Cape-Cod-LIFE

Good Reads in LIFE: Cookbooks to help make your summer sizzle

Cape Cod Life  /  July/August 2025 /

Writer: Leslie Hatton

Good Reads in LIFE: Cookbooks to help make your summer sizzle

Cape-Cod-LIFE

Cape Cod Life  /  July/August 2025 /

Writer: Leslie Hatton


Summer entertaining calls for recipes that celebrate fresh, seasonal ingredients served with flair and fun. These two cookbooks, by authors with local ties, deliver the coastal charm that will help you make unforgettable summer moments. 

Flavors of Home:  

The Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook

by Julia Blanter

Simply put, The Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook is a love letter to the island’s culinary culture and a feast for your senses. In the introduction author Julia Blanton reminds us, “Martha’s Vineyard is not just lobster rolls and chowder. This is a melting pot with “washashores” (newcomers to the island) from just about everywhere, each bringing the unique flavors of their motherlands to the table.”  

For anyone who’s ever been captivated by the charm of Martha’s Vineyard—and the author is one—Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook is a delicious invitation to learn recipes that locals are proud to share. Blanton, a year-round resident, honors the Wampanoag people, acknowledging that so much of the island’s traditions and spirit is rooted in their teachings. From clambakes and fishing, to harvesting and the farm-to-table philosophy, the People of the First Light are central to many of the island’s rich culinary traditions. 

Photos by Jocelyn Finley
A moving foreword by Juli Vanderhoop, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe and owner of the beloved Orange Peel Bakery in Aquinnah sets the tone for the chapters ahead. Her words ground the book in a sense of place, heritage, and community, reminding readers that food is more than sustenance—it’s a shared connection. Blanton shares that Vanderhoop’s Bakery always has an open invitation on pizza nights where she serves slices of perfection from...

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Leslie Hatton

Leslie (Horne) Hatton enthusiastically joined Cape Cod Life in October of 2022. Educated in Mashpee and Falmouth, she graduated from Assumption College and received her Master of Education degree from Lesley College. A former teacher, she has taught middle school, preschool and most recently, fifth grade. She and her husband Tom have three children: Aidan, Colin, and Erin. Their newest family member is Millie, an outgoing, outrageously happy chocolate lab. She loves to talk about all of them so better not ask. One neat tidbit about Leslie is that she is the author of the locally best-selling children’s book Cape Cod ABCs, with over 10K books sold on Cape Cod, the Islands and across Massachusetts. Happiest in the summer with a little sun on her face, she loves being with friends and her family, laughing, drinking and eating all over beautiful Cape Cod.