Come to the markets hungry

Consider the lineup at Saturday's South Anchorage Farmers Market off Old Seward Highway and O'Malley Road:

• Joan Daniels offers salmon burgers with local fish, on a whole wheat bun with diced vegetables inside. She also makes four different kinds of dogs: reindeer sausage, buffalo dogs, Italian dogs and kosher dogs. Her special is the UnderDog -- any one of the hot dogs on a bun, covered with a salad of mixed greens and diced veggies.

• NonEssentials has cooked-at-the-market options too, including egg chippatis, which features local tortillas, cheese, eggs, tomato, fresh sprouts, salsa and avocado. Another option is locally produced pan-fried ravioli topped with cheese and garlic.

• The Red Beet has recently joined the market for the season and offers ready-to-eat salads, breads, pastries, wraps and dressings.

Many other farmers markets offer booths with plenty of food to eat. And don't forget the Anchorage Market and Festival on Saturday and Sunday in downtown Anchorage for booth after booth of dining options.

The "regular" lineup at the South Anchorage Market this week includes: hanging strawberry baskets and tomato planters (Glacier Valley Farm); arugula, mizuna, tatsoi, spinach, radishes, kale, green and cilantro (Rempel Family Farm); plant starts, including tomatoes and loads of herbs (Bearsden Gardens); edible geraniums, fancy mints, sages, various other herbs and perennial plants (Gray Owl Farm); toasted seed, kalamata olive, levain, spent grain and fruited almond breads (Rise & Shine Bakery); Cook Inlet king and sockeye salmon fillets, side-stripe shrimp, halibut, cod, rockfish and other seafood delights (Arctic Choice); cheese, butter, ice cream and cheese curds (Matanuska Creamery); and homemade soaps, salves and lip balms (Lavish Me Soaps).

Other items at the market typically include kettle corn, local honey, fresh eggs, whole wheat cinnamon rolls, macaroons, homemade dog biscuits, homemade vinegars, candy and other items.

The Spenard Farmers Market is celebrating National Dairy Month with milk samples from Matanuska Creamery (along with cookies). They also will have cheese curds available to sample, including garlic dill, chipotle, salsa, chive and onion, Italian and ranch. Other items available for purchase from the creamery include fresh mozzarella and pepper jack cheese.

It's also Bird TLC Day at the market Saturday. Bird TLC will have a variety of bird guests throughout the day, including a boreal owl, a short-horned owl, a great horned owl, a bald eagle and a rough-legged hawk.

Joining the market as a vendor this week is Coastal Villages Seafood. They will offer fresh king salmon from the Kuskokwim River. Coastal Villages is a fair-trade business that employs local fishermen from 25 Western Alaska villages. (In honor of the fresh salmon and pepper jack cheese at the market this week, check out the recipe at the end of the story.)

Also making an appearance at the market is P&M Gardens with assorted bedding plants, herbs, shrubs and trees, some hanging baskets and early-season vegetables.

Other things to look for include baby chickens and bunnies, fresh greens, herbs, fresh duck and chicken eggs, rhubarb and tomato plants.

For those interested in farming tools, the Center Market in the Mall at Sears parking lot is the place to stop Saturday. Alex Davis of A.D. Farm says there will be antique tractors on display this week.

Products to look for include fresh eggs, jams, rhubarb, spicy pork, Italian sausage, ground pork, Alaska grass-fed beef, frozen Alaska seafood and breads from the French Oven Bakery.

At the Anchorage Farmers Market on 15th Avenue, Sarah Bean of Arctic Organics says things are really coming together in the fields. "Wow! We have definitely made the change from plants to vegetables at market," Beans says. "The lettuces, spinach, radishes, and arugula are spectacular right now -- tender, healthy and large, thanks to both the extra solstice daylight and the heat wave back in May."

All those items will be available, along with several herbs, apple trees, fertilizer blends and hanging baskets. Rob Wells will also be at the market with Matanuska Creamery products and hanging tomato baskets.

From the sea

Dannon Southall of 10th & M Seafoods acknowledges that summer solstice may not have matched locals' expectations, but it hasn't stopped the fish.

"The weather outside may not say it is summer, but all the fresh seafood available says we are in full swing," Southall says. "Salmon are starting to show up all over the state, giving us several different options to choose from."

Southall says fresh king salmon are available for $8.85 per pound for headed and gutted fish and $12.95 per pound for filets. White king salmon fillets are $13.95 per pound. Sockeyes are averaging about 4 pounds headed and gutted are $6.95 per pound.

Halibut is slowing down a bit, but fresh fillets are in the store for $19.95 per pound. Fresh Prince William Sound spot and side-stripe shrimp are available for $16.95 and $10.95 per pound.

Over at New Sagaya Markets, John Jackson says "the reds and kings are coming in pretty consistently;" however, the reds are definitely more abundant.

Whole headed and gutted reds are $5.99 per pound, while the whole kings are $7.99 per pound. Other fresh Alaska fish include cod and halibut, but halibut prices are still high because "demand down south has kept prices strong."

Wild Alaska salmon and pepper jack quesadillas

Note: The recipe provided by Shannon Kuhn of the Spenard Farmers Market features multiple Alaska products.

1 fillet of wild-caught Alaska salmon (smoked or baked)

1 medium onion, unpeeled, cut and quartered

1 shallot (optional)

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 cup olive or safflower oil

8 Taco Loco tortillas

1 cup coarsely grated Matanuska Creamery pepper jack cheese

1/2 stick ( 1/4 cup) unsalted Matanuska Creamery butter, softened

Sea salt

Accompaniment: Mexico in Alaska salsa

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake salmon for about 20 minutes.

Quarter the onion and shallot. Drizzle with oil, tossing to coat, and saute' onion, shallot and garlic in a frying pan.

Mix salmon, onion, shallot and garlic with salt to taste, until smooth. Spread about one-fourth salmon on each of 4 Taco Loco tortillas and sprinkle each with about a quarter of pepper jack cheese. Top each quesadilla with a plain tortilla, pressing gently together. Spread each side of quesadillas with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Heat a griddle or cast iron pan over moderately high heat until hot and cook quesadillas, 1 at a time, until golden, about 3 minutes on each side, transferring to a cutting board.

Cut each quesadilla into 6 to 8 wedges, and serve warm with fresh Mexico in Alaska salsa.

Source: Shannon Kuhn, Spenard Farmers Market

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Steve Edwards lives and writes in Anchorage. If you have a suggestion for a future Market Fresh column, please contact him at sedwards@adn.com.

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Local farmers markets

Today: Center Market, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Wasilla Farmers Market, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., behind the Wasilla Library

Friday: Palmer Friday Fling, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Pavilion across from Visitor’s Center

Saturday: Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 15th and Cordova in the Central Lutheran Church parking lot; Anchorage Market and Festival, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Third Avenue between C and E streets; Center Market, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; South Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Subway/Cellular One Sports Center at the corner of Old Seward Highway and O’Malley Road; Spenard Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Spenard Road and 26th Avenue

Sunday: Anchorage Market and Festival, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Third Avenue between C and E streets