Food and Drink

Order Bristol Bay sockeye fillets for August delivery; enjoy fresh veggies and flowers right now

Now you can get Bristol Bay sockeyes without getting on a plane or baiting a single hook. Catch of the Season, a seafood version of the "community-supported agriculture" business model, is taking orders this week for fish caught in Naknek.

The salmon is "responsibly harvested" by third-generation fisherman Nathan Hill and his nephew, Billy Sarandria, on the family's North Naknek Beach setnet site. The catch will be filleted, vacuum-packed and flash-frozen before it is shipped to five Alaska cities.

"Our sockeye is the same phenomenal quality that you might find if you were fishing for yourself, but the quality of our commercially processed fish is superior to a home-packed product," says spokeswoman Jen Leahy.

The cost will be from $10 and $12.50 per pound, depending on the market and the quantity of the fish. Order online before 11:59 p.m. Saturday, July 22, and choose a pickup site in Anchorage, the Valley, Fairbanks, Homer or Seward.

Profits from the program are reinvested in the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, an organization devoted to protecting the marine environment through sustainable fishing, local stewardship and habitat protection.

Anchorage Farmers Market

Sarah Bean of Arctic Organics reports that crops are "happy, healthy and vigorous (and) gaining steam for high production in August and September." Consider yourself warned.

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This week, she'll be harvesting and selling broccoli, Napa cabbage, zucchini, snow apple turnips, radicchio, rhubarb, sorrel, kohlrabi, broccoli rabe, radishes and cauliflower, as well as greens (mustard, beet, collard), chard, Toscano and curly kale, lettuces (butter, leaf, romaine and baby lettuce mix), baby and bunched arugula, spinach and herbs.

Other vendors at the market are Brown Dog Farm, Ed & Tina's Krauts & Pickles, Happy Valley Chickens, Mom's Garden, Seldovitsch Farm, Stockwell Farm, Sun Fire Ridge, Turkey Red Café breads and treats, the Vang Family Farm and VanderWeele Farm.

Muldoon Farmers Market

Feed the body with a mix of vegetables, fruits and treats, and feed the soul with gorgeous peonies (both in bud and in bloom). Expect to see radishes, rhubarb, greens, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, green and yellow zucchini, salad mixes, snow apple turnips, kale, arugula, bok choy, sugar snap peas, herbs, cabbage, onions, tomatoes and potatoes from vendors like Arctic Wonder Marketplace, Ba-Lescas Brothers, Subba Garden, Vang Family Garden and Dinkel's Veggies.

Also available are fresh baked goods, spice mixes, crafts, gifts, coffee and Mexican-style food. The Senior Group from St. Patrick's Parish is having a bake sale too.

South Anchorage Farmers Market

Look for peonies here too, in pink and white, bud and bloom. They're from Farm 779, which will also stock fermented foods and vegan and gluten-free keto snacks and cookies.

Arctic Choice is all about the piscine protein: salmon (sockeye, king), rockfish, halibut, Simpson Bay oysters, Prince William Sound sablefish and side-stripe shrimp, salmon (sockeye, king), rockfish and halibut. Or choose from frozen seafoods like red king crab, scallops and razor clams.

Rempel Family Farm is bringing a lot of veggies to market: green cabbage, broccoli, purple bunch onions, snow apple turnips, kohlrabi, cucumbers, basil, spinach, mustard, cress, bok choy, salad mix, mizuna, tatsoi, potatoes, parsnips, arugula and parsley. Some protein too, in the form of yak meat from animals fed an organic diet with no hormones or antibiotics.

Drool Central dog treats (both fresh and frozen) and dog meals will be available. All products are made from Alaska-harvested ingredients such as fish, potatoes, carrots, beets, barley and greens, and are corn-, soy- and wheat-free.

Mountain View Farmers Market

The neighborhood's refugee farmers will be selling salad mix, chard, kale, greens (turnip, mustard, collard), sugar snap peas, herbs, radishes and salad mix. In the non-farm category, choose from among baklava, muffins, and Ethiopian, Indian and Middle Eastern spices.

Other farms represented are the Ba-Lescas Brothers, Vang Family Garden, Fresh International Gardens, and Vitali and Monica Family Farm. Vendors such as Fire Island Bakery, Cali's Smoke BBQ & Soulfood, Eva's Cupcake Bakery will also be happy to feed you.

Support the "Youth Entrepreneur" booth at the market and you'll be supporting skill-building among the young people of Mountain View. This week, enjoy lemonade and homemade popsicles. Families: Take advantage of face painting, free children's activities and live music.

Center Market

Proteins and produce aplenty are available this week. Among the flora for sale are spinach, kale, strawberries, lettuce, rhubarb, snow apple turnips, salad mixes, beet greens and Yukon gold potatoes.

On the fauna side, you can choose thick-cut pork chops, chorizo, fajita meat, ham steak, grass-fed beef, loin roast, ground pork, several kinds of sausage and ribs.

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Not a meat eater? Go for the tofu, sprouts, microgreens and basil from Alaska Sprouts; corn- and soy-free chicken and duck eggs are also available. Other vendors at Center Market are Tonia's Biscotti, Evie's Brinery, Mosquito Mama and Squeal Dog Treats.

Spenard Farmers Market

Want to see how other gardeners do it? A bike tour of Spenard gardens starts at 10 a.m. at the market, returning by 1 p.m. It's sponsored by "Yarducopia," the Alaska Community Action on Toxics' organic gardening program.

Also at the market: arugula, lettuce and mixed greens, Napa cabbage, kale, spinach, collards, green and yellow zucchini, cilantro, mustard, chard, kohlrabi, broccoli and radishes, from Chugach Farm, Dinkel's, Brown Dog Farm, the Ba-Lescas Brothers and Four Tern Farm.

Thankful Thursdays

Fermented food products such as coconut kefir, kombucha, kvass and krauts will be available from Farm 779, as will small-batch body products made with bee products from the farm's apiary.

Country Health Foods will sell products from Alaska Sprouts, including broccoli, sunflower, bean, kale, sorrel and radish sprouts. The Spice & Tea Exchange and 3 Bears Jam Farm will also be at the market.

Donna Freedman lives and writes in Anchorage, and blogs at DonnaFreedman.com.

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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., Eagle River VFW Post; Farmers Fresh Market, 3-6 p.m., 33955 Community College Drive, Soldotna

Wednesday in Anchorage: APU Farmers Market, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., 4225 University Drive; Center Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Farmers Market at Airport Heights, 3-7 p.m., 2530 E. 16th Ave.

Wednesday outside of Anchorage: Highway's End Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Delta Junction; Homer Farmers Market, 2-6 p.m., Ocean Drive; Soldotna Wednesday Market, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Soldotna Creek Park; Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road, Fairbanks

Thursday in Anchorage: Mountain View Farmers Market, 3-7 p.m., 3543 Mountain View Drive; Thankful Thursdays market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street

Thursday outside of Anchorage: Peters Creek Farmers Market, 3-8 p.m., American Legion Post 33

Friday in Anchorage: Center Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Fourth Avenue Indoor Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 333 W. Fourth Ave., Suite 200

Saturday in Anchorage: Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., 15th Avenue and Cordova Street; Anchorage Market and Festival, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Third Avenue between C and E streets; Center Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street; Fourth Avenue Indoor Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 33 W. Fourth Ave., Suite 200; 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: Highway's End Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Delta Junction; Homer Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Ocean Drive; Kenai's Saturday Market, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center; Soldotna Saturday Farmers Market, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., East Corral Avenue and Kenai Spur Highway; Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road, Fairbanks

Sunday in Anchorage: Anchorage Market and Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Third Avenue between C and E streets; Fourth Avenue Indoor Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 33 W. Fourth Ave., Suite 200

Sunday outside of Anchorage: Tanana Valley Farmer's Market, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 2600 College Road, Fairbanks

Donna Freedman

Freelance writer Donna Freedman is a veteran Alaska journalist who has written for the Anchorage Daily News and many other publications. She blogs about money and midlife at DonnaFreedman.com.

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