Anchorage Daily News

If you want a taste of salmon, it’s time to act quickly.

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John Jackson from New Sagaya Market says the “kings have fizzled to nothing” and the red salmon season is pretty much over too.

In the market right now are silver salmon, but those tough-fighting fish are hard to predict, Jackson says.

“Everyone should be thinking about stocking up on silvers early as they are the only salmon no one can get a bead on as far as consistency goes,” he says. “One week they are plentiful and the next there are none. The summer is fading slowly, but there are still some nice fish to buy.”

Jackson says halibut, fresh Pacific cod fillets and rock fish are also in stores now.

You can also pick up some nice fish at the South Anchorage Farmers Market on Saturday from Arctic Choice Seafoods. They will have sockeye and coho salmon fillets and whole fish; halibut, lingcod and cod fillets, razor clams and scallops. It’s also the final weekend for fresh side-stripe shrimp. The season closes for the shrimp on Saturday.

If you’re looking for oysters, visit Northern Lights Oysters at the Anchorage Farmers Market on 15th Avenue and Cordova Street on Saturday.

Other vendors at the Anchorage Farmers Market include Arctic Organics, Bushes Bunches, Seldovitsch Family Farm, Johnny Moose Farm, L&R Greenhouses, Stockwell Farm, Vanderweele Farm, Hett’s Peas, Sun Fire Farms, Turkey Red Cafe, ACAT and the Matanuska Creamery.

Look for cauliflower, snow peas, sugarsnap peas, shelling peas, zucchini, broccoli, turnips, green cabbage, radicchio, daikon, radishes, collard greens, kale, tat soi, sorrel, nasturtium blossoms, herbs, cut flowers, tomatoes, rustic breads, cheese, ice cream and jellies.

One highlight of the South Anchorage Farmers Market beyond Arctic Choice Seafood is a cooking demonstration with master gardener Blythe Campbell. She’s cooking “Iron Chef” style, according to market officials.

Other items to look for include:

· Glacier Valley Farms will have plenty of zucchini, tomatoes and a limited amount of luscious strawberries.

· Rempel Family Farm continues to add some longer season veggies. Green beans, celery, a variety of beets, onions, leeks, cabbage and pickling cucumbers will all be available, along with another 30 or so different vegetables.

· VanderWeele Farms will have celery, carrots, beets, broccoli, first of the year Yukon Gold new potatoes, jumbo yellow onions, radishes, red and green cabbage, and several varieties of cauliflower. Also available with be several types of lettuce.

· Rise & Shine Bakery will be baking two kinds of 100 percent whole grain pan loaves this week -- the very popular spent grain bread, made with barley grains left over from Midnight Sun Brewery’s beer-making process. They’ll also be baking Alaskan baked potato pan loaves, moist and delicious, and very similar to the regular 100 percent whole wheat sourdough levain.

And don’t forget the option to pick your own produce at Pyrah’s Pioneer Peak Farm, 4350 S. Bodenburg Loop Road. The farm is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. Items in the field now are broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, zucchini, peas, lettuce, greens, nappa, rhubarb, strawberries and other items.

Visit the markets

Wednesday: South Anchorage Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., south side of the Dimond Center; Wednesday Market, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Northway Mall parking lot; Wasilla Farmers Market, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., behind the Wasilla Public Library.

Friday: Friday Fling, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., pavilion across from the Visitor’s Center in Palmer.

Saturday: Anchorage Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 15th Avenue and Cordova Street; 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; 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., University Center Mall; Eagle River Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Business Boulevard and Old Glenn Highway.

Sunday: Anchorage Market and Festival, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Third Avenue between C and E streets.

Tuesday: Eagle River Farmers Market, 3-7 p.m., Eagle River VFW Post parking lot.

Swiss Chard and Apple Pastry

7 cups roughly chopped Swiss chard leaves, inner stems removed (1 1/2 lb.)

2/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 cup plus 1 tsp. egg substitute, divided

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1/3 cup dried currants

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. sliced toasted almonds

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (1/2 17.3-oz. pkg.)

1 Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch slices

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Blanch Swiss chard in large pot of boiling water 15 seconds, or until wilted. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Squeeze out excess liquid. Set aside.

2. Combine ricotta and confectioners’ sugar in bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup egg substitute and milk. Add chard, currants, 1/3 cup almonds, and nutmeg.

3. Cut pastry sheet in half. Roll each half into 10- x 9-inch rectangle on floured work surface. Place 1 piece puff pastry over 8-inch-square nonstick baking pan, and press into sides of pan. Spoon in chard mixture, and arrange apple slices on top. Place remaining piece of pastry on top of apples, and roll edges to seal. Brush with remaining 1 tsp. egg substitute, and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbs. almonds.

4. Prick pastry top with knife to vent. Bake 45 minutes. Cover with foil, and bake 45 minutes more, or until pastry is golden. Cool on wire rack, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Courtesy of the South Anchorage Farmers’ Market Newsletter

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.

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