Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - February 19, 2026

Fresh Today… Cauliflower, Carrots, Swiss Chard, Mini Head Lettuce, Salad Mix, Peas, Rutabaga, Dill, Parsley, Edible Flowers, Lemons & Tangerines

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

This week our kale is going to get a massage. Massaging kale breaks down its tough fibers, making the leaves softer and more tender when eating raw. It also reduces bitterness, especially when combined with salt and acid. As the texture relaxes, the kale absorbs dressing more effectively instead of it sitting on the surface. You can use either lacinato or curly kale. In this recipe the dried fruit, cheese and nuts complement the bitterness of the kale for a complete mouthfeel sensation.

Massaged Kale Salad

1 bunch kale (lacinato or curly), thinly sliced

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey

¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts or chopped almonds

¼ cup dried fruit (cherries, cranberries or currants)

¼ cup freshly shaved Parmesan or Romano cheeses

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

* Place the sliced kale in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice, olive oil and salt.  Massage the mixture with your fingers until all of the kale is well-coated and looks a bit darker in color.  Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to coat. Give it a taste and add more salt and pepper, if desired. Let it sit 30 minutes, if possible, then serve.

“No! No! We Won’t Grow with GMO!” 

We share your concern and good taste. You expect your produce to be fresh, healthy, tasty, and natural, so that is what we plant, cultivate, and deliver to you, our subscribers. We do not defer to the powers that be but bow before the Power Who Is and grow by design naturally. Seeds we plant come from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, one of nine original signers of the Safe Seed Pledge: “Agriculture and seeds provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundation as a safe and genetically stable source for future generations. For the benefit of all farmers, gardeners, and consumers who want an alternative, we pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants….” We trust you enjoy the fresh produce you receive and hope you will spread the good word about Wellspring Charitable Gardens and Wellspring Counseling Ministries.

What a tangled mess they grow

when they don’t say “No!” to GMO!

More Soup…

                                                                                                                                              The weather is giving us rain; therefore, I am giving you another soup recipe. For cauliflower, make sure that you use all the floret stems and most of the core. I will cut off the most fibrous inch at the bottom of the core and then chop the remaining into small pieces.

Cauliflower Soup

2 tablespoons butter or oil     

½ large onion, chopped                   

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped       

½ teaspoon paprika                  

1 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme                                   

5-6 cups cauliflower, florets, stems

and core coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2-4 cups water

½ cup half & half or cream (option)

¼ cup chopped parsley

* In a large pot, heat the butter, onion and garlic over medium heat until the onion is translucent.  Add the paprika and herbs, stir for one minute.  Add the cauliflower, salt and water, to just cover the cauliflower.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 7-9 minutes.  Turn off the heat and blend with an immersion blender, as desired.  (You can make it more smooth or chunky, or even leave it unblended.)  Stir in the cream and parsley and serve.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Boundaries by Design

Ronda May Melendez & Keith F Martin

Quince is in full bloom, and how beautiful are its blossoms! I wish I could draw near and fully embrace its beauty, but “embracing” isn’t what one does with quince with its long, sharp thorns. Those thorns have purpose. They protect it from aggressors that would harm its blossoms and damage its fruit. Despite its prickliness, when we respect quince’s sharp boundaries and approach carefully, we can enjoy its beauty and delight in its flowers and fruit. 

Quinces make good hedges. They are beautiful but formidable, lovely models for boundaries that recall God’s original design. Boundaries have been from the beginning: Light separated from Dark, Day from Night, Morning from Evening, Water from Land, “Shall” from “Shall Not.”  Boundaries are not consequences of the Fall, but like tilling the ground and birthing babies, they are now sharper and more severe because of it. Boundaries assert that life and beauty are sacred and must be defended.  

Quince’s thorns are arrayed for that very purpose. Painful to careless or aggressive intruders, the thorns guard its fruit bearing, life-sustaining energies, but they aren’t designed to control others. That responsibility falls on the other. Quince discourages no one who desires to get acquainted. It welcomes earnest engagement and shares its beauty and bounty generously. When I approach it with care and respect, I may safely harvest its delicate blossoms to beautify my table or its ripe fruit to prepare a sweet jam. When I ignore or disregard its severe boundaries, I proceed at my own detriment. Quince is unapologetic when enforcing its boundaries. There is pain in every pointed reminder that guards its life and beauty earnestly.  

We can learn much about our design by closely observing God’s creation. Let us, like quince, confidently set and enforce boundaries to protect the beauty and fruit in our lives. Let us urge others to engage and enjoy them with care and self-control. That is LORD God’s design in the beginning and will be until the end. 

“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’ — therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So, He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”     Genesis 3:22-24