Operation: Inspiration - Checking In

I'm getting a little lax with my postings this summer. I'm lax with many things lately, a phenomenon that I find happens when it's over 105 degrees for very many days in a row. Right about now, I'm really hoping that the climate isn't shifting in this direction, and that these incredibly hot summer temperatures aren't a vicious new normal. It will be interesting to see what's in store for us this winter, because in the last two years we have had both the wettest and driest winters on record in Oklahoma.

In the meantime, I'm going to revisit my goal of getting inspired this summer. It's hardly a measurable goal, which leaves me some room for subjectivity on the matter, in which case I am going to call it a success. Interestingly, the location for my greatest inspiration on where I want to take this project was not only California, but right here in Oklahoma, and also Minnesota.

California was beautiful, of course, with its flowers and beaches and perfect 85-degree days. We had such a great time, reconnected with our daughters, and saw what wonderful things can be done when open minds allow creativity to flow. I love places where imagination is embedded into a culture, as it seems to be on the West Coast (not to mention Disneyland, which is like imagination on steroids). 

Back home, we put our own creativity to use as we harvested hundreds of pounds of tomatoes and quickly realized that we needed to find ways to use them, fast. We entered the SalsaFest, held an heirloom tomato-tasting event at the OSU Extension offices in Tulsa, had adventures in canning with my dad and received some exciting media attention for donating 200 lbs. of tomatoes to the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.

Also this summer, the very exciting Tulsa Health Department initiative, Pathways to Health kicked off. Not only is it my first real Board service, but I truly believe this collective impact program has the potential to make a real difference in addressing Oklahoma's health issues. I am so proud of my cousin Lynnsey, who is spearheading this effort. I will post regularly about it on this blog, and you can follow it on Twitter (@TulsaP2H).

So my takeaway from the activities this summer is the power of passion and common goals. I'm finding such a powerful movement of people who refuse to settle for poor health options, not just for themselves and their families, but for their communities as well. At the P2H event, a 20-something young woman proudly declared herself "a total public health nut." Don't tell me this country is doomed and that the government is going to destroy us all. This City-County Health Department employee shows me otherwise.

Which, finally, brings me to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I tagged along to a meeting of our Garden Center Performance Group. This group of garden center owners and managers meets three times a year to discuss their performances (as the name of the group probably indicates, but it seemed to need more explanation). On the first day, we took a tour of area garden centers, which included Tangletown/Wise Acres, which is doing pretty much what we want to be doing with the market, running a very successful CSA and restaurant. Plus, the group had some amazing discussions about where the garden center industry is going, and it is very much in the direction of local foods and farming.

All in all, I feel like we're on our game with this project. Now that everybody is back from vacations, and school starts back up in a couple of weeks, we are launching into our Strategic Planning season. We will be starting to sit down with designers soon! So excited!

The tomatoes right we took to the OSU Extension for tasting.

The Food Bank donation: 200 lbs. of heirloom tomatoes went to Iron Gate Soup Kitchen.
They sent out a quick press release the day before, and four TV stations showed up!

Fruits of Our Labor

We are nearing the completion of our first season as farmers. Our first tomato and pepper crop yielded a decent harvest, and we were able to grow them organically. Next we'll harvest the onions, watermelons and pumpkins, all of which are coming along nicely despite the drought.

SalsaFest was a fun project with a surprising win for best use of local ingredients! It gave us the chance to break in the Market House kitchen and involve some of our Southwood employees: Anna , Emmie and Juan. The salsa turned out delicious, with the sweet flavor of the heirloom tomatoes against a little heat from the jalapeño, anaheim and bell peppers.



Ginny (my mom), Emmie and Juan prep the tomatoes for the salsa.
The varieties we used included Cherokee Purple, Brandywine and Azoychka.

Joe (my husband) appears pleased with the salsa display at SalsaFest.

The salsa took all of the tomatoes we had harvested, and the festival took almost all of the salsa - we did put bowl of it in the employee break room at Southwood right after we made it. I understand they ate it all.

This Friday, July 13 from 9-11 a.m., we're offering our friends one more way to taste the fruits of our labor, at the OSU Extension Center on 15th Street. We'll have the heirloom tomato and pepper varieties available for tasting. Dr. Brandenberger is bringing forms for participants to fill out as part of the trial we're performing for the OSU Horticulture Department, too. Drop by if you have a chance!

Little by little, I'm finding a niche for myself and my project in Tulsa's local food and health nutrition scene. At SalsaFest, I knew a lot more of the core organizers and volunteers than I expected. The event was held by Sustainable Tulsa and Elote Restaurant, both very active in the drive to bring more local food to Tulsans. The two groups who are working to build community grocery stores in the downtown areas (Cam's and Archer Market) were also represented. I'm discovering an exciting sense of community and common goals among these people, and I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with them.

Another exciting project I'm working on is Pathways to Health, through the Tulsa City-County Health Department. My fabulous cousin, Lynnsey Childress, is spearheading this collaborative effort to improve the health of the Tulsa population. We had our first planning meeting at the end of June, and I'm so impressed with what they've done so far to build momentum. If anyone is interested in hearing more about it, please email me or leave a comment. The more people who join in the fight to take Oklahoma off the top of about every national bad health rating, the better.

Next up, we're going to launch into the design phase for the Market, and some long-range planning for the Farm & Market as well as Southwood's Production department. That department, which grows a lot of the plants we sell at Southwood, is located at a greenhouse range about two miles from the retail facility, but will also expand to include part of the farm. A new Production Manager just joined the Southwood staff, and we expect that department to grow as part of this venture.

My Dad says the secret to growth and development is "measure twice, cut once" so that's what we're doing!

I couldn't resist posting our trophy! Best Use of Local Ingredients.
We're proud of our upside-down bowl, mason jar and basil plant!