Farmers Market.

 The farmers market has started but its quite early in the season.  Most people there offered either soap, jewelry, or baked goods. A few had vegetables like cucumbers or starts but that was it. 

Most of the vegetables for sale right now were grown in greenhouses because the ground does not fully warm up till late may or early June.  In addition, we can have snow in June so greenhouses are best.

Today, I'm sharing a few of the more unusual offerings from this past Saturday.  I'll go back Wednesday because the Mexican place will offer their fantastic tamales.  I'll snap a picture of that and maybe Moostard's. 

To the left you see fiddlehead ferns for sale.  These are ready to plant somewhere in your yard so you can have fresh greens in early spring.  I've never eaten them but I've heard they are fantastic.  I might pick some up on Wednesday if I can figure out the best place to plant them.  These guys come in from Manley Hot Springs.

Note we have the guy who makes balloon animals on request for a small fee.  I've never seen him there before but every time I saw him, he was creating something magical. 

He even had a sign loaded with different animals he was willing to make.  He'd labeled it "Today's Choices.


 If you look carefully, you can see a sign advertising Pickled Alaska which does not refer to a bunch of drunk Alaskans.  Instead it refers to the way certain vegetables etc are prepared.
mou know what it tastes like.  I adore the title of her business.
Alaskans like to exaggerate even more than fishermen.  We claim our mosquitoes are large enough to carry off a man.  So this entrepreneur created her pickled mosquito eggs.   

As you can see, they are sold as authentic mosquito eggs.....LOL.  I saw that and absolutely had to get a photo of it.  I suspect she took some quail eggs, pickled them, and now she is selling them as mosquito eggs.

We actually get visiting tourists who come through on a regular basis.  I wouldn't be surprised if she sells several of these every time a tourist bus comes through.

Over the past few years, I've gotten to know many of the vendors because I see them so much as sometimes even buy from them. 

As stated earlier, I'll take more pictures on Wednesday to post and share with everyone.  I hope you enjoyed this short visit. 

Thank you for reading this.  I'll share more later with you.  Have a good day and let me know what your think.

Farmers Market.

I spend the summer in Fairbanks which is in the center of Alaska.  It is a hilly forested area with lots of spruce, aspen, bird cherries, birch, willow, alder, and a few others.  This region has areas of permafrost but you look for black spruce to see if it might be there.  If the black spruce is short, there is a good chance there is permafrost under the ground.

Fairbanks has a farmers market that runs from early May till late September because by the beginning of September, the countryside is being hit with frosts.  Many years ago, the farmers market shared space with the fairgrounds.  They had one corner but too many events were held there and parking dropped so people had trouble getting in. So about they moved about 6 years ago to their own place and brought the main building with them.

At the beginning of the season you see mostly starter plants, food, and crafts but as the season progresses, the vegetables make an appearance.  Most of the vegetables are the standard ones like radishes, greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and potatoes but sometimes we get exotic things.

One year, someone managed to grow corn and sold the corn for $1.00 an ear.  yes, I know its a lot more than you pay in the supermarket but it was fresh!  Picked that morning!  We seldom see corn so for anyone up here, that was an absolute treat.

Saturdays, a lady drives in from Manley Hot Springs with oriental eggplant!  Right now she has tomatoes and eggplant but hopefully later in the year she'll offer cantaloupe.  Yes many of the vegetables are more expensive than the store because people have to use greenhouses, coverings, and other things to get the crops started early enough to have spring vegetables ready to sell by the beginning of June.

There is a row of food vendors who sell everything from Vietnamese or French crepes, to hot dogs (regular or reindeer), Mexican food including tamales, tacos, and Middle Eastern.  My favorite tea lady is there with her tea, bubble tea, steamed buns, and Vietnamese sandwiches.  Her stall is always my first stop so I can enjoy my stroll around.  Next to her, is the crepes with a variety of fillings including one with Nutella, bananas, coconut, and almond - my favorite.  She also has a lovely salmon with dill sauce one.

Today I stopped by the Middle Eastern stand for Falafel and it was really good.  Since the farmers market is open Saturdays and Wednesdays for farmers, I stop through the Mexican place on Wednesdays for some freshly cooked tamales.  Just before I head out to work, I order like 30 to go with me.  I freeze them and then eat them with I'm in the mood.

You have a few salsa makers hidden throughout including the lady with an absolutely delicious Pineapple Mango salsa of a medium spice.  There are bakers scattered here and there.  As far as I can tell only one has a great supply of Gluten Free and/or Vegan so she meets the needs of many people with dietary restrictions. Her gluten free vegan peanut butter cookie was excellent.  Then there are the purely Alaskan things like birch or spruce syrup or finely crafted mustard.

Lastly, you have the hand made jewelry, goat's milk soap, wooden furniture or plaques, wooden pens, jams, and other locally produced items.  Often times, hidden between two vendors is the masseuse who will give you a great back rub.

I try to visit most Saturday's and have some to now the vendors who come back year after year.  If you are ever in Fairbanks in the summer, check it out because it is one of those places that will make you feel right at home.