APRIL 2000

In This Month's Issue:

• Recipes
• Vegan Product Review
• Don't Miss! This Month's Article - Growing Your Own (Part Two: Salad Crops)
• No Dig Potatoes
• In The Veganic Garden
• Living without Cruelty Exhibition
• Your Comments
• Websites
• Book Review
• The Wildlife Database

Recipe of the Month

Soya Baked Potatoes and Steamed Veggies

Ingredients:

• 2 baking potatoes
• 225g (8oz) of cooked soya beans
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• Seaweed powder and mixed herbs (optional)
• A mixture of vegetables for steaming e.g. kale, broccoli, spinach, carrots, brussel tops etc.
• 1 tbsp of flax oil
• 1-2 tbsp of Braggs Liquid Aminos (or tamari sauce)
• Engevita Yeast Flakes (optional)

Method

1. Scrub the potatoes clean and prick them with a fork. Bake until soft. I usually microwave them for about 18 mins as this saves time, but they can also be cooked for about 1 hour in the oven at Gas Mark 7 (220 degrees C/425 degrees F). Turn the potatoes over half way through the cooking time.
2. Meanwhile, place the soya beans, the garlic powder and a small amount of water into a blender. Blend until smooth. (If you don't have a blender, then mash the beans with a fork and mix with the other ingredients.)
3. When the potatoes are done, allow to cool slightly, then slice them in half. Carefully scoop out most of the flesh, leaving just a little around the edge of the skins. Put the potato flesh into a bowl, mash and add the bean puree, seaweed powder and herbs, if using. Mix well.
4. Put this mixture back inside the potato shells. Smooth down the top and return the potato halves to the oven on a baking tray. Bake until well heated and going slightly brown on the top. This will take about 30 mins on Gas Mark 6 (200 degrees C / 400 degrees F).
5. Meanwhile prepare and steam the assorted vegetables. Carrots should be sliced thinly and broccoli chopped into small florets so that the vegetables cook fairly quickly. Place the vegetables in a steamer, adding a few inches of water to the pan. Bring the water to the boil. (Note: If you don't have a steamer, then the vegetables can be steamed in a metal sieve or colander over a lidded pan of boiling water.) Steam the vegetables until lightly cooked (approx. 10-15 mins, depending on the types of vegetables used).
6. Mix together the Braggs Liquid Aminos (or tamari), the crushed garlic clove and the flax oil in a small jug/cup.

To Serve: Divide the vegetables and baked potato halves between two plates and pour the oil over the vegetables. Sprinkle with Engevita if desired. These potatoes are also nice when eaten with a mixed salad.

Recipe Serves 2.

* Note: If you are unable to find any soya beans, try using a can of baked beans, but drain off some of the tomato sauce before blending.

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April Product Review

Sarakan Toothpaste

Sarakan toothpaste is made from good quality natural ingredients, including an extract obtained from the shrub Salvadora persica, also known as the 'toothbrush tree'. Apparently millions of people in the world still rub their teeth and gums with Salvadora twigs to clean them. This toothpaste is suitable for vegans and does not contain any fluoride or sweeteners. It's non-foaming and is flavoured with natural oils such as peppermint, clove and geranium and has a nice fresh taste. Brushing with this toothpaste is said to restore natural whiteness to the teeth. Well my teeth have always been naturally yellow! And although they are possibly a little whiter now that I've been using the toothpaste for nearly a month, I certainly wouldn't claim that they glow in the dark yet! Nevertheless they do look pretty clean and shiny and I like the non-abrasive, smooth feel of this toothpaste. Look out for this toothpaste in your health shop. I paid £1.85 for a 50ml tube in Holland & Barretts.

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To Dig or Not to Dig, That is the Question?

Growing potatoes in the normal manner can cause considerable disruption to the soil. First of all in order to plant the potatoes, holes or trenches, 4-6 inches in depth, have to be dug using a spade or fork. Then after the potato tubers have been placed in the trench, they will need earthing up when they start to sprout. Finally, harvesting the potatoes involves even more digging! Yet I know of quite a few veganic and otherwise no-dig gardeners, myself included, who continue to grow potatoes in the standard way. And Kathleen Jannaway (of MCL) in her booklet Growing Your Own also recommends continuing to grow potatoes using traditional methods because she thinks that it has a beneficial effect on the soil. I have to confess though, I do sometimes wonder how all that digging can benefit the soil and what it must do to the earthworms, if they happen to get in the way - ouch! Nevertheless I continue to grow my potatoes in this way, largely because of difficulties in obtaining a large enough supply of hay or straw. (Also buying in straw causes transport pollution.) However, I just wish to point out here that it is possible to grow potatoes without digging, if you find the digging annoying, or if you perhaps wish to avoid doing it because you have a bad back. This method is especially worth trying out if you have enough land to grow your own hay/straw.

The following guidelines on no-dig potato growing were taken from a leaflet produced by HDRA, except I have substituted vegetable compost (the vegan equivalent) for manure:

• Clear the vegetation from the area of land where you wish to grow your potatoes
• Water the ground well if the soil is dry.
• Spread a layer of plant compost on the surface of the soil.
• Lay the seed potatoes on top of the compost at the normal spacing.
• Cover the rows of seed potatoes with a few inches of hay (or old straw).
• When the shoots start to emerge, top up the mulch with more straw/hay until the mulch is about 6" (15 cm) thick. Place a layer of grass cuttings on top of the mulch, as this excludes light and helps to keep the mulch in place. Top up with more grass when necessary.
• When you want to harvest your potatoes simply pull back the mulch and remove any potatoes that you require. But don't forget to replace the mulch properly afterwards, in order to keep the light off any remaining potatoes!

(For a more detailed description of the procedure read No Dig Gardening (Fact Sheet No. GG2) produced by HDRA which is available from: The Henry Doubleday Research Association, Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry, CV8 3LG. (Tel: 01203 303517. Email: enquiry@hdra.org.uk.)

Finally, I would just like to point out that I have not personally tried out this method. So if any Vegan News readers have, then perhaps they could e-mail in and let us know what they think about it? I would be particularly interested to know what happens when it's very windy! And would also expect potatoes produced in this way to be a lot cleaner.

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What's Happening in the Veganic Garden This Month?

• Sowing and Planting Outside
  Continue to make regular sowings of parsnips, lettuces, carrots, peas, broad beans, spinach and radishes. Plant out chitted, second early potatoes, but don't forget to protect the potato shoots by covering them with polythene when night frosts are forecast. By the middle to the end of the month it should also be warm enough to start making some sowings of beetroot as well. Plant up your asparagus bed, if you ordered asparagus crowns last month and make sowings of Land Cress (otherwise known as American Cress), a very useful, easily-grown, salad green (see this month's article). Plant out home-grown Brussels sprout plants, if these are now large enough to go outside.

• Indoor Sowings:
  Make indoor sowings of kale (e.g. 'Nero di Toscano', 'Cottager's Kale' and 'Tall Green Curled'), calabrese, sprouting broccoli, outdoor tomatoes (if you didn't do this at the end of March), autumn/winter cauliflowers and late Brussels sprouts. Many herbs (mint, basil, chives, hyssop, lavender, mint, rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano) and butterfly plants (e.g. Buddleia) can also be sown indoors this month.

• Crops Available This Month:

  Sprouting broccoli, rhubarb, spring greens, turnip tops, kale, leeks, asparagus and winter lettuces such as 'Imperial Winter'.

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Living Without Cruelty 2000 (17th-19th March)

On Saturday 18th March I spent a very enjoyable day visiting the 'Living Without Cruelty Exhibition' which was held in London in Kensington Town Hall. This three-day event, organised by Animal Aid, covered many important and highly relevant issues such as fairtrade, ethical investment, humane research, the ivory trade, conservation, the arms trade, landmines and animal welfare. In the main hall there were well over 50 stands, run by organisations working in the areas mentioned above and offering books, informative literature and in many cases a chance to talk to a representitive about their work. At the Dr Hadwen stand it was possible to see various non-animal research methods including the 'Technomouse', a piece of scientific equipment used to grow monoclonal antibodies instead of using the abdomens of mice. Other exhibiting organisations present at the exhibition included: Christian Aid, MCL, The Vegetarian Society, Greek Animal Rescue, The Vegan Society, PETA, Friends of the Earth, Animal Aid, Compassion in World Farming, Born Free Foundation, BUAV, VIVA! and Campaign Against The Arms Trade. In addition there were also numerous stands selling books and various cruelty-free and fair trade products.

A varied programme of lectures was offered throughout the duration of the exhibition. On the Saturday, I attended a lecture given by Geoffrey Thomas, spokesperson for the Dr Hadwen Trust, showing that medical research is indeed possible without any need for animal experimentation. And I also attended a very interesting lecture/slideshow entitled 'Can Time Stand Still? Stopping the Clock' which was all about elephants and the ivory trade and was given by Will Travers, the director of the Born Free Foundation. Andrew Tyler from Animal Aid spoke on 'The Importance of Making Links With Other Social Progress Movements' and there was also a lecture on ethical investment entitled, 'Investing For the Earth's Future', given by Mark Capel.

I particularly enjoyed the cookery demonstration given by the vegetarian cookery expert, Rose Elliot'. In about half an hour she managed to knock up four delicious-looking dishes - a quick and easy pizza, a bulgur wheat pilaff, a noodle dish and a bean humous which she served with the fastest baked potatoes that I have ever come across! I hope to feature some of these recipes in Vegan News sometime in the near future, so do look out for them. In addition, I also enjoyed looking at 'The World of Food' section of the exhibition which featured many healthy vegetarian dishes from all over the world, including tofu in yellow bean sauce from Thailand, guacamole from Mexico, tabbouleh from Lebanon, chickpea and spinach casserole from Egypt and a simple but nevertheless delicious pasta dish from Italy. And in the 'Diet for The 21st Century Zone' I finally met two Burgeroids - enormous creatures with hamburger heads, who would certainly put me off eating meat!

Finally, I must just mention the Millennium Maze which took visitors on an interesting journey through positive and negative visions of the future. Many issues were covered inside the maze including recycling, car use, nuclear power, alternative energy and compost making. It was also possible to walk through a minefield, visit a rainforest and a banana plantation, meet a radioactive lobster and to discover more about fairly-traded products.

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Your Comments

My name is Michelle. I am 15 years old and I just wanted to say that I love this site. You put good effort into it. Keep up the good work!

Michelle Dayton, USA.

Thank you Michelle!

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Other Interesting Websites

The Vegan Society (UK)

An excellent site and a particularly good starting point for obtaining information for the new or intending vegan. You can now visit their online shop or become a member.

Vegetarian Matchmakers

The leading dating and friendship agency, especially for vegetarians and vegans. Vmm is run by vegans and offers regular social events.

The Incredible Internet Guide to Diets and Nutrition

This 340 page book lists approx 1,300 diet and nutrition-related sites, including The Vegan News! The sites are divided into 130+ categories. So, if you are looking for more information on diet and nutrition, then this book will help you to find what you are looking for online. It's available in bookstores nationwide, but you can save over 25% by purchasing it at this website.

Tofu is For You

This site's well worth a visit if you want to find out more about tofu. You'll learn about the different types of tofu, as well as how to store, prepare and use this versatile ingredient. You'll also find links to recipes and information on a variety of tofu recipe books.

The Dr Hadwen Trust

The Dr Hadwen Trust have recently launched their new website. Here you can find out more about non-animal research into various human health problems and see the merchandise sold by The Trust in order to raise money. Why not pop along and take a look and help to make animal experiments a thing of the past?

The St Francis Foundation for Animal Welfare