Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - October 8, 2026

Fresh Today… “Summer” Squash, Eggplant, Sweet Peppers, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil, Rosemary, Chives, Melons, Popcorn, Fuyu Persimmons & Sweet Pie Pumpkins

Using your Produce… by Chef Julie Moreno

I use my dehydrator frequently this time of year. It works unattended at a low temperature to preserve the harvest. I like to dehydrate tomatoes and herbs to have on hand in the winter. I also use it to make kale chips in the winter and these squash chips in the summer. You can use any variety of summer squash. If you have a mandolin slicer, it will come in handy, if not, just try to make the slices even. They might take longer to cook, but they will cook in about the same time. Variation in the thickness will cause the thick chips to cook slower and the thin ones to become too hard. Feel free to add extra spices to this recipe, like chili powder or curry powder, to your taste. If you don’t have a dehydrator, use the lowest temperature on your oven. You will need to reduce the time and keep an eye on them until you learn how long they take in your oven.

“Summer” Squash Chips

2-4 large zucchini or summer squash

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

* Slice the squash thin, about 1/8 inch. Place the slices in a large bowl and sprinkle with the seasonings and oil. Mix gently. Place the slices in a single layer in a dehydrator or in a low oven at 225°F for 1-2 hours until crisp. In a dehydrator set at 135°F they will take about 8-10 hours.

Roasted Eggplant with Tomato,

Feta, Garlic, and Herbs 

Cindi J Martin

This roasted eggplant dish features eggplant sliced lengthwise and fanned out. Done in about 35 minutes, the tender, juicy eggplant is roasted on parchment paper or a lightly oiled pan in a toaster oven or conventional oven set at 420 degrees.

* Cut an Italian Globe eggplant in half lengthwise.  Start at the “neck” of the eggplant and moving from right to left, slice ¼ inch lengths from top to bottom while leaving about ¼ inch from the neck edge uncut so the long slices can fan out without breaking. Slice tomatoes in half and then slice with cut side down.  Place two slices of tomato between each slice of eggplant.  Brush top lightly with olive oil, salt lightly, and bake at 420 deg. for 20 minutes. While baking, chop 1tbsp. basil & parsley, 1 tsp. rosemary & thyme, one minced or pressed garlic clove, 1 tsp. lemon zest, ¼ tsp. dried chili flakes, salt, and pepper; then stir together with one tablespoon of olive oil.  After eggplant and tomatoes bake for 20 minutes, brush with herb mixture and crumble 4 oz. of feta on top.  Bake 10-15 min. more until the feta is slightly browned. Enjoy!

Roasted Peppers…

Roasting peppers brings out their sweetness and gives them a smoky, rich flavor. You can use this method with any of the peppers. I like to make large batches and have them ready to go. There are three common methods for roasting - oven, broiler/barbecue, and over a stovetop gas burner. Oven roasting is best for large batches, the broiler gives you more intense heat so keep an eye on them, and the stovetop is good for one or two peppers. Oven roast at 450°F or broil on high heat. To cook on the stovetop, place a pepper directly on the flame and turn with tongs frequently, until blackened. Once the peppers are charred, place them in covered bowl or plastic bag to steam for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins and discard them with the stems and seeds. Store peeled roasted peppers in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Try packing in extra-virgin olive oil with garlic cloves, consume within a week. Use the peppers on sandwiches, in pasta dishes, over rice, or in salads.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…  

Reflection on (Im)Perfection

Keith F Martin

We thought of replacing all imperfect produce from our fields with more attractive product purchased from Perfection Farms, Inc. On second thought, we thought better, though we have noticed some WCG vegetables and fruit bear “slight” blemishes that give them a rather “seedy” appearance. We regret our produce with modest imperfections in shape, surface, or color do not perfectly portray Plato’s Ideal Forms of The Carrot, The Tomato, or The Squash that he describes in his renowned “Cave Metaphor.” Obviously, these imperfect specimens perfectly reveal the shadowy nature of visible reality Plato describes (By the way, what is the Ideal Form of a vegetable called “The Squash”?).

Aesthetic variability (Homeliness?) is unavoidable in our imperfect vegetable garden world. Visual differences unabashedly show the natural effects of sun, soil, and water on the appearances. At WCG, we see these imperfections as nature-born “beauty marks.” They are superficial blemishes proudly declaring their tree-, soil-, or vine-ripened goodness. Confucius, or was it Bruce Lee, aptly expressed our attitude toward preferences based on looks alone: “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” The wisdom in his aphorism reveals the heart of the matter.

Yes, industrial farms have perfected techniques – GMOs, pesticide spraying, early picking, culling undesirables, warehouse ripening, waxing – for providing flawless looking produce, but that polished surface often comes at a steep cost – diminished taste. Perfection Farms provides a perfect pebble, not a real diamond in the rough. Have you tasted a store-bought tomato lately? It seduces the eye but sorely disappoints the tongue. It’s better suited for a still life painting than a real-life bacon, lettuce & tomato sandwich.

We at WCG do hope your produce preferences also bend more toward superior taste rather than pleasing appearance. We also trust that you will thoroughly enjoy any rough “diamond” you unpack from your Purple Bag and serve at your family table. If you do not, please promptly inform us so we may replace those undesirables with something more satisfying and flavorful from our gardens. We thank you for your generous support and your preference for superior quality that is not merely skin deep.

"For the Lord sees not as man sees:

man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart.”   1 Samuel 16:7