Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - December 12, 2024

Fresh Today… Cauliflower, Kale, Broccoli, Delicata Squash, Butternut Squash, Salad Mix, Spinach, Watermelon Radishes, Carrots, Celery, Parsley, Chives, Lemons & Pomegranates

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

This week we have cauliflower coming. This is such a special vegetable to grow. I don’t think that most people know how much space it takes and that each plant only will produce one head. And, that it takes 4-5 months to grow. The cauliflower that we are harvesting this week was seeded in July, grows throughout the fall, and then once we cut the head, the plant is done. Cauliflower has a mild flavor, which is why it is used for things like pizza crust and as a rice substitute. I like to keep things simple and season it up with lots of herbs. If you want to have a low carb alternative to pasta, try topping this dish with meat marinara sauce. It’s delicious.

Italian Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

2 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

* Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place cauliflower florets in a large bowl and top with the oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and cheese; toss thoroughly.  Pour the seasoned cauliflower out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

WCG Pickin’ Crew Celebrating Christmas

Gathered here is more than your amazing WCG Pickin’ Crew; they are  Chefs Extraordinaire who transformed ordinary garden produce into an extraordinary Christmas Feast. We dined on fresh vegetable appetizers with meats and cheeses and herb dips, garden fresh salads, minestrone and butternut squash soups, artisan breads - Rosemary flat bread, sour dough, focaccia, German Pretzel Brötchen (rolls) with Swiss cheese - and desserts nonpareil: chocolate covered caramels, cherry pudding cake, lemon bars, and Ferrara Rocher chocolate. They do Christmas feasting right!

It was so good to gather outside the garden around Wendy’s bountiful table to enjoy the fruits (vegetables & herbs) of our labor! Wendy spoke beautiful words of encouragement and blessing over each crew member. Cindi shared the history, mission, and vision of WCG and WCM. We sang carols – O Come Emanuel & Joy to the World – and caroled garden parodies – We Three Crowns (of Broccoli are) and Carrot Tales (Jingle Bells revised). Fun, fellowship, and delicious food were enjoyed by all. How grateful and blessed we are! Thank you all, God bless you all, & Merry Christmas!

WCG Pickin’ Crew, right to left: Claudia Kuypers, Julianne Kummer, Melinda Felty, Cynthia Herrera, Debbie Wellman, Gretta Bruno, Patty Mayfield, Amber Costen, Wendy Miller, Cindi Martin, Pat Molthen, Keith Martin; Not pictured but sorely missed: Anna Hazen, Julie Moreno, Jeanne LaDeaux, Heidi Aufdermaur, Cliff Harper, Brandon Wellman, Ronda Melendez, & Jenny Russell. We love you all! 

Vegetable Dips…

I love to turn vegetables into snack food. This recipe makes a great appetizer to take to a holiday party or just to snack on at lunch time. Serve with veggie sticks for a double dose of vegetables.

Spinach Dip

1 bunch of spinach, washed,

    stems removed, chop the leaves

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon butter or oil

8 ounces cream cheese softened

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon salt

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

Bread, crackers, and vegetables for dipping

* In a large sauté pan, cook the spinach with butter, garlic, salt and pepper, until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Let cool, then place in a strainer, press to remove the excess water. Transfer the spinach to a mixing bowl and stir in the cream cheese and parsley. Serve with bread, crackers and vegetables.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul… 

Unhurried by Design

by Cindi J Martin

Celebrating Advent this year, I can't help but mention the wisdom on display in each season designed by our Great God and Creator. King Solomon said it best:

“There is an appointed time for everything.

And there is a time for every delight under heaven…

He has made everything beautiful in its time...

I know that there is nothing better for them

than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime. Moreover,

that everyone who eats and drinks sees good in his labor -

it is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3)

Those of us who no longer live by the rhythms of planting and harvesting may not slow down during winter to delight in the gifts and the good from our labor. “Oh, but there is wisdom in ‘down time’!” There is a reason God says working six days of the seven-day week is adequate. There is a reason sleeping eight hours in a twenty-four-hour day is sufficient. There is a reason that trees grow faster in some seasons and go dormant in others. Rest is required by design.

I want to live by this ancient wisdom – live by design - especially during Advent, but the season has been anything but restful to me. The dogged demands of Christmas "should do’s" and "have to do's" have always hounded me. Now older, I turn and face these ravenous threats to my peace and joy. We are buying less (Okay, true, we have no grandkids yet :) and visiting friends and family more. We are decorating our home less (Okay, true, only the outside since I’m not allowed to climb a ladder :) and adorning the temple of our souls more. We are making it intentional to pursue an unhurried holiday season.

Whenever I appoint time for an unhurried day during Advent, the rest makes room for rejoicing in the countless good gifts from God. Alan Fadling writes in An Unhurried Life that "...hurry is impulsive, a knee jerk reaction revealing an 'I'm gonna act now because I may never have another chance' mindset. Temptation seeks to shrink the time between impulse and action... In contrast, wisdom calls us to be discerning about our impulses and inclinations. Are they prompted by God's Spirit? Are they the Spirit's leading? Or do they have another source?" I refuse to let those ever-hungry dogs FoMO and FoMU – Fear of Missing Out and Fear of Messing Up - devour my peace and consume my joy in a beautiful season harried by the urgent and the demanding.

Let us designate time for celebrating with family and good friends, for enjoying good food and refreshing drink, and for delighting in the LORD and His Advent! Advent means coming, The LORD’s coming. J R R Tolkien’s Gandalf  in The Fellowship of the Ring tells Frodo, “A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.” As with Jesus, but His Advent is incomparably more important and His Arrival immeasurably more meaningful. He is the only begotten Son of God, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty GOD, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). We at WCG wish all a most joyful Advent and peaceful Christmas as we await the return of the King, Jesus, who first came as an infant.

“For God so loved the world

that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish

but have everlasting life." 

John 3:16