I have taken some time off during this crazy busy summer, that is mostly about promoting Food Swap, to spend a week with my kids and my mom on Martha’s Vineyard. I have spent many happy weeks on nearby Nantucket, but this was my first visit to this much larger island. We have had a wonderful time combing the beaches, exploring the charm of Edgartown and visiting the famous cliffs at Aquinnah.

With all the wonderful locally grown produce and fresh-off-the-boat seafood available to them, Martha’s Vineyard residents tend to cook and entertain at home rather than go out to eat. So, in keeping with that tradition, we have cooked some wonderful dinners including steamers, linguini with clam sauce, clam chowder, local oysters on the half shell and lobsters for those of us who are not allergic. (Alas, not me.)

We also have frequented some of the local farmers markets outstanding artisan food producers on the island including The Grey Barn, where you can buy raw milk (!) and delicious cheeses made here on the island, and Chilmark Chocolates, which has a line out of the door during the few hours a day it is open.

So forgive me for the lack of new recipes this month. I will be back soon with information on my upcoming book events in San Francisco, Oakland and Orange County, California (later this month), New York City and Philadelphia (early August), and Seattle and Portland (mid-August). I will also have some new recipes, I promise, and a really fun, new-to-me DIY project — grinding fresh flour!

Meanwhile, I hope you are enjoying every minute of summer, my favorite season: shopping at your local farmers markets, grilling, eating outdoors and preserving the bounty of the season.