From the Garden this Week…

From the Garden this Week…

Pumpkins, Thanksgiving Herb Mix, Garlic, Swiss Chard or Mixed Greens, Fennel or Green Cabbage, Bell Peppers, Baby White Turnips and Baby Carrots, Green Onions, Mixed Cherry Tomatoes and Fuyu Persimmons

Coming Soon… Snap Peas

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

This week we have a mix of produce as some of our items are limited as some of our winter produce is starting to be ready as well as the first baby carrots are here while I am thinning the planting that we did a few months ago. I love to showcase seasonal vegetables to my family and friends so I included two recipes that you can serve at your Thanksgiving dinner. The first is a simple fruit crisp that uses our Fuyu persimmons combined with apples. You can vary the quantities of apples and persimmons depending on what you have on hand, just have the total add up to two and a half pounds. Two and a half pounds should be about 4 persimmons and 4 apples.

Fuyu Persimmon Apple Fruit Crisp

2.5 pounds combined fuyu persimmons and apples peeled, cut into 1/2 inch

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons butter

Crumb topping:

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the persimmons, apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Place the fruit filling into a 9 inch pie pan or baking dish. Dot with pieces of the softened butter. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar and butter, mix with your fingers until it looks like coarse crumbs. Add oats and cinnamon and mix a little more. Spread topping evenly over fruit and pat down gently with your fingertips. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown, and the filling is bubbling within. Remove from the oven, let it cool and serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Pumpkin for an Event…

Most recipes can be changed to use seasonal ingredients. In this Roasted Pumpkin Bruschetta, I changed the sweet tomatoes for pumpkin. Instead of the bread toasts, try substituting a gluten-free cracker. This is a fun twist that showcases the versatility of pumpkin in sweet and savory dishes.

Roasted Pumpkin Bruschetta

1 baguette, sliced into ¼- ½ inch slices

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and fresh ground pepper

1 pound pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes

1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup chopped walnuts or pumpkin seeds

¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped

¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

Set your oven to broil. Brush baguette slices with oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toast under the broiler until light brown, flipping each one to toast the other side then remove. Set your oven to 400 degrees. Toss the butternut squash cubes with the 2 tablespoons oil, salt and herbs. Spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until tender. In the same oven, while cooking the squash, toast the nuts or seeds until fragrant, about 5 minutes. When the pumpkin is done remove from the oven. Take two cubes of squash and smash gently into a toasted baguette slice, sprinkle with a few nuts, dried cranberries and a bit of goat cheese. Serve right away.

*A Thanksgiving Note…by Cindi J. Martin

Ever since I read the book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, the word “thanksgiving” has become richer with meaning for me. She tells us that the Greek word “eucharisteo” literally means, “to give thanks.” In Luke 22:19 of the New Testament we read, “And He (Jesus) took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them (his disciples)…”(Luke 22:19 NIV). This scene is well known as the “Last Supper” depicted by Leonardo da Vinci in his famous painting. It was also the first communion and referred to by many Christians as the Eucharist, which is the Latin translation of the Greek word used by Jesus. Interestingly, the root word of eucharisteo is another Greek Word, “charis”, meaning “grace” but the word also holds its derivative, the Greek word “chara”, meaning “joy”. WOW! I love languages. The idea that the giving of thanks breaks open the floodgates for God’s grace so that joy can overflow our hearts is powerful. Today, even social scientists are studying the impact of a person’s gratitude on their emotions. Some even claim that writing in a gratitude journal three times a week can increase happiness. For more information, see the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377- 389.

*Reprinted with Permission from our November 15, 2018 Wellspring Charitable Gardens Newsletter