Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - May 9, 2024
Fresh Today… Broccoli, Artichokes, Romaine and Butter Lettuces, Snap Peas, Fava Beans, Carrots, Beets, Salad Turnips, Red Radishes, Spring Onions, Parsnips, Dill, Cilantro, Oregano, Lemon Balm, & Grapefruit
Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno
This week we have fava beans available. They are only around for a few weeks and then they are gone until next year. We are lucky to have the right climate to grow them over the winter. The entire pod is edible, but we usually just eat the beans inside. The easiest way to cook them is to grill or roast the whole pod and then serve the beans at the table and let everyone peel their own beans as they eat them, with their fingers. When the beans are young, you can get away without peeling each bean, but as they get older the skins can have a strong flavor. In this recipe I like to shell the beans and then peel each one before adding to the soup.
Spring Fava Bean and Pasta Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
Salt and pepper
1-2 pounds fava beans shelled
and skins removed
1 cup small cut pasta, like macaroni
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
Chives, sliced
Fresh herbs, chopped
Shaved Parmesan cheese
* In a large soup pot heat the oil over medium heat, add the oil, garlic, carrots and fennel, season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir occasionally until the vegetables are soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the fava beans, pasta, water and salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until the pasta is cooked. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with fresh herbs and shaved Parmesan cheese.
Clamshell Containers and Egg Cartons
Our "Can You Spare a Clamshell Container?" campaign has been a rousing success! Thank you to all who collected and returned clamshell containers to restock our supply. We are now ready for the coming harvest of sweet cherries and delicate cherry tomatoes that we so enjoy. You have ensured they will have first-class travel accommodations for the trip from our farm to your table. Regrettably, the more durable veggies and fruit will still be packed like sardines into their usual purple coach seating - eggs excepted. Happily, they still get peanuts on their trip.
The chickens are having a cow! (Pardon the mixed metaphor.). They saw some 18-egg cartons on the farm and have threatened to fly the coup in protest. In this era of “shrinkflation” they were expecting the new 9-eggs per dozen cartons now found in most groceries. Negotiations were intense, but for your sake and breakfasts, we did not roll over like an egg. We countered their 9-eggs per dozen carton proposal with one for a “baker’s dozen” carton. After a brief farm therapy session with the “ladies,” Cindi was able to unruffle their feathers and they agreed to continue laying eggs to fill the industry standard 12-eggs per dozen carton as long as they never again see 18-egg cartons on the farm. Should 18-egg cartons reappear, we will be in breach of contract and WCG will be deemed a “hostile farm environment.” The new agreement takes effect once we have signed the FOUL contract – Farm Organizers and Union Layers.
Butter Lettuce for Wraps…
Butter lettuce leaves are great for making Asian lettuce cups or wraps. Just remove the core, then gently wash and dry each leaf. Fill them full with your favorite toppings or try this recipe with peanut sauce.
Asian Lettuce Cups
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tsp honey or sugar
1 tsp Siracha chili sauce
1 garlic clove, grated
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp water
1 lb. ground chicken or turkey
1 tbsp oil
½ tsp salt
½ cup onion minced
2 carrots, shredded
4 radishes, diced
Butter Lettuce Leaves
¼ cup peanuts crushed
* Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter, honey, Siracha, garlic, and ginger until well combined. Add the water one tablespoon at a time, then set aside while preparing the filling. Heat oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add ground chicken and salt, cooking until some pieces are starting to brown. Add onion and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the carrots and radishes. Stir in the sauce until evenly coated. Serve the filling in lettuce leaves topped with the crushed peanuts.
Metaphors of Soil and Soul . . .
Grape Leaves
by Ronda May Melendez
& Keith F Martin
The last few weeks, I have made an effort to be mindful of the good the Lord has brought into our lives – mountain winds, Sierra snowfalls, refreshing rains, warm sunlight, and soil-rooted vines whose branches unfold tender leaves toward the embrace of the warm spring sun.
Watching the grape leaves form has been most delightful and inspiring. The first leaf buds timidly appeared weeks ago, spread along the branches, and then boldly unfolded into a vast and efficient solar array. Though fragile and delicate, the foliage houses a sustainable source of green energy for the plant. The leaves convert sunlight into food that nourishes and strengthens the vine whose branches will soon support sweet grapes swaddling the nascent seeds of their future. Initially, the leaves drew their energy and strength from the root system; now they return the favor by supplying food and energy that extends and anchors the vine and its roots. With time, the leaves will develop into a broad canopy to shade its vine, fruit, and seeds from the searing summer heat. Later, when harvested and wrapped around lemon infused rice, onion, and lamb, the leaves will enfold dolma that pleases the eye, delights the tongue, and satisfies the appetite. Finally, they will nourish with minerals (iron, calcium), vitamins (A, K), protein, and fiber the very life that cultivates, trellises, and prunes its vine for new and abundant growth.
Grape leaves remind me of Jesus’ teaching recorded in John’s gospel. We find our Source of energy (Light), our being (Life), and our nourishment (Word) abiding in Christ. His Light, Life, and Word transform, strengthen, and sustain us, making us a delight for Himself and a blessing for others. What a sweet and inspiring relationship a concerted effort unfolds for our good!
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing…. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” John 15
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