From Wellspring Charitable Gardens this Week - December 15, 2022

From the Garden this Week… Romaine Lettuce, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Broccoli or Cauliflower, Spinach, Purple Top Turnip, Green Onions, Bok Choy, Arugula, Dill, Parsley, & Persimmons

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

Making a blended vegetable soup is one of the easiest ways to use your vegetables, so learning a few basic techniques will elevate your soup game. My first tip is to sauté onions, carrots, and celery together in a little butter or oil before adding the liquid. Sauteing brings out a variety of flavors that you don’t get when only boiling. At the same time, you don’t want too many onions, carrots and celery. You want the soup to highlight the main ingredients not the elements that add depth to their flavors. Next, by adding flour to the pot before the liquid, the flour becomes coated with fat, which helps prevent clumping. I love my immersion blender to even out the texture of the soup, but feel free to keep it chunky if you prefer. If you want a formal finish, after pureeing, strain the soup to have a completely smooth texture. Then garnish with chopped herbs. Either way it will taste delicious.

Cheddar Broccoli (or Cauliflower) Soup

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup finely chopped carrots

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

2 cups water or vegetable stock

2-3 cups coarsely chopped cauliflower

or florets, stems, and leaves

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

cheese

salt and ground black pepper to taste

* Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and salt cooking for about 6-7 minutes. Turn the heat to low, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 1-2 minutes. Gradually pour milk into flour mixture while stirring. Stir water or stock and broccoli into milk mixture. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the broccoli is completely tender, about 20 minutes. Stir cheddar cheese into vegetable mixture until cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, blend with an immersion blender or keep it chunky.

Joy to the World!

Today is the last WCG delivery day of 2022. We are taking a holiday break to celebrate Christmas with friend and family. Deliveries resume January 5, 2023, of the new year.

We pray you enjoy the merriest Christmas with your dear family and friends. May the Wonder and Miracle of Christmas – Immanuel, God with us – be your joy, peace, and everlasting delight!

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God…

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

and we saw His glory, glory as of the only

begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1,14

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son

and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

Asian Greens…

We grow a variety of Asian greens included in the cruciferous vegetable family. They cook quickly and work well with bold flavors like ginger, garlic, and sesame. In this recipe, you can cook the crunchy ribs and tender leaves in the same pan, just separate when chopping and cook the ribs a few minutes before adding the leafy tops.

Sautéed Bok Choy 1 large head Bok choy 1 tablespoon oil 2 teaspoons minced ginger 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ cup minced onion or scallion ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes ¼ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

* Cut the head of Bok choy in half and separate the leafy greens from the thicker stems. Keeping the stems and leaves separate, slice the stems thinly across the grain and chop the leaves. Add the oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl to coat the entire surface of the pan. Add the sliced Bok choy stems, ginger, garlic, shallots, and red pepper flakes, stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the Bok choy leaves, soy sauce, and sesame oil, stir for 2-3 minutes until the leaves are cooked.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Unhurried God

by Cindi J Martin

While out picking weeds among our garden rows this week I was reminded of something Anna told me when we planted our first winter garden. She said that certain plants like cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower require sufficient space to produce a mature head. Being a city girl, I had never seen broccoli or cauliflower grow from seed to a full head of produce, so I had no frame of reference for “sufficient space.” Wow, these plants are large! Each easily spans four to five square feet in area. What also struck me was the many luxuriant layers of leaves a cauliflower plant produces before it shows its first white or purple flowered head of beauty. These outer leaves are edible and nutritious, which I never knew, but we harvest only the most flavorful flower and toss those life-giving leaves into the compost pile.

Gardening has made me think more about the PROCESS in life rather than just the PRODUCE from life. I could write a whole book about that, but I will spare you! Suffice it to say, there is purpose in the time of waiting for things to mature and ripen. What in your life seems to be taking too long a time to reach fulfillment? Are you perhaps frustrated because you are focused solely on the arrival of the final product? Maybe it’s time to refocus and make time to notice the beauty in the process. When it comes to Christmas shopping, many of us make the gift our loved one opens at Christmas the focus of our shopping. Maybe it’s time to notice and value the layers in the process of choosing and acquiring the most fitting gift for our loved one.

While the arrival of the Christ Child on Christmas Day is the source of great joy throughout the world, so ought to be Advent, the time we prepare “sufficient space” for reflecting on the purpose and promised joy in His Coming. Preparing our hearts to receive Him is a luxuriant, layered process that takes time, sometimes even a lifetime. God is not in a hurry to grow things of beauty; He gave a Lifetime to that very end.