The Weblog

The local foods movement is alive and well in Champaign County! Here are some updates on other projects while we finalize our virtual market:

Local Producers Map:
Our local producers map is ready for publication and you will soon be able to find it on gochampaign.com. Copies will be distributed around the community, in the local telephone book, and other “hangouts”. The guide lists the location and contact information for nearly 50 local producers within our county. The map was a project of the Local Food Council and printed with the help of some local sponsors including the Monument Square District, Champaign Bank, the Community Improvement Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau and others. It is a great start to finding a local source for Champaign County’s finest!



 
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Get Your Groove On


This week’s market closes at 8am, this morning!!

Go ahead…you still have time to join the fun!!

Ready, set, order…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Way Down Yonder In The Paw Paw Patch


Because you knew it was coming…because of this big news from Valley View Woodlands!!

I wanted to let our fellow market members know that Valley View Woodlands has just listed our pawpaws for the first time.  Our pawpaw orchard is finally coming into maturity, and this is our first real harvest.  The varieties we planted were selected for size and taste.  I’m sure anyone who tastes them will agree—they are delicious!  They are currently the world’s hottest food trend.  In recent months they have been featured in many articles, including a cover story in a gourmet magazine. 
 
Eaten fresh with a spoon, or used to make ice cream, mousse, or smoothies, people love the banana-mango flavor.  Check the market for an ice cream recipe. It’s a tropical treat we can grow right here in Champaign County.  The colorful pulp is very nutritious, ranking with oranges and bananas in vitamins and minerals.  It is also loaded with anti-oxidants.  There is also currently research going on involving pawpaws’ cancer-fighting properties.
 
One other exciting note is that by next week we hope to have pawpaw trees for sale.  These are trees we have grown from seed.  We will feature grafted varieties—they are grafted like apples to propagate known improved cultivars.  Seeds collected from our orchard will also be available so that folks can start their own trees.  We will send out another notice when they are available. 
 
Thanks to our fellow market members for their support!

Marc Stadler
Valley View Woodlands!!

When Your Hot Your Hot...


So…the weekend passed by in a blazing haze of heat!!

I hope that you all were able to get out to enjoy one or both of the local happenings, locally.

Saturday found your two market managers at the Simon Kenton Chili Cook Off competing with Hippie and the Farmer!! We got second place in booth creativity and design!! Yay!! It also gave us time to promote this market!!

Sunday found me with my side gig, The Soul Sisters, at the Covered Bridge and Bluegrass Festival in Union County!! Again, a hot day, but so fun to be out, do a bit of promoting, and it was nice to support our sister county!!

Now, we have crashed into fall, crashed into Monday, and still have that sunny heat!!

To celebrate the coming in of fall, Madison Ling has listed her gluten free zucchini bread!!

Why not take a moment, and get back in the swing of things, and order from our market!! You don’t even have to be out in the heat to do it!!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Happy Moving Into Fall!!


Ok…we are now through the summer months, but that is no reason to not get your orders in for the market!!

We still have so much of the season’s bounty, and now, as you move into the shorter days, the soon to be crisp weather, you will want to begin to think of how you will transition your cooking, your kitchen, your entertaining…

This season gives us so many rich colors, rich textures, and foods that lend themselves to this perfect backdrop…

Take some time, this weekend, and weekend, and think about how your cooking will change in the coming weeks. How can we help in that?

And, it’s not just cooking…you will need candles, soaps, oils…all of it…

Fall weather is like an awakening to our senses…take advantage…use our market for this incoming season of technicolor love…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Wake Up Call!


Good morning!!

I am having coffee, getting ready to bake the day away, and wanted to remind you that you have until 8am to get your orders in!!

Make your morning count!!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Tuesday Dose Of Love!


Show yourself some love by making your week a bit easier!! Place your order, for the week, and then sit back, enjoy, and breeze through on Thursday, to pick it all up with ease!

You have until tomorrow morning!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Just Like That!


Another market week opens!

There are a couple of vendors in vacation mode for next week!!

They will return soon, but sometimes, our vendors need a recharge!!

Thank you for always supporting this market!! You make it a lovely time, each week!!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Last Call!


You have until 8am to get your orders in before we close for this week!!

Go…don’t be late!!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Hello!!


It’s Tuesday, and an excellent day to begin thinking about any orders that you need for the upcoming weekend, and next week!!

The market closes, tomorrow, at 8am, so you have plenty of time to get your lists together!!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Thursday!


Opening the market, again, for everyone who may have missed out, this past week, for anyone who has ever thought about ordering, and for those ever loyal customers, who order, each and every week…

Our love for you is real…

I am opening things up, feel free to order like crazy, and I will be back to check on things, inspire you with witty blogs, and try to show you just how easy it is to order local, eat local, be local…

Go ahead…it’s cool…

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam