Author: Kenny & Brenna Aschbacher

Our first farmers market was February 9, 2002 at Stetson and 5th Avenue in Old Town Scottsdale. We had one table and one tent strapped to an old jeep with one product in a cooler. A few months into it, I started bringing a small smoker to promote the product and attract attention. Nothing works better than a fresh free sample of smoked salmon on a toothpick with the aroma of hardwood smoke hanging in the air. Sometimes we could see a stranger catch the scent 100 feet away and make a bee line to the source with a smile of anticipation.

We have hosted many smoked salmon classes to interested parties over the years. Some stick with it and enjoy the process and ritual, while others never do it again and appreciate my effort providing all the necessary steps to provide a freezer stable ready to eat product. 

My old and dependable smoker caught on fire last spring. I decided to take a break from the ritual of thawing, fabricating, curing, smoking, drying, chilling, vacuum packing, freezing and labelling. I have spent the last few months thinking about purchasing a commercial smoker vs. building a custom unit. What size to buy or build is what I am contemplating now. Past trends and sales records help, but the future will determine whether decisions made now are good, bad, or indifferent. So, I ask you good people for input. Who wants smoked salmon? Sockeye is by far the most popular. What package size do you prefer? Two equal portions totaling 5 to 7 ounces sells the quickest so far, but variety helps the larger market. A sea salt cure with hardwood hickory smoke has won the ten year experiment on what you the customers prefer to eat and feed your families and friends. 

Help me help you by ordering smoked salmon in advance. The response from this story will determine how much capital we commit to continuing the smoked salmon business.

Our email list consists of approximately 2200 subscribers. About 600 typically open and read the contents of an average post. One percent usually respond directly with an order or comment. Be that one percent if you want me to smoke some salmon for you ASAP. 

Cheers,

Kenny

I have made a habit of not having packaged food around the house and eat homemade food from basic ingredients. In moments of human weakness disguised as reward, I am guilty of blatant disregard of my professed lifestyle by rushing to the closest store for ultra novel hyper palatable junk food in the form of ice cream, cookies, and potato chips of all kinds. This is usually consumed in a bacchanalia of overindulgence until no evidence of it remains. Almost like it never happened. Realizing these psychotic outbreaks need to change, I set on a path to emulate the experience without sacrificing my moral code. 

It started with chocolate chip cookies. Stocking the ingredients of Kerrygold butter, King Arthur flour and gourmet sugar and chocolate drops was the first step. Knowing the ingredients were in my cabinet and convinced they will taste better than any packaged purchase, I began to explore making treats.

Next step was to render pork fat to fry chips and donuts. Pork fat is the king of frying oils. It also has the second highest vitamin A and D in the world, making it a true health food. Frying a lot of potatoes is all labor and almost no cost. Dipping sauces whipped from sour cream and spices keeps the blood sugars in better order than bottled ketchup, ranch or bbq sauce full of corn syrup, vegetable oils and preservatives. 

My latest emulation is the fast food burger and giant burrito. I like to keep 4 pounds of ground beef/pork thawing in the fridge at all times. Dicing onions, roasting potatoes, peeling green chiles and shredding a large pile of real cheese takes hours of effort and clean up. However, the gushing compliments I receive after the family has eaten a mountain of authentic burritos makes it all worth while.

Ice cream got my attention a couple of years ago. At first, I rationalized buying only high end brands with better and fewer ingredients. Thinking I could engineer a better product, I spent hours researching recipes and testing different ice cream makers. When I stock all the ingredients on hand, it is easier, faster and cheaper to make a half gallon of sweet ice cream than run to a store to satisfy the immediate gratification of purchase and consumption. 

Ultra premium ice cream is a combination of milk, cream, eggs, honey, salt and freezer technology. Real dairy is made of protein, lactose and fat soluble vitamins. Real eggs are full of necessary cholesterol and protein. Honey is pure magic and salt is electrolytes. Put it all together with love in a machine that drops to -30 degrees F in twenty minutes while churning in air bubbles create what I call the Frozen Land of Milk and Honey.

Quart of Whole Milk

Quart of Heavy Whipping Cream

6 Whole Eggs

Pound of Honey

Pinch of Salt

Dash of Vanilla

Swig of distilled neutral spirits

I bought and tested many ice cream machines and finally settled on a 1.5 L Winter brand ice-less chum with a built in refrigeration compressor. When I mix the right ingredients with enough love into the right machine, the result is so tasty and satisfying that I believe it is actually a health food disguised as an indulgent sin.

Warning! If you attain this elevated effort, you might not enjoy store bought ice cream ever again at any price.

Enjoy,

Kenny

The first time I saw the word vegan was on a bottle of “nayonaise” at the Gentle Strength Co-op in Tempe 20 years ago. My wife and I teamed up there to promote wild salmon. Vegetarian was already a common term then, but vegan surprised me as somewhat radical in that the concept was a replacement for animal products and had nothing to do with vegetables. The trend has exploded with “meatless meat” further confusing consumers with eating disorders as a righteous path to optimum health and save the planet politics.

I have kept my ears open and mouth shut for many years on this topic until now. The pendulum swings the other way with the carnivore diet promoting all things animal. At first glance, the method excited me as more testimonies revealed disenfranchised vegans adopting a radical change in my direction. I started taking notes on this topic a couple of years ago and finally put it on a graph to better interpret the data.

In the long run, self described vegans purchase more fish, beef and honey at my booth than carnivores do. Turns out that vegans want responsible and authentic food for their non-vegan mates and children. My favorite vegan has a neck tattooed VEGAN, yet walks away with case of fish or ground beef or a bucket of honey to feed friends and family vegan approved food. 

I offer the original solar powered plant based food that all of our ancestors relied on through feast and famine. 

Sunshine grows plankton, fish eats plankton.

Sunshine grows grass, animals eat grass.

Sunshine grows flowers, bees make honey.

Real food prepared with love and shared with good people in a healthy environment emits a quantum vibration of power that is often described as miracles or magic. It’s when the food is tastier and more fulfilling, the company is delightful and any pain or suffering is diminished or forgotten for the time being. 

Ultra-processed hyper-palatable food consumed in a rush made by strangers and consumed under stress is a train wreck with collateral damage. Diabetes and dementia is caused and cured in your mouth. All humans are omnivores regardless of gender, race, religion, genetics or politics.  Just because we can, doesn’t mean that we should consume all that is offered as healthy or novelty.  

The elders say there is nothing new under the sun worthy of fear. It’s a great time to be alive and share the best the earth has to offer to our community of FishHuggers.

Peace & Love

Kenny

We’ll be available tomorrow, Saturday, December 11, at the Los Ranchos Growers Market. Official winter market hours are 10am-12pm, however, we intend to be set up and ready by 9am. If you’ve pre-ordered, we’ll have your product ready for pick up. If you didn’t get a chance to order, we’re bringing extra: Coho Salmon, Black Cod, Grassfinished Ground Beef, Raw Local Honey and Fresh Bariani Olive Oil. Your favorite growers will have a variety of in-season produce and local food products. Sweet treats, hot drinks and live music! The artists and crafters will also have a nice selection to peruse. We look foward to seeing you!

Cheers,

Brenna & Kenny

Happy December! Winter is just around the corner. As usual, we’re looking forward to spending most of this month with our families to celebrate the holidays. We have a short schedule this month:

PHOENIX: We’re available at both Roadrunner Park and Ahwatukee Farmers Markets this weekend (Dec 4/5). Alternatively, you can schedule an appointment to shop at our home now through Monday, December 6. After that, we’ll be out of state and next available at the markets beginning Saturday, January 1, 2022.

ALBUQUERQUE: We’ll be available at the Los Ranchos Winter Growers Market on Saturday, December 11. Official market hours are 10am-12pm, we intend to be set up by 9am. This is our last planned event in New Mexico until June 2022. Advance orders are welcome.

PHX+ABQ: We do offer gift cards, feed your family and friends for the holidays! Ask us for details. Our calendar page is updated through the first weekend of January, 2022. More dates coming soon. Our product list has also been updated with new items. We welcome your orders, questions and feedback. We’re so thankful for all of you, it has been our pleasure to serve you. Wishing you a healthful and peaceful December!

Happy Holidays,

Brenna & Kenny

Black Cod is the most valuable seafood in the North Pacific in economic terms and omega-3 oil content, desirable to both man and whales around the world. Its buttery richness is commonly attributed to its diet of baby king crab.

Also known as Sablefish or Butterfish, Black Cod is a deep water, oily, delicious whitefish. Many compare its rich buttery flavor to sea bass. This is our favorite fish for special occasions and will be the focus of our upcoming Thanksgiving Feast! Portions are skin-on and average 9-12 ounces each. You’re welcome to order in advance or swing by the market to see what’s available.

See you this weekend!

Kenny & Brenna

Happy autumn Fishhuggers! We’re so glad to be back in Arizona for most of the fall and winter. Please join us this Saturday, October 23, 2021 at our home (2031 N 47th St, Phoenix 85008) from 6pm-11pm for a meet and greet with your fellow FishHuggers. We’ll be serving up something from the grill…probably grassfed beef burgers and wild sockeye salmon. You’re welcome (not required) to bring a side dish, dessert, snack or beverage to share if you feel so inclined.  

You’re welcome to order in advance, shop while you’re here, or just drop in to say hello.

We look forward to seeing you!

Kenny & Brenna

Catch us this weekend for the beginning of our fall farmer’s market season at Roadrunner Park and Ahwatukee. Our calendar page is currently updated through the end of October…more dates coming soon!

We look forward to seeing you!

Cheers,

Kenny & Brenna

The tomatoes in my garden are turning red! That event signals the beginning of our seasonal transition from beef and pork harvest to salmon and honey.

My favorite comfort meal tastes the best during the heat of summer. Market produce peaks in variety and flavor this month with chilis and onions for fresh salsas on beef and cheese enchiladas topped with a fried egg and mixed micro greens. Grass-fed dairy also peaks during the summer months in nutrition and flavor. Fast growing green grass provides the highest content of vitamins produced all year. Honey ice cream with roasted peaches finishes up my ideal meal, along with a sip of sweet mead to wash it all down. Family and friends always make it better.

We plan to attend the Los Ranchos Growers Market for the next 5 Saturday’s this season, so the pressure is on to stock up while supplies last. If you miss out on your favorite fish this time, we are already accepting orders for half and full cases available during the New Mexico December delivery route from Phoenix to Albuquerque and back again. Tour dates, cities, and times to be announced.

Lung therapy alert! Iodine (Lugol’s solution) + food grade hydrogen peroxide diluted to 1% and combined with a simple saline solution in a proper nebulizer relieved my exposure to heavy forrest fire smoke and the usual cold and flu symptoms that we all suffer from now and then. Fasting fuels my healing, like a super power, to another level of speedy recovery. You’re all reasonable people, it should go without saying that I am not a medical professional and it’s up to you to do your own diligent research and start slowly.

We are grateful for all of the love and support as we continue to serve our very small community the best food experience possible. 🧡

These are interesting times testing preconceived notions of how we all think it should be.

Don’t forget to breathe,

Kenny the FishHugger

New Mexico Pork is back in stock! We will carry a variety of cuts at Los Ranchos Growers Market on Saturdays beginning July 24. Order in advance or drop by the market to see what’s available. As a reminder, we’re approaching high summer and the market saw its first tomatoes and corn last week along with an abundance of squash and tons of other local produce, plants, flowers, eggs, treats and more. Live music, local artists, family friendly!

Making a perfect pork chop can be simple. If you haven’t had a thick cut pork chop before, well, prepare to fall in love with pork chops. Those thin, flimsy chops you see in the grocery store dry out easily and lack the complete flavor pork chops have to offer. Keeping the bone-in helps retain both flavor and moisture, and cutting it thick practically ensures a juicy result. Here’s a recipe to try:

Honey Mustard Pork Chops

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or another mustard if preferred)

4 tablespoons raw honey

3 tablespoons unsweetened apple juice

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (or apple cider vinegar if preferred)

2 bone-in pork chops

Directions:

Mix mustard, honey, apple juice and Worcestershire sauce (or apple cider vinegar) together in a bowl until marinade is smooth and well mixed. Pour 2/3 of the marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Add pork chops, coat with marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the fridge for 8-12 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

Once chops are marinated and ready for cooking, preheat the grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Score the fat along edges of chops to keep from curling on the grill. Cook the pork chops on the preheated grill, basting with reserved marinade, until no longer pink in the center, 5 to 6 minutes per side. An instant read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F. Let the pork chops stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

Serve with sauerkraut, baked apples or mashed potatoes.

ENJOY!

Brenna & Kenny