Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens this Week - October 23, 2025

Fresh Today… Cauliflower, Carrots, Broccoli, Bell Pepper, Swiss Chard, Lettuce Mix, Summer Squash, French Breakfast Radishes, Watermelon Radishes, Salad Turnips, Green Onions, Celery, Parsley, Lemon Basil, Pumpkins, Persimmons & Pomegranates

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

We are in full swing with our fall veggies and this week we introduce cauliflower. Cauliflower is a versatile vegetable with a mild flavor that makes a great substitute for grains and potatoes. This week’s recipe roasts the cauliflower at high heat with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. The cauliflower florets develop a crispy, golden exterior and a tender bite. Beyond being a flavorful side dish, this roasted cauliflower can be used as a low-carb substitute for pasta in Italian recipes. Toss it with marinara or Alfredo sauce, layer it into a baked "pasta" casserole, or top it with fresh herbs and mozzarella for a comforting twist on traditional Italian favorites - without the noodles.

Italian Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

2 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

* Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place cauliflower florets in a large bowl and top with the oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and cheese; toss thoroughly.  Pour the seasoned cauliflower out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

The Surprising Cost of Eating Organic

Everyone sees the price difference between regular and organic produce at the grocery. However, there are other costs to eating organic, pesticide-free fresh produce, costs that go beyond a slightly altered appearance.  Sometimes critters gnaw on a root vegetable and disfigure their perfect face.  Sometimes they crawl down into the core of a cabbage or lettuce head. Recently it came to our attention that our slug friends had slipped into some of our Napa Cabbages - a rather unappetizing surprise guest to appear during dinner preparations. Please accept our apologies!  Although we work hard to inspect and prewash produce to provide you with the freshest, best tasting, best looking, and best-priced organic vegetables, herbs, and fruit, sometimes you will get produce with a “Proof of Organic” signature concealed within: a bug or a slug or another pesty interloper. Please let us know if any critters have completely ruined an item and we will do our best to give you a new one or replace it with something else.

Even the WCG Pickin' Crew contend with critters! After harvesting cauliflower, Cindi found an overly friendly caterpillar crawling up the front of her shirt. There's proof of fresh!

Salad Turnips…

White salad turnips, also known as Hakurei turnips, are a mild, slightly sweet root vegetable that's tender enough to enjoy raw or cooked. When sliced thin, they add a crisp, refreshing crunch to salads or slaws. Roasting or sautéing brings out their natural sweetness. Try them in this dish, cooked together with their greens.

Braised Turnips with Their Greens

2 white salad turnips with greens      

1 Tbsp olive oil                                         

¼ tsp fresh thyme leaves                      

1 clove garlic, minced                             

½ cup vegetable stock or water          

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 Tbsp cold butter

2 tsp honey

* Separate the turnips and greens, discard any yellowing leaves. Peel turnips if desired and cut into 1-inch pieces. Chop the greens and stems, rinse away any dirt if needed and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add turnips in a single layer, cook 3-4 minutes, without turning. Add thyme and garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add vegetable stock, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until turnips are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and add greens; cook until liquid reduces by three-fourths, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the butter and honey, stirring until the butter is melted. Serve right away.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Unexpected Strength

Cindi J & Keith F Martin

We trellis cucumbers to support and shape their growth. Their serpentine vines reach up from the soil and wend their way through hog panels Zip-tied to T-posts driven deep into the firm clay below their fertile beds. Suspended and secure above ground, cucumbers thrive where gravity and tension shape them beyond the reach of harmful pests and damp soil. Their leaves are yellowing now and will soon go brown, dry out, and drop to the soil below. Warm autumn weather still encourages their growth, so we have not yet pulled their aging vines or removed their steel supports. Searching the rows for cucumbers overlooked at harvest, I discovered a lone heirloom pumpkin hanging with the common slicing cucumbers.

This heirloom pumpkin - deep green with dense orange flesh - is ideal for roasting, pulping, filling pies, or carving at Halloween. I wondered how its seed mixed with the cucumber seeds. I marveled at the strength of its delicate vine and stem clinging undaunted to the slender steel rods. It had become something beautiful, desirable, substantial, and yet vulnerable suspended high above ground. I then learned the secret of its intrepid high-wire act. It was not just vine and stem supporting its ponderous weight; the pumpkin had grown its entire rotund form through and around the hog panel’s hardened steel rods.

There are times we get planted in places we don’t naturally fit. We are shaped differently and stand out like a pumpkin among cucumbers. We find it beyond our strength to grow, much less flourish, surrounded by others so disparately shaped. Out of place and feeling alone, we succumb easily to bleak resignation or even despair, and then withdraw, especially if we grew up hearing we were weak – meaning undesirable and unworthy – when we needed support and reached out in hard times.

Yet, only in reaching out do we find trellises of support to wend our way through. Like the lone pumpkin, we can muster unexpected strength to do what we never thought possible – fit in, hold on, and grow. What trellises might you grow into for support? Yes, it takes strength to grow and take shape in a precarious place, so hang tight and persevere: a round pumpkin can grow into a square panel. The LORD is your trellis, a steadfast support in times of trouble.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9