No. 306: Spring Herb & Potato Frittata, Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp, Local Focaccia
Plus: Join a CSF for fresh fish; MoGlo Food Truck is open; market days are coming
🥚🍞 Frittata and Focaccia. Say that six times fast!
We took a ride up to Beetlebung Farm on Sunday morning and came back with a loaf of rye bread and a big square of herby, roasted-garlick-y focaccia. The focaccia, made with freshly milled grain flour, had been generously doused with olive oil. With the crispy bits on top, it was pretty hard to stop eating it when we got home. The rye, also made with freshly milled flour, smelled nutty and sweet. We saved that for toasted cheese sandwiches and croutons for late spring salads and soups.
I had already planned to make a frittata for dinner — a chance to use both the stovetop and the oven on my new range — since we had picked up fresh eggs, newly harvested spring onions, and potatoes at Morning Glory, too.
I knew I could make my favorite Potato, Leek, Herb & Goat Cheese Frittata recipe by swapping the leeks for spring onions and the goat cheese for Mermaid Farm feta.
And I have so many great herbs and edible flowers coming in from the garden right now – sage leaves, lemon thyme leaves, mint, chive blossoms, dianthus (pinks) blossoms, violas, and more. I’m sure you’ve got some, too! The cilantro “volunteers” from seeds that overwintered in the soil are already bolting to flower. I don’t mind because the foliage (top left of photo on the right) becomes fine and feathery and potently fragrant at this point.
Once my husband heard we were having a frittata, he couldn’t stop saying “frittata and focaccia” over and over. What can I say? It does have a ring to it. And we did enjoy them together for dinner, along with a salad of lettuces from the garden.
My hands-down favorite lettuce seed mix is Morton’s Secret Lettuce Mix from Wild Garden Seed. Every variety in the mix is sturdy and crunchy and simply gorgeous.
Don’t forget that if you want to make your own focaccia, you can’t go wrong with Abby Dodge’s No-Knead Focaccia.
🥣 For warmer weather, think broth, not soup.
It’s true we don’t think of serving soup when it is almost June — unless it is Martha’s Vineyard and you are treated to four inches of rain, a wind storm, and 40-degree temperatures all in one week! And yet a soup with a light, brothy base, like this beautiful Spring Miso Broth with Stir-Fried Asparagus, Romaine, Scallions, Tofu, and Mint, can be a wonderful showcase for spring vegetables.
Brothy soups, like Cathy Walthers’ Broth with Mini-Meatballs, Kale and Cabbage, can make hearty ingredients feel lighter.
And let’s face it, we’re always looking for tasty destinations for kale, since it grows so well on the Vineyard in both spring and fall. I think I’ll make one of my favorite brothy soups — Tuscan Kale, Leek and White Bean Soup with Bacon, Parmigiano & Rustic Croutons — using spring onions instead of leeks. And of course, rye croutons. You could also make your croutons out of focaccia or any Island-made bread.
One last endorsement for brothy soups: you can use a wide variety of bases to make your broth. This Hot and Sour Mushroom and Barley Soup uses both Dried Mushroom Broth and the liquid leftover from cooking the barley to form its base.
This Build Your Own Ramen-esque Noodle Soup uses Rich Vegetable Broth, while of course the first veggie soup I mentioned above uses miso, ginger, garlic, and onions to flavor a broth.
🦑 🐠 Share the fish.
Perhaps you can tell that we are looking for alternatives to chicken and beef at our house – hence the eggs and the brothy soups. But very soon (June) we’ll be eating more fish. That’s because I signed up again this year for Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust’s Community Supported Fishery (CSF). Last year, I talked a lot about how much we enjoyed this. Over the course of the three monthly summer pickups (there’s a fall CSF, too), we had fluke, sea scallops, monkfish, black sea bass, squid, mackerel, bluefish and more.
All the fish you receive in your share comes from local fishing boats, who unload their catch in Menemsha, where it is fileted, flash-frozen and cryovaced. So it actually tastes uber-fresh when you eat it. And you’re supporting local fishermen by paying a fair price for their catch. Pickups are at the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market, your choice of Wednesdays or Saturdays (on a series of dates you choose up front.) Plenty of time to sign up!
And of course, we’ve got an archive of great fish recipes for you to turn to. Not only that, but the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust folks, along with food writer Cathy Walthers and local photographers Randi Baird and Brooke Bartletta, have been working hard on making a fish cookbook that will be out later this summer. We’ll have more about that soon.
🍓 First crisp of the summer
I continue to be impatient about strawberry season. And since I am watching my rhubarb grow three feet tall, I’m giving in and making my very favorite crisp recipe this week: Gingery Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. Hope you can make one of these soon, too – local strawberries or not.
P.S. I just heard that Island Grown Initiative has picked their first strawberries. Hopefully we’ll see them in Island groceries soon, but we know for sure that Catboat Coffee had a batch and was making up strawberry shortcake croissants this week!
Enjoy the rest of May — and I’ll see you in June! As always, if you have a question, leave a comment here or feel free to email us at cookthevineyard@vineyardgazette.com.
— Susie Middleton, editor
❤️ Don’t forget to click the little heart at the top or bottom if you liked this post!
🥗 Where to find recipes and past newsletters
Our recipe archive is always open at cookthevineyard.com.
All previous newsletters can be accessed by paid subscribers at cookthevineyard.substack.com.
⛴️ What’s happening around the Island
📆 News & Events
The West Tisbury Farmers’ Market returns for the season on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. until noon.
North Tabor Farm is piloting a Monday night pizza pickup program starting Monday, June 9. Pre-ordering will be online and will close at noon on that Monday.
The MV Community Seed Library Seedling Swap is happening this Saturday, May 31 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the West Tisbury Public Library.
🥕 Farm Stands, Spring Schedules
Ghost Island Farm is open every day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Beetlebung Farm is open Thursday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Morning Glory Farm is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Grey Barn’s farm stand is open Thursday to Monday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
North Tabor Farm’s farm stand is open daily, dawn to dusk.
Mermaid Farm is always open!
🐟 Seafood Markets
The Fish House at the airport is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Net Result in Vineyard Haven is open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Larsen’s Fish Market in Menemsha is open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Menemsha Fish Market is open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
Edgartown Seafood is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
🎧 Listen to On the Vineyard from the Vineyard Gazette
The new On the Vineyard podcast from the Vineyard Gazette is deeply rooted in the sense of place the Vineyard evokes, with reports on local happenings, events large and small, and, of course, food and restaurants. The weekly podcast has sounds from the Island both present (i.e. Memorial Day celebrations) and past (archival voices). Listen here or anywhere you get your podcasts.
Photos: Susie Middleton.
🥕🥕🥕