Thursday, October 25, 2012

与舌共舞


十月四号,星期四,这炎热的夜晚,一场与舌的亲密交流,即赏心又悦目,五脏庙也得到安抚,真是太完美了!
首先挑战味蕾的是特制饮料,青瓜柚子鸡尾酒,杯的边缘也沾上了红味噌,入口清爽中还带着微微的咸香味。赞!开胃拼盘番茄汁,番薯和米饭配上烧烤过的腐乳。每样都有它的独特味道,带来不少的赞叹!
香槟加日本清酒,浅尝后,如炎夜一般,整个人一下子就热了起来。味噌面包配海藻牛油加腐乳,别出心裁的搭配。看似不协调,却能让舌尖带来惊喜。
这是充满海洋风味的一道料理。材料有茄子,海带,蚝和鱼卵再配上烧酒,不需要任何调味,也能带出它原有的味道。
 鰤鱼刺身配酒粕沾酱和炸到酥脆的莲藕。
芦笋,水煮蛋加上打成泡沫的味噌做调味,即健康又美味!原来没烹调的芦笋也一样可口!
蜜瓜果子露,甜甜的,冰冰的,别有一番滋味!

绿茶果冻,金枪鱼,青瓜沙拉配柴鱼酱,不常见的组合,却能征服味蕾!赞!尤其沙拉,除了青瓜,还配上了本地的草药-草胡椒。草胡椒也称为软骨草,它不但清热解毒,也有消炎止痛的功效。配合沙拉酱,草胡椒也可当生菜食用,但其性质较寒凉,脾胃虚寒者,不要食用太多。
煎到香味四溢的牛肉,再加以色彩鲜艳的蔬菜作点缀,真是让人垂涎三尺。
尤其用水葫芦苗作点缀,有画龙点睛的效用。
水葫芦苗的功效包括利水消肿,袪风除湿,对于关节炎和水肿有一定的疗效。
再来一道天马行空的甜点-棉花糖,爆米花配味噌加上鲜花点缀,悦目娱心。这道小点用了猫须草和茉莉花做为点缀,即讨喜又创新。

猫须草的干品在市面上也可买到,也称为肾茶。至于名字的由来,可能是从马来话kencing teh(利尿之茶)而来。对于膀胱炎,急性肾炎和尿路结石有一定的见效。

另一朵白色的花就是茉莉花,一般上都合于茶叶里,泡后有芳香之味。其实茉莉花茶还有舒肝理气的疗效。

最后一道是精心调制的巧克力。看了都流口水!
猜猜看,那一个是姜汁口味,柴鱼口味,清酒口味呢?
就是这班幕后功臣,绞尽脑汁,设计出这一系列由熊本县所带来的当地食材的食谱!

通过这次的活动,笔者发觉,24位出席的嘉宾,虽然语言不通,但通过味蕾和肠胃的交流,也能拉近彼此的距离。

感谢2am:lab的黄慧娴小姐(Janice Wong)的盛意邀请,让笔者度过一个不平凡的夜晚。

Monday, September 10, 2012

Annual visit of Boon Lay Garden Primary School

Led by Mr Fadylla Rashiman and Miss Mok Wan Kay, a group of students from Boon Lay Garden Primary School visited the Farm on 6th September 12.




All the students were given a worksheet with specific tasks to complete.First task - Sense of taste...

The students were given some sweet basil to taste. Do not be misled by the name of the plant. It is not sweet at all but a bit bitter, a bit peppery and a little bit minty...


Next Kang kong, this is not going to turn you into a "king kong" after eating...

This is one of our local vegetables - taste fantastic when stir fried with samble. However, when eaten raw, it is a bit crunchy and has a chlorophyll taste.
Second task - Sense of sight...

The start of the life cycle of a plant. The seeds are placed in a cube of sponge.


Then the seeded sponge is sent to a germination room. Air, water and warmth are the 3 conditions necessary for seeds to start germination. Take a peek, spot the trays of sponge and if your eyes are sharp, you can also spot the cracked seed coats.

Third task - Sense of Smell...

Cinnamon basil - as the name implies, it has an aromatic cinnamon smell coupled with a sweet scent. Very alluring!
Every plant has its own unique scent. Even fruit plants like the cherry tomatoes and bringjal have their own flavour.This is the favourite segment. A total of 4 types of mint to arouse your sense of smell. Each type of mint has its own degree of freshness or coolness and each has its own supporters.
And the last task - Sense of touch...
Feel the texture of the different types of leaves. Some are smooth, some are rough and some are hairy.
Some will leave traces after you have touch them. Either stain or smell...

All these learning is not possible unless the students activates the sense of hearing, penning down what they have learnt along the tour.
Finally a sense of satisfaction!

The students bought back what they desire - plants, seeds, fertilizer or accessories, entering into a whole new experience with plants - be enchanted, be enthused by our co-inhabitants on Earth !

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Experiential Learning with Technology

In the month of July, Oh' Farms hosted a group of young and enthusiastic pupils from Endeavour Primary School. Bring along with their learning tools - ipads, they were here to gain first-hand experience and learn the process of hydroponics cultivation. With the advance of technology, students now can access to knowledge anytime and anywhere at their finger tips. You see, these students paid full attention to the information they could retrieve on the ipads.Entering into the 21st century, equipping our students with new technology will enhance their learning not only in the classrooms but also outdoors.When our educational tour guide was bringing them round the farm, introducing them to the different departments and explaining how the hydroponics works, most students might forget what they heard and saw pretty quickly. But with the help of ipads, the could jot down notes quickly, took photos or videos and recorded what the tour guide explained - learning is so much fun and meaningful if students are fully engaged through their involvement in the learning process.

Learning should not be restricted only to within the classrooms. Videos or photos that they took during the tour will help these students to refresh and reflect their memory and their learning journey.

Lastly, with proper use of technology we are contributing to the 'Go Green' or 'Saving Gaia' projects also - indeed, printed materials are not necessary as students could read and complete their work on their ipads.

However, technology is never a substitute for an inspiring teacher. Time and effort are absolutely necessary and required for teachers to interact and nurture a student - yes, the roles of a teacher can never be obliterated in order to bring about a holistic education for our next generation.



Thumbs up for Endeavour Primary School in adopting technology to aid or enhance students' learning - hope more schools would come to the farm and let students experience and witness what hydroponics farming is all about.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Butterflies in Our Parks and Gardens

The Singapore Garden Festival 2012 was held from 7th July to 15th July. This year, Oh' Farms together with Mr Syaiful Hakim from Nparks were invited to speak on the topic, " The Butterflies Around Our Parks" on the 12th and 14th July '12. Both of us were excited as this had given us an opportunity to introduce some of the nature's flying jewels found in our parks to the visitors. Hopefully, a better understanding of this unique group of insects would stimulate more interest in appreciating and conserving them.
Ai Ling, from Oh' Farms explained the different stages of the life cycle of a butterfly and why butterflies were important in our environment.
Syaiful, on the other hand, covered a wider range of topics - from the basics of creating a butterfly garden to some species of butterfly that are facing extinction in our island. After the talk, many stayed to look at the exhibits. Abby, one of the helpers who handled the exhibits, explained in details the life cycle of a butterfly has to go through.One of the visitors brought a photo of a butterfly for Abby to identify.Visitors spotting a few caterpillars on the plant which were very well camouflaged.Mother and daughter were looking at the different instars of the lime caterpillars.Abby was busy answering many queries posted by the curious visitors. From the responses of the audience, it clearly showed that many people had misconceptions about butterflies and caterpillars. In order to encourage more people to appreciate and know more about butterflies, educating the public with the correct facts about butterflies is a way to go.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A Visit from Across the Straits

On 7th May 2012, the Oh's Farm welcomed a group of teachers-to-be from our friendly neighbourhood, Malaysia. This group of guests came from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai Johor. With a cohort of 97 prospective teachers , the group embarked on a learning journey on soilless culture.


The group was introduced to 3 types of hydroponic systems namely the NFT system, the Drip Irrigation and also the DRF system.

The NFT system (The Nutrient Film Technique Hydroponic system) was used to grow some Japanese cucumbers, roselle, cherry tomatoes, lavender and a few species of mint.

The system that the Farm adopts for the production of leafy vegetables is the DRF system - The Dynamic Root Floating Hydroponic System. These curious pre-service teachers all took a look at the hot and humid germination room - the seeds in the sponges were left there 2 to 3 days for germination.


The newly germinated seeds are transferred to the nurseries where they will continue to grow in a special nursery for another 7 to 10 days. Some sunlight and light nutrient solution are needed for the young seedlings to develop roots and true leaves.
Once the seedlings are ready for transplanting, it will be sent to the Production Greenhouses.
Only healthy seedlings will be selected and transplanted into the culture panels.
The transplanting process is clean and hassle free.
After transplanting, the white netting is lowered to keep the pest out. This way, the vegetables are produced without using pesticide.A group photo for remembrance!




To sum up the tour, a sharing session on how to use recycling materials to set up your own hydroponics is introduced.
Tony, our in-house guide, ends the session with a quick quiz on the tour where some tokens were given for attentive visitors.

It was a pleasant experience to have a foreign tertiary institution visiting the farm as the Farm hardly receives visitors from the local universities. Besides learning in classrooms, experiential learning derived from visiting industries or farms should add value to any students' education journey!