First Friday Art Crawl

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you can’t help but notice how the Brady District is blowing up!  New restaurants (Hello, Laffa! I love you!), shops, and there is almost always something happening every day of the week at the ultra-fabulous Guthrie Green – my favorite spot in Tulsa!  And to make things even greater, the first Friday of every month is the First Friday Art Crawl.  First Friday Art Crawl is the opportunity to casually stroll along the streets of the Brady District, sipping complimentary drinks, discovering local talent, and taking in some live music.  On a lovely spring evening, there’s really nothing better.

Jenn S. and I checked out the April event and it was a perfect evening!  The weather was warm and the crowds were thick.  We started our evening with a quick dinner & drinks at the Brady Tavern before taking in all the exhibits and exploring the shops and galleries.  We started with the Tapestries of Jon Eric Riis exhibit at the 108 Contemporary Building.  Looking at these textiles up close – the workmanship was unbelievable.  I mean…really stunning.  Next we hit the Zarrow Center and I’ll be honest – I didn’t “get” any of the art displayed there. 

Tapestries of Jon Eric Riis

Tapestries of Jon Eric Riis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we left those two buildings, we just ambled from one display to the next.  We checked out some jewelry, some stunning art work, fabulous pottery pieces, and just enjoyed the overall feel of the event.  We stopped by Guthrie Green and listened to the live music.  Speaking of which, if live music is your thing, you will love the Art Crawl.  The variety of musical acts is amazing and you will find someone playing at almost all of the various clubs and coffee houses. 

 

And the people watching was beyond terrific.  The wonderful thing about an event like First Friday Art Crawl is the diversity of people this event attracts.  You had your usual hipsters and creative art folk, but it also attracts the suit and tie crowd as well; really just a great mix of people.  Everyone just seemed to be in great spirits and there was an overall feel of “community” among the crowd.

Of course, no trip to the Brady District is complete without a stop at Glacier Confections.  If you haven’t tried one of these wonderful, decadent treats – you are missing out. 

The next Art Crawl is right around the corner – Friday, May 3^rd – so get out and get exploring.  There is something for everyone – food, drink, live music – and for the most part, it’s all free.  Now what can be better than that??

The Living Kitchen

One of the unforeseen benefits of doing this blog is that people are constantly letting me know about events they think I might find interesting or “blog-worthy”.  This is how I came to know about the Living Kitchen.  My cousin Tina sent me the information and said she thought it sounded like something I would enjoy.  And holy moly!  She was right.

The Living Kitchen is a certified organic, 400-acre working farm located in Depew (about 45 minutes west of Tulsa).  Every summer they host a series of Farm Table Dinners.  These are themed dinners with the majority of everything on the menu being sourced from the farm.  After reading just a little bit about this amazing place, I immediately made reservations for the Found and Foraged Dinner.  This dinner would include a walk through the farm led by wildcrafter Jackie Dill.  Jackie Dill considers herself to be a “locavore”, living off the land as much as possible.  How exciting!!  I was beyond giddy and couldn’t wait for Saturday to roll around.

My date C picked me up at 5:30 and off we went.  Fortunately for me, C is also a major foodie and enjoys these culinary adventures as much as I do.  We arrived at the farm right at 6:20 (the earliest we could get there) and knew in an instant that it was going to be just as fantastic as we had hoped.  The farm is like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life and the cabin where we would have dinner?  Sweet goodness, it was beyond fantastic.  It was an old log cabin with an open living/dining/kitchen area, a downstairs bedroom, a bedroom and loft upstairs and a beautiful screened in porch.  It was breathtaking!! 

The porch

 

As soon as everyone was ready, Jackie led us on our nature walk.  Some of the things she pointed out on our walk were sorrel, prickly pear (you can sear off the “hair”, peel the fruit and sauté it up), poke, chickweed, and a host of other edible greens.  Full disclosure – I took a ton of pictures but after looking at them, they all just looked like weeds and I couldn’t discern one from the other.

By the time we returned to the cabin I was starving and the smells coming from the small kitchen literally made my mouth water.  As we entered the cabin we were handed a small drink made of Pellegrino and rose hips and something else (sorry, I was too excited to get all the ingredients).  It was so refreshing. 

Our first course of the evening was fresh chevre (goat cheese), pecan crusted and seared.  This was served with wild garlic oil, pot poke salat (I thought this was a typo but trusty Google assures me it’s not), and some crackers made with prairie sage. 

Our second course was a wild salad made with chickweed.  They added a little arugula and baby kale for variety and it was tossed with a white zinfandel vinaigrette with wild garlic and onions.  Honestly, and everyone around me agreed, it was like eating your lawn clippings – but it was really pretty good. 

The third course was a pork and chicken dumpling with henbit and seared morel mushrooms in a light chicken broth.  First of all – I was ecstatic about having the morel mushrooms.  I love them but they are difficult to find, plus you really need to know what you are doing before just going out and harvesting wild mushrooms.  Really not a good idea.  But the dumpling was delicious and I really wanted more.

Midway through our dinner we were served grapefruit ice.  It was a simple concoction of shaved ice with grapefruit juice.  It was a wonderful dish to serve right in the middle of our feast; so light and refreshing and tasty.

The fifth course was homemade goat cheese raviolis in lamb broth with braised curly dock, and smoked pork jowl.  This was amazing.  I love goat cheese and these raviolis were so smooth and creamy.  Thank goodness there was some fresh bread on the table so I could soak up all the delicious broth.

Our dessert was post de crème with fresh herbs, an almond biscotti, and buffalo berry blossom.  I’m not normally a big biscotti fan (too dry and I don’t drink coffee to dunk it in) but this biscotti was fantastic.  I seriously looked around at my dining companions to see if anyone had some left that I could have.

The whole evening was just ridiculously awesome - from the setting to the walk to the people to the food.  Everything!  After dinner, as everyone was lingering and chatting around the table, someone pulled out a guitar and started playing a little music and before you knew it, half the room was singing along to Summertime – the Ella Fitzgerald classic.  How perfect is that?!?!

If you want to experience this for yourself – go to http://www.livingkitchenfarmanddairy.com and check them out!  If you enjoy food and nature and just experiencing life – you will NOT be disappointed. 

 

 

 

Herb Festivals

Oh my goodness, do I love spring!  And now that spring has finally arrived inTulsa, it’s time to get out and get some fresh air.  This past Saturday my intention was to ridemy bike down to the Brookside Herb Festival but April showers and May flowersand all that nonsense put a kink in my plans so I chose to drive my car like aregular ole’ Joe.   Herb Day in Brookside features locally grownplants, herbs, and flowers for sale as well as other local merchandise to makeyour back yard the place to be this summer. Located at the corner of 41^st & Peoria, it’s one of thefirst of several herb festivals this year. 

Full disclosure – every year I make a vow that I’m going tohave the best container garden ever – tomatoes, strawberries, basil, oregano,etc.   And every year it’s a miserablefailure.  Every.  Single. Year.  Last year I managed to keepone tomato plant alive and even managed one beautiful, ripe, tomato.  I mean, it was a work of art it was sopretty.  I had it all planned out – I wasgoing to come home, harvest my bounty (i.e. – my one tomato) and fix the mostdelicious BLT anyone has ever tasted.  Istepped outside, ready to pluck the tomato and….. it was gone!!  Seriously!! The best I can figure is the squirrels were onto my plan and decided tostrike first.  And that has been my mostsuccessful garden to date. 

The turnout this year was not the best with it being so coldand rainy, but there were still a few hearty souls.  I’ll admit that I didn’t linger as I normallywould have.  I pretty much ran throughthe whole thing, looking for a few heirloom tomato plants and a few herbs, inthe hope that this year’s garden is a little more successful.

In case you missed out on the Brookside event – do notfret!  April 20^th is the SandSprings Herbal Affair.  This is one ofthe largest events and takes place around the town square.  Along with more than 100 vendors of herbs,perennials, heirloom plants, and gardening supplies, you can also check outsome of the delicious food trucks – everything from Amish to Indian.  Visit www.herbalaffairandfestival.comfor more information. 

And April 27^th is the Jenks Herb & PlantFestival.  Taking place on Main Street,this event continues to grow and expand. In addition to plant vendors, you’ll find inflatable jungle gyms andface painting for the kiddos, pancake breakfasts for the early birds, and theReasor’s festival stage. 

Load up the kids, grab a red wagon or basket, and get out toa neighborhood festival.  You’ll have agreat time, find something you can’t live without, and get some fresh air.  What better way to spend a Saturday morning.

 

Redbud Valley Nature Preserve

I love going for a walk in the woods.  I can think of no better way to spend a beautiful afternoon than to be outside getting lost in nature - especially this time of year.  After the dreary winter months it is so uplifting to see the trees budding out and everything turning so green.  It’s like a salve for my soul.   

As most of you know, I’m a big, big, fan of Turkey Mountain.  It’s less than 5 minutes from my front door and you can get lost for hours on the numerous trails.  But every now and again I like a new adventure.  This past Saturday I packed my passport and bottle of water and headed east, way outside of my comfort zone.  My destination was the Redbud Valley Nature Preserve.  Located about 3.5 miles north of I-44 (just past the Hard Rock Casino), the Redbud Valley Nature Preserve is tucked away just off the blacktop road.   

Redbud Valley was originally purchased by The Nature Conservancy in the late ‘60’s in an effort spearheaded by Dr. Harriet Barclay, a professor at TU.  She subsequently worked with the now-defunct Tulsa Tribune on a fund drive in order to raise the necessary money to repay The Nature Conservancy.  The property was maintained by TU until 1990, when the area was transferred to the City of Tulsa.  It is now operated as part of the Oxley Nature Center in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy.   

One of the more fascinating things about Redbud Valley is the different terrains you are exposed to – from woodlands to desert like terrain to prairie grasses – all within a one-mile loop.  And I haven’t even mentioned the caves.  The valley is ringed by towering limestone cliffs and over the years, the water cutting through the limestone has created some of the most amazing caves and overhangs you will find in the Tulsa area.  It’s really very stunning!  And to think all this natural beauty is just minutes from downtown.  Amazing!!



The boardwalk

On my recent outing I took the low trail.  This is a super easy walk along a boardwalk.  I kid you not; they have installed an actual boardwalk through the woods.  It was so incredibly peaceful.  At the end of the boardwalk, I turned and headed up the rocky cliff.  Although it was a bit steep, it was a super easy climb.  The views from the top are breathtaking.  You overlook the entire valley, including a pond.  As you continue to scale the bluff, you come out at the edge of the cliff wall and walk alongside some of the most amazing caves.  Along this path you’ll cross a natural spring, flowing out of the rocks.  The sound of the water gurgling over the pebbles and stones – I really could have just sat there for hours. 

Continuing along the same path, I made my way to the top of the bluffs and found myself on the high plains area.  I couldn’t believe how much the landscape changed in just a few steps.  From lush, green woodlands to dry prairie grasses, in just the blink of an eye.  Along this section of the trail there were tons of yucca plants and cacti, typical of the dry prairie habitat.

 

Exposed tree roots.

 

The walk is such that it could take you as little as 30 minutes or as long as the day – depending on how long you linger and enjoy the natural beauty. 

 

In addition to the trails, you will find a visitor’s center and the most helpful volunteers you can imagine who will patiently answer every one of your ridiculous questions.  FYI – also in the visitor’s center you will find the skeleton of a snake (ewww – “shudder”).  Adjacent to the visitor’s center is a pavilion with restrooms and a picnic area.  And for those of you who enjoy geo-caching, it’s an official geo-cache location – cache name Redbud Rocks. 
 

If you find yourself with some free time, especially in the next few weeks as the trees continue to bud out – pack a bottle of water and get outdoors.  Spring is one of the most beautiful seasons, especially in Oklahoma.  Not counting the whole allergy thing.  For more information, visit http://www.oxleynaturecenter.org/redbud.htm.

 

 

Tulsa Stained Glass Company

Thanks to Living Social and Groupon, I get to try all kinds of things I never thought possible.  Case in point was my adventure at Tulsa Stained Glass this past Saturday.  I enrolled for the Micro Stained Glass Class through Living Social.  This was a three hour class covering the history and techniques of stained glass and we would be doing a little hands-on crafting.  By the way – I absolutely love hands-on.  I think it’s one of the best ways to learn something new.

Glass Cutters

The class opened with a lesson in how glass is made and the difference between “float” glass and “rolled” glass.  We then had a brief demonstration on how to score and break glass.  This was really interesting and I could have spent a lot more time playing with the different glass cutters.  It was so nifty to score the glass and then “pop” it and see your piece just fall away instead of shattering.



My "feelings"

We then received a lesson on how you can turn any old doodle into a piece of stained glass and this was fairly interesting to me.  The only thing I don’t care for is when someone tells me to “paint how you feel right now”.  No!  I am way too literal minded to be “painting my feelings”.  Tell me to paint something concrete – a flower, a puppy, a teapot – and I’m good to go but to have to “paint my feelings” – it’s an anxiety attack waiting to happen.  But the instructor took a classmates simple doodle (quite honestly I thought it was a little on the not attractive side but that’s just my opinion) and showed how, with a little manipulation, it could be transformed into a glass piece.

Finally we got to the good stuff!  We were given our supplies and turned loose with the lead (surprisingly flexible), the solder, and soldering gun!  We were guided through making an owl but as you can see, Mary took a little liberty with her materials.

My owl and Mary's person

If you’re truly interested in learning about stained glass, I think it’s an informative class and gives you a good groundwork to grow from.  However, if you’re like me and you just want to try it out and get your hands dirty, the class was about two hours too long.  I wanted a brief demonstration and then I wanted to be turned loose.  I expected to cut glass for our craft project and perhaps follow a pattern – maybe creating a trivet or a small window hanging or something like that.  Well, truth be told, for a three hour class I was halfway hoping we would create a big window hanging. 

But, like I said, it was good introductory class and I always think it’s good to expose yourself to new ideas and hobbies.  You just never know when you’ll discover your wheelhouse.  And just so we’re clear – stained glass making is not in my wheelhouse.

For more information, visit http://tulsastainedglass.com or give them a call at 918-664-8604.