Alaska News

Markets slowly coming to an end

The beautiful fall weather is appreciated by most, however, the shortening days also mean changes for those shopping for local produce.

Today is the last day for the Wednesday South Anchorage Farmers Market. The Saturday market will continue for a few more weeks.

Also, the last Spenard Farmers Market of the season is Saturday. The market will be hosting a Quest Card match program, where Quest Card holders can receive up to a $20 match on their purchase of eligible items at the market.

Additionally, this week is the final week of vegetable delivery for customers of the Glacier Valley Community Supported Agriculture program. After three years, the organizers are suspending operations.

Arthur Keyes of Glacier Valley Farm was one of the CSA founders. In a note to subscribers, he mentioned the challenges faced with providing fresh produce year-round in Alaska. "We have struggled to source the produce we brought up in the winter from organic farms in (the Lower 48). We have seen the cost of shipping increase dramatically with the cost of oil and the price of wholesale veggies triple in a week's time."

While Keyes' CSA is going away, he intends to keep farming and will have items available at local markets for several more weeks and hopes to have storage crops available through the winter. He also encourages people to join the farm's Facebook page.

Keyes will be at the South Anchorage Farmers Market on Saturday with onions, rutabagas and other produce. Other vendors at the market include VanderWeele Farms with lettuces, greens, carrots, chard, potatoes and cauliflower; Rempel Family Farm with parsnips, sugar pumpkins, celery, broccoli, kales, collard greens and at least five varieties of potatoes; Earthworks Farm will have greens, lettuces and cut flowers; Arctic Choice will bring Yakutat-area salmon, halibut, cod, rockfish and fresh oysters; and Southfork will have a special fig jam along with cranberry and pear jams.

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Sarah Bean of Arctic Organics and the Anchorage Farmers Market says things are changing at the market. "We have had our first frost now, so the pallet of vegetables will be changing," she says.

New items include kabocha winter squash and leeks. Other items include loose beets, yellow onions, storage cabbage, mache, a large variety of potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, fennel, chard, kale, greens mix, arugula and apples.

Other vendors at the market include Seldovitsch Family Farm, Persistent Farmer, Matanuska Creamery, 3 Bears Farm, Tuscalaska, Turkey Red Cafe and VanderWeele Farms.

At the Center Market both today and Saturday, Duane Clark will have free-range chicken, grass-fed beef, Alaska seafood, local honey and apples. Joining Clark will be Alex Davis of A.D. Farm. Davis will have a large selection of organic produce including potatoes, beets, kohlrabi, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, along with pork products and fresh eggs.

From the sea

"The fresh seafood world is still going strong even with these sub-freezing early morning temperatures," says Dannon Southall of 10th & M Seafoods.

Southall says this week is "codapaloza" with fresh cod at $5.95 per pound and frozen black cod. The black cod is $15.95 per pound for headed and gutted fish in the 5- to 7-pound range and frozen fillets are $18.95 per pound. He also has smoked black cod fillets.

Halibut is $19.95 per pound for fillets and he says the season is wrapping up so now is the time to act for fresh fish.

Swiss chard

spanakopita casserole

• Cooking spray

• 2 ½ cups mined white onion

• ¾ cup minced green onions

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 9 cups chopped trimmed Swiss chard

• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 3 tablespoons minced fresh mint

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• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

• ½ cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

• 3 large egg whites

• 10 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

• Preheat oven to 350 F.

• Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add white onion; saute 7 minutes or until golden. Add green onions and garlic, and saute 1 minute. Stir in chard; cook 2 minutes or until chard wilts. Stir in parsley and mint, and cook 1 minute. Place in a large bowl; cool slightly. Stir in feta cheese and next 4 ingredients.

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• Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board (cover remaining phyllo to prevent drying), and coat with cooking spray. Top with 1 phyllo sheet, and coat with cooking spray. Repeat with 3 additional sheets.

• Cut phyllo stack into a 14-inch square. Place square in center of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, allowing plyllo to extend up the long sides of the dish. Cut 14-by-4-inch piece of stacked phyllo into 2 rectangles. Fold each 7-by-4-inch rectangle in half lengthwise. Place a folded rectangle against each short side of dish. Spread chard mixture evenly over phyllo. Repeat Step 3 with remaining 5 phyllo sheets.

Place 18-by-14-inch phyllo stack over chard mixture. Fold phyllo edges into center. Coat with cooking spray. Score phyllo by making 2 lengthwise cuts and 3 crosswise cuts to form 12 rectangles.

• Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until golden.

Source: "Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian" ($29.95, Oxmoor House)

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.

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

Saturday: Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 15th and Cordova in the Central Lutheran Church parking lot; 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.

By STEVE EDWARDS

Daily News correspondent

Steve Edwards

Steve Edwards lives and writes in Anchorage. He writes the Market Fresh column weekly and can be reached akmarketfresh@gmail.com.

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