good morning everyone!

Depending on where you live you are in either in a fog bank or in the sun.  Right now I’m in the sun and enjoying every moment of it.  Yesterday when I went to the Wednesday market I did hear reports of frost and Arthur even had ice on one of his truck’s windshields.  So our vegetable party we have been enjoying is coming to a close, but there is still more great produce available.

As a kid, I hated peas.  Mom would serve them in a separate dish for me because, heaven forbid, they should touch anything else on my plate.  And the only way I could eat them is:  1.  Tons of butter and salt and 2. Not chew them.  Now, I’m more…. mature (that’s the word I’ll use) and I love them!  There is a great recipe from one of my favorite Italian cookbooks that my sister gave to us years ago and we use that cookbook constantly.  I’ll tell you more about it later.

Here are the hours of both the Wednesday and Saturday market:

Wednesday South Anchorage Farmers’ Market
Dates: July 7-September 29
Hours:  10:00am-4:00pm
Location:  behind the Dimond Center, in front of the Dimond Center Hotel

Saturday South Anchorage Farmers’ Market
Dates: May 8-October 2 (and longer weather permitting)
Hours: 9am-2pm
Location: Subway/Cellular One Sports Centre at the corner of Old Seward and O’Malley

Eagle River Farmers’ Market on Saturday will have Glacier Valley Farm and a couple other vendors.  New hours!  From 10:00 am to 3:00 pm located outside of Mike’s Meats located at 12110 Business Boulevard.

Glacier Valley Farm will have beautiful zucchini, tender green beans, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, carrots,  broccoli, a variety of lettuces and while the frost holds off,  big, sweet, strawberries! 

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For the Saturday Anchorage South Side Farmers’ Market:
We would like to thank everyone who participated in our first poetry contest.  We received lots of great poems and it was difficult to choose.  Here are the winners and their poems.

First Place:  Myrtle H.  Who I might add is 96 years old! Way to go Myrtle!

GROW VALLEY GROW
Valley vegetables are just great,
the very best you have ever ate.

Always fresh as the morning dew,
picked each morning just for you.

Healthy bodies keep you strong,
when you eat your veggies you can’t go wrong.

Peas and beans and carrots too,
are the very best for you.

To store bought veggies I’ll say no,
farmers markets are the place to go.

Second Place:  Benjamin H.

Beets, peas, chard: these are
All to the good, but who could
turn down a turnip?

Third Place:  Susan D’s Dimond High students!

Tiny Trees

Little, crunchy trees
Branches and leaves oh so small
Broccoli is great.
                -Cayla R.

Tomato

Tomato is sad
It is not tasty like fruit
And veggies shun it.
            -Alex S.

The Tomato

The poor tomato
A want-to-be vegetable
But sadly a fruit.
            -Emily K.

Potatoes

French fries or hashbrowns,
Mashed, second-baked, shish-ka-bobbed,
Couch, purple, tatered.
            -Sierra C.

I like to eat corn
Corn corn corn corn corn yellow
Weird crop circles
            -Henry H.

A Lost Tomato

A tomato-lost
Phased between two groups, alone.
A fruit or veggie?
                -Lakota T.

Carrots are so sweet
Carrots are lovely to eat
Carotene I dream.
                -Josephine G.

Peppers

Bright orange peppers
Roasted char, soft sweet and grilled
How I love you so.
                -Ally R.

Cabbage

I put you in stew
Rabbits nibble on you
You are green, not blue.
                -Robert L.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Leslie Shallcross from the Cooperative Extension will be on hand to give advice about canning, freezing, and preserving. She will also have informational guidelines that will help any novice or expert.

PRODUCE

VanderWeele Farms has a tremendous variety of lettuce including Red Oak, Bibb, Lollo Rosso, green and red leaf, and Red and Green Romaine.  Check out their white, purple, yellow or “cheddar” and lime green cauliflower!  Incredibly beautiful and tasty! Radishes,red and green cabbage will also be there along with their famous potatoes.  They will also have big, beautiful broccoli!  If you have never tried Red Romaine you have to try it before the end of the season.  It is beginning to have quite the following.

Glacier Valley Farm will have beautiful zucchini,  tender green beans,  broccoli, cabbage, leeks, a variety of lettuces and big, sweet, strawberries-if there is no damaging frost! See what is going on at Arthur’s farm through his Facebook page.  Here is the link:  http://tinyurl.com/29rgvfo

Rempel Family Farm reports:  The sun is welcome!  As long as the frost holds off we will have green beans and sugar snap peas.  The heat is also helping to ripen the winter squash and sugar pumpkins.
This week Rempel Family Farm will have arugula, basil, cilantro, dill, kales, lettuces, cabbages of several flavors, cucumbers, nearly a dozen varieties of potatoes, sweet carrots, Snow Apple turnips, daikon radishes, parsnips, green onions, several winter squashes, and more.

Stockwell Farms will have a wide variety of greens including baby bok choy, kale, Asian kale and other greens, chard, new potatoes, sweet carrots, and homemade relishes.  The Asian kale makes wonderful wraps; tender but firm enough to hold your favorite ingredients.  Vern will also have 20 lb bags of potatoes for just $20.00!  That’s a screaming deal everyone!

Southfork will still be selling heirloom tomatoes this week, although in lesser quantities as we near the end of the growing season.  Come early for the best selection.  Featured fall jams include several varieties of pear, plum, currant, and lowbush cranberry.  The raspberry pear is an especially nice combination, perfect for holiday gift baskets. 

Wolverine Farm will have their delicious tender peas!  By them now and freeze them for those winter months. 

Lewis Family Farm would is offering fresh herbs, just baked mini loaves made with an assortment of fresh berries, fresh rhubarb and yukon golds, ruby reds, and french fingerlings. 

Earthworks Farm will be there with a great assortment of lettuces and greens. They also have beautiful cut flowers to brighten up your home!

Northern Lights Mushrooms will be there with their beautiful oyster mushrooms. 

FFA (Future Farmers of America) will have a variety of greens and homemade jams.

I bet you saw peas mentioned for a few of our vendors.  See the recipe for peas, bacon and ricotta over pasta on our web site:  http://tinyurl.com/298ybhe 
It’s delicious and easy to make!

BAKERY AND FOOD

A new food vendor joined us last week and they are a big hit with our customers. Everybody’s Business is a local company who focuses on fresh, local ingredients.  Their salmon burger on greens is amazing!  They also have breakfast items so if you need to go to the market early you can get a tasty breakfast while you’re there.

For whole grain pan loaves, Rise & Shine Bakery will be bringing their ALASKAN BARLEY loaves, made with barley from Delta Junction! Also on the schedule is their ever-popular SIGNATURE LEVAIN, which is the French term for “naturally-leavened bread.” Their 100% whole wheat levain has just four ingredients: organic whole wheat flour, water, salt, and sourdough (wild yeast). The three-day process of feeding the sourdough gradually to create the bread gives the whole grain bread flavor complexity, nutrition, and keeping quality that you don’t get from loaves made more quickly with commercial yeast. The long-fermented sourdough in all of Rise & Shine Bakery’s breads digests many of the glutenins and gliadens that affect people who are sensitive to wheat, making it a more easily digestible loaf than breads made more quickly with commercial yeast.

Those of you who have been waiting for the KALAMATA OLIVE bread, it’s your week! These moist and flavorful 60% whole wheat loaves make wonderful accompaniments to dinners of all kinds, and are great for sandwiches, too. Dan and Alison will also be baking the TOASTED WALNUT bread, for those of you who love that nutty loaf for breakfast, snacks, and dinner. And the sweet loaf this week is back to the ever-popular FRUITED ALMOND sourdough pan loaf, packed with apricots, golden raisins, dried cranberries, and toasted almonds. It’s great for breakfast toast and snacks! Take a slice along on a hike or a bike ride, and you won’t run out of fuel.

Mary Jane will be bringing baked goods from French Oven Bakery.  Huge loaves of marble rye, cheddar, jalapeno cheddar, white, and wheat and white sourdough.  Lots of pastries including palmiers, macaroons, and those tempting cinnamon rolls.  Be sure to get to her early if you want those great fresh eggs!

Arctic Choice has a great selection of fresh Alaskan seafood.  Fresh Silver Salmon, Sablefish (Black Cod) and Halibut fillets for the BBQ. Also SideStripe Shrimp, Cod & Rockfish fillets will be there along with large Spot Shrimp, Razor Clam meats, Halibut Cheeks, Scallops and always a favorite King Crab, along with other seafood treats. 

Matanuska Creamery will a fantastic variety of cheeses, cheese curds and ice cream.  We hope to see their new chocolate milk too!

Three Bears will be bringing their jams and jellies as well.  A wide variety made with local fruit at terrific prices.

Fat Boyz Ribz will be there grilling up their delicious ribs and hot dogs.  Great cole slaw too!  Just follow your nose!

NonEssentials from Palmer will be there with their wide selection of made in Alaska food items.  Everything from coffee to dips, barbecue sauces to vinegars.

WeBeDogs will have their locally made reindeer and buffalo dogs too.

Denali Kettle Corn will have their sweet treats ready for you! 

For more information about the market, contact Nancy Lampman, South Anchorage Farmers’ Market, at 907-529.7630, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

Cheers! And see you at the market!
Nancy Lampman, South Anchorage Farmers’ Market Reporter

Would you like to see some videos about the vendors and farmers who sell their produce at the South Anchorage Farmers’ Market? Check us out!
Chef Delicious Dave at the South Anchorage Farmer’s Market Anchorage chef Dave Thorne describes what to look for when shopping for local produce.

VanderWeele Carrot HarvestRoger VanderWeele of VanderWeele Farm talks about carrot production.

Rise & Shine Bakery: Owners Alison Arians & Dan Schwartz bake their whole-grain sourdough bread in the small commercial kitchen attached to their house on Anchorage’s lower Hillside.

Transplanting Lettuce at Vanderweele Farms: Vanderweele Farms employee Teresa Reel talks about getting plants in the ground during the spring planting near Palmer, Alaska in May 2009.

Strawberries: Arthur Keyes of Glacier Valley Farm talks about his experiment growing California strawberry varieties on his Palmer, Alaska farm.

Harvesting Corn at Glacier Valley Farm: Alaska farmer Arthur Keyes talks about growing and harvesting, corn in Alaska.

Onions from Stockwell Farm: Vern Stockwell perfected the art of growing onions in Alaska.

related recipes

peas, bacon and ricotta sauce over pasta