The hot, sunny weather has been good news for summer lovers.
That includes Wild Scoops, the local ice cream makers, and those who love a creamy treat.
"It has been an outrageously warm summer, and we definitely see it in our ice cream cone sales," Elissa Brown says. "There's nothing like licking a cone in the sun.
"It's finally that time of summer where the berries are ready to include in ice cream, not to mention locally grown herbs and locally made baked goods. All in all, it's truly been an ice cream cone summer!"
Grab some sweetness from Wild Scoops at the South Anchorage Farmers Market or the APU Farmers Market. One of the flavors on the menu this week is the 907-PBJ, which is "our local take on the classic PB&J combo," Brown says. "The flavor features local wild berry jam and peanut butter cookies from Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop." Also on the menu are tart rhubarb and salmonberries and cream.
Also look for Wild Scoops at various pop-up locations. More information is available at wildscoops.com.
Wild Scoops joins several other vendors at the APU market, noon to 6 p.m. Thursday. Other vendors include Spring Creek Farm, Ba-Lescas Brothers and Los Tacos. But the market is about more than just food.
"This year, in addition to the vendors, we have added free community yoga classes at noon and 3 p.m. every market day," says Megan Talley, Spring Creek Farm manager. "Our goal is to make the market a part of the APU experience and to be a resource for local foods and healthy living for the community. We are working out details for additional information like cooking demonstrations and conversations about the Alaskan food system."
Talley says Spring Creek Farm is a program of Alaska Pacific University, with the goal of training new farmers and working to create a more resilient food system. The farm is growing organic vegetables on 6 acres of the historic Kellogg dairy farm in Palmer. The farm is a 9,000-acre property deeded to APU to be used for environmental education.
Center Market
A.D. Farm will have loads of pork options, including chops, fresh side sliced and slab, ground pork, sausage, ribs and bones. Alex Davis has a salad mix, tomatoes, sugar snap and snow peas, cauliflower, zucchini, radish, kohlrabi, collards, beet greens, broccoli, lettuce, kale, rhubarb and other items, including eggs.
Duane Clark says "raspberries take the top shelf just above the tomatoes. Abundant sunshine lately has exploded the flavor into these delicious berries. Heirloom tomatoes are the excellent choice for topping off that salad or in the BLT that is on the lunch menu." He'll have plenty at Wednesday's market, and with him at the Friday Fling and the Muldoon Farmers Market too.
South Anchorage Farmers Market
Nearly 30 vendors are expected at Saturday's market.
Farm 779 is featuring spicy krauts, coconut kefir, fermented beets and kvass.
Arctic Choice will have large oysters out of Simpson Bay and fresh side stripe shrimp out of Prince William Sound, along with king and sockeye salmon and other seafood options.
For veggie lovers, the Rempel Family Farm will have fresh green beans this week. Other vegetables include herbs, baby carrots, beet greens, kales, mustards, rhubarb, salad mix and other overflowing bins of produce.
La Grassa will have a pair of new pastas at their booth on Saturday: Alaskan zucchini and lemon gnocchetti and garlicky greens and pecorino cheese ravioli.
Muldoon Farmers Market
Tomatoes, including several vendors with heirloom varieties, will be one of the market highlights, organizer Jerrianne Lowther says.
Vendor highlights include include Fresh International Gardens with carrots; Black Bear Farms with spinach and zucchini; Alaska Peony Cooperative with beautiful blooms; and Dinkel's Veggies with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and new potatoes. The Dinkels will also be at markets in Wasilla, the Northway Mall Wednesday Market and the Spenard Farmers Market.
Spenard Farmers Market
Market Manager Andrea Trent says "all varieties of Alaska-grown produce will be available this Saturday." Vendors include Dinkel's Veggies, Chugach Farms, Brown Dog Farm, Black Bear Farms, the Ba-Lescas Brothers, Simple Living Farm and Seldovitsch Family Farm.
Adina's Acres, Skychild Originals, and Glacier City Gardener will have vegetable starts and perennial plants, and there will be plenty of food vendors too.
Anchorage Farmers Market
Sarah Bean of Arctic Organics says "zucchini is peaking at our farm! It's definitely time for zucchini bread, zucchini relish and freezing large quantities of zucchini for winter. Other crops are thriving in the same way."
So get to the market for that taste of summer!
Other vendors at the Saturday market include Brown Dog Farm, Seldovitch Farm, Stockwell Farm, VanderWeele Farm, Vang Family Farm, Alaska Sea-Ag fertilizers and Turkey Red baked goods.
From the sea
For those not dipnetting, Dannon Southall of 10th & M Seafoods has good news. "The seafood world is a rocking 'n' rolling with salmon returning all over the state," he says. "This week, sockeye salmon is leading the salmon world. These beautiful fish are coming in from all over the state."
He says the headed and gutted sockeye are $5.75 per pound, while fillets are $8.95/pound. King salmon are in the store and are averaging 12 to 15 pounds for headed and gutted fish.
"With this amazing weather we are experiencing there is no better way to treat your grill top with either one of these amazing salmon," Southall says. "And if it is whitefish you are looking for, fresh halibut and cod will be coming in from the Gulf of Alaska this week."
Steve Edwards lives and writes in Anchorage. Contact him at akmarketfresh@gmail.com.
Local farmers markets
Monday in the Valley: Colony Farmers Market, noon-7 p.m., Palmer Depot
Tuesday outside of Anchorage: Eagle River Farmers Market, 3-7 p.m., VFW Post parking lot; Farmers Fresh Market, 3-6 p.m., 33955 Community College Drive, Soldotna; Southside Community Farmer's Market, 4-7 p.m., Intercultural Assembly of God, Fairbanks
Wednesday in Anchorage: Center Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Northway Mall Wednesday Market, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Northway Mall; South Anchorage Wednesday Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Dimond Center
Wednesday outside of Anchorage: Homer Farmers Market, 2-6 p.m., Ocean Drive near the Washboard; Soldotna Wednesday Market, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Soldotna Creek Park; Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road, Fairbanks; Wasilla Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Iditapark, Wasilla
Thursday in Anchorage: APU Farmers Market, noon-6 p.m., 4101 University Drive; Mountain View Farmers Market, 3-7 p.m., 3543 Mountain View Drive
Thursday in Peters Creek: Peters Creek Farmers Market, 3-8 p.m., American Legion Post 33, 21643 Old Glenn Highway
Friday in the Valley: Friday Fling, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., across from the Palmer Visitor's Center
Saturday in Anchorage: Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., 15th Avenue and Cordova Street; Anchorage Market & Festival, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Third Avenue and E Street; Center Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Muldoon Farmers Market, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Begich Middle School; South Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., O'Malley Sports Center; Spenard Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., 2555 Spenard Road
Saturday outside of Anchorage: Homer Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Ocean Drive near the Washboard; Kenai's Saturday Market, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 11471 Kenai Spur Highway; Nenana Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Civic Center on Main Street; Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road, Fairbanks
Sunday in Anchorage: Anchorage Market & Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Third Avenue and E Street
Sunday in Fairbanks: Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road