Let's Take You Near To Organic Pigs

You may have read how I raved about being able to eat pigs that ate forages, grass, fruits etc. Those heavenly opportunities were whenever we were at Tere and Armand's Earthkeepers in Tiaong, Quezon.

We can't have it often because of distance. Harder when you can't purchase..then you can't lug enough to keep in storage :(

Aside from the exposure and contacts made during the last show we were at, the best thing was I met a couple who raised their pigs the way Earthkeepers did. They had the same mentor :)

Much nearer for me to avail of...also, so many clients who come to Market At The Hills for the Sunshines ask for pork.

Starting next week.....we will carry them too at MATH.

When Grown Naturally

A trip is most enjoyable when you visit with friends because you can laugh and say the most outrageous things.

Friday, August 01, we headed to Quezon, first stop was Candelaria. Never been there before and I was surprised at how progressive the place is.

Breakfast was heavenly because dessert was two fresh Durian fruits picked the day before from Daily Dose Farm of the Rubias. As I was swirling the creaminess inside my mouth, I know I was literally eating my words saying how different it was. Raymond replied the freshness mattered a lot when everything else was equal in the variety and farming.

We headed to the Municipal Hall to give the seminars by AANI for the farmers. Well attended and people were approaching Doc Rey after to ask questions.

Lunch was so good. We were introduced to the fact that Candelaria is known for Crispy Pata and Ulo. I was blessed to seat between Doc Rey and Pol Rubia who tries hard not to eat pork :) The best Crispy Pata and Ulo....so far I have had!

Then a small group of us proceeded to Daily Dose Farm of Raymond. Our first time here and the bridge that is the entrance is already a clue to how homey the place is :)

Now I know why the others we left at the bayan, kept telling us to make sure we get Rambutan for them. I went home with a bag now...and I noticed I never had a single one with a hole from a worm...and they were grown chemical free.

As we walked to Raymond's herbs and veggies...I saw Raymond picking some corn and cleaning the some ears of the yellow corn. I can't help but nudge the ever shy Raymond...."was that for eating now?" wehehhehe...."YES" he says and I grab mine :)

GRABE.....never ate one. The sweetest juice bursts inside your mouth, then tickles your gums. Honest, you are missing a lot if you don't try it. But then, these are raised chemical free, and picked just before eaten. They say the freshness of corn runs away fast from time picked.

Next we went to visit the Sunshines of Earthkeepers in Tiaong, Quezon. After picking up their eggs from the range, Tere and Armand leads us to the office for small talk over their suman and coffee. We were raving about the fresh sweet corn, eaten raw....Armand asks if we had fresh Okra. OKRA? Sounds yucky eaten fresh huh?

But I trust the couple....I bit into what seemed like Sampaguita! It was that fresh and of course grown naturally.

Chit chat with Tere and Armand always evolves into a passionate conversation, that you know you will look forward to the next visit.

We go home with bags of fruits and more Durians from Daily Dose Farm, and Pork slices from naturally grown pigs from Earthkeepers. We have raved about how good their pork is in several past postings.

Please do try to eat fresh. Grow your own veggies and fruits or get from reliable sources, to enjoy what I just did. It is not bad to eat meat in moderation, specially of grass fed and naturally grown.

Earthkeepers #2

After that hearty meal we had at Earthkeepers on our first visit there, we jumped up on the prospect of seeing Tere and Armand again....oh yes, also their buffet.

I got tickled when their daughter saw us entering and she called her mom, Tere, and said "Andito na sila Sunshine" :)

Cong. Alcala arrived and an instant consultative meeting came about as all sectors were represented.

Had to visit the Sunshines in their new home. They sure were glad they were sent there.

Can't wait to work more with Quezon.

Earthkeepers Garden In Tiaong, Quezon

We decided to tag along on this trip just to go to the South of Luzon, via the East road from Rizal.

Had a hearty breakfast of the freshest latexless Langka from Teresa Orchard, over muesli and fresh milk.

By 7am, we were off the pleasant drive to Tiaong, Quezon

Getting to the entrance of Earthkeepers, by the roadside, didn't prepare us for the day ahead.

Tere and Armand welcomed us and led us thru a short maze of gift shop, their abode, and the largest building marked "restaurant", all comforted by blankets of ornamental plants.

As you approach the restaurant, you think why the building (you see a wall with windows) is enclosed in net. You walk past the door of the screen and realize there is only one wall and the whole area is enclosed in net. No boundaries, open, great view. The washrooms are also integrated with the garden.


We were served breakfast, that we were treating as brunch. Remember, we already had a hearty, healthy one. Laid on our table: naturally raised pork refried adobo, hard boiled native chicken eggs, fried sinaing na tulingan, tinolang native manok, ensalada, real malagkit suman w/ latik and naturally grown rice with great aroma and fresh taste. We thought it was too much! Wehehehhehe, a second round of pork adobo came out...still wiped out! Perfectly washed down by brewed coffee. We were laughing about a before and after photos of the table.

We went to walk around the nursery of ornamental plants, all naturally grown, no pesticides, no chemicals.

They make much of their farm inputs. They veer away from using the term organic...they call it natural farming.

Then we went to the pig pens. Boy were they glad to see visitors as they knew they will be given leaves to eat...part of the tour, they were like part of the show :) Then nearby the native chickens that gave us eggs.

After talking about Sunshines, they will start raising for their naturally produced restaurant to serve the meat and the eggs.

Tere talks about walking around the premises of Earthkeepers early in the morning and picking from the trellis and vines her breakfast.

They give seminars to interested parties, actually Congressman Alcala sends his people to train there. Tere actually had sore throat that day. Armand is trying to figure out what the cause was..wehehhe and he says he will reproduce that to give her a bad voice when he needs it.

Armand and Tere are a joy to talk to as they are intelligent, open and simple as you can get. No snooty purists here! Pretensions are not in the dictionary they own.

Wait...we were served LUNCH! We were saying no way we can eat more, no space.... I remembered to take the before photo of the buffet. After photo? I was way too busy trying to figure out what went into the pako salad, kinilaw na tangigue, pandan juice, sinigang na balat ng tangigue, tinolang native manok, adobong pata ng naturally raised pork and puso ng saging.

We bade our goodbyes and shook hands. Got to the car and talked about the unexpected day. The great company, new back to basics knowledge, meeting a principled and decided family, gastronimic events twice held....hoping to meet them again real soon.

Raymond Rubia of Daily Dose Farm should have been here.