It was a surprise to discover that shiitake mushrooms are a good source of protein, good enough to replace beef even. And who ever thought of a mushroom as an animal?

Strawberry season, in my family, is a religious thing. We pick strawberries in late June every year, all together, no matter what. The day starts early with old tee shirts and stained shorts. We slather on sunscreen and my mother always wears her old pink bandana cap—the one from the 70s with the pink and white tye-dye and the tiny …

Ali Berlow and Elspeth Hay have been taking stock about why local food is important to them. They’ve talked about local food through a lens of economics, seasonality and now, security .

Rachel Hutchinson of Brewster has a deep respect for local clams. “The Northern Quahog, or our hardshell clam, is a very important species all over Cape Cod,” Hutchinson says. “It’s been here since Indian times, so it’s kind of one of our level species, something shell fishermen have always had to harvest. Where there have been booms and busts in …

Here’s what I know about asparagus: it’s delicious, usually green, and, most importantly for us, my friend Scott Britton grows it in North Falmouth. But his doesn’t look anything like the tidy bundles you find in the supermarket. And it sure doesn’t taste like supermarket asparagus—which is exactly what led Scott and his wife Liz to growing their own. It …

This time of year at the farmers markets, lettuce is the variety queen. It comes in heads and leaves, reds and greens, crisp hearts and soft butter leaves. Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken to farmers about growing lettuce, and what varieties they like. Veronica Worthington, of Seaweed & Codfish Herb Farm in West Dennis, pointed out the differences …

Claus is a 3 rd grader at the Chilmark School, and he was one of my lunch buddies. We sat together in the school’s makeshift cafeteria, in the community center next to the school. Fresh fish, pollock, was on the menu, and Claus wasn’t all that sure about it.

The green crab (Carcinus maenas) arrived on the shores of Massachusetts in the 1800s. It is described as an alien or invasive species, because of its negative impacts on economically valuable shellfish stocks like clams and bay scallops—though there may be culinary uses in its future, if we cooks get creative.

Helen Miranda Wilson grows five kinds of mint and each one has a story. The first comes from her mother’s close friend Nina Chavchavadze , who moved a piece of the plant from her garden in South Wellfleet to Helen’s family property in 1946.