Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - November 5, 2026

Fresh Today… Kale, Delicata Squash, Napa Cabbage, Carrots, Summer Squash, Salad Mix, Eggplant, Basil, Parsley, Chives, Edible Flowers, Popcorn, Persimmons & Pomegranates

Using your Produce… by Chef Julie Moreno

Raw kale salads take advantage of the hearty leafy green, allowing us to prepare it ahead of time and then enjoy later, similar to coleslaw. Massaging kale breaks down its tough fibers, making the leaves softer and more tender. 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. Feel free to mix and match other fruit and cheeses with what you have on hand, feta or goat cheese would work well too.

Massaged Kale Salad

with Toasted Nuts,

Dried Cherries & Parmesan

1 bunch kale (lacinato or curly),

    thinly sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

½ tsp salt

1 tsp 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 tsp 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 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.

A Sweet Match:  Delicata Meets Fuyu

Here is a tasty suggestion for using your Delicata squash and Fuyu persimmons together. Line a small toaster oven pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Peel your Delicata squash and slice it from stem to tip lengthwise. Scoop out the stringy innards, saving seeds for roasting if desired.  Turn the two squash sides flesh down. With a long knife, slice both at the same time (or one at a time) into thin half inch slices.  Place them flesh down on the prepared pan.  Now cut your persimmons into half inch slices and then again into half circles. Toss all in cooking spray or olive oil and set flesh side down next to the squash.  Bake in a 400°- 420°F oven for 30-40 minutes, turning once and checking for doneness so they are tender and brown, but not burned.  Add butter and cinnamon to marry the sweet pair before serving. Enjoy warm as a side or cool as snack!

Fuyu Persimmons…

Fuyu Persimmons are the firm variety of persimmons that can be eaten like an apple. I like to dry them in my dehydrator for snacks. You can also cook them like this recipe for a crisp.

Fuyu Persimmon Crisp

4-6 Fuyu persimmons, cut                   

         into 1/2” cubes,                                

3-4 cups (peeled if desired)                   

2 Tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)                

½ teaspoon vanilla extract                     

¼ cup tightly packed brown sugar     

1 teaspoon ground ginger                     

½ teaspoon cinnamon                            

Pinch of kosher salt                                 

Topping:

½ cup finely chopped almonds

¼ cup flour

¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats

¼ cup tightly packed brown sugar

Pinch kosher salt

3 Tbsp melted unsalted butter

2 Tbsp water

Glass baking dish, 8 inches × 8 inches

* Preheat oven to 350 °F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the persimmons, lemon zest, juice and vanilla extract, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the chopped almonds, flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter and the water and stir until mixture looks crumbly. Add the fruit mixture to the glass baking dish and spread the oat topping evenly across the persimmons.  Bake until the topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Pruning

Cindi J Martin

The tangle of bare grape vines growing in the garden needs pruning. I shudder in sorrow whenever I face this annual task. How do I muster courage to sever branches once covered in lovely leaves shading sweet grapes? The courage comes from experience and faith. With practice I have learned which branches to remove and which to prune. I have seen the benefit of the prior season’s pruning on the coming season’s producing, but I still muster courage to endure the loss that is worth the gain. I know the blessing in severe pruning, so I look forward to new growth. Today, though, life hangs in the balance, and branches hang suspended between the sharp blades of the shears.

Remaining productive while growing older also demands severe pruning. It’s not merely snipping a twig here or a leaf there – like foregoing a floral bouquet for the table, not attending a summer evening concert, or declining a Sunday afternoon picnic. It’s severing entire limbs that once bore delightful fruit. My strength waning, I forego preparing extravagant daily meals, hosting weekly get-togethers, serving on multiple committees monthly.  The fruit of these efforts once brought me joy through purpose, encouraged others, and made my life and work meaningful. Now looking closely at my own aged and barren branches, I see a tangle of loss and I shudder in sorrow.

Despite my grieving, I have learned to trust the Lord of the Shears. His careful cuts encourage the growth of good fruit. When the Lord looks closely at our lives, He will, in season, cut back once productive limbs that we ourselves would never choose to remove. Pruning ALWAYS hurts, but when I place my limbs into His capable hands, I can be assured He will redirect my strength into the choicest branches remaining, so they continue to bear sweet fruit. Are you entering a painful season of pruning? Do you feel your life-branches suspended between the blades of the shears? Faith in The Ever-Faithful Vine Master will give you courage to endure the loss and wait confidently for the next season of sweet and satisfying growth.

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit…. Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless is abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”   John 15:2, 4-5