Fresh for Halloween from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - October 31, 2024

Fresh Today… Broccoli, Delicata Squash, Sweet Peppers, Radishes, Carrots, Head Lettuce, Green Onions, Parsley, Basil, Edible Celery & Marigold Flowers, Ornamental Corn, Persimmons & Pomegranates

Using Your Produce… by Julie Moreno

Fall is in full swing, and the fall vegetables are filling our baskets. If you’d like to save a little bit of summer, this is a great time to make a batch of basil pesto. Store it in the freezer to use over the next few months. The large heads of broccoli give us lots of stems and leaves that shouldn’t be thrown away (or even into compost). You can shred the stems in the food processor or with a spiralizer to use as slaw. Substitute the shredded broccoli in your favorite cabbage slaw recipe or try this twist on an Asian style salad with instant Ramen noodles adding a crispy crunch.

Broccoli Slaw with Crunchy Noodles

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon honey or sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

5-6 cups chopped broccoli

    stems and florets

2 carrots, shredded

3-4 radishes, thinly sliced

¼ cup almonds, toasted

¼ cup thinly sliced green onions

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground

   black pepper

1 package of instant ramen noodles,

    broken into bite-sized pieces

* Combine the oil, vinegar, honey, soy sauce and sesame oil in a large mixing bowl, blend well. To the dressing, add in the noodles, broccoli, carrots, radishes, almonds, green onion, salt and pepper. Toss to coat the vegetables. Let the salad sit for 1-2 hours before serving. Add in the ramen noodles, let it sit for an additional 5-10 minutes for the noodles to slightly soften.

“Great Pumpkin” Humor

How do you repair a broken jack-o-lantern?

* Apply a pumpkin patch.

What’s a pumpkin’s favorite movie?

* Pulp Fiction

Who helped the young pumpkin cross the road?

* A crossing gourd.

Why do pumpkins avoid bars at happy hour?

* They are afraid of getting smashed.

What do you get when you drop a pumpkin?

* Squash.

Today is Halloween!

Let the Gourd Times Roll!

Fall Fruit Salads…

The sweet and tangy pomegranates and persimmons come around each October and November. These fruits sweeten up a salad and balance the nuts and bleu cheese. Fuyu persimmons can be used just like an apple in this recipe.

Pomegranate-Persimmon Salad with Bleu Cheese

1 tablespoon lemon juice         

2 tablespoons olive oil              

2 tablespoons sliced chives        

    or green onions                      

¼ teaspoon salt                           

4-5 cups lettuce greens,             

    washed and chopped 

 ½ cup pomegranate seeds

1 Fuyu persimmon or apple,

cut into bite sized slices

¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts 

¼ cup crumbled bleu cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

* Combine lemon juice, chives, salt and olive oil, whisking together in a large bowl.  Add in the lettuce, pomegranate, persimmon and toss to coat with the dressing. Add the nuts and bleu cheese and toss lightly. Adjust the seasoning with salt and fresh ground pepper if needed.  Eat right away. 

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Reflection on (Im)Perfection

by Keith F Martin

We have replaced any imperfect produce from our fields with more attractive product purchased from Perfection Farms, Inc. On second thought, probably not. We have noticed that some WCG vegetables and fruit bear “slight” blemishes that give them a rather “seedy” appearance. We regret that these imperfections in shape, surface, or hue do not accurately portray the Ideal Form of The Carrot, The Tomato, or The Squash but obviously reveal the “fallen” nature of visible reality that Plato described in his “Cave Metaphor.” (What is the Ideal Form of a vegetable named “Squash,” anyway?)

Aesthetic variability is unavoidable in our imperfect vegetable garden world. These differences unabashedly display the natural effects of sun, soil, and water on the surface appearance of produce. Such superficial blemishes proudly declare their tree-, soil-, or vine-ripened goodness. At WCG, we affectionately call these imperfections “beauty marks.” Confucius (or was it Bruce Lee?) captured our attitude toward preferences based on looks alone: “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”

Yes, industrial farms have perfected techniques - spraying pesticides, early picking, culling undesirables, warehouse ripening sans extended exposure to sun, soil, and water – to provide flawless looking produce, but that polished surface comes at a high price – compromised quality and taste. Perfection Farms provides the perfect pebble, not the diamond in the rough. Have you tasted a store-bought tomato lately? Yes, it seduces the eye but disappoints the tongue.

We are hoping that your preference also bends toward superior taste rather than pleasing appearance alone, and we trust that you will thoroughly enjoy any rough diamonds you discover in your Purple Produce Bag. If you do not, please promptly inform us so we may replace those undesirables with more satisfying and flavorful fresh vegetables, fruit, or herbs. We thank you for your support and appreciation of quality that is not merely skin deep.

"For the Lord sees not as man sees:

man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7