Fresh Today from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - August 1, 2024
Garden Fresh Today… Armenian & Slicing Cucumbers, Large Heirloom & Cherry Tomatoes, Purple Beans, Sweet Peppers, Summer Squash Variety, Carrots, Eggplant, Onion, Asian Celery Leaves, Basil, Plums & Melons
Using Your Produce… by Julie Moreno
Armenian cucumbers are actually melons. These cucumbers can grow large and will sometimes have air pockets in the center, which is normal. They are very tolerant of hot weather and grow really well at this time of year. You don’t need to peel them but, if desired, cut out the seeds. Armenian cucumbers are not bitter like their traditional slicing counterparts. They can grow up to 36 inches long, but they are most flavorful when they reach about 15 inches. Enjoy them in this summer salad with our carrots and fresh herbs.
Thai Style Cucumber-Carrot Salad
1 lime
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup oil
4 cups shredded lettuce
1 large Armenian cucumber, chopped
2-3 carrots, shredded
3 green onions, sliced
1 medium avocado, peeled and cubed
½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
½ cup basil leaves, chopped
* Finely grate zest from lime. Cut the lime crosswise in half; squeeze juice from limes. Place zest and juice in a large bowl and add sugar, red pepper, garlic, salt and black pepper, mix well then add the oil and combine. Add to the dressing the lettuce, cucumber, carrots, green onions and mix well. Add the avocado, cilantro and basil, stir gently to combine. Eat right away.
“Friend, Can You Spare a Few Clamshells?”
Our once abundant supply of clamshell containers has dwindled. Two months ago, Wendy asked that I thank you for restocking our clamshell supply and end the drive. Now she’s asked that I restart the drive and make an appeal for clamshells with non-detachable lids. So, last call, got any clamshells crowding your cupboards or cabinets? If you do and can spare any, send us your empties, and we will return them full of fresh summer fruit and veggies!
Eggplant Dip…
Baba Ghanoush is a dip similar to hummus. Rather than Garbanzo beans, it’s made with eggplant and tahini, lemon juice and garlic. It takes advantage of the soft and creamy texture of the cooked eggplant. Serve it with vegetable sticks or pita chips as an appetizer.
Baba Ghanoush
1 large eggplant
¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving
1 garlic clove, crushed or minced
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
* Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the eggplant in half and cook, 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 out the flesh. 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…
Cheeky Peppers
by Ronda May Melendez & Keith F Martin
While picking the garden peppers, I learned something about the plants I had not known. Pepper plants– especially the fiery, mouth-burning varieties – can be quite sensitive and stubborn. As I pulled the peppers, some resisted coming off the plant cleanly, despite their being fully ripe and ready to pick. The intractable peppers snapped in two or broke the branch that had nurtured their growth. Such cheeky behavior got me thinking.
Do peppers feel separation anxiety? Probably not, but it didn’t seem right, even seemed impudent, for these plants to stubbornly withhold their ripe fruit. Just the same, I found a work around. I held the pepper stem firmly closest to its branch, pulled lightly with a gentle twist, and off came the pepper undamaged. Win, win, win! The fruit came off cleanly, the branch remained intact, and I held a pepper to flavor my salsa.
We humans can also experience “cheeky pepper syndrome.” We are ripe and ready to serve, but when harvest time comes, we refuse to release our fruit freely and fully. We withhold our gifts and talents from the hands of the harvester. We become anxious, or even possessive, when we are asked to offer up our fruit, which may reveal our doubt that they are ripe or, perhaps, our unbelief that we are ready. Ambivalent, we cling to our delightful fruit, damaging it or ourselves during the harvest.
The LORD has planted us to bear abundant fruit, and He harvests it for His pleasure and good purposes. Be assured of this: You may confidently yield your fruit into His firm hands. Just as I bore up the branch to maintain the integrity of both the pepper and the plant during harvest, The LORD gently bears us up, too, so that our fruit goes forth intact and our branch remains productive.
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser…you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1,5
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