From the Garden this Week

From the Garden this Week…

Broccoli, Summer Squash, Red or Green Salanova Lettuce, Snap Peas, Carrots, Bok Choy, Parsnips, Turnips, Leeks, Cabbage, Arugula

Coming Soon…Cucumbers, Garlic, Onions, Potatoes

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

The squash is in full bloom and we have more of all the varieties coming this week. The sweetness of the squash changes the longer it sits, so try to use it in the first few days of receiving. I also wanted to mention that the yellow squash cooks the same as zucchini and you can use it in your favorite zucchini bread recipe. It makes a colorful addition, and if you have any eaters that are fearful of zucchini bread, try making it with only yellow squash. The color of the squash blends in with the bread and you can’t tell it is there. Below, is my favorite summer squash recipe, Squash Fritters. This is simple, because you don’t have to cut it with a knife and quick to cook. I recommend making more than you might be able to eat all at once, they reheat well and are great the next day.

Squash Fritters

3-4 pieces summer squash, about 1 pound, grated

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 cup flour (a gluten free flour substitute will work)

2 Tablespoons shredded cheese

1 Tablespoon of oil

Combine the grated squash and salt and leave it in a colander for 20-30 minutes, to allow some of the water to drain. Squeeze the squash to remove any excess water, then mix it with the egg, flour and cheese. Heat a nonstick pan, over medium heat, add the oil and drop 1/4 cup of the squash mixture into the pan. Help it to spread out a little then repeat 2-3 more times, so you have 3-4 small pancakes. Allow them to cook for 5 minute then turn the fritters over and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove them and cook another batch to use the remaining batter. Enjoy hot, but they are also great the next day.

Potato Leek Soup

We will have our own potatoes soon….

4 cups water or stock

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces

2 leeks (whites and light green parts only), thoroughly washed and sliced

1-2 stalks celery, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half

Put the water or stock, potatoes, leeks, celery, bay leaf and thyme in a large pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Boil until the potatoes are soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Using an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender or food processor), blend the soup, add the cream and bring back to a simmer and serve.

There is a reason for traditions…

We will have more cabbage this week, and I wanted to include a traditional recipe. I sometimes find that we try so hard to be new and inventive that we forget that there are good reasons for the traditional recipes that our grandmothers made. My grandmother actually never made coleslaw, but I worked with a chef that threw this together and I was amazed at how good it tastes when freshly made. This recipe is fine to make ahead but, I recommend eating it within the first day.

Traditional Coleslaw

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons celery seed

salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 head green cabbage, thinly sliced

3 large carrots, grated

Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, and celery seed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cabbage and carrots and mix to thoroughly combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul… by Cindi J. Martin, LCSW

There are only a few fruit trees on the plot of land where we harvest produce for our Wellspring Charitable Gardens Subscribers. But every year at this time, the limbs begin to bough down, heavy with dense clusters of green, hard fruit that must be thinned. I admit that at the beginning of my agricultural experience, I had to invite my farmer friend to the property to help relieve my anxiety about knocking off so much fruit. He explained to me the risks of not thinning. Disease, mildew, damaged fruit, broken limbs and ultimately small sized fruit. Intellectually I understood. But I found that a very greedy emotion came up inside of me when I was told to thin the peaches so they were about a fist apart from one another. This miserly part of me felt that would be such a waste. Hidden underneath the greed and the miser in me was fear of not having enough. Rationally, food scarcity has no place in my life, as I truly have never gone without a meal. Yet here was this fear of wasting food. The opposite of fear of scarcity is faith and trust that God will provide for our needs. I don’t have to hoard. I can be generous and give. And I can trust that the thinning of fruit truly makes room for growing the remaining fruit into maturity. Sometimes, the fruit of the Soul in my life is small because I am not thinning out the number of good things in my life. Trying to do too many good things can actually stunt our growth. Sometimes letting several good things drop to the ground so the few things that remain can grow to maturity is an enormous step of faith.