Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens this Week - September 5, 2024

Fresh this Week… Summer Squash Assortment, Cucumber Assortment, Green & Purple Beans, Carrots, Sweet Peppers, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Chard, Chives, Celery, Basil, Oregano, & Melons

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

I love to take advantage of the natural properties of a vegetable in a recipe. When people ask how to keep squash from becoming mushy, I say, don’t fight the squash, work with it. Use its mushy-ness to create something that you want to be soft and creamy, like this herb dip. Cook the squash completely until it begins to fall apart in the pan and then combine it with cheese and herbs to add richness and flavor.             

Summer Squash Herb Dip

2-3 summer squash, small diced, about 4 cups

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup grated Monterey jack cheese

4 ounces goat cheese or cream cheese

¼ cup chopped chives or green onions

¼ cup chopped basil

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

* In a large sauté pan cook the summer squash, garlic and salt over medium low heat for 8-10 minutes until the squash releases its water and becomes mushy.  Continue cooking until the squash starts to brownslightly on the bottom of the pan.  Then turn the heat off and stir in the Monterey jack cheese, until melted in.  Add the goat/cream cheese and chives and stir well; then add the basil.  Taste and add salt and fresh ground pepper, if desired.  Enjoy warm as a dip with bread, crackers or fresh vegetable sticks.

Pardon Me, But Don’t Squash My Email Rant

Confession is good for the soul and beneficial to the palate. I secretly hoped Julie’s magic with squash was to make it disappear, but her creativity moved me to seek out other appealing recipes that do magic with squash (I’m retired and clearly have too much free time!). And presto, these appeared on my desktop: Yellow Squash Tots (babaganosh.org/yellow-squash-tots/); Parmesan Pennies (spendwithpennies.com/roasted-summer-squash/); & Squash Browns, breakfast fritters, of course - allrecipes.com/gallery/yellow-squash-recipes/). Yumm!

Fermenting Basics…

Fermenting vegetables is a method of preservation at room temperature. This pickle recipe uses vinegar and salt to keep the cucumbers from spoiling while they “cook” on the counter for a few days. This process creates lactic acid to further protect the cucumbers from bacteria. Put them in the fridge when the color changes to keep them crisp and enjoy within a few weeks.

Easy Fermented Pickles

3-5 cucumbers                             

1 quart water                               

¼ cup white vinegar                  

2 tablespoons kosher salt       

1 teaspoon coriander seed     

¼ teaspoon mustard seed

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dill seed

2 garlic cloves sliced

* Slice the cucumbers into slices or spears and fill the pieces into 2-quart jars. In a large container, combine all of the other ingredients. Stir to dissolve the salt. Pour the brine over the cucumbers. Cover the jars loosely (twist the lids halfway). Let the pickles sit on the countertop for 2-3 days. The liquid should become a little cloudy. Refrigerate and use them within a few months.    

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Living with Manure

by Cindi J Martin

The picture below does not do justice to the size of the weed I found growing beside my chicken coop. At first, I thought it was “volunteer corn;” then I realized it was just a common weed on avian steroid (chicken manure). I couldn’t help comparing it to its leaner brother I found growing nearby in poor, dung-less soil (weed on left). Strangely, these weeds called to mind Jesus’ parable of the soils.

Good soil is often full of ... well, manure. Now it is not just any manure, mind you; fresh manure usually burns the heck out of most plants trying to grow in it (except stinging nettle, but that’s another metaphor for another day). Manure, to be beneficial, must be well-rotted. We know any metaphor breaks down, ultimately, and I certainly don’t want to stretch this one too far (I am, after all, illustrating Jesus’ parable of soils with the growth of weeds!), but whenever I complain about my rotten, sinful flesh (or that of fellow believers around me), I should remember that flesh crucified with Christ wonderfully enriches and transforms in time the poor soil of any 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 will burn and destroy plants - needs time to age, 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.

Perhaps enduring His slow but deliberate process imparts a glimpse into the essential nature of God Himself – omnipotent, eternal, and glorious. He, in His good time, turns the manure of our lives into good soil for our hearts. Every trial, temptation, affliction, and wound that we faithfully surrender to God - yield to His care and good time - transforms a sorrow into joy and provides a bountiful harvest of lasting fruit - fruit produced by His powerful, eternal, and beautiful Spirit. 

“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