Martha’s Vineyard has long claimed a spot in the public imagination as a playground for presidents and celebrities, but also as a place where life can be simple and pure. This ideal of simplicity is exemplified by its fresh, local produce and fish just off the boat, prepared with minimal fuss. In this evocative cookbook, Tina Miller, who grew up on the Vineyard as the daughter of one of the founders of the Black Dog restaurant and who became a chef in her own right, presents the food that has made her the beloved chef/owner of two Vineyard restaurants. Organized seasonally, the recipes range from classic preparations of local fish such as Grilled Swordfish with Green Aioli or Grilled Bluefish with Lemons and Parsley Mayo to dinner party fare such as Lobster Pie with Sweet Peas, Leeks, Tarragon, and White Wine or Crispy Slow-Cooked Duck with Beach Plum Glaze. Local fresh produce grown on organic farms and sold at the farmer's market and farm stands around the island are showcased, too: Zucchini and Tomato Casserole with an Asiago Crust, Grilled Vegetable Gazpacho, Corn and Shiitake Timbale with Baby Greens, as well as Huckleberry Crostada, Roasted September Peaches with Walnut Crust and Sweet Cream, and Apple Brandy Cake. Throughout, the magnificent photos of Alison Shaw depict the island—with its incomparable beaches, beguiling and diverse towns, and breathtaking scenery—and all those who still practice traditional ways of raising and gathering food. Fishermen still harvest swordfish and tuna using fishing lines rather than nets, prized bay scallops are still collected in freezing weather, and lambs are still raised on an eighteenth-century sheep farm in Chilmark. For anyone who has never been to the Vineyard, here is a chance to experience this island paradise. And for everyone who knows and loves the Vineyard, this cookbook will be a year-round reminder of delicious memories. Advance Praise for Vineyard Harvest "We Vineyardites who have gloried in our island for some decades find ourselves concerned from time to time that the beauties of the place will lead to overcrowding. Now our concern is redoubled by the publication of Tina Miller's and Alison Shaw's Vineyard Harvest . This beautiful volume is bound to send hordes of newcomers to share the cuisine and the beauty of Martha's Vineyard. It is an imaginative and brilliant book, darn it!" —Walter Cronkite " Vineyard Harvest captures the real Martha’s Vineyard—its farmers and fisherman, its lobster shacks and farmers markets—in recipes, photographs, and stories about the people who make this island a microcosm of New England and—although only seven miles from the mainland—a mystical world apart." —Steven Raichlen, author of The Barbecue! Bible cookbook series and host of Barbecue University with Steven Raichlen on PBS. “A wonderful book, with delicious, unfussy recipes that are as connected to the sea and soil of Martha's Vineyard as its very talented author.” —Keith McNally, co-author of The Balthazar Cookbook and owner of Balthazar Restaurant and Bakery "You don't have to be a resident of the island of Martha's Vineyard to fall in love with this book--all you really need to be is hungry and wanting to do something about it! With her delicious recipes, Tina has captured the essence of the island--but her tributes to the small farms and local food purveyors will ring true almost anywhere. This book is unique and special, just like Tina herself, and the wonderful Alison Shaw photographs make it just as much fun to read as it is to cook from." —Susan Branch, author of the Heart of the Home books TINA MILLER , a Vineyard native, trained at La Varenne in France and cooked at famed restaurants in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. She was the chef/owner of two beloved Vineyard restaurants, the Roadhouse and Cafe Moxie. Currently, she is a private chef. ALISON SHAW ’s fine-art prints are held in private and public collections worldwide. She has published three books of photographs, including Vineyard Summer . CHRISTIE MATHESON writes for Cooking Light, Glamour, Shape, and other magazines. Spring When signs appear that the end of winter is near and we start getting days with temperatures in the forties and fifties, I feel jittery excitement and impatience for the season to start in earnest. But spring comes slowly on the island. March can be tough. The daffodils begin to sprout, sometimes in the snow, but may not bloom until April. If the winter has been extremely cold, the ocean takes a long time to warm up--which means it takes a long time for us on the island to warm up. Some years it feels as though we go from winter to summer with no spring, but other years it's beautiful, with dozens of sunny, mild days. You never know. No matter what kind of spring we have, here on the island we are full of energy, gearing up for another busy summer ahead. In late winter and early spring lambs are born all around the island. Farmers are sprouti