South Anchorage Farmers' Market WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Hello, All!
You’ll find a few updates at the top of this newsletter from the farmers and vendors themselves, then my intern Sherrill’s more inclusive report for the market!
There are a couple of really nice recipes this week. Sherrill has a great one for kale which is showing up now and is so nice and tender. And I have one for a fresh pea soup.
LAST CHANCE!! FRIDAY! MEET YOUR ALASKAN FARMERS: MAT-SU FARM TOUR!
On Friday, July 24th, from 8am to 5pm, you can take part in a incredible opportunity to meet your Alaskan farmers and see their farms (vegetables, fruits and dairy!) on all varieties and scales: large-scale produce farming, a small family farm, a large organic farm, a U-Pick farm, and even the Matanuska Creamery! You’ll drive by Palmer’s farmers’ market, the Friday Fling, and the Plant Materials Center. You’ll even get to eat an all-Alaska GROWN catered lunch in a beautiful garden setting, and take home
an Alaska GROWN t-shirt. Cost of the tour is $45 for adults and $35 for children 12 & under. Please email to register, and to get more information about the tour.
GLACIER VALLEY FARMS
Arthur will have lots of zucchini, chard, and beautiful tomatoes!
NORTHERN LIGHTS MUSHROOMS
They will be here again at the Saturday market. Their oyster mushrooms are not only gorgeous, they are incredibly tasty! Look for their recipes at their stand. Keep your fingers crossed for a healthy harvest of shitakes in mid-August!
REMPEL FAMILY FARMS
Mark Rempel let us know that they will have This week Rempel Family Farm will have certified organic CARROTS, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, green onions, daikon radishes, spinach, cilantro, fresh dill, napa cabbage, sorrel and at least 4 kinds of baby new potatoes.
ARCTIC CHOICE SEAFOODS
They will have four species of fresh salmon; Sockeye from Bristol Bay, King from the Nushagak River, Coho from Seldovia Point, and Keta from the Yukon River. Fresh Halibut and Rockfish caught in the Gulf of Alaska near Montague Island. Fresh Sidestripe Shrimp harvested from Prince William Sound along with Sablefish from the same area. Live Oysters farmed near Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska.
RISE & SHINE BAKERY BREADS
Rise & Shine Bakery has a tasty lineup of whole-grain sourdough breads this week. Did you know that ALL of Rise & Shine’s bread loaves are sourdough breads? Alison & Dan don’t use any commercial yeast; instead, they feed their sourdough starter over several days before baking, so the natural yeast grows enough to leaven 400 or 500 loaves of bread! Their larger pan loaves (perfect for toast or sandwiches) will be the basic 100% whole wheat sourdough loaf (called levain, which means “naturally-leavened bread” in French) and their whole-grain golden maize loaf, which has a bright and sunshiny flavor from fresh-ground cornmeal and a little honey. Hearth loaves will include the 100% whole wheat toasted walnut bread, packed with rich and delicious nuts, and the Kalamata olive loaf, loaded with savory, briny olives. The dessert bread this week will be the ever-popular dark chocolate & cherry loaf, which is more a dessert than a bread, but since relies on sourdough and a little olive oil for its texture and keeping quality, is a remarkably healthy choice!
Rise & Shine will take the Saturday after next off (August 1), so stock up this week and put some bread in the freezer. Because of the long action of the sourdough on the whole grains, the bread freezes and thaws very well, and stays moist for a long time.
NEW VENDOR!
We’ll have a new food vendor this week selling fantastic local grilled salmon wraps and salmon salads! The concession is called Eat Food, and by a fun coincidence, their debut will be the same day as our second Eat Wild salmon event. Their menu includes wood pellet-smoked and grilled sockeye salmon with a light lemon pepper glaze that can be enjoyed as a salad or wrap. Organic summer greens, organic basil infused rice, and mango salsa are the other ingredients. Matthew Roundtree, the owner, writes that he is “excited to get folks into the idea of eating local fish, with local greens, made on locally made tortillas. We have quite a summertime harvest here in this area, it seems past time to celebrate it in new ways.”
KENLEY’S FARM
Here is what is going on at her farm:
We have decided that this year we live in Camelot. Last Wednesday and Thursday night it poured rain all night long and I lay in bed dreading harvesting in the rain the next day. But, just like in Camelot the daytime was warm and even sunny. What could be more perfect for a gardener/farmer? Needless to say the vegetables love this combination of rain and sunshine and are growing like crazy. This week we will have a wonderful array of produce. Our super sweet Alaskan carrots will make their first appearance at our stand along with our fabulous flavorful celery. If you haven’t eaten Alaskan grown celery, you are in for a treat. this celery is so crisp and full of flavor you will be sad when you have to go back to celery that is flown here. Along with our zucchini we will have some lovely yellow crook-neck squash. It is so pretty in salads or sautéed with its zucchini cousin. Our big onions keep getting bigger every week. I love to sauté them with a little olive oil and add them to practically everything--every sandwich on top of any meat, with nearly any vegetable they are that fabulous! Our beans are at their zenith right now, although they will always be in limited supply. We have snow peas and shelling peas to go with our new potatoes. Creamed peas and potatoes is a dish that is hard to beat! Our greenhouse is ripening the tomatoes and this week we will have nice supply of those sweet cherry tomatoes, lovely slicers and a limited supply of those luscious Lemon Boy tomatoes. Every year we experiment with some new varieties of vegetables. Some prove to be duds and some are successes. One of our success this year is cheddar cauliflower. It poked it’s head out of its leaves just yesterday, a bright orange ball, so cheerful I had to stop right there, cut it, and taste it. The verdict--it tastes as good as it looks! It is definitely a keeper! Since it is experimental, it will be in limited supply so come early to see an orange cauliflower! If you would like to see pictures of our gardens and read more about our farm, visit our blog at . Hope to see you at the market.
SHERRILL’S REPORT
THE MARKET
Joan Johnson was new to the market this week. She brought a variety of jarred creations to share with us including plum preserves, crabapple jam, zucchini relish, hot pepper jam, blueberry apricot jam, sour cherry jam, strawberry rhubarb jam, pumpkin tea bread and banana bread. Welcome Joan!
The Future Farmers of America added cut flowers to their booth this week along with fresh vegetables from their gardens in the valley. Look for Swiss chard, collard greens, basil, broccoli, kale, cabbage, strawflowers, amaranthis, false queen Ann’s lace, sunflowers and nettle tea next week.
Fat boy Ribs continue to provide grilled meats and cool salads perfect for summer time.
Stockwell Farm has broccoli, bok choi, zucchini, kale, collards, green leaf lettuce, head lettuce, cabbage, kohlrabi, cabbage relish, sweet zucchini relish, orange rhubarb marmalade, gingered rhubarb jam, rhubarb jam, fireweed jelly, blackcurrant jelly and blueberry jam. Next week they hope to have potatoes and sugar snap peas.
Mat Valley Peas continues to bring shelled peas in a variety of package sizes. They sell out quickly, so arrive early for these sugary treats.
Gray Owl Farm has a variety of beautiful house plants, herbs, nugget blue grass seed and sod, green bell peppers, cabbage, red and green pac choi, romaine, kohlrabi, pineapple mint, European and pickling cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, savoy cabbage and red komatsuma.
Red Beet will be sure to have delectable delights they have this week. There is always something there to take with you while you walk around the market.
Three Bears Farm has a colorful selection of jams, fresh herbs and peppers.
Notes, Ideas and Recipes
Unfortunately, I have been a little under the weather this week, so I have spent my time productively searching cooking blogs from around the world just for you! Actually, I’ve been reading the I Heart Kale blog for hours on end, indulging my love for kale, making frantic notes about future recipes, laughing and enjoying the delicious pictures. Kale is everywhere at the market: red, green, dino, curly, Russian, Lacinato… Which one to choose this week? At one point, the writers for I Heart Kale were eating one bunch of kale a day, amazing.
Maybe I should take a step back and tell those of you new to kale all about its wonderful attributes. Kale is a member of the Brassica family. It is rich in sulfur containing phytonutrients including glucosinolates and cysteine sulfoxides, shown by research to activate detoxifying enzymes in the human body. One cup of boiled green kale provides 1327.6% of the daily value for vitamin K, 192.4% of the daily value for vitamin A, 88.8% of the daily value for vitamin C, as well as dietary fiber, calcium, potassium and the laundry nutrient list goes on.
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Thanks Sherrill!
GLACIER VALLEY FARM CSA PRODUCE BOXES!
I know that it’s sometimes hard to make it to the Saturday farmers’ market—you’re out of town, or your kids have soccer games, or you sleep in and by the time you’re up and at it—it’s already 1:00 and you know that most of the good stuff will be gone already. But there’s another option for getting local produce! Check out Glacier Valley Farm CSA’s produce boxes!
The hefty boxes, costing $35 each, are filled with as much Alaskan produce as is available, augmented in the winter and spring with some vegetables and fruits from certified organic farms Outside. We’re just ramping up the boxes to include more and more Alaskan produce each week! Each box also contains a newsletter loaded with delicious, healthy recipes tailored to the week’s vegetables.
You can sign up for a box once a week, twice a month, or more sporadically—you choose the dates! You pre-pay for your box, then pick it up at one of several locations in Anchorage, Eagle River, or the Valley. Please visit our website for more information! http://www.GlacierValleyCSA.com
Please pass this email along to anyone you think might be interested in receiving the weekly market news—they can visit our website at http://www.southanchoragefarmersmarket.com and sign up for our newsletter list.
For more information about the market, contact Arthur Keyes, South Anchorage Farmers’ Market Manager, at 907-354-5833, or at .
Please respond to this email if you’d like to be removed from the newsletter list.
Cheers! And see you at the market!
Nancy Lampman
Farmers’ Market Reporter
The bread from Rise & Shine bakery isn't just bread, it's a special treat that I plan entire meals around. The quality is top shelf, and I just know every loaf is made with love. 
