Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - October 22, 2026

Oct 22

4 min read

Fresh Today… Pie Pumpkins, Delicata Squash, Napa Cabbage, Summer Squash, Red Romaine Lettuce, Carrots, Peppers, Eggplant, Cucumbers, Garlic, Basil, Chives, Popcorn & Pomegranates

Using your Produce… by Chef Julie Moreno

With our cool weather, I am ready for a warm soup. This Asian inspired soup is simple and fast. The Napa cabbage provides a balance of sweet and bitter. You can add chicken or tofu for added protein. By cooking the white stems separate from the leafy section, the cabbage won’t become mushy. Finish the soup with toasted sesame oil and chives for a fresh and flavorful garnish.

Napa Cabbage Egg Drop Soup

1 medium head Napa cabbage

1 tablespoon oil

2 garlic cloves chopped

1 tablespoon ginger, chopped

½ tsp coarse sea salt

3-4 cups chicken broth or stock

1 teaspoon soy sauce

3 large eggs

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

¼ cup sliced chives

* Cut the Napa cabbage, separating the white stems from the leaves. Chop the stems and the leaves separately. In a large soup pot heat the oil, add the garlic and ginger, sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the Napa cabbage stems and sauté for 1 minute. Pour-in the chicken stock and soy sauce, the bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage leaves and cook about 3 minutes more. Whisk the eggs. While the soup is gently simmering, slowly drizzle the eggs into the soup in a swirling motion. Let the eggs cook for a few seconds before stirring. Drizzle in sesame oil and chives. Serve right away.

Fall Décor from WCG

Fall begins a seasonal frenzy of decorating for harvest festivals, family feasts, and holiday celebrations. To help you create the perfect celebration ambience, we are offering WCG corn stalks and colorful pumpkins. Text orders to Keith at 209-607-1896. We’ll set you up to celebrate the seasons!

Pricing of Fall Decorations:

Bundle of 7 corn stalks without popcorn ears - $7.00

Bundle of 7 corn stalks with edible popcorn ears - $20.00

Sweet Sugar Pie Pumpkins - $1.50 each

Small White Decorative Pumpkins - $2.00 each

Small Orange Decorative Pumpkins - $1.00 each

Large Green Decorative Pumpkins, Jarrahdale - $0.60 per lb.

Large Orange decorative Pumpkins - $0.40 per lb.

Winter Squash…

The main difference between winter and summer squash is that winter squash takes longer to mature and ends up with a thicker skin. For most winter squash we remove the skin, but you can eat Delicata and Acorn Squash skins. In this recipe, I like to cut the squash into slices then remove the seeds, so that you have ring shaped pieces.

Roasted Delicata Squash

1-2 Delicata squash cut into

rings, seeds removed

1-2 teaspoons honey, maple

syrup or sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oil

½ fresh or dried thyme

or rosemary

fresh ground black pepper

* Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Slice the squash into rings or half-moons and remove any seeds. Place the rings in a large bowl and toss with the honey, salt, pepper, oil and herbs. Place the vegetables on an oiled baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until tender.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Unexpected Strength

Cindi J & Keith F Martin

We trellis our cucumbers to shape and support their growth. Their serpentine vines reach up from the soil and wend their way through hog panels Zip-tied to T-posts driven deep into the firm clay below their fertile beds. Suspended and secure above ground, cucumbers thrive where gravity and tension shape them out of reach of harmful pests and damp soil. Their leaves are yellowing now and will soon go brown, dry out, and drop to the soil below. Warm autumn weather still encourages their growth, so we have not yet pulled their aging vines or removed their steel supports. Searching the rows for cucumbers overlooked at harvest, I discovered an heirloom pumpkin hanging with the common cucumbers.

This deep green heirloom pumpkin has dense orange flesh. It’s ideal for roasting, pulping, filling pies, or carving at Halloween. I wondered how its seed got mixed with the cucumber seeds. I marveled at the strength of its delicate vine and stem clinging undaunted to the slender steel rods. It had become something beautiful, substantial, desirable, and yet vulnerable suspended high above ground. I then learned the secret of its intrepid high-wire act. It was not just vine and stem supporting its ponderous weight; the lone pumpkin had grown its rotund form through and around the hog panel’s hardened steel rods.

There are times we get planted in places we don’t naturally fit. We are shaped differently and stand out like a pumpkin among cucumbers. We think it beyond our strength to grow, much less flourish, surrounded by others so disparately shaped. Out of place and feeling alone, we succumb easily to bleak resignation or even despair, and then withdraw, especially when we grew up hearing that we were weak – meaning undesirable and unworthy – when we needed support and reached out for help in hard times.

Yet, only in reaching out do we find support trellises to wend our way through. Like the lone pumpkin, we can muster unexpected strength to do what we never thought possible – fit in, hold on, and grow. What trellises might you grow into for support? Yes, it takes strength to grow and take shape in a precarious place, so hang tight and persevere: a round pumpkin can grow into a square panel. The LORD is your trellis, a steadfast support in times of trouble.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous!

Do not be terrified nor dismayed,

for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9