Free salmon and free lettuce.

Now that we have your attention, here are the details: Free salmon bites are available at the Spenard Farmers Market, and free lettuce is available at the South Anchorage Farmers Market.

Trout Unlimited Alaska is sponsoring a Savor Bristol Bay event Saturday at the Spenard Farmers Market. The highlight will be free grilled Bristol Bay sockeye salmon bites marinated in ancho honey porter glaze. Bear Tooth Grill executive chef Clayton Jones will prepare the salmon.

Jones moved to Alaska as a child, and after attending the California Culinary Academy and working in San Francisco, he returned home to work. He has cooked for the Marx Bros. Cafe, the Hotel Captain Cook, Sack's Cafe and Settlers Bay Lodge before landing at the Bear Tooth Grill almost three years ago. You can try your hand at Jones' recipe, which is listed at the end of the story.

The salmon will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. The market is in a parking lot on Spenard Road between 25th and 26th avenues.

The market will continue to accept used, unbroken compact fluorescent light bulbs at the information booth for recycling.

Products available at Saturday's market include fresh Prince William Sound spot shrimp; fresh Kachemak Bay oysters, halibut and smoked black cod; lettuce, radishes, kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, greens and herbs from several vendors; raspberries and strawberries and plants; flowers including Asiatic lilies and other perennials; garden art; Kahiltna Birchworks syrups, and food options.

Here's how to get the free lettuce from VanderWeele's Farm at the South Anchorage Farmers Market:

1. Sign up for the South Anchorage Farmers' Market newsletter by 8 a.m. Thursday at http://southanchoragefarmersmarket.com.

2. The newsletter that arrives later Thursday will contain a coupon to print out and take to the VanderWeele's stand for free lettuce.

3. There will be an opportunity to sign up at the market Saturday.

In addition to the lettuce give-away, there will plenty of other produce at the market. It includes white, purple, yellow and lime green cauliflower; broccoli; radishes; red and green cabbage; potatoes; zucchini; ripe tomatoes; green beans; fennel; herbs; English cucumbers; strawberries; carrots; a variety of greens; peas; turnips, beets; mushrooms and more.

Other items include duck eggs; nettle tea; perennial plants; potted herbs; breads including spent grain, toasted walnut, onion rye, marble rye, jalapeno cheddar and sourdough; pastries including whole wheat cinnamon rolls; Alaska seafood including fresh king and silver salmon; cheese, cheese curds and ice cream from Matanuska Creamery; Alaska honey; balsamic vinegars made with local fruit; and zucchini relish.

Sarah Bean of Arctic Organics and the Anchorage Farmers Market says things are picking up.

"Things are really gathering steam now that August is here and the temperatures have been a little warmer," she says.

There should be a dozen or more vendors at the market this week, featuring fresh shelled peas, cauliflower, baby carrots, daikon, turnips, zucchini, radishes, plenty of greens, herbs, apple trees, fertilizer, fresh rustic breads, dairy products, Copper River salmon and other seafood.

And don't forget all the other markets throughout Southcentral listed separately.

Pick your own

Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm has a lot of new items available for those who want to pick their own this week, including turnips, zucchini, diakon, new potatoes, strawberries and raspberries. Other produce that is still available includes broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage; red and green leaf lettuce and romaine lettuce; mustard, turnip and collard greens; spinach, bokchoi and nappa, radishes, kohlrabi and rhubarb.

Below is chef Jones' recipe that will be used Saturday at the Spenard Market.

Ancho honey porter glaze

1 cup honey (Alaskan honey)

1 cup recado sauce (recipe below)

2 cups porter beer (Prince William Porter from Moose's Tooth Brewery)

1 fresh herb basting brush

w In a small bowl mix the honey, beer and recado sauce together until well mixed. Adjust amounts to suit personal tastes.

w Use fresh herb basting brush to apply to salmon on the grill two minutes before it is finished cooking.

Fresh Herb Basting Brush

1 sprig rosemary

3 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs parsley

2-foot piece of butchers twine

w The fresher the herbs the better for this technique. Select rosemary that has smaller stems and is still pliable. Make a small bouquet out of the herbs about 4 inches long with all of the stems even and pointing the same direction.

w Tightly wrap the stem end of the herb bouquet with butchers twine and secure with a good knot. Bruise the herbs with the back of a knife to release essential oils. It is now ready to use.

Recado sauce

1 pound ancho peppers (stems removed)

10 ounces morita peppers (stems removed)

2 cups canola oil

10 cups water

20 ounces garlic

1 pound kosher salt

1/2 cup Mexican oregano

• Heat the oil in a small pot up to 365 degree. Use a candy thermometer to ensure proper temperature because burnt chilies will ruin the sauce. At the same time heat the water to a simmer on an adjacent burner.

• Once the oil is at the proper temperature, fry the dried peppers for about a minute each, more or less depending on the size of the pepper. Immediately place chilies into the warm water as they come out of the oil. Once all of the chilies are fried allow them to re-hydrate for half an hour. Add the garlic cloves, salt and oregano to the chilies and puree. An immersion blender is best for this, but a standard blender can also be employed to puree the ingredients. If using a standard blender remove all of the ingredients from the water and then puree in batches.

• After each small batch stir the puree back into the water. Repeat until all solids have been pureed and incorporated back into the water. At this stage use more or less water to attain the desired consistency. Pass through a food mill to remove seeds and skin from the pepper. Recado Sauce is now ready to use.

Note: An easy alternative to this recipe is to buy canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and puree it. The final recipe would be a honey chipotle porter glaze.