Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - September 10, 2026

Fresh Today… Eggplant, Summer Squash, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Carrots, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Dill, Basil, Limes, Oranges & Melons

Using your Produce… by Chef Julie Moreno

This time of year, we have many varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers ready to pick. In the recipe I included today, I expect you to use all of them. The easy mix is cherry and large tomatoes. Dice the large tomatoes so they are the same size as the cherry tomatoes. For those, you can cut them in half or leave whole if you prefer. For the cucumbers, I prefer to peel the lemon cucumbers. These are the smaller round cucumbers with the yellow skin. The skin is a little prickly and sometimes tough. For the slicing and Armenian cukes, it’s your choice, peel or not. I like to remove the seeds of the cucumbers if they are large. This helps to reduce the amount of liquid that they give off when you add the salt. But if you like the texture, you’re probably getting more fiber and nutrients by leaving them in. Either way, enjoy this recipe before the end of summer.

Tomato-Cucumber Salad

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

     or dried

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed

½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground pepper

3 cups chopped cucumbers, peeled

    and/or seeded if desired

2 cups cubed tomatoes

½ cup mixed olives, chopped

½ cup thinly sliced onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 ounces crumbled feta cheese

* Combine the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl and whisk well. Add in the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onion and basil and toss gently. Pour into a serving bowl and top with the feta cheese. 

Cucumber Melon Salad

1-2 Armenian Cucumbers

1 personal size Cantaloupe, Honeydew or Watermelon

1-2 Tbsp fresh basil 

1-2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 Tbsp honey

Salt to taste and red onion, if desired

Using a large box grater, shred the unpeeled striped or plain green Armenian cucumber and the peeled and seeded melon together.  Whisk together 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 -2 Tbsp of fresh lime juice, 1-2  tsp honey.  Add a pinch of sea salt.  Taste and add more lemon juice and salt to taste.  Refrigerate until serving.  Top with fresh basil just before serving.

Sautéed Green Beans…

In this green bean recipe, we cook the beans first in boiling water. This adds a separate step but helps the beans cook evenly before sauteing. I add the garlic after the beans are cooked so that it is less likely to burn. Add the basil at the end, just before serving.

Green Beans with Garlic and Basil

1-pound fresh green beans,    

    ends removed                        

2 tablespoons olive oil                      

2–3 cloves garlic, thinly            

   sliced or minced grated         

1/2 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves,

chopped or torn

Squeeze of lemon juice or

Parmesan to finish

* Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and cook for 2–3 minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Drain again and pat dry. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add green beans, toss and sauté for 3–5 minutes until beans are warmed through and lightly blistered in spots. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for about 1 minute until

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Living with Manure

Cindi J Martin

The picture right below does not truly capture the size of that weed growing in poop fallen from the chicken coop. I thought it was “volunteer corn” at first; then I realized it was just a common weed growing in soil enriched by avian supplements… well, excrements. I couldn’t help but compare it to its leaner brother struggling nearby in poor, un-dunged soil. The weeds reminded me of Jesus’ parable of the soils.

Good soil is often full of…, well, manure, but not just any manure, mind you. Fresh manure burns the heck out of most plants trying to grow in it (except stinging nettle, but that’s a metaphor for another day). Manure that nourishes life must be well-rotted or aged. We know any metaphor breaks down, ultimately, and I certainly don’t want to stretch this one to its breaking point (I am, after all, illustrating Jesus’ parable of soils with the growth of weeds!), but whenever I complain about my stinkin’ rotten sinful flesh (or that of others), I should remember that flesh crucified with Christ wonderfully transforms and enriches the poor soil of the heart.

I don’t know why God allows so much time on earth for our sanctification process - something about the wheat and tares (weeds), I recall - but I do know that fresh manure - manure that would burn and destroy life - needs time to mellow and mature before it becomes nutrient-rich fertilizer that can amend soil and cause things to grow a hundred-fold. There must be something powerful and lasting, even beautiful, in a transformation process that takes place over time in a mess; it’s similar to what happens to weeds when poop from the coop hits the farm.

Enduring the LORD’s slow but deliberate transformation process provides a glimpse into the essential nature of God Himself – He is devoted, determined, and undeterred. In His good time, He manages the manure of our lives and turns it into good soil in our hearts. Every trial, temptation, affliction, and wound that we trustingly surrender to God - yield to His gentle care - transforms a burning sorrow into rich soil for growth that produces bountiful harvests and everlasting fruit.

“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”    Hebrews 12:11