Thursday, 04 November 2021 13:52

Farmers & Market Bring Holidays Home

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson | Home & Garden

In November, daylight diminishes. Lamps, blinking bulb strings, and candles begin to glow after our early sunsets and into the night as we move meals and other social activities indoors. With that shift from fall to winter come the holidays and their myriad meanings, meanings that invariably and deliciously center on food.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market marks the season with its annual migration indoors, beginning this year on Saturday, November 6, into the Wilton Mall. For us – the farmers and vendors – the market gives us the means to give you – our community of customers – the gift of food. Food offers warmth amid chill, light amid darkness. What we give to you also creates something for us: A chance to rekindle traditions that have been a part of our individual families while – like the craftspeople we are – innovating to remake those traditions anew. Here’s how some of our vendors celebrate:

Spinning the dreidel

For NightWork Bread owners Leigh Rathner and Cindy Rosenberg, Hannukkah is all about food and games: Platters of latkes, homemade applesauce, and jellybeans. The latter are used as game pieces when it comes time to play with the dreidel.

Rosenberg recalls the “epic dreidel battle” that took place one year. Teens, grandparents, friends, and relatives gathered around the dinner table to take a spin. The cheers mounted as players were eliminated, winnowing the field to two who played round after round, trying to best the other.

In the end, everyone wins because their bellies are full of good food and good fun.

Making the ordinary special 

Ariel Garland, of Hebron Valley Veal, recalls her years as an “apprentice” in her mother’s kitchen, learning to make her family’s staple holiday dishes. One among many is mashed potatoes – which, Garland says, “I can assure you aren’t your ordinary mashed potatoes, as these are made with plenty of butter, garlic, and love.” 

Garland now cooks not only her mother’s specialties but also a family post-holiday favorite – shepherd’s pie – that features her farm’s ground rose veal. 

She counts an appreciation for being able to spend time with family and delicious food as constants. “My parents are both phenomenal cooks and our family’s favorite way to show they love you is to fill your belly.”

 Sharing the harvest

After Elise Olsen and Jacob Howard became a couple, they started spending Christmas with Olson’s family in southwest Connecticut. Olsen would bring fresh produce from a vegetable farm where she worked, and the family would spend the day cooking, eating, and watching movies.

This year, with the start of their business The Mushroom Shop, they are planning to add mushrooms to the holiday mix, along with this recipe for a Lion’s Mane Bisque:

Taking the edge off the cold

For Daily Fresh prepared food vendors Sneha Narayanan and Sathya Raghavan, fall is all about festivals including Diwali, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more. Narayanan prepares a variety of Indian dishes, including one of her favorite sweet drinks: an almond kheer. 

The drink consists of ground almonds, saffron, and cardamom blended into warm milk. It is refreshing and light when served cold in the summer, and comforting and flavorful as a warm drink in winter.

“It is a favorite family drink during the holiday season,” Narayanan says. 

Nourishing body and soul

Lovin’ Mama Farm owners Corinne Hansch and Matthew Leon spend long hours working outdoors from early spring through fall. By November, they say, “our bodies and souls are in major need of rest and nourishment.” 

They earn that well-deserved rest by piling their holiday tables with roasted, baked, sauced, steamed, and raw veggies from their fields, and adding to this mix cheeses, meats, wines, and ciders from other farmers. They place the foods in locally made pottery and, with family and friends, eat. 

“Holidays for us are spending time feasting on the fruits of our labor, resting for the coming season, and rejuvenating mind, body, and soul with nourishing local products from our community.”

Holiday Meats at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

Elihu Farm: For Christmas and New Year's, whole bone-in legs, boneless sirloin half legs, leg steaks, loin chops, racks, boneless whole and half shoulder roasts, shoulder chops, whole shanks, and osso bucco - shanks cut into slices, and ground lamb. Orders are being taken from now until December 6

Hebron Valley Veal: Veal roast chops, veal steak, and varieties of veal sausages

Longlesson Angus: Customers can preorder prime rib for the holidays, and we will have pork on the 2nd week of November

Ramble Creek Farm: Pasture-raised turkey (preorders are being taken now), chicken, and pork

Squash Villa Farm: Goat leg roast, fresh heritage breed chicken (small whole chickens, around 3-4 lbs, we will begin to have these available around Thanksgiving)

 

*For 6 recipes, please visit our eNewspaper on pages 24 and 25: https://saratogatodaynewspaper.com/our-publications/saratoga-today/item/14972-november-5-november-11-2021 

Read 650 times

Blotter

  • New York State Police The New York State Police announced that it issued 5,576 tickets during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day enforcement initiative. The campaign began on Friday, March 15, and continued until Sunday, March 17. During the campaign, funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, State Police utilized sobriety checkpoints, additional DWI patrols, and underage drinking and sales to minors detail. State Police also ticketed distracted drivers who use handheld electronic devices. State Troopers arrested 132 people for DWI and investigated 199 crashes, which resulted in 25 people being injured and no fatalities. As part of the enforcement, Troopers also…

Property Transactions

  • BALLSTON Heather DiCaprio sold property at 473 Garrett Rd to Justine Levine for $288,000 Sharon Willman sold property at 99 Jenkins Rd to Charles Lemley for $165,000 CORINTH George Montena sold property at 422 Oak St to Stephen James for $142,250 Mark Makler sold property at 313 Oak St to Sabrina Sinagra for $195,000 GREENFIELD Landlord Services of Upstate New York sold property at 1935 NYS Rt 9N to Cochise Properties LLC for $210,000 MALTA  Linda LaBarge sold property at 35 Snowberry Rd to Qu Haozheng for $270,000 Dennis Mitchell sold property at 60 Village Circle North to BGRS Relocation…
  • NYPA
  • Saratoga County Chamber
  • BBB Accredited Business
  • Discover Saratoga
  • Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association