Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - August 29, 2024

Fresh this Week… Summer Squash (Yellow Crookneck, Patty Pan, Zucchini), Lemon & Slicing Cucumbers, Green & Purple Beans, Italian Eggplant, Heirloom & Cherry Tomatoes, Chard, Chives, Parsley, Basil, Pluots, Green Apples, Peaches & Melons

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

Homemade creamy tomato basil soup is a comforting classic that blends ripe, juicy tomatoes with fresh basil for a burst of vibrant flavor. The soup’s creamy texture comes from a combination of sautéed onions, garlic, and a touch of milk or half and half, creating a rich, velvety consistency. The dairy will help to balance the sweetness and acidity of the tomatoes, but you can substitute extra-virgin olive oil if desired. If you have an immersion blender, it will make quick work of blending the soup in your cooking pot, but you can use a regular blender. This recipe is perfect for a quick meal served with fresh bread. Garnish with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese for extra flavor.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped, about 1 cup

2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon fresh thyme

5-6 large tomatoes, or 3 cups

cherry tomatoes, cores removed

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

½ cup milk or half and half

2 tablespoons chopped basil

¼ teaspoon fresh ground

black pepper

* In a large saucepan melt the butter and add the onions, garlic, and thyme and salt over medium heat for 4-6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend with an immersion blender. Stir in the milk or half and half, basil and black pepper. Taste for salt, pepper and adjust the consistency with water if needed, serve right away.

Dueling Chefs

Once again, Julie has thrown down the oven mitt to challenge our taste standards. Last week we had dueling recipes, Ratatouille vs. Seared Squash, and this week dueling chefs from comic kitchens, the Disney Arts Kitchen vs. the Looney Tunes Diner. It’s Chef Rat vs. Chef Duck. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, is it a chef? This will be entertaining. I expect great cooking and epic messes! Waiter, there’s a feather in my succotash.

Succotash…

Succotash is a Native American dish traditionally made with the “Three Sisters” - Corn, Beans, and Squash. Nowadays, you might see it with many summer vegetables and lima beans. I put together this recipe to use our summer bounty available right now.

Summer Squash Succotash

2 medium pieces of summer squash,

diced (about 3 cups)

1 cup green beans, ends trimmed,

cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup minced onion

1-2 sweet bell peppers, diced

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 tomatoes, diced

1 ear of corn, kernels removed

¼ cup chopped basil leaves

salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

* In a large sauté pan cook the cubed squash, green beans, garlic, onion, peppers, salt and oil over medium heat, for about 6-7 minutes (add a little water if needed, to keep the garlic from browning). Add the corn and tomatoes, cook about 2 minutes more, until heated through. Stir in the basil. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Eat right away.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Bad Mound Rising

by Cindi J & Keith F Martin

Last week our gopher infestation hit critical mass. Brown mounds had appeared here and there throughout the fields, but we ignored them. We assumed that the lush carrot and beet greens guaranteed a plentiful and sweet yield. What a bitter surprise to find at harvest mound after mound of “gopher dredgings” hidden beneath the lush foliage. Digging deeper, we discovered partially gnawed beets and carrots; then nearby we found empty holes in rows where pepper seedlings had once thrived.

I couldn’t help seeing that life, at times, resembles a gopher infested garden. We walk down well-tended rows admiring the greenery but overlooking the signs of trouble rising to the surface. Mounds rise in our marriages, our parenting, our friendships, our family or work relationships, but we avert our eyes and walk around the dredgings piling up. The mounds seem few and small, at first glance, not enough of a problem to dig into to determine the damage. Why go looking for trouble, right? But trouble is already there, and it’s piling up! Is it worth the risk of checking with a dear friend about a feeling that you may have offended her? Is it worth the effort to look into your concern that the children are misusing social media or the internet? If you ask your spouse about the distance you feel in your marriage, might you discover that he or she is hiding an increasing sense of disillusionment. Is the feeling of distance something to dismiss, or is it too serious to ignore?

We may be fearful of what lies beneath a manicured surface. Digging may expose damage or loss; it may reveal disappointment, discouragement, or disillusionment. In the end, though, the damage will be far worse if we respond to the mound by averting our eyes and ignoring that sign of trouble. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s song Bad Moon Rising conveys a similar caution. I have revised its lyrics for our context and metaphor:

I see the bad mound a-risin’

I see gophers on the way

I see veggies disappearin’

I see bad crops today

Don’t walk around that fright

Well it’s bound to wrack your life

There’s a bad mound on the rise!

I hear gophers gone a-chewin’

I know the beets are goin’ soon

I fear carrots won’t be growin’

I hear the gnawin’ teeth of doom

Don’t walk around that fright

Well it’s bound to wrack your life

There’s a bad mound on the rise!

CCR Bad Moon Rising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiqbJ0Gtb44

God give us strength to confront warning signs with courage, rather than overlook them in fear. Whistling past the gopher mound is no remedy; that merely entertains the rodents as they devour the sweet crop you had hoped to harvest.

“We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,

but of those who believe and are saved.” Hebrews 10:30