The market and sponsor Northrim Bank are looking for the best purple flowers and vegetables. Individuals are invited to bring flowers and produce to the market between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., with judging at 1 p.m. Prizes are $100, $50 and $25 in each category.
For the flowers, contestants can enter one to three stems of any annual or perennial that is predominantly purple. Judging is based on color and appearance.
For the vegetables, enter one to three of any vegetable that is predominantly purple in color. Vegetables may be cut to display purple interiors; again, judging is based on color and appearance.
More information is available by calling 261-3593.
There are plenty of vendors at the market this week, including: Lewis Farm with new potatoes, English cucumbers, green beans and Japanese eggplant; Vern Stockwell will have plenty of vegetables, especially greens and lettuce, along with pork cuts and homemade jams; the Rempel Family Farm will have celery, green beans, sugar snap peas, carrots and other produce; Southfork will have heirloom tomatoes, 30 varieties of jams and jellies and zucchini relish; Rise & Shine Bakery will have a wide variety of breads: kalamata olive, toasted walnut, dark chocolate and cherry, spent grain and levain; Arctic Choice will have fresh salmon, shrimp, halibut, and oysters; and Matanuska Creamery will be featuring lemon blossom ice cream and almond joy ice cream, along with plenty of other flavors and cheese.
This week's Spenard Farmers Market has plenty of new options. Selected vendors include: Spring Creek Farm with celery, beets, carrots, potatoes, purple cauliflower, sunflowers, mesclun mix, sage, thyme, and oregano; P & M Gardens with rosemary plants, green beans, snap peas, English and pickling cucumbers, peppers (sweet banana, Anaheim, garden salsa, and spicy Hungarian yellow peppers) and an Alaska sourdough starter from 1985; Ba Lesca Brothers Produce will have heirloom tomatoes, habanero peppers, chard, dill, and turnips, in addition to pico de gallo made from their vegetables and homemade coconut macaroons featuring golden raspberries; Fireweed Farm will have purple potatoes and patty pan summer squash; Glacier Valley Farms will have sweet salad onions, radishes, lettuce, and zucchinis; Dinkel's Veggies has huge zucchini, sweet onions, broccoli, vine ripened tomatoes, and green beans; Alisa Baker of Grass Roots will have radicchio, English cucumbers, lettuce, kale, beets, fennel, baby carrots, cabbage, fresh-cut herbs and flowers; Ed Zegzdryn will have homemade apple butter featuring apples, currants, and raspberries from his orchard, a gourmet salad mix made from seven different greens, kohlrabi and French tarragon; and Coastal Villages Seafood will have vacuum-packed halibut fillets for $12.50 per pound and silver salmon fillets for $4.95 per pound.
Sara Bean from Arctic Organics and the Anchorage Farmers Market says the changing seasons are good for the vegetables: "More sun, even with the cool nights, will bring on good growth of the veggies we're still anticipating, like carrots and beets."
New from Arctic Organics at the market this week are baby carrots, Brussels sprouts tops and purple top turnips. Other items include new potatoes, cabbages, turnips, cauliflower, kohlrabi, daikon, collards, three varieties of kale, radishes, greens mix, arugula and lettuces.
Other vendors at the market include Seldovitsch Family Farm, Persistent Farmer, Matanuska Creamery, Bushes Bunches, Hett Farm, 3 Bears Farm, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Tuscalaska, Turkey Red Cafe, and VanderWeele Farms. Arctic Organics also operates a stand at the farm from 5-7 p.m. Fridays on Smith Road near Palmer.
At the Center Market (today and Saturday), Alex Davis says: "Carrots! Potatoes!" Those vegetables are starting to show up in big quantities, along with many other organic vegetables, fresh eggs and pasture-raised pork. Duane Clark will also be at the market with fresh shelled peas, tomatoes, Alaska grass-fed beef and Alaska seafood.
Roasted Kohlrabi
4 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Cut the kohlrabi into 1/4 inch slices, then cut each of the slices in half. Combine olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss kohlrabi slices in the olive oil mixture to coat.
Spread kohlrabi in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally in order to brown evenly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven to allow the Parmesan cheese to brown, about 5 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Source: By Ed Zegzdryn, farmer at the Spenard Farmers Market
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.
AREA MARKETS
TODAY: Center Market, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Northway Mall Wednesday Market, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Northway Mall parking lot; South Anchorage Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., behind the Dimond Center; 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; Willow Farmers Market, 2-7 p.m., Mile 69 Parks Highway
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; Eagle River Farmers Market, in front of Mike's Meats, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Farm Market at the Barn, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Glacier Valley Farm, Glenn Highway and Inner Springer Loop Road; 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; Wasilla City Market, 300 N. Willow St., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SUNDAY: Anchorage Market and Festival, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Third Avenue between C and E streets.
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