Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens this Week - March 28, 2024
Fresh Today… Parsnips, Swiss Chard, White Salad Turnips, Sugar Snap Peas, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Carrots, Head Lettuce, Dill, Cilantro, Oregano, Lemons, Blood & Navel Oranges, & a first Artichoke
Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno.
Parsnips are one of my favorite vegetables. They have a sweet, aromatic flavor and enough starch to be used like a potato. Usually, I will roast them, but they are great fried. This recipe cooks them in a sauté pan like potato pancakes. It has one potato which helps to hold the fritter together. You can leave it out if desired. Another option would be to add in more root vegetables, like carrots or even a beet. If needed, you can use a gluten free flour for this recipe.
Parsnip Fritters
with Yogurt Herb Sauce
(Adapted from dishingupthedirt.com)
Garlic Yogurt Sauce:
½ cup plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey (optional)
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt + Pepper to taste
2 parsnips, peeled
1 russet potato, peeled
¼ cups minced green onion
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup oil, for frying
* Prepare the yogurt sauce by combining all the ingredients and whisking until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Prepare the parsnips and potato by grating them on the large holes of a box grater OR use the largest shredder attachment on a food processor. Transfer the grated vegetables to a dishtowel and wring out any water. Let veggies sit for 1-2 minutes and then wring them out once more. Transfer the grated veggies to a bowl. Add the minced onion, salt and flour. Toss until well combined. Stir in the egg and mix until everything is well incorporated. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, spoon scoops of the mixture into the skillet, flattening gently with a spatula. Cook until golden brown and crisp. About 3-4 minutes per side. Serve fritters with garlic yogurt dip.
Passover – Why the Hurry?
Passover (Pesach) is no leisurely repast for savoring; it is a substantial meal designed around haste. Each family was to slaughter a lamb: Then “take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.” The bread was unleavened; there was no time for dough to rest and rise; lambs were slaughtered and fire roasted whole with head, legs, and internal organs; there was no time to dress, butcher, or slow cook the meat: bitter herbs were eaten alongside: they weren’t to savor the meal - “…eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.” Why? The LORD’s last judgment is swift, severe, and bitter. The humiliated Pharaoh, one of Egypt’s gods, would be furious when the last plague destroys his nation’s firstborns, and he would quickly change his mind about letting the LORD’s children go unpunished.
“I will pass through Egypt
and strike down every firstborn
of both people and animals,
and I will bring judgment
on all the gods of Egypt.
I AM the LORD."
Seasonal Pasta…
Every season there is a pasta dish. This spring it takes just minutes to put together. Prep the vegetables while the pasta is cooking, then quickly sauté the vegetables in your biggest pan, so that you can add the pasta at the end. The sauce is created with the starch from the pasta, the pasta water and the cream.
Spring Pasta with Peas and Swiss Chard
8 ounces dry pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup snap peas, cut into bite
sized pieces
4-5 cups Swiss chard leaves,
washed and chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup cream or half and half
½ cup shredded Parmesan,
plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped dill
* Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 7 to 9 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and set it aside. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a very large, high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and peas. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by about half, 2-3 minutes. Add the reserved pasta water and cream. Bring to a boil. Stir in the Swiss chard, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute more. Add the pasta, then toss to coat with the sauce for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and dill. Serve right away.
Metaphors of Soil and Soul…
“Behold Your King!” - “Give Us Barabbas!”
Keith F Martin
At the beginning of Passover week, Jesus entered Jerusalem and was greeted by enthusiastic crowds and their joyous acclaim: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” By the week’s end, though, the crowds had turned against Him and clamored for His death - “Crucify Him…. We have no king but Caesar” - choosing instead mercy for Barabbas, a condemned insurrectionist and murderer. How quickly their sentiment had changed! Jesus’ words to Judas at the Passover meal the night before His crucifixion foreshadowed this, “What you do, do quickly.”
Israel, once before, had publicly rejected God, their King. God ruled as Israel’s sovereign authority, providing commandments that, when willingly obeyed, ensured a just, safe, and prosperous life - a God-blessed life. Whenever Israel strayed from God’s life-sustaining laws, violence, chaos, tyranny, and suffering ensued. Once Israel’s suffering became unbearable, they would cry out to God for deliverance, and He would raise up a judge to restore justice and deliver them from both domestic and foreign oppressors. This oft repeated cycle came to an end with Samuel, the last judge God appointed. Samuel, not God, appointed Israel’s final two judges, his own sons. Unlike Samuel, though, they “turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.” Once again Israel cried out for relief from their oppressors and pressed Samuel to appoint a king to rule over them. Samuel refused at first, but God intervened: “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day… they have forsaken Me…”
Christ’s week of Passion exposed the raw, conflicting sentiment we have toward God, His authority, and our desperate need for law and justice. Ever defiant, we forsake God, concealing our enmity beneath pretense: “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” We reject God as king yet still concede our need for a robust authority to protect ourselves from each other. We, therefore, choose kings to rule over our house divided - one king rules me, the others rule all others. I want your king’s sword drawn; I want mine sheathed as I do what is right in my own eyes; I want mercy but demand all others face justice; I want the blessing but choose for you the curse: I want peace but do violence and seek revenge; I want life but choose death for you. Desperate and wanting, I need precisely what Jesus, the King, passionately prayed for and died for: “Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do.”
