Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - April 3, 2025

Fresh Today… Arugula, Sprouting Broccoli, Green Onions, Swiss Chard, Kale, Carrots, Romaine Lettuce, Butter Lettuce, Radishes, Dill, Cilantro, Parsley, Oranges & Lemons

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

The longer days are making the broccoli plants start to flower or sprout. The plants have a natural cycle and at this time want to make seeds to create the next generation. When they sprout, the stems grow long and the tiny buds that are usually in a tight floret, spread out and open into yellow flowers. The plants are still delicious, and we can keep harvesting them for a few more weeks. This broccoli salad recipe is perfect for this type of vegetable because you can use the leaves and stems along with the floret. Just chop it all up and mix with the dressing.

Broccoli Salad

with Peanut Dressing

3 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 to 2 teaspoons Sriracha

    hot sauce (optional)

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

4-6 cups chopped broccoli pieces

2 cups shredded kale

1-2 shredded carrots

1 green onion, sliced very thin

½ cup cilantro leaves

¼ cup roasted peanuts

* Combine the peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice, hot sauce, salt and sesame oil. Mix well and set aside. In a large bowl combine the shredded broccoli, kale, carrots and green onions, toss the vegetables together. Mix with the peanut sauce. Taste and add salt if desired. Serve topped with the cilantro and roasted peanuts.

Lemon Curd - The Whitehall Inn, Camden, Maine

You’ll remember this beloved nursery rhyme, which has many versions:

                               Lemon Miss Muffet

                               Went to her buffet

                               Craving some curds and a scone.

                               Along came a baker,

                               Lemon curd he did make her.

                               Soon all of her gowns were outgrown!

One cup sugar

Half cup lemon juice

6 egg yolks + 2 eggs whole

2 lemons, zested

* Cook all ingredients in a double boiler, stirring constantly until the curd becomes thick and creamy. Serve with fresh scones.

Cooked Radishes…

When we have so many radishes, an easy way to eat more is to cook them. Cooking mellows their sharp flavor and caramelizes the natural sugar. This recipe is quick and easy, just make sure not to move the radishes around, so that they brown.

Sautéed Radishes

1-2 bunches radishes

1 tablespoon oil

½ teaspoon salt

salt and fresh ground black pepper

* Remove the greens from the radishes.  Slice the radishes in halves or quarters, so they are approximately the same size (larger radishes into quarters and smaller into halves).  In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat.  Add the radishes and move them so the cut side is facing down in the pan.  Turn the heat down to medium, and leave them alone in the pan, letting the radishes brown for 4-5 minutes.  Turn the heat to low, add ½ teaspoon salt and stir the radishes so that they cook on the other side about 2-3 minutes more.  Taste and add additional salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul …

Redeemed on Purpose

Ronda May Melendez & Keith F Martin

Mallow and goat’s-head are banes of the garden. They are invasive and aggressive intruders, though native to our fertile valley. Mallow spreads rapidly after spring rains, roots deeply, and is stubborn as the day is long. The puncture vine called goat’s-head is devious and deserves its nicknames - devil’s-thorn and earth’s-terror. It emerges in spring but thrives throughout summer, despite the parched ground. Its barbed, sun-hardened seed casings pierce me as I weed, poking through my leather gloves into my tender skin. Should you think this another garden weed rant, be encouraged, it’s not. With all intruders in my life, I want to know how they emerge, why they are here, where their roots run, what harm they can do, and if they can be used for good. Mallow and devil’s-thorn are no different, so as I pull, I ponder and prepare my mind for research.  

My first thoughts are practical and my objective simple: How do I remove these vile weeds from the garden! Pulling mallow demands strenuous effort and extreme care. I gather its unruly green stems into a firm grip and pull hard – no, terribly hard - while bracing myself.  When it releases its hold on the soil, the force will knock me over if I am not securely planted! To avoid the pain in devil’s-thorn, I keep clear of its tangled outer vines and seductive yellow blooms which conceal sunbaked barbs. Instead, I grasp its barbless taproot and pull. The techniques are simple and effective, but tedious. Battling weeds is never easy. Exhausted, I rest before I research.

Like many irritating and painful things in life, these vile weeds, I learn, can serve a purpose. Mallow is edible and offers one of the highest sources of Vitamin A found in vegetation. Ancient Egyptians used its root sap to make marshmallows. Sweet! Devil’s-thorn has healing nutrients in its thorny seed pods, tangled vines, and center taproot. Chinese herbalists pulverize these and prescribe the blend to promote heart health, healthy skin, athletic performance, and increased libido. Go figure! Ironically, these “weeds” thrive in areas described as “disturbed and waste places.” 

What landscapes in your life have become “disturbed and waste places”? What vile weeds have overtaken mental or emotional terrain in your sacred garden? Do they overrun your thoughts or poke through your heart? If so, I want to inspire your resolve to enter your sacred garden and engage those weeds in battle. First, quiet your mind and settle your heart before the LORD; then swing your garden gate open to Him, our Creator and Master Gardener. Tireless, He knows where to grab, has the power to pull, and can remove and repurpose vile weeds for your good. No effort or growth is wasted in your garden. He will redeem its landscape and restore its beauty and bounty so that you may have rest.