Recipes to Make the Most of Green Tomatoes

The past two episodes of the Local Food Report have focused on growing apples—what varieties do well around here and how to care for an orchard. This week, Elspeth moves into the kitchen to learn about making apple butter with Mattapoisett cookbook author Karen Covey. Her new book is called The Coastal Table, and is filled with recipes made with foods from the SouthCoast. 

What goes into those nice, crisp apples we can't get enough of this time of year? This week on The Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with farmer Paul Crowell about how he cares for his family orchard at Crow Farm in Sandwich. He walks her through the steps of caring for dwarf and standard trees from replanting to pruning to spraying and mowing.

Some apple varieties are better for sauce, some are best for eating fresh. How do you know which ones to choose? This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with Paul Crowell of Crow Farm in Sandwich about local apple varieties and what he likes best for sauce, cider, pies, and simply grabbing for a snack. 

You can learn more about the apple varieties Paul Crowell is growing and find a recipe for applesauce on Elspeth's blog, Diary of a Locavore.

Shrub is a colonial soda made with fresh fruit, vinegar, and sugar. This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with a Wellfleet cook using local beach plums to make this old-fashioned soda. You can find recipes for raspberry shrub and beach plum shrub and a list of cocktail ideas with shrub on Elspeth's blog, Diary of a Locavore.

Wild beach plums are common on dunes across the Cape. This week on the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with a family in Wellfleet that's been making and selling beach plum jelly since 1932. You can learn more about the wild beach plum and efforts to tame it over here, and Elspeth's put up her family recipe for beach plum jelly on her blog.