Variagated Guava and Mama Sita Banana

Last week our Philippines for Natural Farming, Inc group had a farm tour.

1st stop was at the Teresa Orchard of Mr. Zac Sarian. Everyone's jaw dropped when we saw this Mama Sita tree. Maurie Ocampo, who's grown and traded bananas before said he never saw this big variety before. Counting it, one heart can have around thirty (30) bunches!

When we visited AANI Urban Garden in Antipolo, we walked past through fruit trees in containers.  Notice the trees behind the Mama Sita?  They were in containers too.   Good thing about these? They are mobile and transportable, since they are planted in big plastic bins. No reason for your trees to get damaged in strong winds, as you will be able to move them to sheltered areas.

Best thing?  Great as gifts...don't you think so?  For someone who has everything...almost...it will be nice to give a Sampalok Tree with all the flowers in bloom with fruits...or look, is that a Guava?

Step closer...yes  variagated Guava!

The fruit is also striped...

Sweet!  Don't think it had a variagated taste to it.  With my eyes closed, it was simply a Guava.

You know, after I took a second bite, the striped fruit fell to the ground.  I brushed it and ate it all up.  AANI Urban Farm was into organic farming anyway hahahhaha.

Going back to the fruit trees in containers...sound business idea. Thing is you need to patience to wait for it to grow to a good market size price :)

Learn AANI In Antipolo

AANI Urban Farm in Antipolo will host a seminar on Raising Sunshine Chicken.

WHAT: Raising Sunshine Chicken , from day1 to harvest
WHEN: Feb 13, 2010, Saturday, 2-5pm
WHERE: AANI Urban Farm
WHO: Doc Rey
FEE: PHP500

Please contact AANI for reservations, at (02) 497-2755 or text us at (0917) 847-2639.

Nice place for you to go visit as it is a working urban farm. Pesticide and chemical free, you get the freshest and sweetest vegetables and fruits from farm to your table.

AANI Urban Farm is located very near the Masinag Market at the junction of Sumulong Hway and Marcos Hway. From Marikina, you turn right to Sumulong from Marcos Hway. You will see a Shell station on your left and the subdivision across that is where you enter. I think the subdivision is named Kingsville.

Play

It is when you are not doing anything, that you end up doing more :)

By 4:30am I was listening to Sa Kabukiran over DZMM 630khz, because a grower in Benguet, Jonathan was being interviewed. Read about a similar post the other day.

While driving, peeped on while Doc Rey was reading Bulletin and chanced upon our "ready to range" grower in Sinait, Ilocos Sur. My Tita Pilar's photo also got there because of her urban Lanzones tree. Immediately texted them about their nice smiles :)

By 6am we were off to AANI FTI to deliver chicks and man the booth. Breakfast was kambing cooked several ways and fresh Avocado shake. Before taking those calories, I had a stroll and got myself some cotton shirts that will be crumply packed in suitcases.

9am went to Antipolo so deliver some chicks and used the opportunity to visit AANI Urban Farm in Antipolo. For you in the area, this farm is perfect to visit and purchase your salad greens....really organic as it can get.

12noon saw us having Shabu Shabu at Bonifacio High Street with one of the boys. It was just a short walk from the parking lot to the resto but the heat was intense and penetrating. The son wanted to get some stuff from Nike.....I thought it was spelt as Yike! After sometime there, I was glad to leave the park....as it gets hotter inside Yike.

After getting some stickers from our car dealer, now in my table doing invoices for tomorrow's deliveries. Hectic Sunday tomorrow as KSA's Agrikapihan, Anniversary of KSA, and our monthly seminar. Used opportunity today to blog and breathe....

One Morning

Does the title sound like I am here to write a novel? One Morning. Its actually the title of the morning TV show simulcast over Channels 4, 9, 13 and Radyo ng Bayan on radio. The hosts are Niki Jimenez, Bobby Yan, Clauding Trillo and JM Rodriguez.

Yesterday, at lunch, I got a call if we may guest on One Morning. When I was talking with Lorna, one of the producers, it wasn't apparent to them what the theme for today will be. I guess when we agreed to guest, that's the time the organic and clean up theme was conceptualized because the other guests said they were called later.

On the way to the NBN studios, as we were tuned in, I heard that the theme was now organic and cleaning up of the Pasig River.

As I was waiting for Doc Rey to park, I thought who the other guests may be. Guess who drives by and gets off? Lina Tan of the OPTA Cooperative. YES! She herself thought the same way and said she was glad she saw me.

As usual, I can't have photos of ourselves being interviewed, but I got pics from behind cameras.

They may do a photo shoot at our AANI Urban Farm site...that will be fun.

When Eating Is Work

I had been so excited about November 13. Always felt that 13 is my lucky number, this is one instance where it proves it.

About mid October, my good friend Margie said that Nana Ozaeta, Editor in Chief of F & B World magazine, wanted to feature naturally grown products. Margie said we should hook up together. Nana was leaving for the US the next day, but we started exchanging emails. She said she will want to do a story when she gets back in early November.

I didn't want to get my excitement up...as it seemed to me like "we'll call you".

Lo and behold, I did get again an email from Nana for an interview and shoot for the 13th. Just about the time we were setting that date, was when I had taste testing at Zucchini's, and Didi was also supposed to be in touch with Nana. Perfect timing huh????

F & B World crew met up with me to go to AANI Urban Farm in Antipolo. We went around the two ranging areas there, and Nana, Betty, Gold and Christian enjoyed the farm. Chickens, native pigs, and organically grown vegetables. Pol and Tita were gracious hosts and even cooked Sunshine Tinola and Fried Chicken. We had home cooked food and the sweetest, freshly picked salad vegetables. It was good to have our fill as Zucchini's is fine dining and we didn't want to go hungry.

After a hearty lunch, we hopped to Sct Tuazon cor Sct Castor for a shoot of the Grass Fed Chicken Confit. When we got to Zucchini's, I sort of wondered where we were going to be as it seemed there was no table for a big group. We were led to the function room. Gilbert Lee was going out and yikes, he knew Nana again. Did I mention in an earlier post that this guy knew all of my real high school buddies, individually at that! We didn't know we all knew him. He must be taken as consultant by the likes of Facebook.

As we entered, Christian immediately set up for photo shoot. Hey, when he was taking my pictures at the farm, it was kidstuff. Not here...weheheheh he took the liberty of using bottles around to prop his aluminum foils for lighting effects. He dropped a bottle and the waiter instantly gushed "that's the most expensive bottle of wine". Nope, Christian didn't lose his car today, but decided to use steak sauce bottles as props.

Why did i say that eating is work???? We had lunch already, right? And now, from 12pm...until the time we decided to tour the office and kitchen...was 5pm already! What did we have? Almost the whole new menu of Zucchini's. You will not understand when I say that I got tired by all that lifting of forks to eat. Appetizers to deZZerts. AANI to Zucchini's....we ate all, A to Z.

When you want to eat good food, well thought and done with care...partake of Chef Richard's creations. I told the F & B World crew they had to see the kitchen. I go through a lot of backdoors in delivering. This is one kitchen that will tell you the washrooms are surely sanitized. The office upstairs show happy employees. What I saw for the first time today was the staff room of the restaurant. Didi knows how to take care of her staff. I sort of saw that when I had part of employees' meal last week. But seeing her staff room with double decks, airconditioning, well stacked kitchen, lockers that look like they were for a coat room...you see how she cares about the personal details. What caught my eye more? A note on the door that sort of went what to watch out for during a storm or a flood.

The good food is just the Cherry on top of the ice cream....today was super good company and values seen.

Let me show only these pictures taken. I will not preempt Christian's work for the day. You can see more in their Jan 2009 issue.

Sunshine At AANI

Double meaning? Meant to be that way :)

Sunshine and AANI will have a booth together at the US Embassy Shopper's Day Bazaar. It is a fitting name for our booth, don't you think?

Another event the name signifies, is the agreement to have a Sunshine demo farm at AANI Urban Farm in Antipolo.

We are really excited about this. The proximity to Metro Manila of farms will be a leverage :)

Maraming salamat.

AANI + Sunshine = MATH

The organic production of vegetables, fruits and herbs from the AANI Urban Farm in Antipolo, will be sharing our booth at Market at the Hills every Saturday and Sunday.

This will be a welcome move as it is very hard to refer to organic shops when you do not really know the source. We are always being asked for organic produce...now we are together in one stop.

We hope you find that our equation works :)