THE VEGAN NEWS
AUTUMN 2007
[Previous
issue] [Next
issue] [Homepage]
In This Issue:
Goji Berry Jam
Source: Thompson & Morgan Cultural Instruction
Leaflet.
Ingredients
- 1/4
cup dried goji berries, soaked overnight
- Water for soaking
- 1/2 tsp orange zest
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 pitted date, chopped
Method
- Soak the goji berries in water overnight.
- Using a blender, process the goji berries with the orange
zest, ginger
and the date, adding a little of the soak water if necessary.
- Use the jam immediately, or store in an airtight
container in the fridge for a few days.
Serving ideas: No added
sugar, so quickly prepared and rather nice. Try it
on rice cakes, oatcakes and in sandwiches. Yummy! See the Growing for Health section below for
further
information on goji berries.
Fat-Free
Coleslaw
Source: Own recipe.
Ingredients
- Simple No-Tahini Hummus (amount to
taste)
- 1 small white cabbage, finely grated
- 1 large carrot, finely grated
- Selection of chopped vegetables (e.g. mushrooms, red pepper,
cucumber, tomato, sweet corn kernels etc.)
- Engevita yeast flakes, nori flakes (optional)
Method
- Roughly chop up the cabbage, then wash well, draining off
any excess water.
Process in a food processor using the grating blade until finely
grated.
- Peel and wash the carrot. Chop into sticks, then process as
above. Place the processed cabbage and carrot in a bowl.
- Wash and prepare any other vegetables you are using.
Use some of the suggestions listed above, or experiment by with
whatever raw veggies you happen to have in your fridge! Mix the chopped
vegetables in with the grated carrot and cabbage.
- Spoon in a good portion of the simple no-tahini hummus (see
the recipe in the last
issue). I like to add mustard to the basic recipe. Mix in well
and serve.
- Sprinkle on some Engevita and nori flakes just before
eating.
Serves: 1 as a main meal
or 3-4 as a side dish.
Top of Page
Ogran Rice & Millet
Pasta
A rather nice spiral-shaped pasta that's completely wheat free, being
made from buckwheat and rice flour. Vegan and gluten free it's ideal
for those on an allergy-restricted diet. Cooks in just 8-10 minutes.
Great with pasta sauces, or for use in a pasta salad! Unfortunately,
it's produced in Australia, which bumps up the food miles somewhat.
Price £1.75.
Look out for it in your local heath shop or in large supermarkets.
Natural House Organic Soap Flakes
These mild, perfume-free soap flakes are ideal for hand washing your
delicates, baby clothes etc. In fact I was rather pleased
to discover this product as it can be quite difficult to find an
effective vegan household product that is suitable for hand washing
items. These soap flakes are made using only organic plant-derived
oils, naturally occurring preservatives and use essential oils rather
than
synthetic perfumes. The product contains no animal
ingredients or
petrochemicals, is fully biodegradable and comes in recyclable
packaging. Give it a good swirl round to completely dissolve the
soapflakes
before adding your washing (incidentally the flakes don't dissolve very
well in very cold water). I find it rather pleasant to
use because it doesn't have a strong smell.
This product is certified by the Soil
Association and Organic Food Federation and bears the Vegan Society
Logo. A 500g packet can be purchased from the Natural
Collection for
£3.49. Visit the Natural House
website for further information.
Bio-D Concentrated Multi-Surface
Cleaner
I rather like this cleaning product, which I find especially
useful for cleaning sinks. It's made using a blend of coconut oil
detergents, orange oil, vegetable glycerine and sodium salts and cleans
well without scratching surfaces. Can also be used on floors, tiles,
paintwork etc when diluted. Vegan Society Approved.
Available from the Natural
Collection, a 1 litre bottle costs
£2.75. It's also available in 5 litre
containers for £10.95.
For more
information on Bio-D products visit http://www.biodegradable.biz
Top of Page
Autumn Sowing and
Planting Schedule:
For more information on what to plant throughout September, October and
November
please see the GARDENING DIARY.
Well whatever happened to summer this year?! Generally I get very
little
rain
from early May until the end of August in this area of the south of
England. In fact it's not unusual for the ground in my veganic beds to
start to crack open in July or August. But there has
certainly
been
no shortage of
rain down here throughout May and June of this year and it's still
raining even
as I
write this in mid July! In some respects this is excellent news
as many of my crops have done better than usual in the cooler and
wetter conditions. However, my broad bean crop was attacked by a
brown rust-like disease, which fortunately did not seem to affect the
crop
itself, just the plant's leaves. My field beans were even more
badly affected and had to be harvested early, although again the beans
were perfectly edible inside their pods. Apart from the aubergines,
which just about seem to be
struggling on, my hot-weather crops seem to be coping fairly well at
the moment in the cooler conditions. However, as this is just the
right sort of weather
for
tomato blight I am watching my crop carefully and hoping that things
have warmed up a bit by mid to late August, which is when it
tends to
hit in my garden. Usually though, the Red Alert tomatoes I grow seem
to escape because they ripen very early (first tomato ripe by mid July
this year) and I have now stopped growing
the larger varieties of tomatoes because of this problem.
The
slugs are nibbling a bit in the damp weather, but so far I haven't
needed to do much in the
way of controlling them, although I expect if the wet weather continues
I may have to start rounding them up in jam jars and taking them for a
little walk!
I am also growing some chickpeas this year as an experiment for the
Vegan
Organic Network. I soaked and sprouted some ordinary dried
cream-coloured
chickpeas, purchased from a health shop and planted them
outside in May. By mid-July they were flowering nicely. I am
watching with interest to see what happens next! I haven't used
any form of protection so far, although I believe other people have
succeeded in growing chickpeas in the UK by using cloches.
Also as an experiment, in the last two years I have been gradually
converting to a more cottage garden approach. I now plant a
mixture of crops in each bed,
plus some flowers, rather than planting up the whole bed with the same
crop
and then rotating the crops between the beds each year. This
looks a lot prettier and can help to distract and confuse the
pests by hiding the vegetables somewhat. So far I've planted
nasturtiums,
red poppies, sunflowers,
poached egg flowers, marigolds, red clover, phacelia and evening
primroses, but I'm expanding the varieties of flowers I use each year.
It's quite
easy to do because after the first year, the flowers tend to sow &
grow
themselves. All I do is go round and pull out any excess
flowering plants that have self-sown, otherwise some plants like
nasturtiums
or forget-me-nots tend to take over. As well as making the vegetable
beds look more
attractive and
attracting pollinating insects to the beds, don't forget that many
flowers (e.g.nasturtiums and pot marigolds) are edible too.
I also use a more three-dimensional approach, which uses the growing
space more
efficiently and intensively. For example I grow climbing beans
for
drying on poles along the middle of the bed with sprawling crops
such as cucumbers, squashes and courgettes at ground level, intergrown
with dwarf runner and French beans for fresh pods. The climbing
beans add height to the
bed, supply nitrogen to the other crops and look attractive when
flowering. Initially, any extra space at ground level can be
filled in with
quickly-maturing crops such as lettuces or radishes whilst you are
waiting for the sprawling plants to grow bigger. Sweet corn beds can
be planted up in a similar way by interplanting the sweet corn
with beans
(either use dwarf beans or plant a climbing bean to grow up each
sweet corn stem) and then underplant with a sprawling crop such as a
squash. And for extra effect why not include a few giant sunflowers
too? Additional 3-D growing space can easily be created by using
arches, trellis work, rustic poles or an obelisk and by making full use
of any walls and fences you have for growing trained fruit trees or
climbing
plants. Hedges could also be included to provide height,
shelter from prevailing wind, nesting sites/food supply for birds,
a show of colour from flowers and extra pollen for insects and even
edible or useful crops such as fruit, nuts, berries or hazel rods for
use in the garden.
In the cottage garden approach, fruit crops are grown in with
the
vegetables. You can save space for example by growing step over
apples as a bed edging, or
by growing a cordon, fan or espaliered fruit tree, or trained fruit
bushes at the back of a
vegetable bed against a wall or fence. In addition many fruit trees are
now grown
on dwarfing stock and will fruit well in containers. Strawberry plants
could also be
used as an edging plant at the front of the vegetable beds and maybe
you could even fit in a rhubarb patch somewhere?
Remember to include some herbs in any cottage garden scheme.
Fresh herbs are ideal for kitchen use. In addition, many herbs have a
strong smell and these can help to deter to pests from attacking your
crops, or simply smell sensational when you accidentally brush up
against them whilst gardening. Some herbs can be used to attract
pollinating
insects to the beds too. Lavender, hyssop, chives, bergamot, oregano and rosemary are
especially good for attracting bees or butterflies. Whereas chives and parsley make
ideal bed-edging plants and are very tasty too! More
invasive herbs such as varieties of mint are best planted in containers
and moved around the beds to fill in any odd
spaces that occur.
Lavender, sage, garlic, basil, oregano and rosemary are examples of
strong smelling herbs. I find that when I interplant garlic
with lettuces, the slugs leave the lettuces alone!
The good news is that you don't necessarily need to live in the country
to adopt a cottage garden approach. A cottage garden style can be
created anywhere, even by using container grown plants if you don't
have a garden. This approach fits in well with a veganic raised bed
system where
fertility
is maintained by adding plant compost. If you prefer, a
cottage garden can be informal, simple and unpretentious - a sort of
organised chaos, or alternatively you could adopt a more formal
and
geometric approach.
Top
of Page
GROWING FOR HEALTH
GOJI BERRY (Lycium)
Nutrition: Goji berries are a
powerful, nutrient-rich
superfood. They make an excellent tonic and are often eaten in a
raw food vegan diet. Containing 500 times more vitamin C by
weight
than oranges and over 20 trace minerals, including iron,
copper, calcium and zinc, they are also the richest known source of
carotenoids (including beta-carotene) in the world. They also supply
anti-oxidants, 18 amino acids and other
vitamins, including B1, B2, B6 and vitamin E.
Packets of dried goji berries can be purchased by mail order from
suppliers
such as the Fresh Network. They are also available from some health
shops. For example a 75g packet costs £2.75
in Holland & Barretts.
However,
it is now possible to grow a supply of fresh berries in your
garden using bareroot plants supplied by Thompson & Morgan, thus
reducing food miles.
Growing
Instructions:
Position: Growing
to a height of about 2 metres (6 ft), goji berry plants like a
moderately fertile and well-drained soil. To improve drainage try adding some vermiculite to containers, or
additional
plant compost to the soil if planting in the ground. Plant
in full sun for the best berry
production, growing in a south-facing position if possible. Goji berry
plants will also grow in a large container, such as a sawn-in-half
barrel and container-grown plants can be brought in in
the winter and put out again in the summer. However, you will need to
replace some of the soil in the container each year and also give them
a
yearly dressing of compost.
Cultivation: Water new plants well after planting,
especially in dry periods. However, once established goji berry plants
are
extremely drought tolerant and only need watering when the soil has
dried out. Apparently, they do not like too much rain and are
ideal for covering dry banks. Alternatively, they can be
used to make a hedge or windbreak in a coastal garden. Plants
should be set out 2m or 6'
apart. Originally cultivated in the valleys of the Himalayan
Mountain Range, goji berry plants are fully hardy down to - 15 degrees
C and
according to Thompson and Morgan, who supply bareroot two-year old
plants, they should do well in the UK climate being as easy to grow as
tomatoes. I am currently
testing out how well they grow in the UK. They are certainly
being well tested as ever since
I have put my new plants out it doesn't seem to
have stopped raining!
Thompson & Morgan's bareroot plants are quite expensive to
buy. However, according to information available on the Internet
it's
also possible to
produce your own plants by removing seeds from shop-bought dried goji
berries. To test this out I planted several berries from a packet of
dried goji berries I purchased in Holland & Barretts and low and
behold about 2-3 weeks after planting many seedlings have
now emerged. I will pot these up when they are large enough to
handle and grow them on. Incidentally, I soaked the dried berries
in a glass of
water for a few hours before I planted them and then I put the pot of
compost in a plastic bag in a sunny position indoors.
Fruiting: Plants
flower late spring to summer and fruit up until the first
frosts. Established plants should produce approximately 1kg
of fruit per plant in their second year. Heavy pruning boosts berry
production,
so
plants should be cut back hard in spring, then trimmed in early summer.
Drying: Excess
berries
can be dried on wire racks in an airing cupboard, in a slightly open
oven
set at the lowest temperature, or in a dehydrator on a low heat. When
properly dry store the berries in an airtight container.
Suggested
Culinary Uses: The dried berries can be used to make
a trail mix by mixing them with
chocolate chips, seeds, nuts, dried coconut and dried fruit. Dried goji
berries can be used in much the same way as you would use dried
raisins, perhaps adding them to salads
or rice dishes. They can also be used in pies, compotes,
sorbets, sauces, or made into smoothies. One of the simplest ways of
using dried goji berries is to make them into a goji berry drink or
elixir. Add a handful of berries to a glass of cold
water and allow them to hydrate before drinking, chewing the berries as
you drink. Alternatively, add a handful of the berries to a
mug of hot water and
brew for a hot, soothing tea.
Mail Order
Suppliers Include:
- Thompson
& Morgan sells two year old Goji
Berry Plants
for £6.49 each, three for £9.99,
or six plants for £19.99.
The plants come complete with full cultural instructions and some
recipe ideas. The bareroot
plants are despatched from May onwards.
- The Fresh
Network - supplies dried goji berries for £2.50 for a 100g packet (Code
AF0004). They
also supply a booklet called Goji: The Himalayan Health Secret for
£5.99 (ABK238). Phone 0870
800 7070 to order these items or order online.
Top of Page
In the Wildlife Garden
Many wildflowers and
commonly grown garden plants are
beneficial to animals and can be used to attract wildlife into your
garden. Some of the plants, trees and shrubs that are suitable
for this
purpose have been covered in previous issues and are listed in The
Wildflower Index. Plants that are also suitable for growing in a
cottage garden are now marked with the letters CTGR.
Cottage
Garden Plants
In this new section I
am going to cover some of the plants that would traditionally be
planted in a cottage garden, excluding any suitable plants that have
already been covered in depth in earlier issues. I intend to
particularly focus on cottage garden plants that are also valuable to
wildlife.
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Growing up to 1.5m (5ft), the native foxglove is a charming
plant with rather majestic, bell-shaped flowers that vary in colour
from purple to a pinky-rose. Foxgloves are easily grown from seed and
will self seed prolifically, quickly establishing colonies. They
prefer to grow in heavy clay soils in partial shade, but will grow in
full sun provided the soil is rich and moist and preferably
acidic.
They look nice when planted in clumps under trees, or at the back of a
border against a fence. Foxgloves have been grown in
cottage gardens since the earliest times. Their flowers are
very attractive to bees, especially bumblebees and their seeds are
eaten by various birds, particularly by finches. In
addition foxgloves
are the larval food plant for fritillary butterflies and various moths,
so from the wildlife gardening point of view they are quite a good
plant to include, when designing a cottage garden.
Wild Wallflower (Gillyflower) (Cheiranthus cheiri)
Every cottage garden should have some wallflowers in it! Wild
wallflower is a perennial plant that flowers for a longer period than
the garden wallflowers, which have been bred from it. It has yellow,
white, orange or red flowers and grows best in a sunny dry corner,
doing especially well when grown in crevices on walls, on a heap of
builder's rubble, or in a rockery or scree bed. The flowers provide
nectar for butterflies and other
insects, the seeds are eaten by birds and it's also the larval food
plant for white butterflies. It readily self- seeds. If you can't
get
hold of any wild wallflower seeds, then plant garden wallflowers
instead. Incidentally, both types of wallflower are excellent for
use in spring containers.
Sweet Pea
(Lathyrus odoratus)
These very
attractive flowering plants are ideal for use in a cottage
garden, but don't forget to choose a strongly perfumed
variety! These summer flowering annuals are great climbers
and are available in a wide range of pastel colours. They
like a sunny position and are ideal for growing up a trellis, through
trees and shrubs, or for use on a pergola, arbour, old wall, or grown
on
wires on a fence, or on tall peas sticks at the back of a border. Seed
should be sown in February in potting compost in empty cardboard toilet
roll centres. Sweet
peas are related to the native varieties of everlasting pea (Lathyrus sylvestris and L. latifolius), both of which have
no scent and smaller flowers than cultivated garden sweet peas. The
Perennial Sweet Pea (Lathyrus
latifolius) was enthusiastically grown by the earliest of
cottagers.
Forget-Me-Not
(Scorpion Grass) (Myosotis sp. )
Growing about 15-38cm (6-15in) tall, forget-me-nots
produce pretty bright blue flowers in spring. The plant readily
self seeds, so once planted it can be difficult to get rid of, although
you probably won't want to get rid of it anyway! A typical
cottage garden combination is English daisy (Bellis) planted with one of the
smaller varietes of forget-me-nots for a fine spring display, or a
taller variety planted with tulips.
Top
of Page
The Vegan
Society
(UK)
An excellent source of information for new vegans, or for
anyone who is thinking of going vegan. You can also shop or
become a
member online.
Shared Earth
This company offers a large selection of fairly-traded sustainable
products and crafts including hand-carved wooden products from India,
textiles, accessories, hand-made paper cards, jewellery and
eco-friendly jute shopping bags.
Homo-Ethicus
A global network of resources based on ethical values. Adverts,
articles, news, services. FREE SUBSCRIPTION. Why not
register now?
www.isanyonegoingto.com
This is a car share programme, set up by a vegan couple this
April. The
aim of this website being to put travellers in touch with each other in
order to reduce the numbers of cars on the road. So if you are
going somewhere, you can now find out if anyone else is going there
too!
Vegan Adam (USA)
A new US website offering lots of useful vegetarian information,
including a listing of US vendors, FAQ, Freestuff, Is it Vegan
information on various products, News etc.
Ecoutlet
Stocks a wide range of environmentally
friendly products including energy & water saving, green, organic
and recycled products. I especially like the 'Goodbye Batteries'
cycle lights and the Pedalite (see cycling section for these products).
Plenty of ideas for eco-friendly gifts too!
Top
of Page
Autumn
Book Review(s)
Creative
Vegetable Gardening by Joy Larkcom (Mitchell Beazley)
I really enjoyed reading this inspiring and beautifully illustrated
book. It covers a wide range of attractive and decorative
vegetables, which the author skillfully intermingles with colourful
flowers, herbs and succulent fruits in an eye-catching way. The
author's creative approach to vegetable growing provides a charm and
appeal, which is often completely lacking when vegetables are simply
grown in neat, functional and regimental rows on an ordinary vegetable
plot or allotment.
You'll discover how to plan out, design and maintain your potager, as
well as how to display your plants in novel, colourful and creative
ways for a dramatic effect. This book also contains practical
information on how to create an attractively laid out system of beds
and paths, made from local or recycled materials and discusses how to
use various artifacts to add texture, focal interest, three-dimensional
support and to provide shelter for the plants. It ends with a
comprehensive A-Z of the vegetable plants and a wordwide list of
suppliers. A really nice reference book that I'm sure you'll want
to keep dipping into. Price
£16.99. ISBN:
1840002921.
Growing
Unusual
Vegetables: Weird & Wonderful Vegetables and How to Grow Them by
Simon Hickmott (Eco-Logic Books, 2003).
This
clearly written and practical book contains information on how to
cultivate and use just under 100 unusual and edible vegetables.
Covering many rare and sometimes ornamental plants ranging from the
Abyssinian Cabbage through to the Yard Long Bean, the book is divided
into sections entitled: greens, roots, fruits, seeds, grains and
flavourings. Under each plant listing you'll find information on:
- How to prepare and use the plant for culinary purposes.
- Advice on the best way to cultivate, harvest and store
the plant.
- Details of plant type, Latin name and approx height.
- Historical and interesting facts.
- Details of likely pests and diseases.
- An idea of how easy or difficult it is to grow.
This book is illustrated throughout with black and white pen and
ink drawings and ends with a useful list of UK seed and plant suppliers.
Simon Hickmott is the proprietor of Future Foods, a company
specialising in rare and unusual edible plants. This book can be
purchased online from Eco-Logic
Books for
£14.95.
The Half-Hour Allotment by Lia Leendertz (Frances
Lincoln ltd, 2006)
Find
out how to grow your own fresh and tasty fruit and vegetables, with
minimal time and effort on your part. Yes, it is possible to
incorporate a productive allotment into a busy lifestyle, without
sacrificing other leisure activities! In this book the author
maintains that this can be done simply by spending up to half-an-hour a
day (with weekends off!) maintaining your plot. Packed with time
saving tips this book includes:
- Detailed coverage of the Half-Hour Principle.
- Tips on what to look for when obtaining a plot.
- Advice on the best varieties to grow.
- Advice on how to produce the right amount of the types of
produce you really need.
- Tips on getting started and in depth coverage of the first
year.
- Information on how to nurture your plot by watering,
feeding, providing support and protection for your plants.
- Tips on prioritising and planning.
- A sample work programme for each season.
- Advice on managing pests and diseases.
- Optional extras, which covers topics such as allotmenteering
for kids, cut flowers, creating a wildlife area, storing produce and
the use of poly tunnels.
Price £16.99. ISBN
0-7112-2605-9. This book was available from Amazon
UK for £9.07 (hardback)
at the time of writing.
Top
of Page
Homepage
Copyright © Pauline Lloyd
1996-2008
Autumn
Recipes
Autumn
Product Reviews
Other Interesting Websites