THE VEGAN NEWS THE VEGAN NEWS
The Vegan News is written and edited by P M Lloyd. Please e-mail your contributions to the editor at: lloyd@bury-rd.demon.co.uk or fill in the form provided.
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Recipe of the Month(Source: The Raw Gourmet by Nomi Shannon.)
* Seeds should be soaked in twice the amount of water i.e. 1 cup of seeds to 2 cups of water. After soaking for the required time, rinse and drain the seeds and place them in a sprouting jar.
This basic pâté can be used as an ingredient in many raw recipes. For example you could eat it with a salad, use it as a spread, or serve it as a dip with crudités. It also makes an good stuffing for red pepper halves which should be served on a bed of sprouts and other salad vegetables. For extra flavour try adding some of the following ingredients: tahini, onion, parsley, ginger, cayenne, ground cumin, dulse or miso.
Variation: Sunny Pâté
To the Basic Pâté recipe given above: Add 1/2 cup chopped scallions, 1/4-1/2 cup of tahini, 2-4 slices of chopped red onion, 4-6 tablespoons of chopped parsley, 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic (no need to add, if already included in basic pate recipe), 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1-2 tbsp of ginger juice (optional) and 1 tsp of ground cumin (optional). Sunny Pâté can also be used as a stuffing for red peppers. In The Raw Gourmet, this pâté is used to make 'Sunny Roll Ups'. Sunny Roll-Ups look like sushi and are made from 3-4 tbsp of pâté, a sheet of nori, various types of sprouts, wasabi, chopped olives and slivers of red pepper and carrots, all tightly rolled up together using a sushi mat (See p.156 in The Raw Gourmet for more information.)
Note: If you do not own a food processor or a juicer, then you may be interested to know that I have made the Basic Pâté recipe, by finely grinding dry, unsoaked, sunflower seeds in a clean coffee grinder. After grinding the seeds, simply mix all the pâté ingredients together in a bowl.
July
Product Review Calder Valley Golden Grapefruit Soap
Calder Valley soaps are manufactured using an energy efficient, waste-free, low temperature method. These handmade soaps contain non-animal glycerin and are Vegan Society approved. They are kind to the skin and so are particularly good for people with skin problems. I tested out the Golden Grapefruit variety which I found lathered up well and had nice smooth edges. It also had a lovely citrus smell! Calder Valley soaps are available in many other varieties too. Try Avocado and Cucumber, Apple Blossom, Oatmeal Scrub, English Lavender or Vanilla and Ginger. Or why not try them all? You can purchase a mixed box of 12 soaps from the Vegan Society for £9.99, or I paid £0.80 for an individual bar of Golden Grapefruit. Look out for Calder Valley soaps for sale in health shops and at vegan events. They are also offered in Animal Aid's latest mail order catalogue for 80p each or six assorted soaps for £4.60 + postage. (Choose from Wild Raspberry, Violet, Rose Petal, Spicy Macassar, Eastern Orange or Sea Kelp.)
Monki Carob Nut Spread
This really is a lovely, smooth, carob spread with more than a hint of hazelnuts. And all of the ingredients have been grown organically too (including the malted maize syrup) so it's completely free from genetically modified ingredients. It doesn't contain any emulsifiers either. Monki Carob Nut spread is delicious on bread and is made from hazelnuts, peanuts, carob powder, vegetable oil and maize syrup. I paid £2.99 for a 330g jar. It's available by mail order from the Clearspring mail order catalogue. (E-mail: mailorder@clearspring.co.uk for a copy of their catalogue.)
Audley End Kitchen Garden AppealAudley End House is a Jacobean stately home, run by English Heritage. Since January 1st 1999, HDRA has be restoring Audley End's ten acre walled kitchen garden. The kitchen garden is being run on organic principles and part of it is now open to the public. Over the next three years HDRA wants to bring all of the land that is currently lying idle back into cultivation. Phase 1, to be carried out in the year 2000, will involve work on the rectangular garden, also known as Lady Portsmouth's Garden. Here, over two miles of box edging have already been planted, alongside the newly laid paths. But a lot more still needs to be done. Vegetable and cut flower beds need to be completed and more fruit trees need to be planted. This area of the kitchen garden will be planted with Victorian fruit and vegetable varieties.
Work also needs to be carried out on the adjoining walled Bothy Garden, an area of approximately one and a half acres and Phase 2 will commence here in 2001. The intention is to turn the Bothy Garden into a more modern organic garden, where the latest techniques of non-chemical pest control and recycling can be carried out and contemporary disease-resisting varieties can be planted alongside old favourites. This area will act as a model for organic gardening, providing inspiration for the new century and will incorporate a stunning 'herbaceous meadow'.
Phase 3 (commencing in 2002) will involve restoring the orchard which is in a sorry state at the moment. Here, some replanting with disease-resisting cultivars will be carried out and new cultivation and pruning techniques, novel methods of weed suppression and the latest methods of biological pest and disease control will be tested.
Will you help?
If you would like to help to bring Audley End Walled Kitchen Garden back to life and thus promote organic gardening methods, then you can help by becoming a sponsor. For £30 you can sponsor an Apprentice, £60 will sponsor a Journeyman, £120 will sponsor an Improver and for £250 you can sponsor a Master Gardener. Please make your cheque payable to: 'HDRA Audley End Kitchen Garden Appeal' and send your donation to: Jackie Gear, HDRA Audley End Appeal, Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry CV8 3LG. You can also obtain more information from the above address.
Note: If you want to visit, then HDRA members can gain free admission to the kitchen garden and the rest of the grounds at Audley End. Audley End lies 1 mile south west of Saffron Waldon on the B1383. (Nearest railway station Audley End, 1 mile). Otherwise non-members pay: Adults £4, Concessions £3, Children £2, Family £10. These prices do not include admission to the house which is extra.
What's
Happening in the Veganic Garden this Summer?Make sowings of perpetual spinach in July and August in order to provide autumn and winter pickings. Also make a sowing of parsley at the beginning of August to provide you with good supply of fresh parsley throughout the winter months. (Incidently, parsley can also be sown in compost-filled troughs, indoors, for even easier winter picking, if you don't want to keep going outside and getting your feet wet!) Sow winter radishes outside towards the end of August. Black Spanish Round, Belrosa and Summer Cross F1-(Mouli) are all good winter radishes to use and can be purchased from The Organic Gardening Catalogue. In mid-July, plant out young leeks sown in seed trays earlier. They should be pencil thick by now. If you want long stemmed, thick leeks, then when planting leeks make holes at least 6 inches deep with a dibber and drop a leek into each hole. Plant out any brassicas (such as winter cabbage, cauliflower, kale and sprouting broccoli) sown in seed trays earlier. These plants should provide you with an excellent supply of winter greens over the coming winter months.
Make sowings of spring cabbage in trays of compost in early August.
Most of the crops have now been planted and they should all be growing well. However, there is still plenty to be done in the veganic garden this month! For example, if it is very hot and dry you will need to keep everything well watered, particularly if crops are flowering. You can cut down on the amount of watering you need to do, by keeping your raised beds well mulched, with old grass mowings, wood chips etc. However, when you do need to water, try to use recycled water whenever possible, perhaps using water collected in a water butt, or cleanish kitchen water such as that used to wash fruit and vegetables. Runner beans especially need to be watered frequently when they are flowering and making pods. And in addition their flowers can be sprayed with water from a plant spray in order to help the beans set. Tomatoes need a good supply of water when the fruits are swelling up.
You will also need to pick your crops regularly over the summer in order to encourage them to keep producing. But then harvesting crops never seems to feel like a chore! General garden maintenance tasks include stopping your runner beans when they reach the top of their poles by pinching out their growing points and tying up tomatoes regularly as they grow. Stop tomatoes when they have formed four or five trusses and feed regularly with comfrey and/or SM3 seaweed solution as soon as they start to produce fruits. By August onions should be ripening well. Stop watering them about a week before lifting and loosen the roots with a fork. They should be lifted by the end of this month and hung up to dry in an airy place.
July: Cucumbers and other salad crops such as spring onions and lettuces, peas, radishes, potatoes, globe artichokes, spinach, broad beans and marrows. And black currants, gooseberries, raspberries, red currants, rhubarb and strawberries are just some of the fruits available this month.
August: Beetroot, carrots, onions, shallots, tomatoes, runner beans, French beans, sweetcorn, garlic and cucumbers should all be available in August. And fruitwise there will be cherries, loganberries, pears and plums.
Vegan
Organisation Review
The Born Free Foundation - Stop the Clock ... Stop the Ivory Trade
'Every hour of every day another elephant is illegally killed for its 'bloody' ivory tusks.'
History:
In the 1980s, 700,000 elephants were slaughtered for their ivory. However in 1989 The Born Free Foundation helped to persuade the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species (CITES) to ban the ivory trade. As a result, in the 1990s, the price of ivory plummeted and the ivory markets in Europe and US closed down. However, due to pressure from South African countries, CITES partially reopened the ivory trade in 1997 and throughout 1998 and 1999 elephant poaching escalated again. Elephants in Danger! In April of this year CITES met in Kenya to decide whether to permit further trade in ivory. And in May 2000, I received good news from the Born Free Foundation - a letter informing me that the elephants had won a reprieve and that there would be no legal ivory trade for at least the next two and a half years!
However, despite this ban, Will Travers of the Born Free Foundation predicts that poaching will continue and that elephants in a number of countries will need protection. The survival of the elephant in many parts of Africa still remains precarious. They need your help. Without public support the elephant's chances are slim. If you would like to help the elephant (and other wild animals too) then join Born Free today. The annual fee is just £20 (or £5 per quarter). If you would like to join Born Free, then please make cheques payable to: 'Born Free Foundation' and post payment to: Born Free Foundation, FREEPOST RCC 1862, Horsham RH13 5BR.
For further information e-mail: wildlife@bornfree.org.uk or visit Born Free's Website.
Liquid Feeds
When plants are growing rapidly, they often need to be fed in order to ensure that they are fully supplied with all the nutrients they need. In last month's newsletter, I mentioned the use of SM3, an excellent liquid feed made from seaweed. This month I intend to cover some other easy-to-make liquid feeds.
Comfrey Suppliers:
Other
Interesting WebsitesAn 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.
A website selling useful garden products by mail order. Worth a visit if you wish to purchase a tiger wormery, composter, shredder or a leafmould maker. Also offers books on composting.
Graianfryn Vegetarian and Vegan Guest House
Set on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, this Welsh guest house provides vegetarian and vegan food and offers wonderful coastal and mountainous scenery.
The Ty-Agored Animal Sanctuary
Find out what this animal sanctuary is doing to help animals. Consult their calendar and discover 'What's On'. There's also a book shop, newsletter and and a 'Homes Wanted' section, if you are looking for a new pet.
Vegetarian and Vegan Guide to Ireland
This annually-produced guide to Ireland details vegetarian/vegan hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, hostels, self-catering accomodation, cafes and restaurants. Useful for anybody who is thinking of taking a holiday in Ireland this summer.
Incredibly Delicious: The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook (Gentle World, 2000).
For more information, or to order a copy of this book, visit Gentle World's website. (Price $22.50)
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Copyright © Pauline Lloyd 2000
Summer
Book Review![[picture of Vegan Paradigm Book]](paradigm.jpg)
Recently published, The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook is
a collection of over 500 healthy and tasty, animal-free recipes.
This cookery book offers a good selection of recipes for
breakfasts, breads, salads, soups, dips, dressings, sauces,
appetizers, side dishes, main meals and desserts. But what I
particularly liked about it was the chapter entitled 'Rawsome
Recipes'. Consisting of over 50 pages of easily-prepared,
delicious raw recipes, this section of the book also discusses
the advantages of including more living foods in your diet and
provides information on veganic gardening, sprouting and growing
wheatgrass.