Even farmers are caught off guard sometimes.
“Carrots showed up Saturday, much to our surprise,” reports Mark Rempel of the Rempel Family Farm.
The Rempels will have carrots along with small zucchini, squash flowers, snow apple turnips, new red potatoes, salad mix, lettuces, dill, basil, cilantro and arugula at today’s Northway Mall Farmers Market and Saturday’s South Anchorage Farmers Market. Rempel says they may have a few sugar snap peas ready for Saturday’s market. You can put the zucchini to good use with today’s recipe.
Joining the Rempels at today’s Northway Mall market will be Dinkel’s Veggies with zucchini, beans, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower and strawberries. They will also be at today’s Wasilla Farmers Market, at the Friday Fling, and at the Anchorage Market and Festival and the Center Market on Saturday.
Also at the Center Market will be Duane Clark and Alex Davis. Clark will have grass-fed Alaska beef, frozen Alaska seafood and local honey. Davis will be stocked with plenty of pork products including chops, loin roasts and a variety of sausages. He also will have salad mix, romaine lettuce, mustard greens, baby beets, rhubarb and about 100 dozen eggs.
Davis is in the same boat with Rempel when it comes to surprise harvesting: “Want to know what is new at the farmers market? I’m not sure, but it’s going to be good.”
New at the South Anchorage Farmers Market will be fresh heirloom tomatoes from Joan Domnick of Southfork Farm. It’s still early in the season, so the supply is limited. Arrive early to get the best selection.
Other highlights this week include: Vern Stockwell with greens, lettuce and local pork products; VanderWeele Farms with loads of vegetables, especially lettuces; Bruce Hougan will have greens, lettuces and fresh-cut flowers; Glacier Valley Farm with plenty of fresh Alaska strawberries; Beardsen Gardens will have six varieties of basil and 16 other herbs; Gray Owl Farm will have cut peony flowers and perennial flowers, along with a variety of vegetables including jalapeno, green, cayenne and chili peppers; Rise & Shine Bakery will have levain, spent grain, toasted walnut, Alaska potato and chive, and dark chocolate and cherry bread; Arctic Choice will have fresh Cook Inlet king and sockeye salmon fillets, halibut, cod, rockfish, sablefish, Dungeness crab, spot shrimp and razor clam meat; Matanuska Creamery will have loads of cheese, cheese curds, butter and ice cream; NonEssentials will have sourdough starter that dates back to 1936; and Lavish Me Soaps with goat’s milk hand and body lotion among its many offerings.
On the food front, the Red Beet will have Valley borscht on the menu, which features plenty of local veggies. They also are featuring garden vegetable and smoked red salmon mini-sandwiches, which include Matanuska Creamery cheeses and homemade sandwich buns.
Several of the same vendors will also be on hand at today’s South Anchorage market behind the Dimond Center.
“The market is loaded with beautiful colors this time of year, and I’m enjoying seeing the abundance of fresh vegetables that are now loaded onto our vendor’s tables,” says Cindy Shake, Spenard Farmers Market volunteer vendor coordinator.
The market has consistently had more than 45 vendors weekly. The market accepts Quest cards.
This week, the market is featuring Alaska Botanical Garden Day. The garden will be at the market with peonies, perennial plants, books, children’s activities, information about the garden and workshops, and a worm composting demonstration.
Vendor highlights include: Gordon Scott with fresh Alaska spot shrimp; Northern Lights Oyster Co. with Jackaloff Bay Alaska oysters; Coastal Village Seafood with fresh salmon from the Goodnews and Kanektok rivers; Spring Creek Farms with broccoli and possibly carrots; Glacier Valley Farm with zucchini; Midnight Sun Farms with salad mix (featuring seven greens), radishes, bok choi, beets and Alaska jams and jellies; and Sexton Farm will have plenty of local vegetables and blueberry basil vinegar, gluten free baked goods and healing salves.
From the sea
According to John Jackson at New Sagaya Markets and Dannon Southall at 10th & M Seafoods, it’s a good time to be a seafood lover.
“It’s the middle of summer; what is not going on?” Jackson asks. “The salmon keep rolling in; reds are beautiful this year, sizing is very strong and it seems everywhere is larger than normal.”
Southall says: “What another great week for Alaskan seafood.”
At New Sagaya, fresh Cook Inlet red salmon are $4.99 per pound for headed and gutted fish. Other items include king salmon, although Jackson says the quality might soon take a dip; fresh Dungeness crab from Southeast; first-of-the-season ling cod; side-stripe shrimp, which will be coming to an end soon; and troll-caught silver salmon soon.
At 10th & M, Southall says headed and gutted sockeyes are $5.50/pound, while fillets are $8.50/pound. Southeast troll-caught kings are $10.95/pound for head-on fish, while the fillets are $13.95/pound. Side-stripe shrimp ($10.95/pound) and spot shrimp ($16.95/pound) are both available fresh from Prince William Sound, while fresh halibut is also still available.
Zucchini boats with ricotta-basil mousse
6 small zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) ricotta cheese
½ cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
¼ cup (1 ounce) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Parsley sprigs (optional)
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise, scoop out pulp, leaving a ¼-inch-thick shell. Reserve pulp for another use.
Arrange zucchini shells in a single layer in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Combine basil and next 7 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Divide mixture evenly among shells, pressing gently.
Bake for 20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Source: “Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian” by Cooking Light (Oxmoor House, $29.95)
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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