Going Up The Country

I’m goin’ up the country, babe, don’t you wanna go?
I’m goin’ up the country, babe, don’t you wanna go?
Take you to some place I’ve never been before…
(Up The Country-Canned Heat)

That’s what this market feels like, to me…a little bit of the country, right at your finger tips, easy to order from, easy to love, food that comes straight from our growers’ well tended gardens, fields, land…

Yesterday, before racing to get the market ready for order pick up, I made another salad. I know, I know…I talk a lot about salads, but I do make other amazing lunches/dinners, but my salads are someone else’s fast food through a drive through window. I make sure all of the components of my salads are washed, ready to go, and that I cover greens, colors, proteins, vibrancy.

ANYWAY…the salad, once again, featured products from this market, and vegetables straight out of our Hippie and the Farmer garden. The colors, the taste, the everything were just bursting with amazing taste, amazing texture, amazing everything!

Then, I grabbed a store bought apple that I bought, in a rush, just in case I had no time for lunch. I know better than this…but, impulse, and all. After the amazing taste explosion of the salad, and then the blandness of that apple from who knows where, was so night and day. And, once again, proved my point about eating local, eating from the land, knowing your farmers.

So, with that…think about us when you are making your grocery list. We have it all! And, we are a passionate group doing it all for you, for us, for our families, for the environment…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Happy Thursday!!

It’s Thursday evening, it’s time to open the market, and let’s get to ordering…

We are here, everyday, all year…we love your support, we love your trust, and we love your dedication to eating healthy, affordable, locally grown food!!

The holiday weekend is upon us, but don’t let that mess up your ordering vibe…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Wrap It Up!

It’s Wednesday morning!! The market will be closing at 8am!!

Don’t forget that this is the holiday weekend heading straight for us!! Do you have everything you may need for your celebrations?

Grilling, relaxing, traveling, entertaining…you need us!! Go, get your orders in!!

ALSO…THE YMCA IS ON SHUTDOWN, THIS WEEK!! It happens, every year!! But, it never messes up our market. Vendors can still bring product, the market will still be there for pick up, and customers can still come in to grab their orders.

We thank the YMCA, and their staff, for allowing us to continue during their weeks of shutdown!!

Ok…now, go…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Morning Song

‘Cause even though I know there’s hope in
Every morning song
I have to find that melody alone…
(Morning Song-The Avett Brothers)

Just sitting here, with coffee, listening to slow Monday tunes, working on lists for the day, and thinking about this market.

Actually, as I look into my morning coffee cup, I am thinking of how each of my days begins, ends, and runs with items from the this market.

The other day, I broke down my salad, and gave you a ton of options to go pair with it, all from this market.

Today, as I sip my coffee, once again, I am so happy for this market, and once again, I am enjoying the labors of the market.

My toast is well, shameless plug for me, but it’s sliced Cosmic Whole Wheat, toasted, and topped with a drizzle of syrup from Valley View Woodlands. On the side, I have a sliced peach from Champaign Berry Farm, and in my cup, Hemisphere’s Jamaican Me Crazy coffee, that comes to us, not only from their coffee roasting/coffeehouse, in Mechanicsburg, but via our own local coffee house, and newest vendor, Spotted Cow Coffeehouse!!

And, with that, I thought I would copy this for them…

Bobbi Custer was inspired to open The Spotted Cow Coffeehouse by her brothers, Eric and Levi, who both have Down’s syndrome. In 2013, Custer put full effort toward her overall vision: a workplace opportunity for her brothers and those with similar abilities to thrive with the motivation that their dreams are of genuine worth too. Downsize Farm and Hemisphere Coffee Roasters have been valuable contributors to the Spotted Cow vision. CEO of Downsize Farm and Bobbi’s father, Bob Custer, set the cornerstone for SCC’s opening. Bob Custer provided powerful mentoring and advice with focus in business and The Department of Developmental Abilities alike. Likewise, Paul and Grace Kurtz of Hemisphere Coffee Roasters have been a viable resources because of knowledge in the industry. Hemisphere Coffee Roasters is the sole supplier of coffee for The Spotted Cow Coffeehouse. The Spotted Cow Coffeehouse feels that with this team, as well as many other partners, can fulfill their overall vision, to be the spot in the community that contributes to opportunity.

And, with great pride, my Cosmic breads provide a few of their lunch sandwiches. I am proud to be part of their team, their community vision, to be a local link up to the ‘burg with Hemisphere’s, and as their market manager, here.

Just another local piece of heart and soul, coming straight from this market…

Make sure to check out all of our market selections, growers, vendors…we all have a story, a vision, and determination…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Hello, I Love You!

Hello, I love you
Let me jump in your game…
(Hello, I love You-The Doors)

The love, the little local market of love, the thrill of supporting all things local, the fact that I was just having a Doors discussion with one of my best friends…it all adds up to how I feel about this market, this community, all that I do…

She holds her head so high
Like a statue in the sky
Her arms are wicked and her legs are long
When she moves my brain screams out this song…
(Ok…add the riff, here…)

This market makes us all very, very proud. To look back, is only to look ahead, and to look in the present, of all that we have done. We never thought we would make it past the first year, we knew we had a huge pride in all that we were attempting, we did not know we would be such a driving force in this local scene, and yet, here we are, years later, singing our song…

Hello, I love you…

I am opening the market, tonight, with a huge thank you to the customers who support us, the vendors who supply us, and the YMCA who houses us…

It’s nothing but a love fest…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Last Dance

So c’mon baby
Dance that dance
C’mon baby
Dance that dance
C’mon baby
Last dance tonight…
(Last Dance-Donna Summer-Thank God It’s Friday movie-1978)

Last chance for love…come on, you can groove it. It’s the last chance for this week’s market in this little local market of love…

The market closes at 8am, and it’s a crazy amazing market, this week!! We’ve got it all, so why not put on those disco boots, and boogie on down to the market site to place your orders!!

We will see you, Thursday, picking up your orders, and doin’ the hustle, baby!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Eclipse

All that you touch
All that you see
All that you taste
All you feel.
All that you love
All that you hate
All you distrust
All you save.
All that you give
All that you deal
All that you buy,
beg, borrow or steal.
All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All that you say.
All that you eat
And everyone you meet
All that you slight
And everyone you fight.
All that is now
All that is gone
All that’s to come
and everything under
the sun is in tune
but the sun
is eclipsed by the moon.
(Pink Floyd-Eclipse-Dark Side Of The Moon album 1973)

Will you remember it, always? It was one of the most mesmerizing events that I will ever witness. I hope you all were able to partake.

The market is open for another day, the orders are pouring in, and we don’t want you to miss out. Use the energy from yesterday, to groove you…we close at 8am, tomorrow morning…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Sunshine On A Plate

To continue the sunshine theme, I wanted to share my Sunshine On A Plate salad that I just had. All with ingredients from this little local market of love. The market that puts the sunshine, in your life, weekly!

I had a Sunday hair appointment, because thankfully, my hair girl opens her salon on Sundays, for girls like me, who only have about a nano second of time to give to a luxury like hair. But, also, a Sunday appointment gives me a quiet salon, with piped in music, and a whole lot of zen…

But, this post is not about me, my hair, or my hair salon…

I just needed to paint the picture. After my appointment, I was starving. Like, so starving, I could not think. I get like that. I will get busy, and forget to eat, and then I am that crazy, get out of my way hungry.

I raced home, and made a huge salad, that resembled the sun, and as I was eating it, I noticed that it had been made, using all items from your lovely vendors/growers…

I used a lettuce mix of romaine, and red butter from Davidson Family Growers. Peppers from Hippie and the Farmer. Peaches from Champaign Berry. Farm Cheddar Cheese, cut up, from Covington Cheese Company. Microgreens from Live Simply, Live Richly. And, a light drizzle made from a quick whisk of olive oil, a champagne vinegar, and a bit of maple syrup from Valley View Woodlands with a bit of cracked black pepper from Swisher Hill Herbs. I also sprinkled with a bit of red pepper flake that came from JC Growers, a while back.

The only other things that I added were a handful of walnuts, and a bit of corn that was cut off the cob, from Kroger, but only because Hippie and the Farmer corn is not quite ready, yet.

There you have it…a total salad of sunshine on a plate…and now, I have refueled with healthy food, I know where my food is coming from, it’s all local, and it was all so cost effective!! And, if you really want to make your week, easy, make salads in huge quantities, and store in grab and go containers.

To add more protein, you could get locally grown meats, right here,from Oakview Farm Meats, to grill or bake, and add to the top of this salad. You could get eggs from this market, from Oakview, Rocky Ridge, or Laughman’s, hard boil, and slice on top. There are any number of cheeses from both Covington Cheese Company, and Dugan Road Creamery, to add for taste delights.

You could even do any combination of produce, from Davidson Family Growers, JC Growers, Hippie and the Farmer, End Of The Road, Live Simply, Live Richly, and Vegetables by Olga Wright! Or boil/roast/grill potatoes from End Of The Road, to slice, and cool, and then add to this…

Madison Ling makes a granola bar that would be excellent crumbled, on top! The possibilities are endless!!

And, you could even get ready by washing your hands with one of the soaps from Elm Tree! Light a candle for your dining from Old Homefarm Candles! Brew a pot of coffee from Spotted Cow, to serve with a sweet treat from Littler Farms, GaGa’s Goodies, and Madison’s Gluten Free Baking! Or, enjoy your dessert with a glass of creamline milk, from Dugan Road Creamery. You may even want to stir a bit of honey in your coffee, to sweeten it, with local honey from both Lippincott Honey or Honey Boy Honey! Need to add toasted up croutons? Look to Cosmic Charlie for breads to go with, or breads for toasting into croutons! Perfect salad topper!

Maybe, you want to bake your own concoctions, and need flour from either Ella Bella, or Oberly Bros Farm!

And, while you are enjoying this whole lovely scene, don’t forget your furry friends…they would love to dine with you, as they enjoy their favorite treats from Kimmy Shark Creations!

California Sun

And they twist
And I’ll shimmy
And they shimmy
And I’ll fly
And they fly
Where they’re out there having fun
In the warm California sun
Where they’re out there having fun
In the warm California sun
(California Sun-The Rivieras)

You don’t have to be in California to enjoy the warm sun!! We’ve got it all, right here!! And, to make it even more fun, you can take a bit of time to get your weekly market orders in!!

Why not twist around the market, to see what grooves you, what moves you, and what makes you shimmy…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Ready, Set, Go!

The market is now open!

Let’s get ready to rock the week!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam