Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - September 18, 2025

Fresh Today… Sweet Peppers, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Green Beans, Green Onions, Lettuce Mix, Cucumbers, Swiss Chard, Basil, Oregano, Parsley, a Loofah & Flowers

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

This simple Swiss chard recipe features sautéed chard stems and leaves cooked with garlic, olive oil, and a touch of red pepper flakes, then brightened with fresh lemon juice. It’s quick to prepare and makes a flavorful, healthy side dish. You can elevate it further with a sprinkle of Parmesan or toasted pine nuts. Serve it alongside roasted meats or fish, mix it into pasta or grains, spoon it over creamy polenta, or top it with a fried egg and crusty bread for a satisfying vegetarian meal.

Sautéed Swiss Chard

with Garlic and Lemon

1 large bunch of Swiss chard

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1–2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or

         toasted chopped nuts

* Rinse the Swiss chard well. Separate stems from leaves. Slice stems thinly and chop leaves into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the chopped chard stems and cook until slightly tender, 3–4 minutes. Add chard leaves to the skillet. Toss to coat and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook for another 3–5 minutes, until the leaves are wilted and tender. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the chard. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with Parmesan or pine nuts before serving.

Pardon Me and My Email Rant

Confession is good for the soul and satisfies the palate. I had secretly hoped Julie’s One more summer squash recipe heading meant she had exhausted her squash portfolio, but her seemingly endless cooking experiences with squash moved me to search for other appealing recipes. And wow, they crashed my computer and also looked and sounded delicious - Parmesan Pennies, spendwithpennies.com/roasted-summer-squash; Yellow Squash Tots, babaganosh.org/yellow-squash-tots; and Squash Browns, breakfast fritters, of course - kennethtemple.com/yellow-squash-fritters. Yum! Eat and enjoy before the season or your patience runs out!

One more summer squash recipe…

In this quick recipe the squash is sautéed with garlic and olive oil, then simmered briefly with white wine for extra depth. Fresh tomatoes and basil are added just before serving to keep their flavor bright.

Italian Sautéed Summer Squash and Tomatoes

1-2 medium summer squash, cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine (optional)

2 small tomatoes, diced

¼ cup chopped basil leaves

salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese, grated

* In a large sauté pan cook the cubed squash, garlic, salt and oil over medium heat, for about 3-4 minutes, or until the garlic starts to brown.  Add the white wine and continue cooking uncovered until the wine has evaporated. Add the tomatoes and basil, cook about 2 minutes more until the tomatoes are hot.  Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.  Eat right away.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Blessing in Tears

Cindi J Martin

Current social and political uncertainty makes many of us feel captive to malevolent forces beyond our control.  Perhaps you can relate to the Psalmist who wrote in similarly desperate times, “Restore our captivity (captive ones), O Lord, as the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” The poignant prayer offers wise insight into how to grieve intense loss without losing hope. 

Uncertain, volatile times move us to pray for a return to stability, civility, and safety.  As we seek the LORD and await His restoration, the Psalmist declares that we must live with purpose, despite our distress. We must keep working, carrying our bag of seeds and sowing in hope, if we are to eventually reap a joyful harvest.  He also says tears are natural companions to painful conditions.  Emotional integrity - being honest about our feelings, regardless of how raw - is vital to maintaining our mental, spiritual, and interpersonal well-being during times of grievous loss. If you are among the stoics who fiercely hold back tears, perhaps research findings on the relationship between crying and stress relief will give you courage to let your tears flow when you are hurt or sad, mad or fearful.  Stress stimulates the brain’s production of Cortisol, the hormone that activates the body’s “fight, flight, or freeze” responses to a threat. Studies show that crying REDUCES the brain’s production of Cortisol to manage the body’s reaction to stress. People who “hold back” their tears, instead of “letting them flow,” DO NOT reap the relief and emotional benefits that flow from freely releasing tears.

That is wonderful confirmation for those of us who know the comfort in crying!  If you aren’t yet acquainted with the blessing in tears, try “letting them go” instead of “holding them back.” The release will provide you relief and freedom, and those precious energies you expended keeping your emotions captive can now be redirected toward carrying your bag of seed and sowing in hope for a joyful harvest.

“But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the Law, being confined for the faith that was destined to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:23-28