THE VEGAN NEWS
AUTUMN 2004
Vegan News is written and edited by P M Lloyd.
Please e-mail your contributions to: paulinelloyd1@btinternet.com
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In This Issue:
Roasted Soya Beans
Source: SoyFoods CookBook
Ingredients
- 250g organic soybeans, rinsed.
- Garlic, chili powder, or Cajun spice mix (optional).
Method
- Soak the soybeans overnight in a large pot of water, then
drain them through a colander and shake off the excess water.
Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 (350 degrees F).
- Spread the soaked beans in a single layer over lightly oiled
baking sheets, using about two cups of beans per sheet.
- Sprinkle with flavourings, if desired. Roast the soybeans in
the oven, shaking the trays about every 10 minutes to enable the beans
to cook evenly. This process should take about one hour, the beans
being ready when they are golden brown and crunchy. Remember to
watch them carefully towards the end of the cooking time so that they
don't get scorched. You may also need to swap the trays around
half way through the cooking time, if you are cooking more than one
tray at once.
- When cool the beans can be stored in an airtight container.
I find that they tend to soften up again, if kept in the fridge
so are best stored in a cool place.
Home-roasted soybeans make a wonderful, easily-transported snack.
They work out a lot cheaper than the shop-bought varieties, which also
often contain salt. They are filling, packed with protein and are an
excellent source of genistein. Soya Fresh! sells UK-grown organic soya
beans, which
taste wonderful when roasted. Free sample available at the Soya Fresh! web site.
Breakfast Muesli
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. organic jumbo oats
- 1 tbsp. organic sultanas/raisins
- 10g wheatbran
- 25g organic flaxseed, ground
- 3-4 tbsp. plain soya yogurt
- 1 banana, peeled and sliced
- 1 apple, grated
Method
- Place the jumbo oats, wheatbran and sultanas in a cereal
bowl and add enough water to moisten. Mix well.
- Add the grated apple and banana slices to the dish, then top
with soya yogurt.
- Grind the flaxseed in a coffee grinder just before use.
The ground flaxseed can simply be mixed in with the cereal
base in step 1, but I prefer to sprinkle it on top of the yogurt.
Serves 1
Did you know that roasted soybeans and some of the ingredients
(e.g. wheatbran, flaxseed, soya yogurt) listed in the above recipe
could be protective against breast cancer? See the Breast
Cancer Prevention Diet (Newleaf, 1999) by
Dr Bob Arnot for more information.
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New Balance Training Shoe 752
This high performance vegan
trainer is made in the UK by New Balance and is ideal for
the mid to high mileage runner. I bought mine from Animal Aid for £69.95
+ £5.00 postage (Tel: 01732 364546 to order), but they
may still be available by mail order from Ethical Wares.
My 752's were really comfortable right from the start. They are
also lightweight, pleasing to look at, well ventilated and perhaps most
importantly of all well-cushioned. The men's version is available in
navy and white and the ladies in white and blue. These are
excellent running shoes, but are not really suitable for everyday use,
being mainly designed to keep your feet cool when running rather than
for keeping the rain
out. Incidentally, New Balance products can also be
purchased by mail order from Frontier's
online store.
Organic Meditation Cushion
I was really impressed with
this specially designed meditation cushion. I bought the
standard version (height 15cm, diameter 35cm), which is slightly
cheaper than the fat cushion at £29.95.
However, if you are tall then you may find the fat meditation
cushion (£37.50) with a height
of 25cm more comfortable to use. Available in ecru, yellow
and marine blue, these environmentally friendly cushions
are stuffed with organic spelt and covered with a washable, 100%
organic cotton cover. They are specially designed to support the
natural curvature of the spine and
help to distribute the weight and tension through the legs.
I now find it possible to meditate comfortably in the
traditional kneeling meditation position without developing distracting
problems like pins and needles in my feet, sore knees, or a numb
bum from sitting on a hard floor. These meditation
cushions are available by mail order from the Natural Collection. Phone
0870 331 3335 to order, or order online.
Matstone 6-in-One Multipurpose Juicer (aka
Samson/Oscar)
I have recently
acquired one of these juicers and must say that I have been most
impressed with its performance. It's a single auger, cold press
machine that works like a millstone. It's excellent for juicing most
kinds of fruit and vegetables and can also be used to juice wheatgrass.
I must say that it's surprisingly quiet for such a powerful machine and
is also very easy to clean and
to assemble. It operates at a low speed (80rpm), thus preserving most
of the food's nutrients and flavour. The Matstone has many other
functions apart from juicing though. Use it to make healthy 'ice-cream'
from frozen fruits such as bananas, to grind coffee beans, to make
noodles, pasta or rice cakes, to extract oil from seeds, or to mince
seasonings and other foods. I have also used mine to produce soya milk,
although it was rather weak. The Organic Gardening Catalogue
are selling this multi-purpose juice extractor for £275
(Tel: 0845 130 1304), but it's also available from the FRESH Network for £249
(Tel: 0870 800 7070) and for the bargain price of £149
from Soya
Fresh! (Tel: 0845 330 6781). Juices
are easily digested, high in vitamins and minerals and are an
excellent tonic food.
Sproutman's Hemp Sprout Bag
Now you don't need jars or other bulky sprouting
equipment in order to grow your own sprouts! Because they're easily
transportable, these sprout bags are ideal for taking on
holiday as well as for using in the home. Holding the equivalent to a 3
litre jar, they provide good air circulation and drainage and being
made from 100% pure hemp and flax fabric, they're long lasting and
won't mould or shrink (although they do tend to discolour if you sprout
aduki beans in them). Simply place your soaked seeds inside the bag
and dip in water twice a day, hanging the bag on a hook to drain
afterwards. Suitable for growing all kinds of grains and beans.
Most will
be ready in just 3-5 days. Now what could be easier than that?!
Produced in the USA, they are now available in the UK from the Organic Gardening Catalogue (Order
code: SRBG). One bag costs £9.70, or order three
for £27.55. Tel: 0845 130 1304 to place your order.
Note: The Organic Gardening Catalogue also stocks a wide
variety of sprouting seeds, sprouting equipment and several books on
sprouting.
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Autumn Sowing and Planting Schedule
- September: The Organic Gardening Catalogue sells organic Radar
onion sets. Plant these out in the autumn to crop the following
June/July. Various winter salad vegetables can still be sown outside in
September. These include corn salad, rocket and winter varieties
of lettuce such as Winter Density or Rouge d'Hiver. Sowings of
mizuna and mibuna can be made under cover.
- October: Winter hardy peas such as
Feltham First, Pilot and Meteor can be sown in October/November, but
are best grown with some protection. Slug attack can sometimes be a
problem.
- November: Autumn sowings of
Aquadulce broad beans can give good results in a mild winter, although
spring sowings are usually more reliable. You could also try planting some field beans.
Field beans are usually grown as a green manure crop, but if sown in
November and allowed to flower and seed can produce a good crop of
beans for human consumption the following year. Plant garlic
cloves between November and February. Autumn planted bulbs produce the
best yield. Use the variety Thermidrome for autumn planting.
Crops In Season:
- September: Potatoes (maincrop),
cabbage, cauliflower, celery, calabrese, onions, tomatoes, marrows,
celeriac, carrots, spinach beet, apples, blackberries, damsons, plums
and pears.
- October: Globe artichoke, Brussels
sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, parsnip, spinach beet, turnips,
apples, pears and plums.
- November: Brussels sprouts,
red cabbage, celery, leeks, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, cabbage,
chicory, swede
and spinach beet.
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of Page
Animal Care in Egypt (ACE)
URGENT APPEAL FOR FUNDS
ACE is an Egyptian Veterinary Hospital that opened in 2000. Since
then it has helped to ease the suffering of tens
of thousands of animals including horses, donkeys, dogs, cats, goats,
wild animals and birds. Sometimes the animals just need to
rest, but many have serious wounds or suffer from malnutrition. In
fact it is not unusal for more than 150 animals to come to the Centre
each day. It's a free service and ACE urgently needs to raise
more
funds in order to continue with its valuable work. Can you help?
Could you perhaps leave a legacy to ACE in your will? Make a one off
donation?
Or preferably donate to Ace on a regular basis? Do you have some spare
time
that you could use to help with fundraising? If so, then send
Julie an email at: julie@ace-egypt.org.uk
Firing (pushing red hot metal into the hide of donkeys and horses) and
palate mutilation (where a six inch needle is hammered into the palate)
are two other practices that are frequently used
on animals throughout Egypt. Ace is tackling these traditional
practices. Firstly by treating the victims. However it will also soon
be starting discussions with the Luxor area chief of police to bring an
end to
firing around Luxor. ACE's long term intention is to make firing
illegal. ACE also has the long-term aim of alleviating animal suffering
by changing the attitudes of local farm labourers and donkey drivers
who misguidedly believe that they practising equine medicine and are
proud of their work. ACE has made a video of firing. It makes gruesome
viewing. People's minds cannot be changed overnight. It takes time and
money. Please help. Send a donation today to: Ace, The
Veterinary
Hospital, Maypole Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 1HL. You
can find out more about ACE's valuable work at the Animal Care in Egypt web
site.
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In the Wildlife Garden
Many of our wildflowers and commonly grown garden plants are
beneficial to animals and can be used to attract wildlife into your
garden. Here, I will cover another three plants that are especially
attractive to wildlife. Details of other suitable plants
are given in earlier issues and these are now listed in The
Wildflower Index.
Don't be too keen to pull up your
dandelions! Dandelions make excellent wildlife
plants, providing nectar for bees and butterflies and the leaves
provide food for many types of moth larvae. The cheerful, yellow
flowers will brighten up any garden and look especially attractive
when growning in a mass. Do be sure to let the plants go to seed
after flowering to ensure a continual supply of new plants. Look out
for goldfinches, linnets and bullfinches visiting your garden
to eat the fluffy white seed heads. Incidentally, young dandelion
leaves make a tasty and nutritious salad vegetable, supplying iron,
calcium and vitamin C.
Both meadow and creeping buttercups (Ranunculus
repans) can be used to attract wildlife into your
garden. Buttercup's yellow flowers will attract many insects,
providing nectar for flies, beetles, hoverflies, bees, moths and
butterflies. And if you are really lucky you may even receive a
visit from a granville fritillary! Birds such as wood pigeons eat the
seeds.
Daisies have
small, white, yellow-centred flowers and are commonly found growing in
gardens, usually in the lawn. If you have some growing
in yours, why not leave them there and just mow round them?
Daisies also grow well in cracks on a path and look attractive
when used
as a border edging. The white flower petals are often tinged with
scarlet. The flowers shut at night and open up again when it's bright
and sunny, in a similar way to dandelion flowers. Daisies provide
nectar for bees and for butterflies such as the small heath and the
holly blue and the seeds are eaten by birds. Apparently ants
help to spread the plant's seeds.
You will probably find that nature
supplies you with more than enough of the above three plants!
However, if you feel that you need more of them, then you
can order extra seed from the John Chambers Catalogue by phoning: 01933
652562.
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An excellent site
and a particularly good source of information for the those who are new
to veganism, or for anyone who is thinking of going vegan. You can
also
shop or become a member online.
Foraging with the
Wildman
Learn about edible and medicinal wild vegetables, herbs, greens,
fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, and mushrooms with NYC's favorite
naturalist, "Wildman" Steve Brill. Find out about his public Wild Food
and Ecology tours in local parks, and the work he does with kids. Read
excerpts from his books, enjoy his botanical artwork and vegetarian
recipes, and find out what happened after he was arrested and
handcuffed by undercover NYC park rangers for eating a dandelion in
Central Park!
Beyond Skin
Beyond Skin is a vegan footwear company,
which sells cruelty-free yet fashionable shoes. There are seven classic
styles in stock at the moment, available in either beige or black. But
do watch out for their new collection, due out soon,
which will include some new flat styles and lots of exciting new
colours and fabrics! For every pair of shoes sold, a donation will
be made to an ethical charity of your choice.
Soya Fresh!
This Epping-based company offers a wide range of organic
wholefoods, including UK-grown, organic soyabeans that have only
travelled 100 miles from Kent. These non-GM soya beans (and most
of the other wholefoods) can be purchased by mail order in
25kg sacks and are ideal if you want to cheapily produce your own soya
milk or tofu. Other items available include juicers, soya milk and rice
milk makers, a tofu-making kit, water filters, various
supplements, books and sprouters.
The
Postcode Plants Database (NHM)
Run by the Natural History Museum, just type in your postcode
to find out which wild plants are native to your area. This site
makes encouraging wildlife into your garden even easier!
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of Page
Autumn Book & Audio
Reviews
Apples & Oranges by Bob Pyle
(Apple Tree Records, April 2004).
Recently released,
this vegan-orientated animal rights CD contains 12 original
songs, dealing with the economic, social and health implications of
eating and mistreating animals. The humorous lyrics are easy to
remember and sing-along-with and send out a positive message about
being or becoming vegetarian.
I especially like the tracks Petunia the Pig,
the Mango Fandango and the Seaweed Song, which has lots of nice watery
noises in the background. If you have ever had any doubts about eating
seaweed, then this song could well persuade you to take the
plunge. Other
tracks include: A World Made Out of Spam, When They Close the Golden
Arches
(a humorous ballad about the perils of eating at McDonald's) and the
title
track Apples & Oranges.
For more information contact Bob Pyle at: bobpyle150@hotmail.com or
visit the website www.bobpyle.com.
Apples and Oranges can be purchased from Apple Tree Records, PO
Box 99, Ellicott City, MD 21041, or online from: www.bobpyle.com, cdbaby.com, or amazon.com. Price around
$13.99-$14.99 + postage.
Eat More
Raw: A Guide to Health and
Sustainability by Steve Charter (Permanent Publications, June 2004).
Simple Living Series. ISBN 1-85623-024-4
This
clearly written and inspiring book is an interesting combination of raw
food eating and permaculture. It explores what happens when we eat more
raw food and grow more of the food we eat ourselves.
The first part of the book covers the philosophy, looking at many
aspects of human and planetary health and introducing a variety of
permaculture principles, including the principle of working with
nature. Part Two focuses on the practicalities of dietary change
and of setting up a permaculture system. Offering many useful tips on
how to switch from a processed to
a high raw diet, it also examines the role of permaculture in more
depth,
looking at permaculture techniques such as zoning, forest gardening,
permaculture design and the use of perennials. In addition,
the excellent
list of Frequently Asked Questions should answer most of your queries
when
transitioning to a raw food diet. Part Three contains
inspiring
contributions by other authors such as an extracts from Robert Hart's
Forest
Garden Diet, an article from Elaine Bruce on Indoor Gardening
and
Living Foods and some information on the work being carried out by
Plants
for the Future. Finally, in the appendices, there are about
25 basic recipes, plus some meal ideas to help you get started on a raw
diet. There's also some information on Ecoforest (an ecological vegan
raw
food forest garden in southern Spain), a list of useful international
contacts
and suggestions for further reading.
Eat More Raw can be ordered online from the Earth
Repair Catalogue, price £12.95 + pp. It's
also available from Amazon Books
for £14.95 + postage.
Vegetarian
Guide to the Lake District
(VIVA!, 2004-2005 Ed.)
Easy to pack and light to carry, this little book is packed
full of useful veggie information. It lists places to eat,
accommodation and stockists of wholefood and cruelty-free products. Clearly
written and excellent value at £1.00, it could save you a
great deal of time when planning your trip to the Lake District and
also once you are there. You can obtain a copy direct from VIVA! at 8
York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol, BS2 8QH (Tel: 0117 944 1000) before
you go. It can also be purchased online from Vegetarian Guides
Ltd. Or you can write to them at: PO Box 2284, London
W1A5UH. Tel: 870 121 4721. Alternatively, look out for it
in Tourist Information Centres throughout the Lake District.
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Copyright © Pauline Lloyd 1996-2004
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