What I'm Doing on Saturdays

I took the camera with me to work today in order to share with you what I'm seeing on Saturdays at Clark Park. The lighting was good and the food was on full display. Check out some of the fare from Urban Girls Produce:

         
Like Wow! These look like they could be on the cover of some sort of culinary magazine. This is in Philadelphia folks, you can get here if you want to! This is only a sample of what you will find at Clark Park. Its always bustling with people but you never feel crowded in. There are so many characters too - farmers, customers, musicians. One of those characters is my boss Noelle. She really works hard to make sure everything is out, looking good, and ready for the throngs of people who stop at our stand.
           
This picture has not been doctored, the shutter speed not altered. This is how fast she normally moves. I don't know what she looks like exactly; she is a blur. I'm kidding of course but she is super efficient and knows her stuff. I am learning a huge amount about produce, and the business of farming from Noelle. Its an education that I'm getting paid for. What a scholarship! Case in point - today I learned about a fruit heretofore not on my radar screen - the Elderberry.

I mention the Elderberry here for a myriad of reasons, the most important being that a myriad of people asked  what exactly this berry was, and what can be done with it. By the time the 73rd person asked these questions, I was begging Noelle to make a sign. So for anybody who wants to know, here is the story of the Elderberry - Elderberries grow on elder trees, sometimes called elderberry bushes. Elderberries contain sizable amounts of Vitamin C, Potassium, and in clinical studies have been proven to shorten the duration of the common cold (in fact, Elderberry Juice was used to treat a flu outbreak in Panama in 1995). They also contain anthocyanin pigments which give the elderberry their color and are great antioxidants. All of that, and you can also make wine out of them.

So that is Clark Park on a Saturday. If you have not already done so, come down and visit once in a while. You won't be disappointed.