Quick bites: Potatoes, carrots and Thanksgiving

Farm stand features ‘Tater Tuesday’

Bushes Bunches, the farm stand just outside Palmer on the Old Glenn Highway, has launched a new promotion. Every Tuesday, all potatoes in the store are half price. Several kinds of Alaska-grown potatoes are available, including German butterball, Viking Purple, Cherry Red, Yukon Gold, as well as their popular peanut potatoes.

Once again this year, Bushes Bunches will remain open all winter to supply residents with locally grown and produced vegetables, microgreens, meat, eggs, milk, and other Alaska products. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.

Palmer restaurant taking Thanksgiving orders

Turkey Red, in downtown Palmer, is accepting orders for its locally sourced Thanksgiving family dinner. Through Saturday, Nov. 23, orders can be placed for the traditional holiday spread. The menu consists of locally raised free-range turkey with gravy, roasted local carrots and potatoes, local Brussels sprouts, cranberry relish, dinner rolls, and a green leaf salad with pears, walnuts, bleu cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Cost per serving is $28. Stuffing can be added for $2, and pumpkin pie can be added for $4. Additionally, whole pumpkin pies can be ordered for $26, and a whole pumpkin cheesecake can be ordered for $35.

Alongside Turkey Red’s usual daily bread offerings, some holiday specials have been added. Dinner rolls, including a gluten-free option, can be ordered by the dozen, and house-made croutons, great for stuffing your own bird, are also available by the pound.

Thanksgiving family dinners can be picked up until 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27. The restaurant will be closed Thanksgiving day.

Tips for storing potatoes, carrots

With summer farm-fresh produce mostly just a memory now, Mat-Su residents are fortunate to have an abundance of locally grown potatoes and carrots still available. Proper storage is key to keeping them fresh and delicious into the winter months.

UAF’s Cooperative Extension Service offers advice about choosing and storing the best potatoes and carrots.

Potatoes should be fairly clean, firm, and smooth. Green potatoes should be avoided because they have been exposed to light, which creates solanine, a potentially toxic alkaloid.

A cool, humid, dark, and well-ventilated space is best for storing potatoes. Warmer temperatures encourage sprouting and shriveling. A temperature range between 45 and 50 is ideal and will help potatoes keep well for several weeks.

The best carrots are well-formed, smooth, firm and blemish-free. Carrots that are wilted, flabby or cracked should be avoided.

Before storing carrots, the Cooperative Extension recommends removing the leafy tops, which draw moisture from the carrots. Trimmed carrots should be placed in a plastic bag with slits cut for air circulation, then placed in the refrigerator crisper.

Older carrots can be perked up by immersing them in water for 30 minutes to rehydrate.