From the Garden This Week, December 2, 2021...

From the Garden this Week… Dino Kale, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Mixed Greens, Lettuce Head, Beet Greens, Daikon Radish, Green Onions, Bok Choy or Cauliflower or Broccoli, Celery Stalks, Hachiya and Fuyu Persimmons, and Pink Lady apples

Coming Soon… Carrots

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

This week we have lots of greens. These are all tender and can be used like spinach. I usually lightly sauté with garlic and red pepper flakes. For this week’s recipe you can use any of the varieties in this alternative take on spinach dip. The one pound of greens should equal about 10 cups of fresh chopped leaves. This will cook down when completely wilted to 1.5 cups. Chop the leaves first then swish them around in a bowl of water to remove and dirt that will sink to the bottom of the bowl. Then lift the greens out of the water and let them drip dry before cooking. You will want to cook in your largest pan or pot to contain everything. Cover it and the greens will cook down as the water evaporates. Instead of this dip, use the greens in a quiche or frittata or stir into a creamy pasta.

Hot Greens Dip

10 cups fresh greens, washed

and chopped, about 1 pound

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter or oil

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ cups shredded mozzarella

cheese

8 ounces cream cheese softened

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

cooking spray

bread, crackers, and vegetables

for serving

In a large sauté pan, cook the greens with butter, garlic, salt and pepper, covering the pan until completely wilted. Let cool, then place in a strainer to remove the excess water. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach, Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese in a bowl. Stir until well combined. Coat an 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the spinach mixture into the prepared dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until dip is bubbly. Sprinkle with chopped parsley then serve with bread, crackers, and vegetables.

A Healthy, Merry Christmas Gift

We have all faced that dreaded seasonal dilemma: What do I get my (insert loved one) for Christmas? We have an idea - fresh, local garden grown vegetables! We offer one-time baskets, weekly baskets, or seasonal subscriptions of the most delicious selection of fresh-picked produce to please even the most persnickety palate. Contact us at WCG today to cross another name off your Christmas “to buy” list.

Daikon Fries

If you are looking for a recipe for our daikon, try roasting it like other vegetables. It has more water than a potato, so it doesn’t crisp up the same, but this flavorful recipe is a good option to mellow the flavor and bring out the sweetness of the radish.

Daikon Fries

1 large daikon radish, peeled and cut into fries

1 tablespoon oil

½ teaspoon chili paste, like siracha

1 teaspoon Tamari or soy sauce

½ teaspoon grated ginger

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a large bowl add the oil, chili paste, soy, ginger, sugar, and salt with the daikon radish and mix until well coated. Place the seasoned daikon pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook in the oven until they are golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul… by Ronda May Melendez

A rough rind surrounds the fresh, juicy orange resting in my left palm. My right-hand raises, poised with a zester, ready to tear into the rind of the fruit. As the zester rasps deeply across its bumpy orange surface, oils mist forth as fog and then rise upward. They burn and tickle my nose as I watch long, thin threads of skin fall to the cutting board. The fragrance is so refreshing, enticing. I look forward to tasting what the zest will add to the dish. Yet, I am keenly aware that the orange I am zesting is being deconstructed in the act. Its offering, a depth of fragrance and flavor, comes at the price of it never being the same again.

It occurs to me that so often we are like an orange in the hand of God. He holds us securely in His hand, it is true, but often allows the sharpened rasps of others to scrape across the surface of our lives. These instruments cut, sometimes deeply, into the flesh of our hearts and minds. I ponder what my life produces when that happens to me. Do I, like the orange, express something lovely, fragrant, and refreshing? What delicate threads of thought and feeling fall to the cutting board surface? Does my suffering offer a zest that others will value and use, despite the pain it cost me in the offering? I sure hope so. And even if I burn a few noses, initially, in the expression of my life... I trust that because God holds me securely in His hand and allows my life to be rasped in the presence of others, He will help them appreciate the enticing fragrance and depth of flavor to be had in the offering, too.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14