How sustainable is a farm-to-table lifestyle in Singapore?

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Carpe Diem

My ratatouille inspired farm-to-table lunch of organic greens

Farm-to-table (or farm-to-fork), one of many food movements in today’s health conscious culture, focuses on producing food locally and delivering that food to local consumers. It is often associated with organic farming initiatives, sustainable agriculture, and community-supported agriculture. While it has been gaining popularity in other parts of the world, in Singapore, this is still largely unheard of among most of the locals.

Little surprise there since according to AVA, Singapore imports some 90% of our food. According to AVA’s statistics, as of 2013, we only have 243 licensed farms, 675 ha. of farmland and we produce a total of S$242.3 million worth of food from our farm production. This is a mere drop of water in the vast ocean, needed to feed some $5.4 million hungry mouths (Singapore’s Population Statistics).

Yet, at the same time, I am equally impressed by the amount of food that we are already producing locally, given how little land we possess. According to the World Bank, Singapore’s population density in 2013 stands at 7,713 people per square metre. That makes us the 3rd most densely populated country in the world, behind Macao (18,942/sqm) and Monaco (18,916/sqm).

For many Singaporeans, the fact that we are producing that much food from our local farms, will probably come as a surprise as well. Most of us spend our days in our offices and have never or rarely seen a farm in Singapore. Our food comes from the supermarket, pre-packed. So what you don’t see, generally doesn’t exist (at least in our own minds).

Last week, I wrote about the Kranji Countryside, where we can find a number of our local farms. While it makes for a nice weekend outing, it is not always practical or easy to buy your fresh produce directly at the farm everyday or every week. However, the good news is that most of these farms offer home delivery and some are even distributed at our local supermarkets. So, if you want a convenient way to enjoy fresh organic farm produce in the comfort of your own home, you can.

To make it easier, here’s a quick summary of some of the farm-to-table options (with delivery or a supermarket presence) available in Singapore:

Fire Flies Health Farm: Buy organic vegetables & fruits at the farm or online.
Quan Fa Organic Farm: Buy organic vegetables & fruits at the farm or online.
Aero Green Tech: Their Aeroponic vegetables are available at local supermarkets like NTUC & Cold Storage.
Green Circle Eco Farm: Buy vegetables & fruits (grown without the use of any artificial chemical or pesticide) online.
Kin Yan Agrotech: Buy organic wheatgrass at the farm or online. Their range of organic wheatgrass is also available at NTUC, super markets and health food stores.
Hay Dairies: Buy fresh goat’s milk (free from antibiotics, preservatives & growth hormones) at the farm, online or at specific distributors islandwide.
JFF Pte Ltd: Buy frogs, crocodile meat & fish (free from antibiotics, hormones or steroids) at the farm or online.

The exciting reveal of my veggie basket from Green Circle

I had a chance to test out the delivery services from Green Circle Eco Farm recently. They offer a Veggie Basket of seasonal vegetable. Each basket costs $30 (with an additional $5 for delivery) and contains approximately 7 types of vegetables or fruits.

For those who do not wish to select your own vegetables from their list or who love surprises, this is a good option to go for. Home deliveries are currently made from 2 – 10pm on Wednesdays (East of Singapore), Thursdays (Central area) and Fridays (Western side of Singapore) only. The only issue I had was I didn’t know what time I would receive my delivery. In this case, I received my basket on Wednesday at 8pm (I stay in the Siglap area) and from what I understand, subsequent delivery will be at a similar time.

It was quite exciting to see what was included in the basket. However, if you wish to maximise your grocery budget for the week, it is perhaps best to pick your own vegetables. And while organic vegetables are indeed a little more expensive, it doesn’t have to break your bank or exceed your weekly expenditure. Here’s a quick cost comparison as an illustration:

	Organic	Non-Organic
Cai Xin (250g)	$2.50	$2.04
Kai Lan (250g)	$2.50	$2.38
Xia Bai Cai (250g)	$2.50	$1.88

Surely, a small price to pay to know that the food you are eating is free from artificial harmful substances. While you may not be entirely convinced yet, at least consider giving it a try. After all, increasing the demand for organic farm-to-table produce may in the long run mean a better price for consumers and a cleaner lifestyle for all.

Check back for some budget farm-to-table recipes that you can cook at home, which I will be sharing over the next few weeks.

To find out how you can support the farm-to-table practice at your next party, contact us for a discussion.

Our Last Farming Frontier

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Carpe Diem

Just over the weekend, I had the chance to visit the Kranji Countryside, a collection of farms located in the rural north-western corner of Singapore. It is touted as the Wild Wild West of Singapore, which is funny in the larger context of the rest of the world, but probably true for Singaporeans who are more used to seeing high rise buildings than acres of vegetable beds & piles of goat poo.

So what warranted this visit? With the growing focus on a healthier lifestyle and calls for “Farm to Table”, “Wholefoods” & “Organic” gaining increasing momentum around the world, I wanted to know if we had a sustainable food source, that does not rely solely on imports, able to support these food movements.

Their signature “Blue” Nasi Lemak

First stop was at Bollywood Veggies, a ten acre farm, with an onsite bistro serving local fare cooked with produce from the farm. So, what better way to experience the local farm culture than to dive right in, into lunch of course. Their signature “Blue” Nasi Lemak was nicely fragrant and the blue colour in the rice comes from the petals of the clitoria ternatea (butterfly-pea) flowers (kembang telang) grown on the farm. It would have been better if the rice was served warm instead of cold and it was a little too soft for my taste. But the chicken wing (hot & crispy), ikan bilis & tapioca chips (grown right on the farm) and chilli (more would have been better) were good.

The tour of the farm, after lunch, was pretty educational. The many different types of herbs, fruit trees, vegetables, flowers available on the farm makes for an interesting time. Everything is well-labelled and there are short writeups for the different sections, so even for the uninitiated, a self-guided tour is easy. Makes for a great weekend activity, especially if the only time you get to see vegetables and fruits are when they are in their packages in the supermarkets or on your plate.

Brinjal

Chilli padi

Sweet Potato

Peppers

Starfruit

Jackfruit

Neem

Betel Leaf

Laksa Leaf

Next up, a visit to Hay Diaries, the only goat farm we have in Singapore. Housing some 800 goats of various breed, Hay Dairies offers fresh goat’s milk to customers as an alternative to those allergic to cow’s milk. Purchase is available either through Home Delivery Service, Selected Store Outlets or Direct Farm Purchase. They currently offer 2 flavours, natural & chocolate. I recommend the natural version as the chocolate tastes a little artificial. Goat’s milk also generally tastes a little less rich than cow’s milk. For those who are hoping to catch some milking action, you’ll need to come between 9 – 11am.

Moving on, Quan Fa Organic Farm is where you’ll get to see a real working farm, with just beds and beds of vegetables, all farmed by hand and free of pesticides and harmful fertilizers. Aside from the vegetables, there is a small retail store onsite where you can purchase fresh produce right off the farm. While organic vegetables tend to be slight pricier, it’s certainly worth the little extra for fresh, natural greens and I was tempted to make some purchases here as the vegetables were beautiful and fresh.

Here’s what I made with my Nai Bai purchase – a simple grilled Cajun-spiced chicken on a bed of stir-fried Nai Bai & mushrooms

Seeding the beds by hand is backbreaking work

Roasted Quail with Sweet Potato & Cauliflower

Final stop for the day was at the Farmart Centre. Based on its website, you would think it is the perfect location for a family outing, with farm tours, animal feeding, dining, shopping – NOT. It was the most disappointing part of the afternoon for me. A sad, run down excuse of a location with animals crammed in their enclosures, stores mostly closed and loud karaoke singing in the background. The only redeeming part of that visit was Uncle William’s store, the retail arm of Lian Wah Hang Farm, the first and only Game Bird farm in Singapore, where I bought some quail eggs and spring quails (which I used to make this roasted quail dish).

All in all, it made for an interesting afternoon on a weekend. Not the usual programme most of us city-dwelling Singaporeans are used to. I definitely recommend it if you have never been here before. There is a lot more to be discovered in this last bit of farming paradise in Singapore, with easily more than 20 different farms on the list. And it is heartening to know that if we wanted to, we can still practice a farm-to-table approach in our cooking and perhaps we all should do so more readily. Not only does it mean a cleaner, healthier living, but also by supporting our local enterprises, we just may be able to play a part in keeping this last bit of green tradition from disappearing all together.

To find out how you can support the farm-to-table practice at your next party, contact us for a discussion.

“Healthy Dessert” is an oxymoron?

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Carpe Diem

We all have our little indulgence. For many, it’s that sweet ending to a meal. The one thing that even when you are bursting at the seams, you claim to have space for because “I have a separate stomach for desserts”. And so we inhale our sweet treat and pretend that a little indulgence never hurt anyone. But, if you bake, like me, at the back of our heads, we are all too aware of the amount of sugar, fats & colouring that go into that sweet treat.

It’s for that reason that I avoid buying mass produced, processed food whenever I can. If you read the label carefully, there is a whole lot that goes into that food item that I wouldn’t want to put into my body. Just take this example of a pack of Chips Ahoy.

In its list of ingredients, we have “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil” – otherwise know as Trans Fat that studies have linked to cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, among many other health problems. And sugar or more importantly, “High Fructose Corn Syrup” known to lead to fatty liver and in turn to diabesity (“Why you should never eat high fructose corn syrup” – Huff Post).

So what’s the alternative or those who must have their sweet indulgence. Make your own desserts so you can control what goes into your body. Or at least buy it from somewhere where you know that they have made an effort to use wholesome, natural ingredients, which offer a more balanced, healthy alternative.

So, it was with this objective in mind that I set out to discover if healthy desserts are indeed possible or if that is just a myth. Depending on which food philosophy you subscribe to i.e. Paleo, Gluten-free, there are a host of alternatives out there. Having tried a few of those recipes, I’ll say that it is possible but challenging. Substituting non-traditional ingredients alter the stability of the dessert that you are producing and it takes a far bit of experimenting to develop the right balance between taste, health and aesthetics.

I conducted a recent taste test with one of the recipes – producing what looked like a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. It was in fact a chocolate zucchini cupcake with a chocolate avocado frosting. Main ingredients used included zucchini, coconut flour, honey, organic applesauce, spices, eggs, coco powder & avocado. Results show that 80% of testers thought it was a chocolate cupcake and over half of them were willing to pay a premium for a healthier dessert.

My takeaways from this little experiment – I’m going to keep working on healthier alternatives for that end of the meal indulgence. After a long hard day, it feels good to be able to let loose and enjoy some of the treats that you like. Only, this time, it’s actually going to be good for you. My challenge for you, don’t compromise your health for a little convenience. You should be able to have your cake and eat it too.

If you’ll like to enjoy healthy desserts for your next party, contact us for a discussion.

A Taste of Greece

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Carpe Diem

Having come back from a 2-week long vacation in Greece, I can tell you that the food on the islands is fabulous. A combination of fresh seafood, meats, produce, herbs, spices and simple home cooking produces the most amazing flavours. You can tell which restaurants take pride in their fare and which are those just out to make a quick buck – the quality of food is as far apart as heaven and earth. Here are some examples of the fabulous fare I had the pleasure of trying:

Fall-off-the-bone Lamb stew commonly served in the taverns in Athens

One of the best grilled lamb I had was in Lassithi

Gyros – an economical meal commonly found on the streets of Athens

Giant platter of seafood fried to perfection

Tomato & Feta Cheese Mussels on Santorini

I had a friend’s birthday coming up over the weekend, and she loves Greece. It’s been years since she was there and so, inspired by my travels, I decided to throw a Grecian party in her honor. Looking back at my notes, I decided that there were a few key staples that every Greek party needs:

Greek salad made up of tomatos, onions, cucumber, feta cheese, olive oil, salt & herbs – what could be simpler and more refreshing in this heat.
Pita bread – homemade of course. And to accompany it, we need a Tapenade, a dip made of olives, sundried tomatoes, olive oil & feta cheese; and Hummus, a dip made of chickpeas, salt, lemon, garlic & parsley.
Fresh Mussels cooked in its juice and simply seasoned with salt, pepper, onions & white wine.
Chicken Souvlaki a.k.a. chicken on a stick – season the chicken simply with salt, pepper, lemon, oregano & olive oil. Accompanied by a homemade Tzatziki made of strained greek yogurt mixed with shredded cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and dill.
Moussaka, an eggplant & potato layered beef & cheese casserole.
Baklava, a sticky sweet dessert made of layers of butter, nuts, honey, rosewater & filo pastry

The best part about this was that every dish is fresh & made from scratch so I know exactly what goes into each plate and into the stomach. No store-bought ready made dips with a ton of preservatives.

Tapenade

Hummus

Baklava

Tzatziki

Moussaka

Chicken Souvlaki

Greek Salad

It was all round great fun, with the guests coming in Greek-inspired outfits. Everyone had a chance to try some of the Greek fare, together with the Santorini Vinsanto wine that I brought back from my travels. I believe we just added a whole new dimension to armchair travelling – If you can’t go to Greece, bring a taste of Greece to your home.

If you’ll like to experience the flavours of Greece in your home too, contact us for a discussion.

Celebrate life, love & play

Featured | Posted by Carpe Diem

At Cook In:Lab, we believe in celebrating life to the fullest. Every moment, whether big or small is an occasion to be shared with the people you love. And nothing brings people together more than good eats. So let us be a part of your celebration of life, love & play and we will help you make every moment memorable. You bring the good company, we’ll supply the good food.