How Sweet It Is!

And, what would Valentine Weekend be without a little sweet talk??

Today, in our ongoing series about local love, and the love of our vendors, we get a sweet blog from Marc Stadler of Valley View Woodlands!!

You love their products, you love the artistic way that he and Shary bottle the syrups, many of you have been to one of their boils…and now, Marc gives us the sweet low down on their maple syrup process…

“Tis the season!” We refer to the maple season, of course. Here at Valley View Woodlands, that sweet season has begun. It means spending time in the woods during longer, beautiful, sunny days. It means boiling down the collected sap on our stainless steel evaporator, watching through the sweet steam.
We tapped our maple trees last week—earlier than usual because of the warmer el nino year. We tapped and had our first boil a full month earlier than we did during last year’s extremely cold winter. Our first boil on Monday yielded only a half-gallon of syrup after five hours of boiling. This is typical for the first boil of the season, as the sap in the evaporator has to be concentrated or “sweetened” before you can draw off significant amounts of syrup. As we boil we are raising the amount of sugar in the sap from 2.5 percent to 67 percent. This requires approximately 45 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup! That’s why maple syrup is so special.
Deciding when to tap is subject of great debate among “maple people.” Taps will stay open for four to six weeks before they naturally dry out and begin to grow closed. Tap too early and you won’t catch the runs later in the season. Tap too late and you miss the early runs. We hope we didn’t tap too early, and that we will catch some big runs in mid-February.
Temperatures are well below normal now—the trees are frozen and no sap is flowing. We have some time to prepare for the next warmup, which we hope will occur next week. Sap flows in the maple trees when we have nights below freezing and days above freezing. The freeze-thaw cycle not only pushes the sap out into the buckets but also makes it sweeter.
This is a great time of year to enjoy our syrup on buttery pancakes and waffles—well, that’s true for any time of year! We also enjoy our syrup on Greek yogurt in the morning. That’s a tasty high-protein breakfast.
Stay tuned as we hope to be busy next week collecting and boiling that sweet sap.
Marc Stadler
Valley View Woodlands

Matters Of The Heart

This month is all about the love, being in love, showing people how much you love them, (ALTHOUGH, it would be super groovy if EVERYDAY was a love fest to EVERYONE), but since we are approaching this Valentine weekend of love, let’s take a minute to love us, love our health, and spend some love time with a few matters of the heart…

Charlene from Swisher Hill Herbs has a very heartfelt blurb and product that is just now on the market!!

Thanks, always, Charlene and Joe!!

The first of this year the CDC and FDA came out with new salt consumption guidelines for the general public. They recommend 1 teaspoon of salt a day. This is not an impossible lifestyle change to achieve, especially thinking of our children and future generations. But we know cutting back on salt results in some foods being blah and lacking flavor. Thus you reach for the Salt.
Wait for it! Wait for it! Now we are coming to it. Seasoning with herbs and spices are here to save the day Swisher Hill herbs is on the way! As you know all of all of our products are salt free. This week we are introducing All-Season Salt Substitute to the Virtual market. As with all of our herbs, spices and seasoning blends, we offer you Save a Jar! Save Money! Refill bags for your jars when you run low. Check it out!

The Little Local Market Of Love

It’s what we are all about, it’s why we come here, to shop, it’s a way of eating, it’s a way of living…

Keeping up the love on the local front continues to get easier and easier, through our market.

I am opening the market for the week, and I just want to tell the vendors, the customers, my assistant managers, and the YMCA, how much you all fill me with local love!!

Let’s keep the lovelight shining…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Who Do You Love?

Well, who DO you love?? Your little local market of love??

If you are your love of choice, then please don’t forget to order for the week!! We close the market at 10pm, this evening, and we don’t want to leave you out in the cold….sobbing, and sad, and out of love because you forgot to get your order in!!

We have so much for you!! Think about what you need or want, and remember that it is Valentine weekend…can we help you with the matters of the heart?

Come on…show us some love while we show you some love…

See you at 10pm!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

The Look Of Love!

Happy Monday, little local market of LOVE customers!!

I hope your weekends were super amazing, and I hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl, last night!!

This week kicks off the week of LOVE, here, at our market, because this is the week that you will want to think about your Valentine! Our market is perfect for gifts of food, gifts of candles, gifts of soaps, gifts of candy…well, you get my theme…you can’t go wrong in celebrating the week of love with our market items!!

I have a quick note from GaGa’s Goodies…she puts the sweet in your sweetest of celebrations!

I have buckeye heart shaped Valentine’s $6.00 a dozen. They are like the chocolate buckeyes but shaped in a heart and can be white, chocolate, pink or red and drizzled. I also have pretzel rods dipped in red or pink chocolate and drizzled with white chocolate. Those are also $6.00 a dozen!

AND! She has chocolate covered strawberries that are 7.00 a doze. Choc and white choc drizzled in red, pink and white :)

Come on…show us some LOVE, and in turn, show your Valentine some love!!

Don’t forget…we have treats for your most beloved dogs on Valentine’s Day, too!!

The Look Of Love…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Bring It On Home

Oh, oh, bring it to me…
Bring your sweet loving…
Bring it on home to me…
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)…
(Bring It On Home To Me-Sam Cooke)

A short opening, tonight, to tell you that the market is open, we had another great market, this past week, and we love our customers, more than we could ever say!!

Go ahead…show us some sweet loving by throwing us your weekly orders. We’ll bring it on home to you…

It’s all about the LOVE, little local market of love customers…ALL about the love…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Keep It Trippy!! Vote For The Hippie!!

Keep it Trippy!! Vote for the Hippie!!

Let’s get this done!!!

Another reminder that…

It’s time to vote!!! Bread Heads unite!!! It’s the Bad Art By Good People Fundraiser for the Champaign County Arts Council!! Go to the link in this post, click on the 2016 artists, and vote for the hippie bakestress!!
Remember…a vote for the hippie is kind of trippy!! Let’s all fall down the rabbit hole, together!!
http://www.champaigncountyartscouncil.org/bad_art.php

Your market manager will be so ever Grateful!!

To make it even easier, you can cast your vote to me, tonight, at market pick up!!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

I Think I Love You!!

I think I love you…
I think I love you…
I think I love you…
(I Think I Love You-The Partridge Family)

So, I don’t just think I love you, and this little local market of love…I really, really DO love this local lovefest!!

The market is growing and growing, this week!! Put your own love into it…place your orders before 10pm, this evening!!

And, while you are ordering, go ahead and pull out that old Partridge Family album…you know you want to!!

See you at 10pm! Show us some love…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Helpful Happy Herbal News

If you are looking to reduce or eliminate the salt in your diet and eating plan, Swisher Hill Herbs has provided a chart for substituting herbs in place of salt!! Also, Charlene has included useful information!!

See, not just your local market of love with lovely products. We really, really love you, and your health, as we celebrate the month of all things love…

Thanks, Charlene!!

Use Herbs to minimize the use of Salt in Your Cooking
You can minimize the use of salt in your food by substituting herbs and spices in your cooking. Dried herbs, herb seasoning blends as herbal salt substitutes are readily available to you for flavoring your favorite dishes. Fresh herbs are readily available in the summer (or you can grow your own in your kitchen) and capture their fresh wonderful flavor. Use three times as much of a fresh herb as you would of its dried counterpart.
You can experiment with your own combinations of flavors. Start with small amount of herbs in the beginning; taste the dish as you cook it and add more as you like. A dash of lime or lemon juice enlivens virtually any dish. Here is a suggested list of herbs you can use in your cooking. You are only limited by your imagination.

Food Suggested Herbs
Beef Allspice, basil, bay leaf, chili powder, cumin, curry powder, garlic, ginger, marjoram, oregano, thyme
Pork Caraway seeds, chili powder, coriander, cumin, curry powder, dill, garlic, ginger, rosemary, sage, thyme
Lamb Curry powder, dill, garlic, mint, oregano, rosemary, thyme
Veal Bay leaf, coriander, dill, garlic, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme
Eggs Chili powder, chives, cumin, curry powder, savory, tarragon
Chicken and Turkey Basil, bay leaf, chives, coriander, curry powder, garlic, ginger, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme
Fish Bay leaf, chives, coriander, dill, nutmeg, sage, tarragon, thyme
Shellfish Bay leaf, basil, chervil, coriander, curry powder, cloves, dill, marjoram, oregano, tarragon, thyme
Asparagus Basil, chives, dill, nutmeg, sesame seeds, tarragon
Dried Beans Allspice, chili powder, coriander, cumin, garlic, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme
Green Beans Basil, bay leaf, dill, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, savory, tarragon
Lima Beans Basil, chives, dill, marjoram, sage, savory, tarragon
Beets Allspice, caraway seeds, chives, dill, ginger, horseradish
Broccoli, cauliflower Basil, caraway seeds, curry powder, garlic, ginger, marjoram
Cabbage, Brussels sprouts Oregano, tarragon, thyme
Carrots Caraway seeds, chives, cumin, ginger, marjoram, nutmeg, tarragon
Corn Chives, coriander, cumin, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme Eggplant Allspice, basil, garlic, marjoram, oregano, sage, thyme
Mushrooms Basil, chives, dill, garlic, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, tarragon
Peas Basil, chives, dill, marjoram, mint, oregano, savory, tarragon
Sweet Peppers Chives, coriander, garlic, marjoram, oregano, thyme
Potatoes Caraway seeds, bay leaf, chives, coriander, curry powder, dill, garlic, mint, oregano, tarragon, thyme
Rice Chives, cumin, curry powder, garlic, sage, tarragon Spinach Basil, garlic, nutmeg, tarragon
Yellow and Zucchini Squash Basil, chives, coriander, dill, garlic, ginger, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, savory, tarragon
Winter Squash Allspice, cinnamon, cloves, curry powder, ginger, mace, nutmeg
Sweet potatoes Allspice, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg
Tomatoes Basil, chives, coriander, dill, garlic, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme
Turnips Allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg

What is the daily recommended amount of sodium for adults?
A. The amount of salt in a food is listed as “sodium” on the Nutrition Facts label that appears on food packaging. The Dietary Guidelines recommend that the general population consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day (about a teaspoon of table salt). Most food labels shorten the word “milligrams” to “mg.” Dietary recommendations and food labels use sodium rather than salt since it is the sodium component of salt that is most relevant for human health. Always follow your doctor’s recommendation about how much sodium you can have daily.

Q. How can I tell if a food is low in sodium or high in sodium?
A. The Nutrition Facts label that appears on food packaging also lists the “% Daily Value” for sodium. Look for the abbreviation “%DV” to find it. Foods listed as 5% or less for sodium are low in sodium. Anything above 20% for sodium is considered high. Try to select foods that provide 5% or less for sodium, per serving.

Local Love!

And, a perfect kick off to the week, our month of LOVE, AND our Local Love series, brought to you by each of our vendors…

Today, we get Mandy, from our new addition of, Ella Bella’s Gluten Free mixes!!

To me local is supporting my neighbor, my friend, my community. It is showing that I care and love them through my purchases. It is showing my family that I love them by giving them the best from our community. It is teaching my children that the money we spend buying eggs goes to people we know; people we can see.

I grew up with my mom composting, growing herbs, and a vegetable garden; having fresh milk and eggs delivered, my mom making bread, cookies, and even making mayonnaise. She did all of this in the suburbs as a single mom to two wild girls. I did not like it as a kid, I had the “different stuff,” nothing was pre-packaged in my lunch like all the other kids. I would rejoice when I got to go to Gramma and Grandpa’s and have Little Debbie cakes and Lucky Charms for breakfast. As I got older I realized that I didn’t feel as good when I ate all that processed food, I felt better when I made food. When I started cooking for myself in college it was simple, but lots of whole foods.

When my kids moved to eating solid foods I made all of it, many of the veggies coming from farmer’s markets. Now all of my kids love their veggies and fruits. They are happy when I go to the local market and pick up fresh sweet corn (“heaven corn” as it is known in our house). They can taste the difference that comes with local.

I started Ella Bella in 2011 after we discovered out 2nd child was gluten intolerant. I did not want to make 2 sets of meals and desserts for my family, so I started experimenting with gluten free flours. By the fall of 2011 I knew I had a good product and I wanted to share it with others. Continuing my love for local to my business I buy all ingredients from local vendors. I love Ella Bella and am honored that I can sell something I have made. I think that you can taste a little bit of the local love when you make the mixes, or use the flour.