Author: Kenny & Brenna Aschbacher

Quick as the flick of a fish’s tail, March is here! Most of you know by now that we’re available seasonally in both Phoenix, AZ and Albuquerque, NM. With approximately 10 weekends remaining in our Arizona season, NOW is the perfect time to stock your freezer and pantry for the summer. You’re welcome to wait until April to stock up. However, it’s important to note that as our season winds down, the variety and availability of our products may diminish until the next harvest. Our bundle/case pricing has changed this year. In the past, we’ve offered discounts for full or half cases of salmon (15 – 30 pounds). This year, we’re using a different fish processor and the cases are 50 pounds! Wow! We know that’s a bit too much of a commitment for most, so we’re now extending the same “case discount” to smaller bundles starting at 10 pounds. We currently have both Wild Alaska Sockeye and Coho Salmon in stock.

For bundle options and our complete product list explore our website

We plan to be in Phoenix now through the end of April, 2024. The Ahwatukee Farmers Market will be closed 2 Sunday’s in March. Check our calendar for details.

We appreciate cash and also accept Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay and debit/credit cards. EBT transactions are welcomed at our Phoenix markets.

We accept pre-orders for weekend market pick up until 6:00 pm on Fridays.

Stay Well Fed,

Brenna & Kenny

I worked with Kenny fishing on a purse seiner in Kodiak, Alaska for a couple of summers back in the late 1990’s. After proposing to him one February he said he’d wait to see how we did together on the boat that summer. I guess you all know how that turned out  

For greenhorns in Alaska, there is no training, everything is learned on the job, hands on. As you may know, there are 5 species of wild Pacific salmon and we had to learn the difference among all of them just by looking at the scales, tails and eyes. After fish are caught and stored in the iced or RSW (refrigerated sea water) fish hold, we’d typically deliver to an ocean tender and at that point we’d need to sort species as each one is a different pay rate. So we’d have to identify silver from red from humpy from dog and batch into the appropriate hold on the tender. This all happens very quickly and can be challeging for a greenhorn. Ocean run fish are bright and beautiful, it isn’t until they get into fresh water that you begin to see the iconic changes in color and facial shape. Silver salmon has more silver on the tailfin and a smaller eye relative to other species. Also in Alaska, they don’t really refer to each individual species by proper name, they use their own local names:

Sockeye = Red Salmon

Coho = Silver Salmon

Pink = Humpy Salmon

Keta = Dog Salmon

Chinook = King Salmon

We have just received a shipment of fresh coho/silver salmon! Coho is lighter and milder than sockeye with slightly less omega-3 oil and slightly more saturated fat, yielding a juicier, easier to cook salmon. Coho is quite similar to King salmon and slightly more abundant. The portions are 8-10oz each. Read more about Coho Salmon here!

Additionally, we still have plenty of fresh catch sockeye filets and our Fire Sale 2 for the price of 1 special on 2022 sockeye salmon harvest is still ongoing.

Here’s a great Coho Salmon recipe:

Salmon in Lime Ginger Sauce

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 Tbs. fresh ginger, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
Juice from one lime, (about three Tbs.)
2 Tbs. Bariani Olive Oil
¼ tsp. turmeric
Four, 8oz salmon filets

Combine first four ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth, adding a little water if necessary. Add the next three ingredients and mix thoroughly. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish and coat the fish filets well, then cover and marinate for 10 minutes in the refrigerator.

Spread enough marinade to cover the bottom of a large, heavy skillet, and add the filets. Spread the remaining marinade on the fish. Cover the skillet tightly and cook for 12-15 minutes over medium-low heat until fish is opaque throughout.

P.S. the 2024 wild Snow Crab harvest in Kodiak was a success! Almost all our case orders were picked up, yet we still have 2 x 25 pound cases of fresh harvest Snow Crab available now for $620 per case. Please Order in Advance

We’re loaded with silvers and reds! See you at the market!

Brenna

We will be selling wild salmon at a buy one get one special over the next few weeks. There is no fire involved, it’s just a good time to support your craving for good food at a good price.

We have been hitting the gym lately and doubling our protein intake to put on more muscle…and it’s working! For more information, see Dr. Gabrielle Lyon’s book on how muscle mass is crucial for longevity and aging well.

A body composition scale has really helped us to determine bone density, visceral fat and muscle mass. Losing weight is a detriment if it is skeletal muscle instead of body fat. A smart scale is a great way to document your health journey and attain real goals. According to my scale, my metabolic age is less than my chronological age by almost 5 years!

Too busy on the weekends to make it to market? Call or email and we will make time for you to shop privately, even for one jar of honey or a 2 for 1 salmon filet special.

Happy new year all! We appreciate each of you and look forward to seeing you soon.

Cheers,

Kenny

Need salmon? Come see us at the annual Holiday Cheer winter market in Los Ranchos on Saturday, December 9. Official market hours are 10 am – 12 noon. There will be local produce, plants, products, gift baskets, stocking stuffers and more. Enjoy complimentary hot beverages and holiday cookies at the info table. Music by Rob Roman and friends.

Here are our current Salmon Specials:

2023 Fresh Catch Sockeye Salmon Bundle: 10+ pounds of sockeye filet for $22 per pound

2022 Sockeye Salmon Special: 2 for the price of 1! Loin filets and tail portions are available. 2022 salmon is still delicious, however, we recommend purchasing no more than you can consume within the next 2-3 months.

Other Wild Alaska Seafood:

Pacific Cod: sear, poach, steam or bake.

Keta Salmon: small portions 8-12 ounces, mild and delicate, a great alternative to any whitefish and nutritionally superior.

Smoked Sockeye Salmon: simple and perfect for your holiday gatherings!

Salmon Caviar: a holiday tradition for some; 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) not for the faint of heart 😉

New Mexico Grass-fed Grass-finished Beef:

Ribeye, T-Bone and Sirloin Steaks: try this delicious oven recipe!

Cubed Steak/Tenderized Round Steak: marinate and stir fry, cube for stew.

Ground Beef: meatloaf, tacos, or any easy meal.

Marrow Bones and Beef Liver: just a few of each currently on hand.

New Mexico Pork:

Green Chile Pork Sausage: definitely our best-seller and soooooo delicious!

Pork Chops: thick cut and bone-in; we like to sear all sides and finish roasting in the oven.

Sundries:

Local Raw Honey and Bee Pollen: honey makes a great gift!

Fresh Arizona Medjool Dates: another sweet treat for your holiday table.

Bariani Olive Oil: our favorite since 1999!

Kenny’s Spice Rub: Original or New Mexico, great on fish, beef, pork, eggs and popcorn.

Happy Holidays,

Brenna & Kenny

I enjoy observing the marketing trends of big food corporations. At first glance, the concept of vegan-fed beef triggered my inner cynic, and I couldn’t help but envision, with a wry smile, cows grazing in a field of vegans.

Through a bit of research, it becomes evident that promoting and marketing vegetarian and vegan-fed beef is not about demonizing red meat; instead, it introduces a concept that encourages collaboration and positive engagement.

As most feedlots and CAFOs traditionally feed cattle grains, these animals have, in essence, been consuming a vegan diet long before the term was even coined.

Political vegans are upset that real beef can be labelled vegan, as if the term is trademarked, or somehow enjoys protection (another wry smile).

If we believe the metrics and opinion polls offered, there are more recovering post vegans than currently practicing vegans. 

Steaks are outselling ground beef this month, as is typical for December since we all celebrate life with steak. At my farmers market booth, conscientious vegans purchase the majority of my animal products for their omnivorous family members and mates. Is FishHugger vegan approved? The attention that campaign could generate is certainly tempting!

In terms of upcoming events, we invite you to catch us this weekend, December 2 & 3, at  Roadrunner Park and Ahwatukee Farmers Markets in Phoenix. These will be our last markets in Arizona until January 2024.

For our Albuquerque friends, we plan to attend the Los Ranchos Winter Growers Market on Saturday, December 9. Given that we’ll be bringing our big freezer trailer stocked with fish, beef, and pork, pre-ordering is not required. However, if you prefer, we’d be delighted to receive your order in advance.

See you soon,

Kenny & Brenna

Salmon fishing in Kodiak, Alaska relies on storms. Nice weather and calm seas are pleasant, but not typically as productive or profitable. The top salmon harvesters with the best equipment and a well trained crew will head straight for the eye of the storm and roll the grand dice. Salmon school in huge numbers during storms and run tight to shore, so if an outfit can keep the crew and the gear together, it’s an opportunity to scoop a substantial haul of fish. The most dangerous salmon seining situation is wind and waves blowing on shore. This gives small delays in gear retrieval or a minor breakdown of equipment the potential to quickly become catastrophic…..sometimes even requiring a Mayday call to the US Coast Guard. The safest situation is wind blowing offshore. Delays and mechanical breakdowns are not as time sensitive because the whole operation is headed for deep water swells and miles of ocean to fix or repair any issues. Either situation is a white knuckle adrenaline rush, constantly anticipating a change in wind direction.

During big low pressure storms, most of the fleet will be tied to the dock or anchored tight in a bay for a week riding out the storm. When the big boys make it back with a deck load of fish and the thousand yard stare, you know they earned it.

With that perspective, wind and rain does not stop us from going to the farmers market…..until the trees are bending. Here in the desert, we don’t have to be concerned with waves, at least. 

On a drizzly day, one of my favorite comfort foods is our green chile pork sausage gravy served over butter-fried toast or homemade biscuits, topped with a poached egg. A cup of fresh ground coffee with a generous amount of honey and heavy cream perfects the occasion.

Come see us at the Phoenix markets this weekend! A generous stock of wild salmon, green chile pork sausage, local honey and much more will be available.

Enjoy the rain!

Kenny & Brenna

The 2023 honey season has been a remarkable success, thanks to the generous spring rains that graced the Arizona desert. This year’s honey production has surpassed our expectations, exceeding the amount we harvested in 2022. We are thrilled to announce that your favorite wild desert honeys are back in stock. Join us at the markets this weekend to savor the freshness of our new harvest!

Explore Our Honey Selection:

Wildflower Honey: Our Wildflower Honey is the embodiment of a classic desert honey that evokes the warm memories of grandma’s table. It boasts a deep, rich flavor and is packed with essential minerals. Notably, it’s our top recommendation for those seeking relief from allergies, as it offers a diverse range of nectar from various native desert plants.

Mesquite Honey: A beloved favorite in the southwest, this year’s Mesquite Honey is a light amber hue with a delightful spicy, peppery finish. It pairs exquisitely with your morning coffee, making it a must-try for all coffee lovers.

Cactus Blossom Honey: The production of Cactus Blossom Honey isn’t an annual guarantee; it depends on the availability of nectar in the blossoms at just the right time for our diligent bees to harvest. It’s a delicately light and mild honey that’s perfect for enhancing your tea, homemade ice cream, or as a thoughtful gift for loved ones.

Dive into Local, Raw Desert Honey: Each of our honeys boasts its own unique qualities, but at the end of the day, they all share the distinct charm of local, raw desert honey. We encourage you to experiment and discover new uses for these delightful flavors. If you have a particular favorite among our honey varieties, we’d love to hear from you!

Special Offers: Honey makes for an excellent gift, and to make it even more tempting, we’re offering special stock-up discounts for those who can’t get enough of our honey:

• 12 Quarts Local Honey: $240
• 12 Hex Local Honey: $84

While cash is preferred, we also accept payments through Venmo, Zelle, and debit/credit cards for your convenience. For our friends using EBT, you can use it at the Phoenix Farmer’s Markets.

See You This Weekend! We can’t wait to see you this weekend at the markets. It’s the perfect opportunity to relish our fresh, locally sourced honey and discover the extraordinary flavors of the Arizona desert. Thank you for your continued support.

Warm regards,

Kenny & Brenna

Autumn is here and so are we! Come see us this weekend at both Roadrunner Park and Ahwatukee Farmers Markets! We have a great variety of wild Alaska salmon and Pacific cod. We also have a HUGE supply of grassfed-grassfinished beef and pork. Although we are anticipating a big fall honey harvest within the next few weeks, for now, we only have a small selection of local Arizona honeys and bee pollen. We do have Medjool dates and we’re temporarily out of Bariani Olive Oil.

We intend to participate in both markets through the first weekend of December for our fall season. That’s only 8 weekends to stock your freezer and pantry before our winter vacation. You’re welcome to swing by the market to see what’s available. If you want something in particular, it’s best to reserve your order in advance. We accept orders for any weekend market through 6:00pm on Friday’s. If you can’t make the market, we gladly welcome you to shop by appointment at our home near Thomas Rd & 44th St.

Albuquerque: In case you missed us, we plan to be back for one winter market on December 9, 2023 in Los Ranchos. We recommend advance orders via email or phone.

Cheers,

Brenna & Kenny

Wow! Summer has passed by so quickly, and it’s almost time for us to return to Phoenix for our fall farmers market season. You can find us this Saturday, on September 30, 2023, at the Los Ranchos Growers Market. It’s the perfect opportunity to stock up on goodies for your freezer and pantry as winter approaches. This will be your last chance to catch us before we head back to New Mexico for the Winter Market in Los Ranchos on Saturday, December 9, 2023. If you’d like to place an order please review our current product list

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our customers, co-vendors, growers, farmers, gardeners, and market managers. We absolutely love what we do, and we couldn’t do it without each and every one of you. Your feedback, comments, and input are always welcome and deeply appreciated. It’s been an enjoyable summer, and we’ve made sure to stock up on plenty of green chile and other delicious produce and fruit for the winter season. This week, Kenny has been busy processing frozen grapes, cherries, and elderberries to start fermenting our family’s Christmas Mead!

For our Phoenix friends, we tentatively plan to kick off our fall farmers market season at both Roadrunner Park and Ahwatukee Farmers Markets during the weekend of October 14/15. Keep an eye on our market calendar for updates, and feel free to place advance orders anytime.

With warm Autumnal cheer,

Brenna & Kenny