00:00When the pandemic hit and my family and I are still living here in Tagaytay,
00:07there is a beautiful place that we always visit
00:10that gives us a little rest and comfort in the midst of the chaos of that time.
00:16And I am happy that today, I was able to visit SVD Laudato Si' Farm again
00:22to share with you a legit farm-to-table experience that they have here.
00:29Father, can we know when exactly SVD Laudato Si' Farm started?
00:34It was in September 2020.
00:38Okay.
00:39At the height of the pandemic.
00:40Pandemic. Yes.
00:41Yes.
00:42It's amazing because at that time, I was living here in Tagaytay.
00:47So, I personally know the story and as one of the parents of that time,
00:54I think I would speak for that community,
00:58thank you for the opportunity for us to have a place where we can rest, literally.
01:05Do you have a background in farming, Father?
01:08You know, this is very interesting because being a farmer,
01:13I wanted to get rid of that episode because for me, farming means poverty.
01:19Actually.
01:20And so, I worked hard, I studied well, and I left it.
01:26I succeeded. I forgot being a farmer.
01:31And then, only to find out that at a certain point in my life,
01:36that farmer in me would inspire me to proceed with this kind of project.
01:44After a few years, SBB Farm has improved a lot since its simple start
01:50because of the help of people who believe in Father Sam's vision.
01:55What was one of the first food or plant that you planted here in the farm?
02:00One was string beans.
02:02String beans.
02:04Of course, these are the basic Filipino vegetables.
02:10Of course.
02:12But you know, I cannot forget this, sweet potato.
02:17And for me, this is very significant.
02:20Why?
02:22Because when I was young, when our parents fed us sweet potato or balinghoy,
02:30it means that our life was very hard.
02:32For me, it's almost like cursing sweet potato when I left our place.
02:39But when we started farming,
02:42I was happy because those who went to the farm,
02:45the first thing they look for is sweet potato.
02:47So, this is not a food for the poor.
02:51And as a thank you to Father Sam and to our friends at SBB Farm,
02:56I thought of making a signature Tagaytay dish using the fresh vegetables that they harvest.
03:03This is the dish that people around Metro Manila travel to taste.
03:11You know this line,
03:12Let's eat Tagaytay.
03:14Bulalo is delicious.
03:16I will show you how I cook my own beef bulalo.
03:23I will just add oil.
03:24Again, this is my technique.
03:26Most of the time, others just use a pan or pot.
03:32They don't saute or just add water.
03:36For me, what I want with this technique is to add a depth of flavor to our soup.
03:44But you can skip this part if you want your recipe to be simpler.
03:49So, we have here our beef shank.
03:52So, we're just going to sear this.
03:56So, once we get a nice browning around our shanks,
04:19we can now add water or beef stock.
04:26While we're waiting for this to boil,
04:28we can now add our onions.
04:34We're now going to add our onions, celery, and leeks.
04:40Normally, when you make bulalo, you don't add celery.
04:44But since we have a lot here at the farm,
04:48we might as well add it.
04:50It will, in fact, add a different flavor profile to the broth we're making for our bulalo.
04:56But of course, before we let this boil,
04:59we're just going to season it with salt and pepper.
05:06We're going to cook it gently or slowly
05:08so that the beef shank's meat won't separate.
05:14We're also going to prepare the other ingredients,
05:16which is our ube.
05:19This is not something that's usual when you're making bulalo.
05:23But since we want to highlight the main crops
05:27that are often found here in Tagaytay,
05:30we're just going to peel it off.
05:32That's our ube.
05:41Since we're all about maximizing our resources,
05:45like our ingredients,
05:47this is one of the techniques that we do in the kitchen,
05:52in the industrial kitchen, in the restaurant, and in the hotel.
05:56When you're creating stock,
05:59the skin of the vegetables,
06:01especially the skin of the onions,
06:03the extra celery,
06:05the skin of the carrots,
06:07and the husk of the corn
06:12can be used
06:14to enhance the depth of our skin.
06:19We're just going to cover this
06:20and we'll be back in the third hour.
06:25When you visit SVD Laudato Si Farm here in Tagaytay,
06:29you'll surely enjoy the beautiful view,
06:32the fresh air,
06:34and of course, their fresh food from their farm.
06:38But according to Father Sam,
06:40there's a deeper reason
06:42why they thought of this simple farm.
06:48You coined a term,
06:50eco-spirituality.
06:52Eco-spirituality.
06:53I think that is tied up with what you're saying,
06:56Pope Francis.
06:59We respond to the challenge
07:02of taking care of the environment
07:04integrally, holistic approach.
07:06So healthy food,
07:08just like our tomatoes.
07:12Aside from these healthy organic products that we have,
07:17it should be accompanied with
07:19healthy disposition, healthy spirit.
07:25While our bulalo is boiling and tenderizing,
07:28we're going to serve an iconic Tagaytay dish
07:31to our friends at SVD Farm.
07:35So here are our cleaned tawilis.
07:39We're just going to season this with some salt,
07:43our pepper,
07:46and this is one of the secrets that I use
07:49when I'm still working here.
07:51For anything that's fried fish
07:53that we apply or serve in the restaurant,
07:56we add a hint of curry powder.
07:59So just a little bit.
08:01It's not to give it a fried tawilis curry flavor.
08:06It's just to add a little flavor
08:09to the dish that we're eating.
08:11Then we'll just toss this.
08:14Then finally, our cornstarch.
08:16This is what will give us a crunchy component.
08:26You can definitely taste this.
08:30You can definitely deep-fry our tawilis,
08:33but for economical reasons,
08:36I'll show you how we do it in the restaurant.
08:51At this point, we can flip it.
08:54I'll just remove the excess.
09:29After we tenderize the meat of our tawilis to the right consistency,
09:33we can now add the corn and my personal touch of ube.
09:42Once the corn and ube are cooked,
09:44we'll add the petchay baguio.
09:49Then we'll add our fried fish.
09:52This is what we call a fried fish.
09:55We'll now add the petchay baguio.
09:58Let's partake in Tagaytay Classics.
10:27Tagaytay Classics.
10:29Of course, our bulalo and tawilis.
10:31Yes.
10:32In the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
10:36Loving God, we thank you for this chance to come together.
10:41We thank you for the visit of Sir JR, Chef JR, and his team.
10:46We thank you for the gift of the Mother Earth,
10:49our SBD Laudato Si' Farm.
10:52We ask you to continue to bless our missions, our ministry,
10:57the team of Sir Chef JR,
11:00our workers of the farm, our benefactors and friends.
11:04Bless the food you are about to receive from your goodness,
11:08through Christ our Lord.
11:10Amen.
11:11Amen.
11:13Amen.
11:14Here it is.
11:15This project will not be successful.
11:20One of the factors there is the help you receive.
11:23Especially for me, the help of the Department of Agriculture.
11:28From the very start.
11:29Yes.
11:30They guided us in farming.
11:32Aside from that, I would like to thank our committed workers, staff here.
11:38We have now 115.
11:40Wow.
11:41In a span of four years.
11:43Four years, 115.
11:45They are many.
11:47Many are helping them.
11:50And they come from our vicinity.
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