Recently in Food Category

It is the final stretch for horse racing in the Spa City, AND it's also the final days of voting for "America's Favorite Farmers' Market"! This national contest is sponsored by American Farmland Trust (www.farmland.org) and voting ends on Saturday, August 31. Our very own Saratoga Farmers' Market is in a close three way dual for first in the medium size division of the 4-category contest. It's NY vs Delaware and Virginia. It's Spa City vs the beach town of Lewis, DE and suburban Falls Church, VA. The odds makers might have us losing by a vote or two, but New Yorkers love the underdog, so lets show it and vote for our own Saratoga Farmers' Market!

Fifty years ago there were 1,800 farms in Saratoga County... today 641 farms (one-third as many) are in operation. Because fewer people are directly involved in farming, not many have the opportunity to experience agriculture first-hand and understand how the food we eat (and some of the fiber we wear) is produced. The Saratoga County Agricultural Promotion Committee decided to provide that critical link between the farming community and the public-at-large and hold an open house at a different farm each year for area residents to visit a real working farm, learn about local agriculture, and realize the importance of a viable agricultural industry in Saratoga County.

Saratoga Springs: Saturday, May 1^st marks the opening of the 32^nd  Saratoga Farmers' Market summer season under the pavilions on High Rock Avenue. On hand to assist with will be NYS Commissioner of Agriculture Patrick Hooker, Saratoga County Cornell Cooperative Extension Executive Director Bill Schwerd, and CCE Agriculture Economic Development Extension Educator for Saratoga and Washington Counties Paula Schafer. Special activities at the market on opening day in addition to live music,  will be a station where children will be able to turn a paper plate into their favorite flower. Adults and children are encouraged to wear a hat when they attend the first summer season market, the wilder the better! This show of hats will add to the festive spirit of opening day and it will also demonstrate the wearer's support for a variety of causes, including: the Farmers' Market, May Day, the Kentucky Derby and/or support for racing in Saratoga Springs. From May through October the market will be open from 9am to 1pm on Saturday and from 3pm to 6pm on Wednesday.

The Saratoga Farmers' Market, the area's longest running farmers' market is comprised of local vendors who must grow or produce what they sell. Customers are treated to the freshest produce as it is harvested in season. The use of green houses by some producers allows variety year round, fooling Mother Nature. At the opening day market look for fresh spinach, mesclun, arugula, ramps, herbs, hydroponic tomatoes and fiddleheads. Apples beets, carrots, potatoes, and celeriac will also be available along with a variety of bedding plants, and the abundance will continue to expand as the growing season gets underway in the growers' well tended fields. Also available will be dairy products including milk, ice cream, yogurt, and cheese, plus baked goods, meats and eggs. Some farms are now creating delectable "heat and eat" entrees made from their products. Other items for sale include, but are not limited to: be soap, jam, honey, pottery, and mushrooms.

Urbavores.com and GREEN CONSCIENCE Home & Garden are holding a  a FREE presentation on organic vegetable gardening!

Topics Covered:

• Raised beds
• Companion planting
• Using Heirloom
• Seed Seed Saving
• Attracting Beneficials
• Composting

Urbavores is a local organic vegetable gardening business, whose mission is to help people lower their ecological footprints and eat the freshest organic produce by growing it in their backyards. Come learn about the many benefits to growing your own food and many useful organic gardening techniques. A vegetable garden can offer you aesthetic beauty, wonderful learning experiences and the most delicious and healthy food around! Don't let one more season pass you by.

Wednesday, April 14th 2010
6:30 PM
33 Church Street, Saratoga Springs, NY
306-5196

This Week's Warm Temperatures Generate First Sap Flows of Season


The 2010 Maple Sugaring Season began last week in the Upper Hudson region, with warmer temperatures generating sap flow in area maple trees.  The season is off to a very strong start.
 
"This is what we wait for all year.  The sap was running hard last week, kicking off a new maple season," said David Campbell, a Salem producer and president of the Upper Hudson Maple Producers Association. 
 
Sugarmakers are reporting excellent quality syrup.  Ideal sugar making temperatures are forecast for the next several days.
 
Meanwhile, sugarmakers are preparing for the fifteenth annual Maple Open House Weekend, expanded this year to two weekends, March 20-21 and March 27-28.
 
A ceremonial first tree tapping with State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker will be held at Dry Brook Sugarhouse in Salem at 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 19.
 
This year, there are more sugarhouses than ever participating in the self-guided tour. 
 
For a complete listing of sugarhouses and a guide map, click on www.upperhudsonmaple.com.
 
Prime sap flow temperatures are 40 degrees or more during the day and below freezing at night.  Maple season generally runs through early April. 
 
The Upper Hudson region is among the biggest syrup producing regions in the country.

A visit to the produce isle in any supermarket this time of year is, in effect, a trip around the world.  While we are freezing up here in the great white north, folks down in Argentina, Chile and Brazil are growing the produce for our winter salad bowls.  To remain healthy throughout the winter months, we need to eat veggies daily.  But must we support the intercontinental food transport system, just to get our RDA of vitamins and minerals?  You'd prefer to buy local, but with snow everywhere, that's not possible, right?

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) announces Circles of Caring, their 28th Annual Organic Farming and Gardening Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY. The conference, which attracts more than 1,000 people each year, will take place from January 22- 24, 2010 at the Saratoga Hilton. Over the three day event, attendees can choose between more than 80 workshops which explore all types of organic farming, gardening, value-added processing, cooking and policy issues.  Workshops are of interest to farmers, gardeners, educators, environmentalists, foodies, and more.  A special focus this year is on Beginning Farmers.  Starting with a reception for young farmers on Thursday Jan 21st, there is programming throughout the conference to help people who are just starting out in farming or are considering becoming a farmer.  New this year, NOFA-NY will offer 75 scholarships to beginning farmers.

The Saratoga County Fair is wrapping up this weekend, so if you haven't had a chance to go yet, now's the time.  The rain has passed and the sun is out, so head on down to Ballston Spa and check it out!  The Fair may conjure up images of cheese fries, dizzying Midway rides and tractor pulls, but the Fair is also a showcase of the locally made and locally grown.  I went into the Townley building and found displays featuring an amazing array of food and other products made right here in our region.

By Amy Stock, Contributing Writer
Photos by David DeLozier


As an individual, one of the simplest and perhaps most gratifying steps you can take to 'go green' is to buy local grown produce and locally made products.  Fortunately in the Capital Region we have plenty of options to access local produce and products, including shopping at local farmer's markets, joining a CSA (Community supported agriculture), buying fresh produce from a local farm stand, or shopping at one of the many locally owned grocers.