Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - September 3, 2026

Fresh Today… Eggplant, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Potatoes, Lettuce, Daikon Radishes, Carrots, Garlic, Dill, Basil, Peaches, Pluots, Melons, Valencia Oranges & Lemon Verbena (Steep for Tea)

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

Tahini is a paste or nut butter made from ground sesame seeds. It has a richness from the seed's fat but is slightly bitter. It adds lots of flavor and can substitute for part of the oil in dressings or marinades. Tahini is the common ingredient in hummus and baba ghanoush, the two Mediterranean dips that are served with vegetable sticks, bread, pita or crackers. It's perfect for a snack or a light lunch.  With eggplant coming this week, I included a baba ghanoush recipe but wanted to include some other ideas to use your tahini. As a nut butter, it can be used as an alternative to peanut butter on toast. Try making a flavored tahini butter, mixing tahini in equal proportions with butter and seasoning it with soy sauce, lime juice and chili powder. Use this butter on top of baked potatoes, sweet potatoes or on roasted squash. In this salad recipe below it adds a nutty flavor and helps the dressing cling to the vegetables.

Tomato-Cucumber-Garbanzo Salad

with Tahini Dressing

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon tahini paste

1 garlic clove minced or crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup tomatoes, cherry tomatoes halved

    or large tomatoes roughly chopped

1 medium cucumber, seeds removed,

    about 2 cups cubed

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and

    rinsed, about 2 cups

¼ cup red or white onion, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped basil

*  In a large bowl combine the oil, vinegar, tahini, garlic and salt. Stir well to combine the dressing ingredients. Gently stir in the tomatoes, cucumber, beans, onion and basil. Serve right away.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Alice Waters - The Art of Simple Food

Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley 50 years ago. There she pioneered the California farm-to-table movement that features cuisine made from seasonal, fresh produce grown by local farmers. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium onion sliced

2 green onions, white and

    light green parts, sliced

2 gloves garlic

2 lbs. ripe tomatoes, washed, 

    cored, and sliced

1 scant tablespoon white rice

A large pinch of salt

1/2 bay leaf

1 small sprig of savory, 

     thyme, or basil

1 cup water

1 tablespoon butter

1. Using a heavy-bottomed pan, warm olive oil and melt butter; then add the onion, green onion, and pinch of salt. Cover and cook until soft, but not brown. If needed, add water to keep from browning.

2. Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes, white rice, bay leaf, a large pinch of salt and a sprig of savory, thyme, or basil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes fall apart.

4. Add 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon butter and continue cooking another 10 minutes until the rice is tender. Remove the herb sprigs.

5. Carefully ladle the soup into a blender, not more than 1/3 full. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pass the puréed soup through a medium strainer to remove skin and seeds. Taste for salt. Add more water if soup is too thick. Serve.

Eggplant Dip…

In this recipe today I didn’t use a food processor. This makes it easier to assemble with fewer dishes to clean. It’s also a bit more traditional. If you want to make a super smooth dip, just blend all the ingredients for about 30 seconds. 

Baba Ghanoush

1 large or 2 medium sized eggplant   

¼ cup tahini                                               

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil,                  

    more for serving                                   

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

*  Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the eggplants in half and cook them, cut side down, on the baking sheet, in the oven, until soft, about 35-45 minutes. When you press your finger on the eggplant skin it should collapse. Let cool and then scoop the flesh out of the skin, discarding the skin. Chop the eggplant coarsely with a knife and place the flesh in a large bowl. Stir in the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and cayenne, mixing well. Serve with pita chips or toasted bread.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Battling Stink Bugs

Cindi J & Keith F Martin

The marmorated stink bug returns regularly to feast on the garden’s ripe tomatoes. Years ago, I asked market garden expert Anna Hazen how to eradicate this armored enemy. “Squish them when you see them,” she advised off-handedly. I cringed, “Hand-to-hand combat! Can’t we just spray something on them?” thinking chemical warfare at a safe distance seemed a more sanitary maneuver. “Takes out the good with the bad,” she replied complacently. I cringed again, so she grudgingly suggested, “OK then, just vacuum them up.” “What? Weaponize my hand vac?” I shuddered and walked off in disgust and defeat. 

Organic pesticides - Spinosad and diatomaceous earth – would kill these pests outright, and garlic or mint spray would temporarily repel them, but there would be collateral damage to beneficial bugs. The most effective deterrent to this marbled menace takes a precision “hands on” tactic. Once we see them, we immediately apply pressure, taking the pest between the thumb and forefinger to dispatch it decisively. If we recoil and retreat in disgust, the stinkers rapidly infest the garden and destroy its produce.  

We can glean wisdom for daily living from handling bugs. There will be times when we notice a stink here or suspect a bug there but are reluctant to get our hands dirty dealing with the pest.  Hoping for a simple and more sanitary solution, we seek an expert’s advice but shudder at their proposed remedy. Taking a problem directly in hand is messy and will certainly cause a stink, so we reject the sage advice and ignore the bug. We dismiss a feeling that we have offended a friend since we don’t want to admit our shortcomings hurt others. We avoid addressing the palpable distance we feel in our marriage because we don’t want to hear that our spouse is disappointed or disillusioned with the relationship. We overlook our child’s obsession with social media or compulsive internet browsing, fearing to confront noxious attitudes or disturbing behaviors. 

This shriveled tomato from the garden shows the ruin caused by the marmorated stink bug. Ignored, the armored menace sucks out sweet life and leaves behind a rotting hull. It is a graphic reminder that vigilance, diligence, and decisive engagement - in both the garden and life – remain the most effective deterrents to ruinous pests. May we muster courage to battle the stink bugs, not overlook them in fear or succumb to them in cowardice. 

“We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”   Hebrews 10:30