From Wellspring Charitable Gardens this Week - February 2, 2023
From the Garden this Week… Red Cabbage or Broccoli or Purple of Sicily Cauliflower or White Cauliflower or Yellow/Orange Cauliflower, Kale, Romaine Lettuce, Red Bunching Onions, Carrots, White Chinese Celery, White Salad Turnip, Rosemary, Dill, Grapefruit, Lemons, Tangerine, Blood Oranges & Navel Oranges
Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno
We have lots of cauliflower this year in colors of orange, purple, and white. These are fun and easy to cut into steaks and roast in thick slices. This is easier than cutting them into florets, and the thick slicing allows for them to brown on the outside without overcooking. When trimming the sides off the cauliflower, the first steak slice will crumble, so plan to save these tasty morsels for another dish or add them to a salad. Serve your “steak” with this rich avocado-herb sauce for added flavor.
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
with Avocado Herb Sauce
1 head cauliflower
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Avocado-Herb Sauce
1 avocado diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup loosely packed, chopped,
fresh herbs, like dill and parsley
* Preheat the oven to 425°F. Remove the outer leaves from the cauliflower head, cut the stem flush with the base of the crown. Trim one inch off two opposite sides; reserve the small pieces for another use. Slice the center of the cauliflower into thick 1-inch slices. Place the cauliflower slices on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush the sides with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then flip the cauliflower and cook for 15 more minutes. While the cauliflower is cooking, combine the avocado, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and herbs, then set aside. Remove the cauliflower from the oven and serve topped with the avocado-herb sauce.
Beauty and Taste Are More Than Citrus Skin Deep
Citrus harvested the same day as delivery rather than from your local grocery store means you enjoy varying levels of sweetness and tartness over the season. It also means that the skin is untreated and though washed, sometimes shows the wear and tear of being weather worn. This includes splashes of rich dark earth that does not clean up easily. The one tangerine in your basket today is sweet on the inside but imperfect on the outside. Also, did you know that because the skin is untreated and unwaxed, you can make a delicious salad dressing for Kale using the peel of one lemon with some pith and the peel of one half of an orange with some pith, the lemon juice of one to two lemons, a pinch of salt, 2-3 Tablespoons of honey, and ¼ - ½ a cup of coconut oil? Blend it high so it is smooth. It will be quite thick which is perfect for mixing on a Kale salad. Look up the Long Life Kale Salad recipe on our website for more details.
Quick Chips…
Kale chips, made right, take hours to dry in a dehydrator or low oven at 200°F. This recipe provides the fast version. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn. They won’t be as crispy as chips but will be just as flavorful with crisp edges for texture.
Lemon Roasted Kale
1 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kale leaves torn into 2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Wash and dry the leaves thoroughly. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place kale leaves in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes; toss thoroughly. Place the leaves on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, watching for excessive browning. Remove from oven and serve right away.
Metaphors of Soil and Soul…
Seeds, No Doubt
by Cindi J Martin
Elizabeth Elliott is quoted as saying, “Don’t dig up in doubt what you have planted in faith.” These are encouraging words in the dead and dark of winter! When our hopes and dreams grow cold and show little or no signs of growth above ground, it is easy to doubt, or even despair, that those seeds we have sown still live. Our efforts have not produced results as soon as we expected. Perhaps you imagine yourself in another season in the year. Have you been feeling a little heat in your life recently? Are there seeds you have sown that seem scorched or to have gone up in smoke? I find it particularly fascinating that the world-famous California Sequoia tree produces cones that require the heat of fire to open so the seeds can germinate!
It is tempting to become discouraged, to even stop believing, in those seeds we had planted in hope and faith. It is tempting to dig them up or to remove them from the heat to see what is happening to them. Master Gardeners, however, tell me to not disturb the seeds but to wait patiently and continue nurturing what I have planted. I love what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:3-5 about the attitude to take when we encounter dark or fiery obstacles in life. He encourages us to stay the course and endure in faith, the very same faith, by which we planted:
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”
We, like seeds, develop strength and character and confidence, by remaining rooted while enduring the dark or heat of adversity.
