It might be snowing in Southern California, but springlike weather has descended upon Southern Louisiana, which means local gardeners are at work planning and planting their springtime crop.

Of course, springtime crops mean springtime veggies, which in turn mean springtime recipes – and Chef Gavin Jobe of Meribo restaurant in Covington has a dandy.

He’s the latest local chef to take part in the quarterly Eat Well, Live Well cooking demonstration series hosted by the nonprofit group Healthier Northshore – of which St. Tammany Health System is a key member – and the American Heart Association.

“I grew up cooking with my Granny,” Chef Gavin told the crowd of more than 40 home cooks gathered for the cooking demo. “She always had a garden growing, so we always ate fresh things, whatever was in season.”

By the time it was done, he had whipped up enough of his chicken thighs with roasted vegetables to give everyone in the room a sample. If that wasn’t tasty enough, event sponsor Gulf Coast Bank provided everyone in attendance with a box filled with enough garden-fresh veggies to re-create the dish at home.

We enjoyed it so much, we figured we’d start this month’s newsletter by sharing Chef Gavin’s recipe, which you’ll find at StTammany.health.

We hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did – and we also hope you enjoy the following headlines from the St. Tammany Health System newsroom.

Bon appétit!  

It’s a subject with which many people are uncomfortable, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happens.

Whether the result of a miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death or infant loss, the death of a baby leaves a profound emotional impact on parents. But as a reminder that rainbows follow most storms, St. Tammany Health System’s New Family Center recently instituted a colorful new program to celebrate “rainbow babies” – or those babies born following the loss of another baby.

A fond farewell

After 43 years and some 200,000 patient interactions, Dr. Margie Strong of St. Tammany Pediatrics, STHS’s primary care kid clinic, is hanging up her stethoscope. “I can’t think of a better place to end my career than at an institution like St. Tammany,” she said.

A heart-shaped history   

February means Valentine’s Day, and this year St. Tammany Health System marked the occasion by tracing the history of its heart-shaped logo – to get to the heart of the matter, if you will – which has been a fixture on the Northshore for decades.

Parenting Center calendar 

Now that those winter doldrums seem to have passed us by, it’s time to get out of the house and DO something. Fortunately, the St. Tammany Parenting Center has a full slate of activities on tap for the whole family throughout the month of March. 

A sign of gratitude

It may have gone from pandemic to endemic, but COVID-19 hasn't gone anywhere. To make it clear that their professionalism and dedication haven’t gone overlooked, St. Tammany Health System leaders visited frontline caregivers on the COVID unit Feb. 20.