Food & Drink

Market Fresh: Halibut season opens this weekend

It's officially spring and in Alaska that means it's halibut time.

Halibut season opens this weekend, and fresh whitefish should be available early next week in local stores.

"This weekend kicks off everyone's favorite flat fish fishery -- halibut," says Dannon Southall of 10th & M Seafoods. "Starting this Saturday at noon, the fisherman can hit the waters in search of these white-meat beauties. As long as the weather cooperages, we should have fresh halibut in store on Monday."

Prices are not currently available.

Other seafood options, with nice affordability, include fresh yelloweye rockfish fillets for $12.95 per pound and fresh Gulf of Alaska cod fillets for $5.95 per pound.

Also available are fresh troll-caught king salmon from Southeast. "The herring are starting to show in Southeast and this should help increase the number of kings," Southall says. "There have been a few whites mixed in but is always best to call ahead to check availability."

At the market

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Another sure sign of spring is Rob Wells and his dahlia tubers at the Center Market at The Mall at Sears.

Wells says he will be back with about 40 varieties of dahlias at the market Wednesday.

"After strong sales and starting my own crop over the weekend, the inventory is going fast," Wells says. "Come on over to the market to pick up pre-orders or pick some out. I am again taking orders to start your tubers for delivery in May, and also this week you can pre-order hanging baskets, primarily tumbler tomatoes, an excellent producer of large cherry-sized fruit."

For more information, visit thepersistentfarmer.com or call 1-907-745-2789.

Other vendors this week include Duane Clark and Country Health Foods with Alaska honey, seafood, grass-fed beef and free-range duck. He also will have goat cheese.

Earthworks Farm will have honey and beeswax lotions.

The Rempel Family Farm will have red, cylinder and Chioggia beets; daikon radish; stripetti squash; and nine kinds of potatoes.

A.D. Farm will have fresh chicken and duck eggs, along with pork products (chops, roast, loin roast, steak, breakfast sausage patties, Italian sausage, spicy sausage, ground pork, fresh side slice and slab), carrots, parsnips, barley flour and barley cereal.

Alex Davis asks this question: "What did you do for St. Patty's Day?"

Then he answers in a somewhat expected farmer's version of the holiday: "I took care of my new brood of piglets. Last week I was asked if we name our pigs, and the answer is we name litters. This group will be the leaping leprechauns. I will be having a video posted to my website shortly."

Look for the little pig video at adfarmorganic.com.

The market is 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

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.

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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