Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - January 25, 2024
Fresh Today… Beets, Turnips, Spinach, Carrots, Cabbage, Kale, Butterhead Lettuce, Green Onions, Cilantro, Rosemary, Meyer & Eureka Lemons, Blood & Navel Oranges, & Grapefruit
Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno.
The giant carrots in our baskets needed a feature recipe, so here is my Carrot-Ginger Soup. You can combine the white and red carrots with the orange ones if you like. I’m not sure if the purple will drastically change the color, but it will still taste good. The pigments in our purple vegetables are water soluble and will sometimes degrade in the heat of cooking. I have been experimenting with the cauliflower and have found the color to stay. When peeling off the outer layer of red in a red carrot, the pretty red is lost. I also know that our purple green beans will lose all the purple pigment when steamed, so no one will know the difference if they didn’t see it happen.
Carrot-Ginger Soup
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
dash ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups water
2 tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped (parsley, chives, cilantro or dill)
* In a large pot, sauté the onions in oil over medium heat, cook for about 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, cayenne and salt. Stir for a minute and add the carrots and 4 cups water. Heat the water until boiling. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until the carrots are soft. Blend with an immersion blender and taste. Season with salt and pepper if needed and serve with fresh herbs.
Shedding Voluntears…
Help Needed! Want to get your hands dirty, enjoy nature, and learn more about gardening? We have that opportunity for you! Join us on Thursdays and become a member of the Wellspring crew who picks, prepares, and packs our fresh vegetables for delivery. We gather at 8:30 AM, have a devotional, and then set off into the fields to harvest. We usually finish picking and packing by noon. Of course, all work and no play make volunteering a dull task, so we laugh and talk and share our hearts and lives generously. If you are longing for connection and looking for a place to grow, join the Wellspring Garden Pickin’ Crew to get your hands dirty and your heart restored!
Besides taking applications for volunteers, we are also looking for a paid staff person who can work 12 to 16 hours a week on Mondays and Thursdays. Do you know someone who enjoys gardening, seeks rewarding part-time work, and who is willing to work in all weather conditions? Please have them call Cindi at 209-607-1887. Help!
Help us if you can, we’re feeling down
And we do appreciate your coming ‘round
Help us get our veggies out the ground
Won't you please, please help us!
Vegetable Spreads…
I found this recipe years ago and continue to use it. It uses the natural pectin from the lemon rind to thicken the spread. If you are wondering how to serve it, this marmalade is perfect spread on crackers along with goat cheese.
Beet Marmalade (adapted from liveearthfarm.net)
3 medium–large beets
1 teaspoon salt
1 small lemon, cut into quarters, seeds removed
3/4 cup sugar
* Cut leaves off beets, leaving 1-inch of stems on root ends. Wash beets thoroughly. In a medium saucepan add the beets, salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until beets are easily pierced with a knife – this can be anywhere from 35-60 minutes depending on the size of the beets. Drain the beets and allow them to cool slightly before peeling them with your hands or a small paring knife. Cut the beets into large chunks, put them in a food processor with the lemon quarters, and process until coarsely chopped, or mash by hand. Transfer beet-lemon mixture to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir in the sugar. Set the pan over medium heat, cover, and cook, stirring often, until the marmalade has thickened a little. This will take about 3-5 minutes. The marmalade will thicken as it cools.
Metaphors of Soil and Soul…
Seeds, No Doubt
by Cindi J Martin
Elizabeth Elliott, wife of missionary Jim Elliott who was killed by Auca (Waorani) tribesmen of Ecuador, is quoted as saying, “Don’t dig up in doubt what you have planted in faith.” These are wise words to consider during the dark and seemingly dead days of winter. When our hopes and dreams, like the days, grow cold and show no signs of life above ground, it is easy to doubt, or even despair, that seed buried in hope still holds promise. Our efforts appear futile; the seed planted have not produced expected results as soon as we had hoped. Perhaps you imagine yourself in another season of life as this new year begins. Have you been feeling withering heat in your life? Does the seed you have sown seem scorched or to have gone up in smoke?
When our expectations go unmet, we too often and too easily become discouraged, even stop believing, the seed we have planted in faith can grow. We are tempted to dig the seed up or to remove them from the heat so we can see what has gone wrong. Master Gardeners, however, tell us to not disturb the seed but continue to nurture the planted seed and wait patiently. They need time to fully develop their roots in the dark underground. They also remind us that there are seeds that need heat to germinate. The majestic California Sequoia produces cones that require fire to open and release their seed to the fertile ground. I love what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:3-5 about the attitude to take when we encounter dark or fiery trials; he encourages us to stay the course and endure in faith, the very same faith, by which we planted:
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”
In a remarkable demonstration of courage and character, Elizabeth Elliott and Rachel Saint, whose brother also died in the Auca attack, learned the Waorani language of the Auca and went to live with the tribesmen to nurture the precious seed planted by their loved ones. Like seeds, we develop strength, character, and sustaining roots when we stay the course and endure the dark or heat of adversity.
