The Local Food Report

WIC program is helping more Martha's Vineyard families thanks to grant

Have you ever been in a grocery store and seen items marked “WIC approved”? It stands for “women infants and children.” It’s a federally funded state run supplemental nutrition assistance program.

Tuning into plant flowers to manage fruit and vegetable productivity

Over the past few years, I’ve started noticing how much I can control certain plants’ productivity by managing their flowers and seeds.

The magic of weeds

A New Jersey forager visits Falmouth to give a talk on the magic of weeds.

Exciting new vegetables for your summer garden

It’s that time of year where many of us are getting summer seedlings in the ground. And I don’t know about you, but my excitement is usually bigger than my garden — I can’t fit everything I want to plant.

Kale Rabe: A local spring delicacy

Most cooks have heard of broccoli rabe. But what about other rabe varieties? This week on The Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with growers at the Orleans Farmers' Market about this spring delicacy from the Brassica family.

These indoor-outdoor houseplants are edible

This week, the joys of keeping indoor-outdoor food plants.

A slaughterhouse in Westport

This week on the Local Food Report, a slaughterhouse in Westport.

A Mashpee Wampanoag youth group works to protect a beloved fish

Making bagels in the dawn kitchen

There aren’t many things that will get me out of bed at 5:30 in the morning. But bagels—or really just the prospect of learning how to make them—is one. Recently, I stood in Wellfleet’s Bagel Hound with owner Ellery Althaus, while the windows were still dark, staring a pile of dough.

Black garlic, a popular choice for home cooks and chefs

Beau Valtz is standing in his Wellfleet kitchen in front of a giant pile of fresh garlic.He's wrapping heads of garlic tightly in tin foil.

Four trout varieties that are stocked in local waters

Recently I made a visit to the Sandwich fish hatchery. That’s where the state raises trout for stocking in local ponds and rivers and I spoke with Mike Clark who helps breed four different trout varieties.

One woman’s story of starting a food truck

A primer on Cape Cod clams

A primer on Cape Cod clams—local species and how to handle each one in the kitchen.

Pruning wild blueberries and our relationship with the natural world

This week, a young man in Truro on pruning wild blueberries and our relationship with the natural world.

Skate 101: Three local cooks share their favorite recipes

For a long time, skate has been considered trash fish. But with local groundfish like haddock and cod increasingly off the menu, home cooks and local chefs are turning more and more to this tasty shark relative.

Turnip latkes from a chef in Orleans

It’s that time of year again—we’re deep into storage vegetable season and I’m looking for recipe inspiration.

A farmer goes into the schools on the Outer Cape

About ten years ago when farmer Stephanie Rein’s kids were in elementary school in Truro, she noticed something about local garden-based education.

Adapting Cape Cod menus to changes in local fisheries

This week on the Local Food Report, adapting Cape Cod menus to changes in local fisheries.

A chef gets creative with school lunch

This week on the Local Food Report, a chef gets creative with school lunch.

A community farming project makes an impact in Orleans

In the 1960s, Putnam Farm was home to 14 acres of thriving cropland.

Soil building inspiration from the Amazon

This week on the Local Food Report, soil building inspiration all the way from the Amazon.

A local chef uses walnuts and almonds to create two Italian-inspired after-dinner drinks

This week a chef in Provincetown uses walnuts and almonds to create two Italian-inspired after-dinner drinks.

Not your grandmother's fruitcake... ice cream

This week, Elspeth gets the holiday scoop from a local ice cream maker.

Holiday pies and memories

This time of year, I miss my grandmother. When I was a kid Biee always came to visit for Christmas and she spent most of her time in the kitchen.

A rare local fruit is making its way back to Cape Cod

This week, a Falmouth man heads to the Midwest to meet a rare local fruit.

Nora Hay, age 9, teaches us to make her favorite fall dish

This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth’s daughter, Nora Hay, age 9, teaches us to make her favorite fall dish.

A powerful but often overlooked wild berry

I’m walking the back roads of Truro with my friend Nicole Cormier, who works as a dietician and is studying herbalism. We’re looking for something called Aronia which grows dark purple almost black berries.

Blue ribbon garlic winner reveals tips for growing bigger cloves

Ben Chung is obsessed with garlic. He lives in East Orleans with his wife, six kids, and uncle, and he works as a dentist. But when he’s not cleaning teeth, he’s outside working in his garden, where he grows over fifty kinds of garlic.

Tips for beginning mushroom hunters from a Wellfleet enthusiast

I’m walking the woods on a beautiful fall day looking for fungi with Alex Emmons.He points out dead oak trees and explains how they have a symbiotic relationship with mushrooms.

Bumblebee diversity necessary for food security

For decades, Anne Averill has been researching how our agricultural systems impact native bees. More specifically, she's been studying the diversity and abundance of bumblebees for 30 years now.

Making kombucha from scratch

Amy Costa of Truro got into fermentation kind of accidentally. She had just stopped working as a bartender but wanted to keep creating drinks and her friend was brewing kombucha from a kit.

A surprising way to get more veggies

We were talking about cucumbers — I’ve had a really productive season and I was trying to figure out why — and he mentioned that how frequently you pick from your plants can impact how many fruits they make.

Creating drought-resistant raised beds

This week on The Local Food Report, Elspeth learns about building drought-resistant raised beds.

Canning local bluefin tuna a good option for a big catch

I’m standing in front of 18 mason jars, an impeccably clean kitchen counter, and about 16 pounds of fresh Bluefin tuna. Why? Well, a few years ago, Ken Mason and his wife took a trip to Portugal.

A fizzy fermented drink made from leftover bread

Helen loved kvass. The flavor, the fizz, everything about this drink made from fermenting stale bread with water and sugar. But when she got home, she forgot about it for almost forty years.

Cooking with a Little-Known Wild Edible

I first tasted milkweed a few years ago. I was at Ceraldi in Wellfleet—a restaurant known for its focus on hyper local ingredients— and I tried the plants’ shoots. They were bright and snappy and so gloriously green-tasting that I wanted to learn more. Co-owner and chef Michael Ceraldi explains what Asclepias syriaca, or Common Milkweed is.

Edible Gastropods

Lettuce Varieties

How to Grow Perfect Leeks

This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with Peter Fossel of Swan River Farm in Dennisport about how to grow leeks with long, white stems.

Grey Barn Farm

In 2009, Eric Glasgow and his wife retired from city life and bought a defunct dairy farm on Martha’s Vineyard. Ever since, they’ve been learning how to make dairy farming as low waste and low impact as possible.

Spring Brings Rhubarb Back into the Kitchen: 12 Recipes from Chutney to Pie

In many local gardens, rhubarb is the first plant ready to harvest. This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth talks with her mother, Liz Pierson, about their favorite family rhubarb recipes. Favorites include spicy rhubarb chutney to serve with Indian food, a rhubarb custard pie similar to lemon meringue, and a sweet, tender rhubarb cake. You can find a complete list of the recipes mentioned in this piece on Elspeth's blog, Diary of a Locavore.

Vineyard Farmer Revives Rare Duck Breed

In the mid 1800s, Cayuga ducks were one of the most popular meat birds in New England. This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with Rebecca Gilbert of Native Earth Teaching Farm in Chilmark about why the breed fell out of favor, and why she thinks it's worth bringing back. You can learn more about Cayuga ducks on the Slow Food website, as part of their "Ark of Taste."

Wild Wintergreen Berries Make Tasty Spring Treat

Have you ever had a wintergreen berry? This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay goes on a hunt for the native edible with Donna Eaton of Cedar Spring Herb farm in Harwich. The ivy green leaves and bright, cherry red berries are all over the Cape, and the fruit is especially tasty this time of year. You can read more on Elspeth's blog, Diary of a Locavore.

Selective Breeding Moves into Local Oyster Industry

Selective breeding is not a new thing in the food world; humans have been selecting for desirable traits in plants and animals for thousands of years. But it is getting more sophisticated. This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with a Wellfleet oysterman who's growing oysters with three sets of chromosomes instead of the normal two. You can read more about "triploid" oysters on Elspeth's blog, Diary of a Locavore.

Local Scallop Enthusiast Says “Eat the Roe!”

n Europe, scallop roe is a delicacy. But Americans haven't developed a taste for it—yet. In The Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay examines scallop roe, which is packed with omega-3s—good for everyone, and especially important for mamas and babies. See a video of How to Open a Scallop and find out more about scallop roe on Elspeth's Blog, Diary of a Locavore.

Ordering Seeds? Start Here

Sandwich Nutritionist Keeps Local Winter Eating Exciting

Local Organizations Get Seafood to Families in Need

Fish is important for good health, but it can be expensive. This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with the fishermen and organizers behind a new program called Fish for Families that's working to get high quality local seafood to Cape Cod families in need. You can read more about Fish for Families and find out about the groups behind it on their websites: Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance The Family Pantry of Cape Cod And you can see pictures of a dogfish distributio...

Mobile Greenhouse Extends the Season—Twice

Many local farmers have a greenhouse to help extend the growing season. This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with a young Brewster farmer who got a grant from the state to build a mobile greenhouse. The structure itself is 25 feet long by 12 feet wide, but it can slide back and forth over two fields 12 feet wide by 50 field long. Lucas Dinwiddie of Halcyon farm will use this system to cover different crops at different times of the year. You can find plans to build a mobile ...

Falmouth Resident Aims to Keep Food Waste in the Foodshed

According to the EPA, Americans throw out 14 percent of the food we buy. And all but 2 percent of that goes into landfills. This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with Falmouth resident Mary Ryther about her new composting business that's working to change that. You can learn more about Mary's operation and other efforts to cut down on local food waste on Elspeth's blog, Diary of a Locavore.