Do you love Alaska salmon? Is it better when someone else does the grilling? And what if it's free?
Do I have your attention now? If you answered yes to any one of those questions, the place to be Saturday is at the South Anchorage Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (And if you answered yes to all three, then you better be first in line.)
Trout Unlimited, as part of an international effort to build consumer demand for wild salmon and to help protect the Bristol Bay fishery, will sponsor "Eat Wild!" at the market on Saturday with Arctic Choice Seafood. Organizers will give away free samples of grilled Bristol Bay sockeye salmon along with recipes and information about Bristol Bay and the risks the fishery faces from the proposed Pebble gold and copper mine.
Nelli Williams of Trout Unlimited says chefs from Sacks Cafe will be on hand to do the grilling, "preparing the salmon using one of their most tasty salmon recipes."
The Anchorage "Eat Wild!" event launches a series of summer activities organized by Trout Unlimited to promote consumer awareness of Bristol Bay salmon. The goal is to highlight one of the world's largest wild salmon fisheries. Copies of "Red Gold," an award-winning documentary about Pebble Mine and Bristol Bay, will be available for purchase.
In addition to the freebies, Arctic Choice will have Bristol Bay sockeye available for purchase.
Other items at the South Anchorage market (Subway/Cellular One Sports Centre at Old Seward Highway and O'Malley Road) include vegetables, perennial flowers, fresh eggs, bread and other items. A sample of items include:
· From the Rempel Family Farm: Organic Snow Apple turnips, maybe a few zucchini and some blossoms, lots of greens, red and butter lettuce, bok choi, radishes and spinach.
· Rise & Shine Bakery will be bringing lots of their whole-grain sourdough bread. The two pan loaf flavors this week will be the 100 percent whole grain Spent Grain and Alaskan Barley. The smaller round hearth loaves will be the hearty 100 percent whole wheat Toasted Seed, as well as the 60 percent whole wheat Kalamata Olive and the fun Dark Chocolate & Cherry loaf.
· The Red Beet, a eatery in Palmer, will bring in Clover Flax bread, bison meat pies, mushroom and potato pies, and dressings including spruce tip, wild blueberry and lemon.
· Potted herbs including basil, catnip, chamomile, chives, oregano and mint along with fresh cut basil from Mile 5.2 Greenhouse.
The other farmers markets in town also will be hopping with activity.
Alex Davis from A.D. Farm will be at both the Anchorage Farmers Market (15th Avenue and Cordova Street) and the Downtown Market and Festival (Third Avenue and C Street) with dozens upon dozens of fresh eggs. He also will have jams, cookies and certified organic rhubarb. The 15th Avenue market is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Mark Dinkel will be at the Downtown Market and Festival, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with zucchini, tomatoes, baby cucumbers, three kinds of lettuce, strawberries and rhubarb.
And if you can't make it to the markets for fresh fish, stop by the stores.
Dannon Southall from 10th & M Seafoods says there is plenty to choose from. The store has headed and gutted halibut for $5.95 per pound and the king and sockeye salmon are still coming in strong, with both headed and gutted fish and fillets available.
Steve Edwards lives and writes in Anchorage. If you have a suggestion for a future Market Fresh column, please write sedwards@adn.com.
