the highest quality chocolate and ingredients. Each selection is paired with complementary flavors that highlight the tasting notes of each chocolate.” 

Marcie Place, The Chocolate Spoon, bakes notable cookies, teacakes, and other treats that come in giftable packaging.

If your friends enjoy sipping, try a variety of sparkling cider from Slyboro Cider House. Dan Wilson is in charge of their “small dynamic farm, cider house, and farmstand in the foothills of the Adirondacks. His orchard, Hicks Orchard, continues a tradition of direct connection with the local community that dates back to 1905.”

When visiting friends who have dogs, be sure to bring gifts from Mugzy’s Barkery, named after their Old English Bulldog. The Barkery specializes in natural and organic dog treats that are “handmade, healthy, safe, and delicious.”

As you explore the Market, you’ll notice several talented crafters, including Balet Flowers and Design. Suzanne Balet Haight, a second-generation Market vendor makes functional, creative pottery, such as coffee cups, bowls and plates, and lovely containers that hold the flowers and plants they grow.

After you leave Balet Flowers, go to Feathered Antler where Gretchen Tisch will create a portrait of your pet from a photo. She illustrates clothing with birds, deer, moose, or their feathers and antlers. “They stand out as being the most stunning parts of animals who wear them from the sky to the ground.”

On her Kokinda Farm, Laurie Kokinda produces vegetables, fruits, jellies, and jams. Equally practical are her sewn products, including aprons and one-piece quilted hot pads. In the future, she’ll bring catnip pillows. 

If you’re looking for handmade jewelry, Big Breath Wellness has handmade earrings and pendulums.

Mary Jane Pelzer, Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, a third-generation soap maker, has been producing a large variety of natural handmade soap in small batches for over 40 years. Look for basic body bars, hand soaps, and soap in special shapes such as lambs, flowers, fish, and eggs.

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.

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.