From Wellspring Charitable Gardens pre-Thanksgiving - November 16, 2023
Fresh Today… Broccoli, Cauliflower, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, Salanova Red Lettuce, Red & Green Salad Mix, Kale, Spinach, Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, Sugar Snap Peas, Green Scallions, Cilantro, Sage, Rosemary, Parsley, Fuyu Persimmon & Pomegranates
Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno.
This week we have officially turned the corner and our winter vegetables are in full swing. We have both broccoli and cauliflower coming. I included a recipe for roasting these, which is my favorite way to enjoy them. Of course, they are great steamed or raw and dipped in ranch dressing. Don’t forget about serving them on a veggie platter as an appetizer to your Thanksgiving meal. I included one of my favorite ways to cook our beets. This recipe just adds goat cheese and walnuts with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. You can sprinkle in some fresh herbs if you like; parsley and dill would be perfect. Make it ahead and serve at room temperature if you need a dish to take over to a friend’s house.
Roasted Beets with Walnuts
and Goat Cheese
3 beets
½ teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup toasted walnuts
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
* Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.Remove the greens from the beets and reserve for another use. (You can combine the greens with kale or spinach or eat raw in a salad combined with our lettuce.) Peel if desired or just scrub well, peeling is not required.Slice the beets in half and place the flat side on a cutting board and slice into half-moon shapes. Toss them in a large bowl with the salt, pepper and oil. Put them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until tender. Remove the beets from the oven and let cool slightly. Place the beets in a serving bowl, toss gently with the balsamic vinegar, and top with the toasted walnuts and goat cheese.
Grateful and Giving Thanks
Thursday, November 23, is Thanksgiving Day – a holy-day for gathering family and friends to give Thanks to God for His goodness, His grace, and His blessings. We will also be celebrating with our family and friends, so we will not be harvesting or sending out produce Thanksgiving Day. Your WCG Produce Bags will return to you filled with fresh vegetables, fruit, and herbs on November 30! Happy Thanksgiving!
The Chill Is Gone!
Giovanni at Cornucopia is singing that soulful B. B. King lament. Their walk-in fridge is on the fritz. If you leave your WCG Produce Bag there overnight, it won’t be held in cold storage. A new refrigerator will cost $14,000, so they have no plan to replace it soon. Anybody need a walk-in closet?
Roasted Winter Vegetables…
This is one of the simplest ways to cook all of our cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Browning brings out their sweetness and complements the natural bitterness of these vegetable.
Roasted Broccoli
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head of broccoli,
cut into florets, about 4-5 cups
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Squeeze of half a lemon or a sprinkle
of white wine or cider vinegar
* Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place broccoli florets in a large bowl, drizzle on the olive oil, salt, and pepper; toss thoroughly. Bake for 20-25 minutes.Remove from oven spritz with lemon juice or cider vinegar, serve right away.
Metaphors of Soil and Soul…
Pondering “Thanksgiving” and Practicing Gratitude
by Cindi J Martin
Since reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, the word “thanksgiving” has become richer and more meaningful for me. Voskamp tells us the Greek word “eucharisteo” means “to give thanks.” In the New Testament we read that Jesus, in the evening before His betrayal and crucifixion, “…took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them (his disciples) …” (Luke 22:19). This momentous Passover meal has become known to us as The Last Supper, the name taken from Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting Last Supper.
This Passover meal was also the First Communion, which Christians called Eucharist, the Latin translation of the Greek word Jesus used when he “gave thanks” to God. Interestingly, the root of “eucharisteo” is “charis,” which is Greek for “grace,” and “charis” is derived from the Greek word for joy “chara.” Wrapped into the that one word “eucharisteo,” we find layers devoted to thanksgiving, grace, and joy. “Giving Thanks” opens the floodgates of God’s grace so that joy overflows our hearts. Today, even social scientists acknowledge what Christians and Jews have known for millennia: Gratitude has a powerful impact on a person’s emotions. Therapists now encourage writing in a gratitude journal three times a week to increase happiness.
The fact that Christ looked forward to giving thanks to God and breaking bread with His disciples on the night He was betrayed - knowing full well the horror that awaited Him - gives me courage to face hardship. I do not give thanks for the suffering, though; on the contrary, at times I utterly despise its shame, but I do give thanks to God for what He is doing through my pain and sorrow.
This insight has helped me to appreciate the liturgical facets of “Eucharist” in a way that has changed how I think about communion. I recognize and value the wisdom of ancient Christians who celebrated Eucharist. Now, rather than focusing solely on the bread as His broken body and the wine as His shed blood, I also remember that Jesus GAVE THANKS to God for what He would fulfill through His death on the cross, despite horrific shame and suffering, and what He would provide through the victory of His resurrection. This Thanksgiving, remember to thank God for His grace that bestows everlasting joy…
“And let us run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
