Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - April 30, 2026

Fresh Today… Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Beets, Broccoli, Kale, French Breakfast Radishes, Lettuce, Peas, Dill & Parsley

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

The seasons are changing and this week we are harvesting the first of our summer squash. For peak flavor and texture, summer squash is best used within a few days of receiving your basket. Store them in the fridge for up to a week. The skin is tender and full of nutrients, so there’s no need to peel, just give them a rinse and slice as needed. They are perfect grilled or sautéed with olive oil, garlic, and herbs. I included a recipe this week for a beet salad. You can roast beets whole, but when I don’t want to run the oven for an hour, it’s much faster to slice them and cook them on a sheet pan in a single layer. The thinner you slice them the faster they cook. I estimate 20-30 minutes, but you should always taste test to make sure they are done to your liking.

Roasted Beet Salad

with Creamy Dill dressing

3-4 beets

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1 tablespoon oil

fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped dill

1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

¼ cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

3-4 cups lettuce greens, chopped,

     washed and dried

* Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Remove the greens from the beets and reserve for another use. Peel if desired or just scrub well, peeling is not required.  Slice the beets in half and then place the flat side on a cutting board and slice into half-moon shapes. Toss the slices in a large bowl with ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and oil.  Put them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until tender. While the beets are cooking prepare the dressing. In a mixing bowl combine the dressing: dill, lemon juice and buttermilk with ½ teaspoon salt and fresh ground black pepper. When the beets are done, remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Add the lettuce and beets to the dressing and lightly toss. Taste and add additional salt or pepper if desired and serve.

Garage Sale May 1-2 to Benefit

Overlooked No Longer

Come on by to Wendy Miller’s home where she is hosting a garage sale Friday and Saturday, May 1-2. Proceeds benefit Overlooked No Longer, a mission outreach to girls and boys in the Garhwal Himalaya Mountains of India. David and Esther at House of Grace provide loving foster care to children recovering from trauma and needing nurturing for personal growth. Please contact Wendy at (209) 707-6249 if you questions. Her address is 6736 Lynch Ave, Riverbank  95367. Drop by and take a look to show that “These precious children are overlooked no longer!”

“Then Hagar called the name of the LORD who spoke to her

El-Roi, You-Are-God-Who-Sees,

for she said, ‘Have I also here seen Him who sees me?’”

                                                                            Genesis 16:13

Spring Salad…

This time of year, we have the perfect combination of vegetables for a crisp salad. We’re picking the first of our cucumbers, radishes and it’s still cool enough for our lettuce. Add some fresh herbs like dill, chives and parsley for a fresh flavor combination.

Mixed Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette 

1 tablespoon lemon juice    

2 tablespoons olive oil         

1 tablespoon minced

onion or garlic cheese             

1/8 teaspoon salt                   

3-4 cups mixed greens,              

    washed and chopped          

3 radishes, sliced

1 cucumber, sliced

1/4 cup crumbled bleu or goat cheese

1/4 cup chopped,  toasted walnuts

Salt and freshly ground pepper

* Combine lemon juice, minced onion, salt and olive oil, whisking together in a large bowl or shake together in a mason jar.  Add the salad ingredients into the mixing bowl and toss with the dressing to coat everything.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and fresh ground pepper if needed.  Eat right away. 

Metaphors of Soul and Soil…

Waiting is Like a Rose Bud Unfolding

Cindi J Martin

After the many grey and winter-like days, I was anxious to see color in the garden again.  Walking toward the arbor to look closely at the budding roses, I felt compelled to pull one open to enjoy its beauty, yet I knew I would ruin the emerging bloom if I forced the petals apart. I restrained myself from even touching the bud, knowing my impatience would interfere with its growth and damage the beautiful blossom.

Later, I considered my initial impulse. I thought of times when I had forced things to happen and saw the damage I had done to others and myself. God’s ways are gentle, not mine. His patient process of slow unfolding excels anything I can do by force or by “trying harder.”  Sometimes “trying softer” is required.  This means waiting expectantly for God to do gently what  my restive strength attempts impulsively. 

That truth creates in me a restful confidence to do my part, to let others do theirs, and then to wait expectantly for God to do His in His time and His way.  I am humbled by how God faithfully demonstrates blessings of waiting on Him to unfold His Life and work in mine, which is like a rose bud unfolding. Ten years ago, Wellspring Charitable Gardens grew out of a terribly tense waiting period imposed by physical limitations and health challenges my husband and I were enduring.  We could no longer manage our three-acre ranch and were tempted to sell and move on. Then the idea for creating a Community Supported Agriculture project (CSA) unfolded in my mind. We could repurpose the pastures used for equine assisted psychotherapy and into fields for growing vegetables and fruit. We would donate the proceeds to support and continue the work of the Wellspring counseling programs.

Sustainability meant recruiting volunteers to help manage costs and shoulder a share of the physical work we could not do alone. Visionary subscribers were needed to invest in the start-up and support the work’s ongoing operation.  Now, ten years later, we are awed by the terrific team of volunteers, subscribers, and donors whom God has raised to support and sustain this garden work in soil and soul. Every day we see marvelous growth in buds, blossoms, and human beings who are blessed by God’s faithful unfolding of beauty in our lives and work.

A Rose by no other means unfolds so beautifully