In a dessert panic before Thanksgiving? Help is on the way.

There are going to be lots of busy cooks around Anchorage the next couple days. The bakers at Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop can make it a little easier in the kitchen.

As it has done for years, Fire Island will be open Thanksgiving Day with fresh bread, pastries and other treats. In addition to its normal 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday hours, the bakery will be open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday. The bakery will be closed Friday.

"Our hours are intended to ease the lives and cooking obligations of our customers," co-owner Rachel Pennington says. "We do love to be a part of their special family meals, offering that perfect addition to Thanksgiving meal."

Pennington says the menu includes special holiday highlights like chocolate babka, bread pudding with bourbon glaze, blueberry rhubarb tart, pecan tart, rustic apple pie, pumpkin Bavarian layer cake and a Thanksgiving cookie platter.

Center Market

The twice weekly Center Market at the Mall at Sears will be open and ready to help cooks on the day before the big feast.

Alex Davis of A.D. Farm will be at both Wednesday and Saturday markets. The preholiday market offerings include his pork products, local honey, grass-fed beef, goat cuts, jam, Alaska Sprouts items, barley products from Alaska Flour Co. and a large selection of vegetables.

Davis' pork lineup includes bratwurst, loin roast, pork chops, fresh side-sliced and slab, ground pork, Italian sausage, spicy sausage, breakfast sausage patties, ribs, roast, bone for broth, fat for rendering, liver, feet and hocks. Vegetables include kohlrabi, beets, carrots, at least five varieties of potatoes, Brussels sprouts and cabbage.

Joining Davis on Wednesday is Monica's Confection Connection with brittles, caramels, gummies, marshmallows and several flavors of fudge, including chocolate, butter pecan, red velvet, dark chocolate raspberry truffle and peanut butter and chocolate.

On Saturday, Rempel Family Farm will have a huge selection of storage veggies along with cuts of yak meat. Rempel veggies include carrots, red and green cabbage, turnips, red and golden beets, parsnips, eight varieties of winter squash and at least 10 kinds of potatoes.

Other news

Ironically, the Thankful Thursdays market is closed on Thanksgiving. The market reopens on Dec. 1.

Other traditional market vendors are branching out this week as the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear.

Earthworks Farm will spend Friday to Sunday at the Anchorage Museum for its Crafted in Alaska weekend gift fair. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Dee Barker says they will highlight their Abeille Alaska beeswax and honey body and skin care items. Special holiday items include gift packs of honey-scented shampoo and conditioner with honey scented body lotion and honey glycerin soap.

"We are also excited to offer a new selection of hand-crafted perfumes, such as Rivière, reminding us of a warm summer day riverside," Barker says. "This scent has already obtained a following in our popular French Clay Spa Bar."

Drool Central will set up as part of Small Business Saturday at Alaska K9 Aquatics, 549 W. International Airport Road, Suite B9.

Steve Edwards lives and writes in Anchorage. Contact him at akmarketfresh@gmail.com.

Local farmers markets

Monday in the Valley: Colony Farmers Market, noon-6 p.m., 610 S. Valley Way, Palmer

Wednesday in Anchorage: Center Market, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street

Saturday in Anchorage: Center Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., The Mall at Sears, Benson Boulevard and Denali Street