We said goodbye to one of the most perfect Septembers since… well, maybe last September. It’s always a beautiful, unique transitional month on the Island. October, though, is the true start of fall here. The landscape shifts from greens and yellows to oranges, browns, reds, and deep golds. Daylight shrinks quickly, with nearly eighty minutes of sunlight lost between the beginning of September to October. The MV Bass & Bluefish Derby continues for a few more weeks, while farms overflow with late-season tomatoes, many ready for canning or freezing, and the arrival of winter squash. Lettuces, beets, fennel, carrots, fresh herbs, onions, leeks, garlic, broccoli, kale, and chard — the local harvest still feels endless by the start of October. The bounty of Island-grown food never escapes me.
Though we’re all still busy, the edginess of summer has lifted, and it’s time for slow cooking and baking again. Even if today is warm, tomorrow is bound to be chilly, and having the oven on feels welcoming — especially when the aromas of roasted butternut squash, a whole lemon herb chicken, or a white bean stew fill the house. It’s also that moment in the year when you may finally find time to read a book or be inspired by our Island authors.
One such inspiration is the much-anticipated The Sea Table, created by the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust with Catherine Walthers and featuring photography by Randi Baird and Brook Bartletta. A cookbook and a tribute to the Island’s fishing tradition, it blends recipes with profiles of local fishermen. Even better, proceeds support the Trust’s nonprofit work.
Another standout is The Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook, by Julia Blanter with photography by Joycelyn Filley. Released last spring, it offers a beautiful trip around the Island, gathering recipes from chefs, bakers, and makers.
And I finally got to read Keith McNally’s memoir I Regret Almost Everything. McNally is a longtime summer resident, restaurant icon, and someone I admire. McNally was generous enough to write an endorsement on the back cover of my cookbook, Vineyard Harvest over twenty years ago. His memoir carried me through much of the summer — only because I stretched it out, allowing myself only one chapter at a time. For anyone who, like me, spent decades in the restaurant business (I started in the 1980s), this book is incredibly evocative. It’s less about food than about the creative, dramatic risky process of opening restaurants — McNally has opened 19! — but it transported me right back in time. McNally is at another level, and yet still appears humble with a reluctance to own his vast accomplishments in an industry that grinds people up and spits them out.
Reading McNally’s memoir reminded me how food is never just about what’s on the plate — it’s about the people, the risks, the traditions, and the communities or neighborhoods that make it possible. That connection is something I see on the Island with food and farming. I am lucky to serve on the board of Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society (MVAS) which keeps me in the loop of (what feels like a calmer connection at this point in my life) to food though farmers. While the MVAS may be best known for the Agricultural Fair, one of the Island’s most iconic traditions for 163 years, the nonprofit is also a hub for the farm community. Through education, grants, and a wide range of programs (about one hundred), the Society supports agriculture across the Island. From soil testing workshops to beekeeping clubs, the return of 4-H, backyard gardening support, Harvest Fest, the Barn Raisers Ball, the Meat Ball, and more — their calendar stays full all year long.
This past season, the MVAS Farmworker Program brought a variety of Island farmers together at farms across the Island. Each farm offered its own perspective and approach. At the Chilmark jewel that is Tea Lane Farm, owned by Krishana Collins, participants toured and learned to make flower arrangements with native-grown flowers. Another stop was the Grey Barn (before its closing) for a cheesemaking tour. The final gathering of the series focused on regenerative grazing at Slough Farm. Board members were encouraged to attend — tough work, I know.
In late September, more than thirty farmers and several board members met at the new Beetlebung Farm stand, stone mill, and bakery. The barn from New Hampshire was carefully relocated and skillfully rebuilt, and now houses beautiful vegetables, a curated shop with Salt Rock Chocolates and Merry Farm Pottery, grab-and-go salads, sauces, dips, and a freezer stocked with cookie dough, turnovers, pesto, soups, and pastries. The bakery offers fresh breads and pastries, all made with flour milled on the farm’s custom New American stone mill.
Until that visit, I hadn’t truly understood what it meant to mill your own grains and the difference it makes.
The head baker is Matt Pontarelli, who moved to the Island last October from Brooklyn. Matt is originally from Chicago and has been baking for ten years. He spoke passionately about how the food world has embraced farm-to-table dining — down to naming the farms where each carrot was grown — yet bread often remains an afterthought, made with anonymous, commodity flour. At Beetlebung, bread is given the same intentional care, made with grains from farms in New England and New York state, such as Nitty Gritty Grain Co. in Vermont and Seneca Grain and Bean in New York. Most impressive though, is their use of Island-grown wheat, rye, and oats from Lost and Found Grain, grown and harvested by MVAS board member Dan Sternbach.
The result is the Island Loaf — made with Dan’s grains, Heidi Feldman’s MV Sea Salt, and honey from Island Bee Company. True seed-to-table, and hard to beat.
Matt explained to the group how freshly stone-milled, unsifted flour is nutrient-dense, rich in minerals, healthy fats, and fiber. It gives bread a darker hue, hearty flavor, and toothy texture. Combined with sourdough fermentation, these loaves are easier to digest — even for those with gluten sensitivities (though not celiac). The presence of bran and germ also adds moisture, extending shelf life. The stone-milled grains are used to create all of the baked goods, quiche crusts, cardamom buns, oatmeal cookies, and apple coffee cake.
Beetlebung Farm is one of several Island farms (North Tabor Farm and Morning Glory Farm to name a few) who have created the ultimate hybrid of incorporating the food they grow into their kitchens and giving us a true taste of farm to table.
This year Morning Glory Farm is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and their famous zucchini bread was the first item they created from the zucchini they grew on the farm. Today the farm stand is chock full of fresh salads, soups, baked goods, heat-and-eat meals and of course, their zucchini bread. Morning Glory also bakes its own sourdough breads with organic grains; the classic sourdough is one of my favorites, toasted with Beach Plum Jelly.
North Tabor Farm also makes and sells delicious soups and chilis (some of which are Alpha Gal friendly) as well as salad, dips, and sauces. Some fan favorites are the Toasted Sesame Hippy Dippy sauce, and their summer treat, the Berry Good Fruit Crush, which is made from their own raspberries, and blueberries. Another popular choice is their green garlic farro salad which utilizes ingredients grown on their farm. North Tabor also does a pizza night during the season, creating pies topped with their gorgeous vegetables.
Beetlebung, North Tabor, and Morning Glory will all be selling fresh Turkeys for Thanksgiving. I know that seems far away, but they are taking orders now!
I am looking forward to cooking this time of year, and bringing local fall food to my own kitchen table. October is the time of year to be reminded of how many uses are there for the iconic autumn ingredient: butternut squash. I peel, seed, and cut it into one-inch squares, toss it with good olive oil, season it with salt, pepper, and whatever herbs I have (dried or fresh), lay it out on a sheet pan with parchment paper, and roast it in a hot 400 degree oven until a nice caramelization happens. Then you can puree it into a soup, add it to a salad with hearty greens, toasted pepitas and local goat cheese, or incorporate it into a risotto- the options are practically limitless.
As we settle into the off-season and shift gears, it’s a good time to recharge and reconnect. Now is the time to throw a potluck with friends or go to dinner at one of your favorite restaurants that has likely been too busy to get into until now. Indulge in this moment when our locally grown food options may the most most diverse they are all year. You can savor the last kiss of slicer tomatoes while also enjoying those slow-roasted hearty vegetables. October is a reprieve; before you know it, talk of the holiday will be chirping in your ears.
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