Correction!

Some of the printed customer letters, and a Weblog from Swisher Hill Herbs, mistakenly listed a wrong date for our market…

The market will have order pick up, this Thursday evening. We will then be closed for the two weeks of the holiday. I will reopen the market for ordering, on December 31, 2015!

Thank you!

Cosmic Pam

New Vendor Spotlight!! Ella Bella!

We discovered a while back that our youngest Elizabeth– just 1 1/2 at the time– had a gluten intolerance. This was not a new disease for me; my mother is also gluten intolerant, and has been for 20 years. Since I had some history, I had a pretty good idea of what foods were available on the market in Dayton Ohio. I searched for new stores, tried new things. I found that dinners and snacks would not be a problem –eat whole foods. Foods from the vegetable and meat departments are not processed, so there is no way to have gluten introduced. My problem was with desserts. Everything I tried was disgusting, expensive and didn’t taste like the real thing.

I started experimenting with gluten free all purpose flour mixtures in February 2011. I wanted my daughter to be able to eat what the other kids were eating. And if those other kids came to our house, I wanted them to eat my daughter’s food, and not spit it out because it tasted icky. I knew what I wanted, how was I to get there? I started with 4 different AP flour mixes and made chocolate chip cookies. Thankfully, I have very hungry and not shy co-workers and friends. I had them rate the cookies based on color, texture, and taste. I got honest and constructive feedback. I went back to the test-kitchen and made more tweaks, added more of this, and less of that. Again I took them to my tasters. This happened several times, until I had a winner!

I knew I had come up with a good idea. I wanted to sell my baked goods to others who were gluten intolerant and also to celiacs. I worked with a friend (Chris Vallo) to make a great logo. My husband started marketing to the local restaurants and stores. Ella Bella was in business. We are still a small business but are growing every month.

My philosophy of providing my family with the best possible food also extends to Ella Bella. I mix my own gluten free all purpose flour with all natural and organic flours. I make my own vanilla, using non-grained based vodka. I buy organic butter, local organic eggs. In short, I use only high-quality ingredients to make high-quality baked goods.

Mandy
Ella Bella

Gluten Free Flour, and Mixes

www.ellabellaGF.com

937-319-1754

2000 Miles

He’s gone two thousand miles…
It’s very far…
The snow is falling down…
Gets colder day by day…
I miss you…

I can hear people singing…
It must be Christmas time…
I hear people singing…
It must be Christmas time…
(Pretenders – 2000 Miles-Written by Chrissie Hynde)

This song will always and forever be my favorite Christmas song. I was a HUGE Pretenders fan, am still always blown away by Chrissie’s voice, and each year in college, followed by my years as a flight attendant, would find me falling into shops, clubs, airports, to be reconnected with this song, and just wanting to get home for the holidays.

This little market of love is just like that…going home for the holidays. Let us be your song, your light, your feeling of home…

To add to the excitement of the season, your market managers are adding more and more new, amazing vendors!

You have already met a few of the new vendors over the past couple of weeks, and everyone seems to be enjoying their new products that they have introduced!

We love adding new stars to the local line up and connecting them to the Champaign Locally Grown family!

We now bring to you Mad Sweet Heat, EllaBella Flours/Mixes, and are looking forward to products from Robin’s Nest Granola!

Mad Sweet Heat is an amazing unique product out of Springfield. It is a sweet jalapeno pepper with just enough kick that we are sure it will be a new favorite among the locally grown customers! Make sure to go to the Growers part of the market and read all about them, their product, and their production! They are offered in retail shops, all over, and we are excited that they are now a vendor at our market!

I had the pleasure of being able to meet and chat with Mandy from EllaBella flours and mixes! She brings us amazing gluten free flours, and mixes for cookies and brownies! We have a gluten free following, and we are happy to be able to offer them, EllaBella!

Robin’s Nest Granola is also a product out of Springfield. We were able to sample her products at The Clark County Food Summit. When she goes live with her products, she will be offering two unique flavors!

A reminder that this is the last market of 2015!!! We will be closed for the weeks of Christmas AND New Year’s. The next market will reopen on December 31, 2015, to ring in another year for this little local market of love!!!

Make sure to stock up on the products that you need, want, love!! We have all of your old favorites, we have the brand new in Mad Sweet Heat, and EllaBella, and we have our newest meat producers with Women That Farm!!

Make it a local holiday. Place your orders, now, for a holiday filled with products from your little local market of love!!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
And THANK YOU for always being such great customers AND vendors!!

Cosmic Pam
Oakview Mark
Swisher Hill Charlene

Happy Holidays From Swisher Hill Herbs!

This week will be the last shopping week for the Champaign Ohio Locally Grown Virtual Market for the year 2015!!!
The market will close after the Market Day Dec. 17, 2015 and re-open for sales January 31,2015 for the first market pickup day January 7, 2016
You may call Swisher Hill Herbs for all of your Herbal shopping needs have over the holidays .We have set up a small Swisher Hill herbs shop in our home you may visit by appointment.
Herb Gift Sets, soup and chili mixes, dips, seasoning blends, dried herbs, essential oils, cinnamon sticks, mulled cider mix, vanilla beans, herb teas and herbs for blending your own teas, salsa mix and more. Phone: 937-653-8418
e-mail swisherhillherbs@gmail.com Ginger awaits your visit!
Take Thyme,
Joe and Charlene Stapleton

The Gift Of Soap!

Hello, lovely customers! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather!

This week, being the last market before Christmas, we are offering our gift sets at a discount! There are 5 Holiday Sets and 9 Fabulous 5 Sets available and we have marked them down to $13.50/set (reg $15)! Each set includes 5 half-size bars. Perfect gifts that are all packaged up and ready to give!
Holiday: Peppermint, Sweet Orange Clove, Holiday Spice, Frankincense & Myrrh, and O Christmas Tree.
Fabulous 5: Lemongrass, Tea Tree Lavender, Pink Grapefruit, Peppermint, and Sweet Orange Clove.

Pink Grapefruit bars are still on sale for $4/bar!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Laura Miller

ELM Tree Essentials

937.524.5411

www.elmtreeessentials.com

The Market Is Now Open

Just a short and sweet market opening, tonight.

Your market manager is exhausted beyond exhaustion. It’s been a crazy 6 weeks of all things holiday, all things fast paced in the life of a downtown board member, a chair of Holiday Promotions, Santa Land, and the Holiday Gala. On top of that, all of you who have seen me, this past week, have seen my injury. On top of all this, there is my crazy baking schedule…

So, with this, I thank you all for this past week’s market, and making it a huge market!! I look forward to seeing you at this week’s market, AND…please remember…this coming week will be our last until after the holidays!!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Just A Reminder...

The market will close at 10pm, tonight!!

Get your groove on, and get those orders in!!

See you when I close the market…make me happy with those market orders! Make the vendors all happy!!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Morning Has Broken

Morning has broken like the first morning…
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird….
Praise for the singing…
Praise for the morning…
Praise for them springing fresh from the world…
(Morning Has Broken-Cat Stevens)

Well, morning has definitely broken, I am sure it will be a groovy kind of day, and a perfect day to get your market orders in!

The market will close, this evening, at 10pm!! Don’t miss out on the market goodness, the chance to support all things local, and the amazing feeling you will get when you pick up your orders from the friendly faces of your market managers, instead of fighting the crowds at the grocery.

Go ahead…thank me always…order!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Holiday Express!

And…a few details about the upcoming market weeks during the Christmas/New Year span of weeks.

With both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve falling on a Thursday, this year, your market managers have decided that we will not hold markets on either week.

BUT…we do encourage you to get with any vendors you may need during the holiday hiatus. Let them know what you need or want, and, as in years past, set up a mutually agreed on time and place for order pick up. Again, this will be done between you and the vendor.

I will open the market back up for the new year…what? 2016?…on New Year’s Eve, and normal market hours will resume that week.

Thanks so much!! Plan ahead!!

Cosmic Pam
Charlene
Mark

Last Christmas

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart…
But the very next day, you gave it away…
This year, to save me from tears…
I’ll give it to someone special…
(Last Christmas-Wham!)

As a mall rat of the 1980s, working retail during the holiday seasons, this song was always embedded in my brain, each year. I worked in retail during high school, college, and a bit, on the side, in Westwood, CA, when I was a flight attendant.

Back then, nothing Christmas started until after Thanksgiving. The magic of the season started with the sparkly mall decorations, the arrival of Santa, the crowds of shoppers, and the music soundtracks of the shops.

I was a Casual Corner mall rat. Versed in sales, customer files, trunk shows, style shows. Customer service was our highest goal. The minute I would say goodbye to my last final exam, I would hit the road, arrive home in the West End, and immediately transform myself from college girl, hippie girl, to super sales girl…all shiny and bright!

I loved the Christmas crowds, the hustle of the season, hooking up with old friends, rushing to lunches with fellow mall rat friends. I loved the excitement of shopping for my own gift list. Back then, it was just so much fun. The choices were fewer, the shops so special, and the fun was all about finding the perfect gift for both my own gift list or the gift list of those shopping from me.

This is how I feel about our own little market of LOVE…how special would it be to give your loved ones the gift of a local gift set, local products or local baked goods, or gift certificates to our own market, or from some of our vendors who have shop fronts? And, we even make it so easy by having tastings, and shopping, right in the lobby of the YMCA, each Thursday night, during market pick up time!!

Once again, on Thursday, we will bring you…Women That Farm, Mad Sweet Heat, and End Of The Road!!

Sadly, this will be the last market, for the season, for End Of The Road Farms. They are now just about done for the season, and need to concentrate on the farm, butchering, and working on their own ventures. We will see them, again, next spring!!! So, make sure to take advantage of the tastings and the shopping, this Thursday!!

The market is open, the morning is cold and frosty…why not take time with a warm drink to place your orders. Think about how easy it is to order, do all of your shopping, and pick it up from us with no hassle, all smiles, and all local…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam