1/11/11

First harvest of the year, the first batch that fed on Azolla, first taste test....and I wasn't around!

Some things had to be done in Manila and so it was Doc Rey who went for a quick visit to the farm.  It just so happened that the harvest was scheduled today, for the Oct7 batch.

Verdict:  Very tasty and lean.  He had a Tinola done.  Soup was really good, even if there was hardly any fat rendered.  Tasted the way chickens should.

Teresa Orchard Revisited

Caught the Agri office of Tanza, Cavite at Teresa Orchard as they were starting to make the rounds. Fruit tasting session as we were going around the place. By the time we went back to the receiving area, they had changed their minds about their original orders :)

Will it be crunchy mangoes or the Abiu? More of latexless Langka or Pomelo?

If you are interested in rare fruit trees, Teresa Orchard is the place to get them from. A lot are planted in big containers..makes it movable and great gifts for special people.

Timely that we brought Sunshines that were made into Tinolang Manok. Their first batch of recipients are due to harvest by the end of July, so they were discussing about events they can mark the date with.

After tasting the "lasang native" Sunshines, they can now proudly and knowingly talk about their produce.

Inihaw and Tinola of Ali

The testing cook texted this yesteday at about 5pm yesterday:

Ok Sunshine Chicken. Mabango at masarap lasa ng tinola ko. Pa taste test ko tinola sa mga customers ko dito. Ewan ko lang yung inasal

By 6:30pm, we were having our bowl of Tinola at his eatery and a plate of inihaw. I like my Tinola better using lemongrass. His inihaw using just salt and pepper was great. I guess the key was using more black pepper :)

Ali of "Kambingan ni Mang Ali", followed my suggestion for cooking. Low fire, slow cooking.

Verdict: the chicken didn't require more cooking time as expected, it retained its original size and didn't shrink, taste was perfect chicken w/o needing artificial seasonings.

He called friends to try out his recipes. By 7:30, the table behind us was enjoying the inihaw na manok, sans msg. There was no need for the sawsawan! That group was composed of chinese guys who loves and knows what they eat :)

I meant to take photos, right? But my hands were busy eating, exctedly listening to comments, decided to take in a couple of drinks...ayun, nagsisisi now why I forgot to take pics.

PS: My Sunshine tagalog radio ad had Ali doing the main character's part. Now, he can do another radio ad con gusto. You can't sell what you don't know and believe in.

Simply A Favorite

There are days when you don't know where to start, because you left off some errands last night and have a million to do today.

I get two emails that made it easier for me:

1) My recipes from my old website. I had to ask my webmaster for the old files (he promised new site will be up before September 2007 ends). Rianne of Camp Farm wanted ideas. She wanted Relleno and Hamonado. I said I will send her my simple recipes. I realized I had a new favorite as it wasn't on that list. Below I will share my new found taste which I picked up from Market Manila site.

2) I got an email from Christopher. We met in a sabong site sometime ago. Small world that his childhood buddies in the neighborhood and now his buddies in Toronto are also good friends of mine in high school and when I am in Toronto. How can I not be glad when his email was inquiring if I knew about free ranged chickens :)

Tinola idea from MM blog

• 1 SUNSHINE chicken, serving sizes
• Water
• 3 stalks lemongrass, tied together
• Ginger
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Fish sauce
• Fresh ampalaya, malunggay or sili leaves

Boil the Sunshine Chicken, lemongrass, ginger and black pepper in enough water to cover. Lower heat when boiling point is reached. Remove the brown film that stays on the top of the water. Cook over low fire. Season with fish sauce. Put the fresh leaves and turn off heat. Cover pot for another 5 mins to steam the fresh leaves. Serve hot.

Masarap nga talaga

TJ had been getting texts that the chickens he delivered last Sunday were really good.

Jop, the other half of Krukukuk Farm was also texting me how to cook it "inihaw".

Last Sunday, I bought four dressed chickens from Krukukuk Farm. Two of which I gave my mom and the other two we had for dinner, cooked two ways :)

The first: Tinola. I had simply boiled in low fire with three stalks of tanglad (lemongrass) that we had pots of in the driveway, some ginger and salt to season. Just before we turned off the heat, we added a bunch of sili leaves. Sarap, the meat was firm but tender, you know no liquid seasonings, just real chicken taste.

The second was an experiment: Never did inihaw before, but since we had sure Tinola already, experimenting was allowable. We rubbed it with rock salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set it on hot coals (not fire). Juiciest inihaw chicken I had ever tasted. And the taste...simple and good.

I wanted to take pictures....but I opted not to spoil my momentum in eating for that first try :)

"Is it tough? How long does it take to cook? Is the taste OK?"

I like slow cooking....ever since I read that the smell of your "ginisa" equates to how much you love your mother-in-law....I do it with a lot of patience and love :)

I don't heat my pan. I put my minced garlic in some olive oil in a pan and then set it on low fire. Just when you remember you have a pan on the range, you start to get a tan color on the garlic. Why will you want to burn them when they look and smell gorgeous when tan.

I add my onions, again not increasing heat...still that barely there fire. When wilted and you sense that the oils have married....add your tomatoes.

The colors will merge, flavors will fully develop, I guess this is what home cooked food means. No need for seasonings as they have a distinct flavor. Now I understood why patience, merging and nurturing shows love :) Now, you can add your fresh vegetables for a quick stir-fry.

You asked about Sunshine Chicken's taste etc...why did I talk about my slow cooking?

Same concept. I do slow cooking on the tasty chickens. Why? So their flavors have time to develop naturally.

When I boil, I just add my onions and crushed peppercorns to a pot of water with the chicken. Then I turn on the low fire. Let it sit till tender, then season to taste :) It may sound forever, but actually doesn't take much time and you end up with tender and tasty chicken meat.

One of the most used in my kitchen is my crockpot. I throw in some lemongrass stalks, onions, whatever else you want, use minimal liquid as the chicken will be juicy anyway....turn it to low just before you leave for the day and you get home to a wonderful dinner :)

For turbo broilers, I set it 30mins on each side, for a total of 1hr per kilo at 300degrees. To have a golden color, add 10mins at 350degrees.

I suggest don't use over powering spices nor sauces, it unnecessarily masques the taste. Salt, pepper and fresh herbs are perfect.

This was a post from Tj :
Bing,sandy,
Ntry ko na ang s.shine chiken meat....
And it was great...ako kasi medyo sawang sawa na sa manok, halos daily ata ang chiken meat ang intake ko.. so sensitive na ako sa manok taste, nalalasahan ko na ang parang malansa na aftertaste ng white chiken.. pero when i tasted the rangechiken ang laki ng difference, may ibang linamnam talga siya, ang meat hindi mahibla.. walang aftertaste. lean ang meat.. it was A1 quality.. Tinola nga pala ang luto..
tj