September 15, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• Mike Wise of Raven’s Peek Roasters/Sailor’s Choice Coffee wins Table of the Day Award from fifth Sitka Farmers Market

Mike Wise, center, of Raven's Peek Roasters and Sailor's Choice Coffee receives the Table of the Day Award from Kerry MacLane, left, and Linda Wilson, right, during the fifth and final Sitka Farmers Market of the 2009 summer on Sept. 12.

Mike Wise of Raven’s Peek Roasters and Sailor’s Choice Coffee won the “Table of the Day Award” for the fifth and final Sitka Farmers Market of the 2009 summer on Sept. 12. Mike and his wife, Dr. Marilyn Coruzzi, have had a table at all five markets in 2009 and all three markets in 2008.

The Sitka Local Foods Network selected the table — which featured a variety of locally ground coffee and locally roasted nuts — to receive the $25 cash prize, an Alaska Farmers Market Association tote bag and a certificate of appreciation. A similar prize package was awarded to a deserving vendor at each of the five Sitka Farmers Markets this summer.

This was the last Sitka Farmers Market of the 2009 summer, but the Sitka Local Foods Network will be around all year with other events. The next Sitka Local Foods Network event is the 15th annual Running of the Boots at 11 a.m. (register at 10 a.m.) on Saturday, Sept., 26, at the Crescent Harbor shelter. Proceeds from the Running of the Boots support Sitka Local Foods Network projects. Click this link for more information.

Also, a new photo gallery from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market on Sept. 12 has been posted on Shutterfly (an online photo-sharing site). Click this link to check out the photos.

Black cod on the grill from the Alaska Longline Fisherman's Association

Keith Greba and his art

Lisa Bykonen and her knitted hats

Natalie Sattler, left, holds parsnips, while Lisa Sadleir-Hart, center, and Doug Osborne, right, hold turnips for sale at the Sitka Local Foods Network booth

September 15, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• 2010 Kayaaní Commission calendars are available for sale

The 2010 Kayaaní Commission calendars are available from Sitka Tribe of Alaska for $16 each. These full-color calendars feature photos and information about many common edible and medicinal plants found in the Sitka area. Also available are copies of “The Kayaaní Commission Ethnobotany Field Guide to Selected Plants Found In Sitka, Alaska,” which cost $15 each. Proceeds from the sale of these two publications go to the Kayaaní Commission to help preserve traditional Tlingít plant knowledge.

The mission of the Kayaaní Commission is “to preserve our spiritual way of life. The religion of the Tlingít is the Earth. The Tlingít are one with the Earth. The Kayaaní Commission is here to preserve and protect traditional ways of our ancestral knowledge.” The Kayaaní Commission is sponsored by Sitka Tribe of Alaska and the Sitka National Historical Park.

Calendar and field guide purchases can be made at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska main building (456 Katlian St.) or the Sitka Tribe of Alaska Resources Protection Dept. (429 Katlian St.), or by calling 907-747-7178 or e-mailing pbass@sitkatribe.org. Please make checks payable to the STA Kayaaní Commission.

September 15, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• Final Sitka Farmers Market of the summer makes front page of Tuesday’s Daily Sitka Sentinel

Screenshot of Tuesday's Daily Sitka Sentinel photo from the final 2009 Sitka Farmers Market

The final Sitka Farmers Market of the 2009 summer (held Sept. 12 at ANB Hall) was featured in a front-page photo in the Daily Sitka Sentinel on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

The photo shows Kiki Norman as she sells hand-made jewelry to Annie Satterley during the final Sitka Farmers Market of the season at ANB Hall Saturday. While fresh produce was in short supply, tables of original artwork and jewelry were not. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

Daily Sitka Sentinel photo of Kiki Norman, left, selling jewelry to Annie Satterly during the final Sitka Farmers Market of the 2009 summer on Sept. 12 at ANB Hall

September 15, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• This week’s e-newsletter (Sept. 14)

Click here to read this week’s Sitka Local Foods Newsletter courtesy of Linda Wilson. Don’t forget, you can sign up for the e-newsletter by typing your e-mail address in the box on the left side of the page.

September 14, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• Spaghetti dinner and auction fundraiser Friday (Sept. 18) for ANB Hall repairs

Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall, where the Sitka Farmers Markets take place

A spaghetti dinner and auction fundraiser to raise money to make needed repairs to Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall Camp No. 1 takes place from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, at ANB Hall (235 Katlian St.).

Funds raised at the spaghetti dinner and auction will be used to make repairs as ANB gets ready for its 100th anniversary in 2012. ANB Hall is on the list of National Register of Historic Places, so the building has a cultural significance for Sitka in addition to being the venue used by the Sitka Local Foods Network to host our Sitka Farmers Markets each summer. The Sitka Local Foods Network encourages Sitka residents to support our partner.

The fundraiser will feature a spaghetti dinner, followed by a Chinese auction (so bring your dollar bills). There also will be a silent auction where people can win prizes from around the world. Jude Pate will be the auctioneer.

The dinner costs $8 for adults and $5 for children. For more information, contact Carolyn McKee at 747-3310.

September 14, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• Baranof Elementary students dig up potatoes and other local food stories in the news

Daily Sitka Sentinel screenshot of Baranof Elementary School student picking potatoes

Monday’s edition of the Daily Sitka Sentinel features a photo of Baranof Elementary School first-grader Keaton Kelling, 7, holding up a couple of potatoes he dug up from the Russian Bishop’s House garden on Thursday. First-grade students from Baranof Elementary harvested crops of peas, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables they planted last spring when they were kindergarten students. Most crops did well this year. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

Monday's picking potatoes photo from the Daily Sitka Sentinel

There were several other local food stories in Alaska newspapers over the weekend. Here’s a quick rundown.

Click here to read a story from Sunday’s Juneau Empire that features an Alaskanized version of a recipe for “salmon maritako,” a stew made by Spanish fishermen. The article is by Ginny Mahar, a chef at Rainbow Foods who also writes the Food-G blog. Many of the recipes Ginny posts on her blog include local, Southeast Alaska ingredients.

Click here to read an article from Sunday’s Fairbanks Daily News-Miner about a University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service project at the Fairbanks Experimental Farm where they are using high-tunnel greenhouses to grow more apples and berries in northern climates. Click here to go directly to the UAF Cooperative Extension Service project page.

Click here to read Wednesday’s Anchorage Daily News gardening column by Jeff Lowenfels about now being the time to prepare plants for winter. Most of the column deals with flowers, but he does have some info about preparing tomato plants for the winter at the end of the column.

Click here to read an Associated Press story posted on the Anchorage Daily News Web site on Monday about how hoop houses (a low-cost type of greenhouse that uses plastic on a frame) are extending the growing season for urban farmers in northern climates. The version of the story on the ADN site didn’t have any photos of the hoop houses, so click here to see a version with photos.

Click here to read a transcript from National Public Radio of a story about two Walmart truckers who drive 2,600 miles one way from an Oregon warehouse to Alaska each week to deliver produce to Alaska stores. That’s a long way to transport a piece of lettuce or a carrot we can grow in Alaska, and that distance doesn’t include how far the produce had to travel to get to the Oregon warehouse before being trucked to Alaska. The story originated from the Alaska Public Radio Network, which has the story in streaming audio on its site.

Finally, click here for a humorous column from the July 2009 Field and Stream by Scott Bestul comparing the taste of Grade A Choice Holstein beef vs. wild venison when both are prepared the same way. This isn’t really a local story, but deer hunting season is coming soon in Southeast Alaska.

September 14, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• ADF&G hunter education safety courses offered in Sitka

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is offering an Online Basic Hunter Education Field Day and a Basic Hunter Education class this month in Sitka.

The Online Basic Hunter Education Field Day will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. This field day course is only for students who already have successfully completed the electronic portion of the Online Basic Hunter Education class. Upon passing the online exam, students will receive a field day qualifier certificate, which grants admission to the field day. Students must have their field day qualifier number before registering for the field day. Register online at http://www.hunt.alaska.gov (click the “Hunter Education/Shooting” link at the bottom-right corner of the grid listing services). Detailed information about each course can be found on the Hunter Education/Shooting link.

The three-day Basic Hunter Education class will run from 6-8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-25, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26. To register, students must purchase a $10 study packet available at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Sitka. The packet workbook must be completed prior to the start of class.

Classes will be held at the Sitka Sportsman’s Association building located at 5211 Halibut Point Road. For additional information, please contact the Sitka office for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 747-5449.

September 12, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• Running of the Boots raises funds for Sitka Local Foods Network

Runners hit the trail during the 14th Annual Running of the Boots race on Sept. 27, 2008, in Sitka.

It’s time to dig your XtraTufs out of the closet and get them painted up. The 15th annual Running of the Boots takes place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Crescent Harbor shelter.

The Running of the Boots is part of the second annual Season’s End Celebration, an event sponsored by the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Cruise Association that includes a free lunch for Sitka residents. The chamber’s board donates money raised by the Running of the Boots to the Sitka Local Foods Network, the non-profit group that hosts the Sitka Farmers Market and advocates for community gardens, a community greenhouse, sustainable uses of traditional subsistence foods and education for Sitka gardeners.

So what is the Running of the Boots? It’s Southeast Alaska’s answer to Spain’s “Running of the Bulls.” But unlike the Pamplona spectacle, humans do the running in Sitka and they wear zany costumes and XtraTufs — Southeast Alaska’s distinctive rubber boots (aka, Sitka Sneakers). The entry fee for the Running of the Boots is $5 per person and $20 per family, and people can register for the race starting at 10 a.m. There is a lip synch contest after the race, which costs $10 to enter.

The Running of the Boots is a short race for fun and not for speed, even though one of the many prize categories is for the fastest boots. Categories include best dressed boots, zaniest costume, best couple, best kids group and many others. The course includes a loop around St. Michael’s Cathedral before returning to Crescent Harbor for families with children, or a run from Crescent Harbor to the corner of Katlian and Lincoln streets and back for Sitka’s hardier souls.

“This event will be one of the highlights of our Season’s End Celebration, after which Sitkans can partake of the Alaska Cruise Association’s free lunch,” said Sheila Finkenbinder, executive director of the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce. Finkenbinder started the ‘run’ 15 years ago, inspired by an idea from KCAW-Raven Radio general manager Ken Fate.

“This is a really fun way to advance the Sitka Farmers Market and our other Sitka Local Foods Network projects,” Sitka Local Foods Network President Kerry MacLane said. “And just like at the market, there will be live music by the Sitka Blues Band.”

To learn more about the Running of the Boots, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654 or by e-mail at maclanekerry@yahoo.com. More information about the race can be found online at http://www.runningoftheboots.org/ and photos from the 2008 Running of the Boots can be found online at
http://sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.shutterfly.com/80?startIndex=100 (scroll down to find Running of the Boots photos).

Dressing up in costume is half the fun of the annual Running of the Boots race

September 10, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• A get-together for Sitka gardeners on Sept. 15

As the growing season winds down, a group of local gardeners is starting up a monthly get-together for interested Sitka gardeners. The group meets from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, in Room 106 of the University of Alaska Southeast-Sitka Campus on Japonski Island.

The get-together provides a venue for gardeners of all types (food and non-food), interests, and skills to informally exchange ideas, information, seeds and growing tips. Share and learn from other gardeners with no dues or commitments other than good fellowship. Sitka Gardeners plan to get together the third Tuesday of the month at UAS-Sitka. The UAS-Sitka Campus and UAF Cooperative Extension Service will organize the first gardeners’ get-together.

For more information, call 747-9473 or 747-9413.

September 9, 2009 by Charles Bingham

• Fifth and final Sitka Farmers Market of the summer takes place this Saturday, Sept. 12, at ANB Hall

The fifth and final Sitka Farmers Market of the 2009 season takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall (235 Katlian St.). Hope to see you there.

The Sitka Farmers Market features about 20-30 vendors each market who sell locally grown produce, locally harvested fish and locally made arts and crafts. The market features musicians inside, a jam tent outside, local cooks with ready-to-eat dishes and a fun activity for children. The Sitka Farmers Market is the only farmers market in Southeast Alaska authorized to accept WIC (Women, Infants, Children nutrition program) vouchers, which can be used by WIC-eligible families to purchase produce.

The non-profit Sitka Local Foods Network accepts donations of garden vegetables for its corner stand. Proceeds from the Sitka Local Foods Network booth go to future markets and to local food projects. Volunteers willing to help set up and take down the booths on Saturday before and after the market are greatly appreciated. We also appreciate volunteers who can help harvest produce from the St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm community garden (behind St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church) early on Saturday so it can be sold at the market.

Vendor booths are available for this Saturday’s market at $5 a table. Vendors are encouraged to be set up by 9:30 a.m., and all vendors selling processed food need to complete the state’s online food safety course before bringing the food (and completion certificate) to market, http://alaska.state.gegov.com/foodworker/.

For more information about this week’s market or to sign up as a volunteer, contact Linda Wilson at 747-3096 (nights) or lawilson87@hotmail.com.