From Wellspring Charitable Gardens this Week - May 11, 2023
From the Garden this Week…Snap Peas, Green Onions or Blooming Onions, Broccoli or Romanesco or Baby Red Cabbage, Red and Golden Beets, White Salad Turnips, Baby Carrots, Spinach, Kohlrabi, Red Romaine Lettuce, Green Leaf or Butter Head Lettuce, Parsley, Dill, & German Chamomile
Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno
We are continuing to harvest our snap peas. These are crisp and tender when young, but as they grow the outer pod becomes tough. We try to separate when harvesting and discard the older peas, but sometimes you might get a few in the mix. The large inner peas can be removed from the pod, discarding the pod itself. If you have just a handful, mix them in a salad, pasta, or rice bowl. I included this spring salad recipe with creamy dressing combined dill and roasted beets. The strong flavors of dill and beets are subdued with the yogurt or buttermilk. If you have extra dill at the end of the week, let it dry and save it for later.
Roasted Beet Salad
with Creamy Dill dressing
2-3 beets
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon oil
fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped dill
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
4-5 cups lettuce greens,
washed and chopped
2 carrots, sliced thin
2 radishes, sliced thin
* Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the greens from the beets and reserve for another use. Peel if desired or just scrub well, peeling is not required. Slice the beets in half and then place the flat side on a cutting board and slice into half-moon shapes. Toss the slices in a large bowl with ½ teaspoon salt, pepper, and oil. Put them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until tender. While the beets are cooking prepare the remaining salad items. In a small bowl mix the dressing: dill, lemon juice and buttermilk with ½ teaspoon salt and fresh ground black pepper. Wash and chop the lettuce, carrots, and radishes. When the beets are done, remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl add all the vegetables and lightly toss with the dressing. Taste and add additional salt or pepper if desired and serve.
Andrea Lynn’s Peaceful Sanctuary
“Making beautiful and bountiful things grow to nourish the body, mind, and soul” expresses why WCG member Andrea calls her garden “Peaceful Sanctuary.” Surrounded by color, beauty, and variety, Andrea grows an astounding assortment of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs from Asparagus to Zucchini, from the routine - broccoli, corn, carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, potatoes, and squash – to the rare - chocolate bell peppers, edamame, fava beans, and boysenberries. Andrea, you ROCK the garden!
Kohlrabi…
Kohlrabi is a cruciferous vegetable related to cabbage and broccoli. The bulb grows above ground and has a fibrous outer layer that needs to be peeled away. You can cook the inside just like broccoli and combine it in this recipe.
Parmesan Roasted Broccoli and/or Romanesco and Kohlrabi
1-2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cups broccoli florets and/or Romanesco florets, stems chopped
2 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine the kohlrabi, broccoli, oil, salt, and pepper and toss together. Spread the seasoned vegetables on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Cook for 20-25 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and herbs.
Metaphors of Soil and Soul . . .
Grape Leaves
by Ronda May Melendez
& Keith F Martin
The last few weeks, I have been made a concerted effort at being mindful of the good things – big, small, in between things - the Lord has placed in my life - mountain winds, a Sierra snowfall, refreshing rains, warm sunlight, and my grape vines unfolding tender young leaves to embrace the first warm rays of spring.
Watching these leaves emerge has been most delightful. The first leaf buds timidly and silently appeared weeks ago; they have grown, spread, and unfolded a vast organic solar array. Fragile and delicate, the green foliage contains an environmentally friendly power source for the plant. Through photosynthesis, these leaves convert sunlight into food that nourishes and strengthens the vine and branches so they can produce sweet grapes and a secure future. Initially, these leaves gathered their energy and strength from the root system; now they return the favor by supplying food and energy to reinforce and extend the vine and its root system. These leaves will, in due time, also develop an extensive shade canopy to provide its vine, fruit, and seeds a refuge from the searing heat of the sun. Finally, these leaves will provide the body human nourishing food replete with minerals (iron, calcium), vitamins (A, K), protein, and fiber, and when folded around lemon infused rice, onion, and ground lamb to create dolma or ground into powder to season fine Middle Eastern fare, these tasty leaves will please the eye, delight to the tongue, and satisfy the appetite.
These grape leaves reminded me of John 15. In Christ, we find our Source of strength (Light), our being (Life), and our nourishment (Word). We absorb His Light, Life, and Word and they, empowered by His indwelling Spirit, nourish, strengthen, and transform us to be a blessing for Him and for others around us. What a sweet and delightful relationship a concerted effort inspires!
“I am the vine, 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…. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”
