Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - July 16, 2026

Fresh Today… Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Bell Peppers, Baby Carrots, Garlic, Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Lemon Basil, Grapes, Plums & Peaches

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

When our summer produce features tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers, a Greek Salad is a natural combination to use up the weekly harvest. The dressing recipes can be doubled to have on hand for marinating grilled squash and eggplant. Add in some grilled chicken, steak or tofu to make this a meal and serve with fresh bread to soak up the juices from the tomatoes and dressing.

Greek Salad

5-6 cups lettuce, washed and chopped 

1 cucumber, sliced

1 small bell pepper, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

¼ cup sliced red onion

½ cup kalamata olives

½ cup crumbled feta cheese 

Salt and freshly ground pepper 

Dressing:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon dried oregano (or 1

   teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped)

½ teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon salt 

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

*  Combine vinegar, minced garlic, mustard, oregano, honey, salt and pepper, whisking together in a large bowl. Slowly add the oil while whisking.  Add in the remaining ingredients and toss gently to coat everything with the dressing.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and fresh ground pepper if needed.  Eat right away. 

Caprese Salad

I love a recipe where its picture is worth a thousand directions! What can be simpler and more satisfying than Caprese salad? Slice and layer ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, interlace fresh basil leaves, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar of Modena, and finish with sprinkles of flaky sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Done and delicious! You may also enjoy a savory variant of this traditional Italian salad that substitutes smoked provolone cheese for the fresh mozzarella. Either way, you will be serving a culinary masterpiece worthy of a thousand words expressing delight.

Squash Bread…

I love this recipe with lemon for a fresh tangy flavor. You can use any of our summer squash varieties for this recipe. I will sometimes use only the yellow squash, because the vegetables become nearly invisible after cooking. If you have a lot of extra squash, try grating and freezing the squash in portioned plastic bags. Then you’ll have it ready to go to make more zucchini bread later in the year.

Lemon Zucchini Bread

2 cups flour                                  

1 ½ cups sugar                            

½ teaspoon baking soda  

1 teaspoon baking powder       

½ teaspoon salt                              

3 eggs 

2 cups grated zucchini

¾ cups oil

Zest and 2 teaspoons of juice from one lemon

*  Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate large bowl beat the eggs and add in the zucchini, oil and lemon juice and zest, mix well. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix gently to moisten. Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul . . .

The Parable of Soils?

Cindi J & Keith F Martin

The Parable of The Sower and the Seed could be called The Parable of Soils.  Jesus describes various soils - hard soil, rocky soil, crowded soil, good soil – and how they impact growth. Seed sown onto hard soil cannot penetrate, so birds snatch it away before it can start growing. Seed sown on rocky soil starts to grow but is short-lived; shallow roots can neither firmly anchor nor long sustain growth; seed sown among thorns and weeds grows but soon gets crowded and choked out.  Seed sown onto good soil – hospitable, nurturing, sustaining soil - receives all it needs to root, grow, mature, and bring forth abundant fruit. Our gifted gardeners have taught me that hard soil, rocky soil, and crowded soil can, with careful conditioning, become good soil. That’s encouraging since Jesus likens the various soils to conditions of the heart and the capacity to accept the Word of God. 

Years ago we planted Dahlias to beautify the gardens and our subscribers’ tables.  Dahlias are lovely but demanding flowers. To satisfy their preferences, we amended our dense clay soil with gypsum, bone meal, and steer manure.  Gypsum, a mineral found  layered in sedimentary rock, loosens and aerates compacted soil. Bone meal provides nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium that strengthen plant roots. Steer manure introduces microorganisms and organic nutrients that keep soil and plants healthy. Essential amendments restructure and recondition soil so that it welcomes and nourishes seed. Good soil resists compaction, facilitates penetration, and provides nutrition for plants to mature and bear fruit.

People, like plants, have preferred soils.  Do you know the conditions that most invigorate your physical, emotional, and spiritual growth? Are there hard places of your heart that remain impenetrable to the Life and  Word of Jesus, any rocks that obstruct your roots, any thorns or weeds that crowd out growth and fruits of the Spirit? What amending of your “heart soil” would encourage healthy, sustainable growth? May we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand how to amend our hearts so we become hospitable to God’s Word and His indwelling Spirit.

“This was the true Light that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.”  John 1:9-13