from Wellspring Charitable Gardens this Week - September 22, 2022 - Autumn Edition

From the Garden this Week… Eggplant, Cucumber, Carrots, Tomatoes, Spaghetti Squash, Radishes, Jalapeno Peppers, Red & Green Lettuce, Beets, Parsley, Garlic, Basil, Fuji Apples, a Sugar Pie Pumpkin & Mini Pumpkin

Coming Soon… more Butternut Squash

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

Eggplant is a slow growing vegetable that comes alive in September. It produces a few fruit in June or July, but now is the season. If you haven’t yet made baba ghanoush, it is a simple dip, that takes advantage of eggplant’s creamy texture. Today’s recipe is one of my favorites. Sesame seeds add texture and flavor to the eggplant. Remember, the key to cooking eggplant is to make sure that it is cooked all the way through. It should be soft. Undercooked eggplant has a rubbery texture that is not enjoyable.

Sesame Crusted Eggplant

(Adapted from momfoodie.com)

¼ cup raw sesame seeds

1 large eggplant or 2-3 small eggplant

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 tablespoons olive oil or melted coconut oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon white miso paste

2 teaspoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

* Preheat oven to 400 °F. On a parchment lined baking sheet, spread out sesame seeds and cook in the oven for 10 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove from oven and set pan aside to cool. Cut off the eggplant ends, and slice ½ inch thick. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, olive and sesame oils, miso paste, lemon juice, and salt. Brush garlic-oil mixture on the eggplant slices. Pour the toasted sesame seeds onto a plate or shallow pan. Replace the parchment on the baking sheet to reuse for the eggplant. Dip both sides of eggplant slices into the sesame seeds and press gently; then place the eggplant slice on the parchment lined baking sheet. After dipping each eggplant slice, sprinkle with any remaining seeds. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, flip each eggplant slice, and roast about 20 more until the eggplant is soft.

Remember! Return Your Garden Bag

Unknown to us, The Byrds David Crosby reached across the pond to enlist support from Queen lead guitarist Brian May. May went bonkers over the cause, revised Bohemian Rhapsody, and offered to headline a recovery concert. Bag Aid! will be simulcast worldwide from London and Philadelphia. May then secured appearances from Pink Floyd, The Who, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, and Yes. Good show, ol’ chap! Peter, Paul, and Mary solicited stateside support from Credence Clearwater Revival, Aerosmith, Blondie, The Beach Boys, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Stevie Nicks, Journey, and Van Halen. Groovy, PP&M! Bag Aid! Delivering on Your Return.

Bag Return Rhapsody

Wellspring,

Just lost a bag,

Put the veggies in the fridge, tossed the bag,

Now it’s hid

Wellspring, I had just subscribed

But now I’ve gone and thrown my bag away

Wellspring, oooh,

Didn’t mean to make you cry

If the bag’s not found again this time tomorrow

Deliver on, deliver on as if nothing really happened…

Fresh Salads…

Looking at the list this week, I kept imagining a salad. The baby radishes from last week, along with the carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes need an old-fashioned buttermilk dressing. Once you make it fresh you won’t be able to go back to store bought.

Buttermilk Dressing

3/4 cup whole buttermilk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley and basil

1 tablespoons lemon juice

1 medium garlic clove, minced

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, chopped parsley and basil, lemon juice, minced garlic clove, salt, and black pepper in a separate bowl until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

His Workmanship

by Ronda May Melendez

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” - Ephesians 2:10

It is amazing to me, that before time began, God was preparing all that we would need to live life fully and abundantly, not just limping along, but thriving! He loves us, and He set in motion a plan that will be seen through to completion. Our God is not One who operates by halves. He is a God of preparation and fulfillment. Yet, I am astounded at how easily I forget.

I reflect on the work we do here at the garden. There is a plan; there must be. To move forward with the best of the resources given, we must reflect on the seasons and the types of plants which thrive in each season. Autumn has arrived and soon comes cooler weather. Fall vegetables with greater cold tolerance – broccoli, cabbage, spinach, lettuce – will supplant warmth-loving summer vegetables – tomatoes, melons, peppers, cucumbers – whose high-water content and exposed, thin-skinned fruit make them prone to freezing. For fall plants we must account for the type of nourishment and amount of space for healthy growth each needs, the type of weeding and thinning each requires, and how each must be harvested and stored. We then communicate with one another regarding these plans. The workmanship and creativity of the volunteers working in concert bring forth the best from the land, the plants, and from each of us. In these moments of collaboration with God and others, we become living works of art - His masterwork, Opus Dei - to accomplish the good works “God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

What a privilege to participate in this venture of life and gardening together! I delight in my depths to see each of you bring what God has equipped you to do. You are each important and unique. You bring what no one else can - the works God created for you while He knitted you together in your mother’s womb. Thank you for bringing who you are and for graciously offering your precious time and talent.