Who would have thought that Swiss Chard can grow here in the province of Cebu? Last 2011, I found one company in Manila that can ship here in Cebu City but the handling and delivery wasn't taken care of properly. So, the products that I ordered are not in good condition anymore. One of the produce that I ordered was Swiss Chard. And now, through Gigi Uy of God's Grace Farm, Swiss Chard and other hard to find vegetables are within reach. God's Grace Farm is also Certified Organic and when I befriended her on Facebook and ordered some of her salads greens, I could say that she put her heart into growing them. The quality of the products are really fresh and the taste of her vegetables are clean. You can have more variety on your salads instead of just using romaine lettuce or even lollo rossa. And if you're still stuck eating iceberg lettuce it's time to replace it to more flavor and texture to your salad and other dishes. Don't forget the nutritional value, they are powerful chlorophyll rich leafy greens that are very rich in nutrients and phytochemicals. It's time to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.
Although I've been familiar with the vegetables that she's been growing (and been requesting her to grow the others), they are hard in the Philippines way back in 2003. Having lived in Vancouver for 2 years, I really missed the different diversity and variety of vegetables at the farmer's market that we don't have here. The vibrant colors and their different shapes and sizes is what makes them flavorful.
Organic is good, really good if they are certified. But I can't afford to eat them all the time. But my late-father once told me and my siblings that it's okay to splurge on food whenever he eats out. Within the budget, of course. He didn't give us the reason why but as far as I know, dad likes to taste different kinds of food whenever he travels. He told us not to buy signature clothes, bags and shoes but encouraged us to spend more on quality food. I'm applying the same principle with organic foods that our dad thought us. Although I don't get to buy organic foods for ourselves on a daily basis, at least we have better foods to choose from.
I always complain to J that the vegetables are always the same. Can we have more variety? Like different varieties of potatoes or beets that comes in different shades of color and shapes? And more selection of lettuce greens aside from iceberg and romaine or even lollo rossa? What about the leafy greens? It's great to see alugbati on the shelve but does it have to be three shelves of alugbati? But then J told me to use what we have and so I did work my way with the vegetables that we have here. I'm glad I was introduce to Gigi through a friend when I ask her for other sources of vegetables. I've mentioned before that farmers and chefs should build a relationship together in order to grow great produce. Although that is my desire when I do pursue having my own food business, having these vegetables on hand makes it more inspiring to blog again. Yet with time constraint, blogging will not be the same as before.
God's Grace Farm is available at Metro Supermarket in Ayala Mall and AS Fortuna. Here are some of the produce that I've tried and I know there's more to come.
There's also mustard greens, tong oh chai (or I believe it's called Garland Chrysanthemum), chysim, bokchoi, cauliflower, cabbage, Thai eggplant, bell peppers, papaya, some herbs and more. But you have to ask what is available. One thing I cannot show you yet is the farm because I haven't been there yet. I hope to visit the place and meet Gigi and the farmers when Nate is big enough to understand food and hopefully he would appreciate the effort the work that has been put into it.