Eating local is easy this time of year

For lunch today I craved a local meal. I hadn’t had the forethought to pack one this morning however, and my peanut butter and jelly sandwich was just not going to cut it. So off I went to the Bistro Red Beet, using this column as an excuse to eat out.

I met Sally Koppenberg, the owner, who kindly agreed to go through the menu to tell me which items are Alaska Grown.

“Actually,” she said, “It’ll be easier to tell you what isn’t from Alaska.”

So here’s the basic list of what’s not from Alaska on the Red Beet menu: sweet potatoes, pears, lentils, garbanzo beans and chickpeas. Oh, and Gorgonzola and brie, which they get straight from France. That’s it.

Koppenberg explained that they try to keep their menu 85 percent local and 85 percent organic. They grow much of their own produce and buy from many farmers. They even make their own yogurt, ketchup and vinegar.

The Red Beet is usually only open for lunch, but on Friday nights Koppenberg serves “Friday’s Farm Dinner.” This menu changes each week and is made strictly with Alaska products.

For lunch I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich with spiced apples, onions, lettuce and yogurt sauce. I also had a huge Alaska Grown salad, which was to die for.

And because I had a salad I splurged on dessert. Here’s my secret: the more vegetables you eat, the more chocolate you can consume guilt-free. And if the vegetables are Alaska Grown, they count twice. So I didn’t feel guilty at all eating their version of a s’more — especially since the marshmallows were obviously homemade and amazing. I don’t regret at all the I-won’t-tell-my-husband-how-much-I-spent-on-this-dessert price.

This week you can put down your frying pan and spatula and head to the Red Beet — I’m sure you deserve it, too. Or if the Red Beet is too far away, you can enjoy local produce served at Rusty’s on Dahlia Street, Vagabond Blues, or Turkey Red.

There’s a new farm stand in town run by Glacier Valley Farm. It’s on the corner of Inner Springer and the Glenn Highway and is open Saturdays and Sundays. Arthur Keyes, who runs the stand, declined to give me a full list of their products but insisted they have everything that’s in season and that “if we don’t have it, you don’t need it.”

Bushes Bunches also runs a farm stand on the corner of the Old Glenn Highway and Robin Lane, and they’re selling rhubarb, turnips, kohlrabi, zucchini, radishes, collard greens, swiss chard, beet greens, Chinese cabbage, kale greens, tomatoes, and lettuces.

You can harvest your own produce at Pyrah’s Pioneer Peak farm. This week they have rhubarb, lettuces, radishes, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, bok choi, Napa cabbage, spinach, kohlrabi, broccoli and cauliflower.

In stores this week you’ll find lettuces, green cabbage, collard greens, kale greens, broccoli and rhubarb. At the local farmers markets you can buy strawberries, broccoli, zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, onions and green beans, cucumbers, beets, radishes, carrots, spinach, garlic, Swiss chard, turnips, new potatoes, rhubarb and a variety of herbs.

Matanuska Creamery milk is available in stores. Cheese, cheese curds, butter and cream are also available at the creamery. And eating local means you get more dessert, remember? You can buy ice cream by the scoop at Friday Flings, or in larger quantities at the Creamery.

Local eggs are sold at Three Bears, and you can find broiler hens at Friday Flings. Kahiltna Birchworks products are sold at NonEssentials and Alaska Wild Berry Products. Local honey can be purchased at Turkey Red. Meat products including Alaska Grown beef, pork, elk and yak can be purchased at Mat Valley Meats.

Do you know of any local food that’s available that I didn’t mention? Have any questions about eating local? Contact me at rachel.kenley@alaska.gov. And don’t forget to eat Alaska Grown, because it’s closer, fresher, better!

Rachel Kenley Fry is a Division of Agriculture intern who writes for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman as part of her internship. She is 2009 Palmer High School graduate.