Warm It Up!

Swisher Hill Herbs also gives us another exciting announcement!!

Warm it up!! New tea blends, on the market!!

Swisher Hill Herbs Introduces Herb Teas
As the weather changes from summer to fall, then into the winter here at Swisher Hill Herbs we enjoy the flavors of Herb teas. You can make teas from a single herb or from a combination of several: some herb teas are delicate, such as lemon grass, chamomile and rosehips. Other herbs, spices and flowers are quite strong flavored like peppermint, hibiscus flowers, cloves, cinnamon and citrus peels. Herb teas can be tart and acidic, mild, fruity, refreshingly minty, or pungent and savory. Finding a combination that you really enjoy is half of the pleasure of drinking Herbal teas. Once you have found a blend you really like you can make up a larger batch and keep it in a larger container or tea tin.
Many people drink herb teas because they are caffeine free, just for the flavor and there are others that turn to herb teas for their therapeutic value to soothe digestion, lift the spirits, induce sleep or ease the misery of a cold. Whatever your choice we are sure you can find an herb tea you enjoy.
You can brew herb tea just like ordinary tea by pouring boiling water over the herbs.( Rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon of dried herbs or 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs per cup of tea.) Let it steep, covered. Some teas take less than 5 minutes other teas containing roots, citrus peel and spices may take up to 10 minutes to brew. (Brewing teas too long gives them a bitter taste) When brewing teas always use glass, stainless steel, ceramic, enamel, or porcelain kettle or pot, since the alkaloids in herbs are extremely sensitive to metal.
During the summer months you can raise and dry your own ingredients for herb teas. Scented geraniums, lemon balm, mints, chamomile, lemongrass, bergamot, lemon verbena, pineapple sage just to name a few. Save and dry your own citrus peels.
We have had many requests for herb teas. We will begin by offering a selection of single common herbs for teas and also 3 combinations of herbs and spice teas that we enjoy. German Chamomile, peppermint c/s, lemon grass, !hibiscus flowers c/s, and rosehips seedless, are the three herb teas, and Fruit Tea, Crimson Berry and Orange spice are the tea blends. For a quick find on the virtual market; look in Categories, then under Herbs and spices.
Enjoy!
Joe and Charlene Stapleton

Swisher Hill Herbs!

Swisher Hill Herbs brings us two new items for the market!!

Swisher Hill Herbs…adds new products!
Sour Cream / Buttermilk Salad Dressing Blend of 6 different herbs to make a tangy ranch style salad dressing. Great on your favorite spinach or tossed salad. Also makes a delicious dip for fresh vegetables or Buffalo wings! 1 pkg. makes 3 to 4 cups $3.00 per pkg.

Bearcat Chili Cincinnati style chili with little spice, a little kick and a lot of flavor! Great on these cold fall evenings. Have it your Way! 6 to 8 servings $3.75 per pkg. Nacho’s 5- way Chili Bearcat Chili

You know you want to order…you know you need to order!!

The Excitement!!!

Well, as if it’s not exciting enough to have the market open, again, for the week, BUT…our friends from Oakview Farm Meats want us to let you in on a little exciting news…

**Their Box Specials are….BACK!!!! Go straight to the market site, look for the boxes, and place your orders!!

You know they never last for long so get the orders in…EARLY!!

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam

Watching The Wheels

People say I’m crazy…
Doing what I’m doing…
Well, they give me all kinds of warnings…
To save me from ruin…

(John Lennon – Watching The Wheels)

It’s been a crazy week coming off of a crazy weekend that had involved all things on the local front. A large amount of us were part of the State Of The Plate. It was such a huge success, and left so many of us on a high, that it took a bit of effort to get back in the swing of reality, this week.

I felt like the week just went into crazy mode, the minute Monday morning hit. It just kept going, I just kept baking, delivering, working my shop, and working this market. I tend to go into Cosmic overload, and then I remember to stop, take a bit of time, meet up with friends, recharge with a bit of downtime, great laughs, a cocktail or two, and a tiny bit of sleep.

When I am at my most frantic, I fall back on my friends. Either in person, via the phone, texts, social media…My friends have an uncanny ability to reach out to me, randomly, just when I need it. They ground me, they love, me, they support me, they make me laugh, they make me cry. I have collected quite an eclectic group of pals, over the years, through the decades, some of them reaching way back to even elementary school.

Spending time with old friends is very much like just sitting and watching the wheels go round. A familiar routine with familiar faces, familiar voices, familiar arms that reach out to hug you. I love that they bring me back to reality, and restore the calm.

This market is like a familiar old friend, these days. Sort of like watching the wheels go round and round. We have worked hard to get it to this level. The level of friendship, the level of trust, the level of when you order, you feel like you are visiting an old friend…over and over.

The local of it all, the love of it all, the friendship of it all. It all works, together, to bring you the familiar, each and every week.

Go ahead, let the market be your familiar friend, place your orders, get to know us even better, and let yourself relax while watching the wheels go round and round…

Good friends in a familiar place…it’s what we are here for!

Tonight is Thursday, I am opening the market for the week, and I encourage you to try us, like us, love us…you won’t be sorry!

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam

Ready, Steady, Go!

We are on the count down!!

15 minutes to get those orders in!!

Make it happen !!

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam

California Dreamin'

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray…
I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day…
I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A…

It wasn’t at all a winter’s day, today, but by the time I reached home, after a very busy day down in my shop, I had been rained on, repeatedly, and felt so chilled and in need of a glass of wine, and the shelter of my favorite blankets, that it made my mind drift off to the days I lived in California..

I have been reflecting, a lot, about that time in my life. I think it has a lot to do with this past weekend’s State Of The Plate celebration. The theme was, Dare To Dream. I started my speech off with….“I am the girl who dared to dream…”

Dreams…of the Cali nature or any nature, they are what we are made of! They are the magic to our thoughts! They are the pixie dust to making it all happen for us!! They tell us to reach for what you wish, and the dream will come true.

It occurred to me that I have always had an easy time of jumping on the dream…making what I want all happen! I never set out with a clear cut plan, but somehow, I always make it all happen.

I was always teased for being such a Pollyanna. Always believing that it would all be ok, all good. I just believed that if I wanted it, I could make it all happen. And, I usually did. I mean, I had my setbacks. Who doesn’t. But, in all of my thoughts back on my life, most of them reflect back on dreams, not knowing how I would achieve them, but always knowing that somehow I would!

Dreams are important. Dreams fuel us. They feed us. They drive us. They can make us insane but then, right at the height of insanity, dreams can bring clarity…they bring us the plan, the vision, the rainbow.

This little local market of love was all about a long ago dream. A dream of bringing local markets to a whole new level. A different playing field. Uniting all things local under one umbrella.

I like to think that with each week, with each order, we continue the path that the original dream started to take us. We are such a strong little community, a vibrant little market, such a source for local love…

It was the dream…and now we are living it…how amazing is that??? To dream a dream and help it take shape…California or Champaign County…the dreams are the same.

Tonight is Tuesday, we close the market at 10pm, and we want you on that dream!! Get your orders in!! Be part of this amazing movement that once was just a dream…

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam

Let The Good Times Roll

Let the good times roll…
Let them knock you around…
Let the good times roll…
Let them make you a clown..
(The Cars – Good Times Roll)

This song is just the best theme to kick off this week!! We are coming off of an AMAZING State Of The Plate, this market has received HIGH compliments, projected business, and my phone has not quit ringing, all day, from yesterday!! The buzz is all around, you all ROCKED the barn, you all were AMAZING in whatever capacity you made happen, and as your market manager, you made my soul sing!!! Vendors and customers alike…we truly did just let the Good Times Roll!!

Also…a HUGE round of love to the speakers…talk about inspiration just making you want to go out and start the good times!!!! I became sort of Cosmically blinded…I hope I made you all proud as I spoke…I totally blanked it all out as I left the stage!

This song just signifies, well, a good time:) I was a girl of the 70s/80s…I still get excited at the opening beats of this song. It meant a good night was about to happen, a great party, a great explosion of excitement!

I talk a lot about the place I grew up, the tight bonds, the fact that kids pretty much had a sense of freedom. As we all came of driving age, the cool cars all came into play. The guys were all buying their first cars. The cars were the classics. The muscle cars. The garages and yards all became showcases for these cars. And, let’s face it, as a girl of the 70s, it didn’t hurt your street cred to be grabbing a ride in these cooler than cool cars.

We used to do two things as a rite of passage once driving age hit. We either cruised up and down our town’s Main Street or we cruised around and around our local parks.

It didn’t really matter which car you decided to cruise in, that day or evening. It just needed to be cool, have a cool dude at the wheel, and it had to show off your flowing hair in the open windows.

Being the girl who always had the guy pals, I pretty much got first dibs on which car I would cruise around in for the evening. What memories…everyone hanging out of windows, hanging at the park, playing Frisbee, stereo blasted tunes, and some sort of party action. (Again, the 70s, we were free to be, we had our fun).

This song just brings back all of those memories. The carefree nights, this song blasting, all of the headlights of the cars, the anticipation that anything could happen on that given night.

Much like how I am feeling about this little local market of love!! We are on the brink. We are poised to be part of the local explosion that is taking place. We are on the edge of revving this place up another notch or two. Get the motors running because we are cruising in the fast lane!

Be part of the good times, be part of this local market, and be part of that next explosion!!

Let The Good Times Roll…you won’t be sorry!

This is Monday evening, it’s been a chaotic weekend, but now it’s time to settle down, just for a second, and make those orders!! As soon as you are finished, your are free to motor!

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam

New Kid In Town

There’s talk on the street, it sounds so familiar…
Great expectations, everybody’s watching you…
People you meet they all seem to know you…
Even your old friends treat you like you’re something new…
(The Eagles-New Kid In Town)

Sometimes, this little local market of love seems like it’s been around, forever. Other times, we still feel like the new kid in town.

There is a whole lot of talk about what we do, a whole lot of interest, and a whole lot of love generated by those who really do know us.

I feel like we set out, each week, to prove ourselves. Still a bit of mystery, a bit of illusion…just like the new kid in town. Excitement surrounds the new kid. The new kid sets out to make his mark. The new kid always feels like he has something to show or something to prove.

We totally understand…in our first three years of this market, we are STILL doing all of those things. We have been out there, dazzling, enticing, explaining, showing, doing, pleasing…

We are the new kids who have finally made it into the inner circle. We are the market that everyone has grown to know and to love. We are the little market of love that has grown so big that we no longer feel like the new kids.

We came, we saw, we are conquering. This is our weekend, coming up! It’s our time to let this little market shine!! The spotlight is going to be on all things local, on the people who bring you local, and on the local philosophy that we are about. We don’t just talk about being local. We don’t just use local because it’s trendy or the new catchphrase. We do local as a lifestyle. We do local because it’s all we know. We do local because it let’s us give you the local love.

Local is important. Local is healthy, local is cost effective, local fuels our community both financially and spiritually.

This market shines, is no longer the new kid in town, and is exceeding all expectations because of the local loyalty that you all show us.

Thank you for your part in our climb, in our goal reaching, in our vision planning. We love you for making us strong, each and every week, for making us feel welcome, for making us feel like we are making a difference, and for rocking the new kid into new stratospheres.

I open the market, tonight, with so much local pride, spirit, and love!

We are no longer the new kids…we are here to stay!!

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam

Oakview Farm Meats Invites You!!

We continue with our vendor love!!

Our vendors just keep on offering us festivals, open houses, farm visits…and we love it!!

This Saturday, make sure to make plans to head out to Oakview Farm Meats!! Here is what’s happening…

Meats will be showcased at Oakview Farm Meat Shop on Sat., Oct. 11 from 9 am – 5 pm. Pork is the most economical of the 3 meats – Pork, Beef, Chicken – offerred to our customers.Pork is raised on Oakview Farm by the Runyan Family.Therefore we have more control over the costs. We raise the GMO Free Corn, grind and mix all the feed and use the manure as natural fertilizer for our crops.Oakview has developed excellent meat quality using genetics from hogs that we imported from Sweden 17 years ago. This meat quality did not happen overnight and would be difficult to duplicate.All meat is vacuum-packed and frozen immediately after processing. Come out to the Oakview Meat Shop and enjoy our efforts. Patties, Brats and In-Bone Pork Chops will be grilled on the GMG pellet grill to sample and purchase. Of course, frozen meat will also be available to purchase. Looking forward to serving you.

Thank You!

Thank you for the local love!!

You made it another amazing market!!

As always, we know that you have a choice in where you shop, and it makes us so happy that you put your shopping trust in our local market!!

If you ordered, we will see you on Thursday! If you didn’t get to order, we will see you, next time…

Again…thank you for shopping Champaign Locally Grown!

Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam