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: pauline@bury-rd.demon.co.uk or fill in the form provided.
[ Previous issue] [Next issue] [Homepage ]
Recipe of the Month
Serve the beans on toast or on top of a baked potato. Sprinkle with Engevita yeast flakes for extra nutrition and flavour. Alternative flavourings (which can be used instead of the herbs and mustard) could include curry powder or ground cumin.
*Note: I cook batches of Suma organic haricot beans in my pressure cooker - they take about 10 mins in my model. I then store the cooked beans in jam jars in the freezer until required. However, don't forget to defrost the beans thoroughly before use.
In
The Wildlife Garden Butterflies in May
(Written by Lynn Fomison, the Reserves Officer for the Hampshire branch of Butterfly Conservation.)
This month you should still be seeing Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and Commas - all starting to look a little worse for wear now! Hopefully they will have mated and the females will have laid their eggs on nettles. Given warm southerly winds, the few Red Admirals that have spent the winter in hibernation will have been joined by migrants from the continent and these too will be breeding on nettles. Large and Small Whites are busy breeding on cabbages and Green-Veined Whites and Orange Tips on other members of the Crucifer family.
The Brimstone, our longest-lived British butterfly, is now nearing the end of its ten month lifespan. Brimstone caterpillars feed on both purging (Rhamnus cathartica) and alder buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula). (Note: purging buckthorn prefers alkaline soil and alder buckthorn acid soil.) They are shrubs of the hedgerow and wild places, but of course can be grown in the garden. Prune regularly to keep them small and to provide the younger twigs which Brimstones prefer. Buckthorn, when regularly coppiced, makes a neat, if unexciting shrub which carries inedible berries. But it is exciting to find the green Brimstone caterpillars on the leaves in June! So do encourage these lovely butterflies to come into your garden by planting a buckthorn.
Useful nectar sources in May include dandelions, forget-me-not, honesty, rosemary and apple and cherry blossom. This month, sow sweet williams, wallflowers and teasels to produce flowers for next year. And sow candytuft in the open, at weekly intervals, throughout May and June to produce a profusion of summer flowers. And a small reminder of the need to avoid peat-containing composts when sowing seeds: the extraction of peat has caused the destruction of butterflies' natural habitats in the wild.
Lynn Fomison is leading a one day wildlife gardening workshop at the Kingcombe Centre (near Dorchester) on Saturday 29th May. Cost £15. Prior booking essential. For more information telephone: 01300 320684 or visit the Kingcombe Centre web site. Volunteers are also needed to work in the Centre's organic garden and to help with other tasks. Free food and accommodation (usually in a caravan) in return for 6-8 hours work a day. Vegan meals will be served on request.
May
Product Review This Month - Hemp Products:
True Hemp Cosmetics - Shampoo
A nice creamy white shampoo, with a mild and pleasant smell. Leaves the hair clean and shiny. This hemp shampoo is available by mail order from: The Hemp Collective, Silverdale, Clyde Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 2NJ. A 250 ml bottle costs £2.00 + £0.50p postage.
True Hemp Cosmetics - Conditioner
This hemp conditioner is also white and creamy in appearance. In fact it looks and smells just like the shampoo, so be careful that you don't get the bottles mixed up! It nourishes the hair, but rinses out well and doesn't leave the hair greasy or remove the shine. Price £2.00 + 50p postage.
Burger Mix
Made from textured soya protein, hemp seeds, wholemeal rusk, herbs and spices and various dried vegetables, this mix is very easy to prepare. Simply add some boiling water and leave to stand for a short time, before forming into burgers. I found that my burgers were rather crumbly, despite adding extra water and this made them somewhat difficult to grill. Nevertheless they were quick to prepare and cook and quite tasty too. This mix can also be used as a stuffing. Try using it to stuff marrows or peppers. A 350g packet makes about 15 vegan, entirely organic burgers and costs £3.50. Also available from The Hemp Collective.
A complete Hemp Collective product list is available by e-mail from: THCLtd@aol.com)
Worm Composting ReportIn the autumn I published an article on worm composting and I mentioned that I was going to have a go at worm composting myself over the winter. However, I am sorry to have to report here, that I was not terribly successful in my endeavour! I encountered two main problems:
1. The worm composter had to be kept in my garden shed over the winter because I do not have enough room to keep a worm bin indoors. Yet despite the worm bin being well wrapped up in a piece of old carpet for insulation, on several occasions throughout the winter, I found that the surface of my worm composter had frozen solid! I don't know if the worms themselves were also frozen. It's possible that they may have been alright, in their bedding layer lower down, but I have come to the conclusion that my own shed - which lies in a frost pocket - is just too cold for worm composting in the winter.
2. The second difficulty related to drainage of the bin. The tap was deliberately fitted low down on the bin to ensure optimum drainage. However, because it was only just above the floor level, it was difficult to fit a container underneath the tap and the bin had to be moved outside in order for it to be drained properly. (Note: This problem could have been solved by standing the bin on something, but I did not have anything suitable.) As more and more food was added to the bin over the winter, the bin became so heavy that it was difficult to move. As a result it wasn't drained for several months, the compost became too wet and I think that quite a few of the worms drowned.
What's
Happening in the Veganic Garden This Month?There's usually a fair amount of work to be done in the garden in May. Weeds will start to grow more quickly and consequently you may need to hoe your beds regularly. You will also need to keep a careful lookout for the first pests - particularly blackfly which may suddenly invade your broad bean crop towards the middle of the month. (See the May 1998 issue for information on how to control blackfly.) If the weather is dry, then a fair amount of watering may be needed too. Flowering peas, particularly, need plenty of water, as do leafy crops - such as lettuce and spinach, if you don't want them to bolt.
May is the best month to sow many kinds of beans. This year I am going to try a new variety - 'Barlotta Lingua di Fuoco' - available from 'The Organic Gardening Catalogue. This bean has beautiful red-striped pods which can either be cooked and eaten whole, or else the beans can be removed from their pods and dried for use over the winter. 'Barlotta' is a climbing French bean, best grown up poles (or a fence) whereas the dwarf French bean 'Annabel', which I will also sow early this month, needs no support whatsoever. Annabel is a pencil-slim bean, delicious when cooked and eaten cold in salads. As French beans are often far more expensive to buy than runner beans, they are well worth growing in the veganic garden. 'Coquette' is another useful bean - a plump white bean which can be dried and used in soups and stews. And last but not least, don't forget to sow your runner beans this month! 'Kelvedon Marvel' is a good variety to use, but if you don't have any poles (or a fence) to grow climbing beans, then try a dwarf variety of runner bean such as 'Hammond Dwarf Scarlet. All of the above varieties of beans are available from The Organic Gardening Catalogue.
Sweetcorn, courgettes, marrows and cucumbers are usually sown outside in May too. And early, indoor-raised Brussels sprout plants can also be put outside this month. (Mine are going to share a bed with my 'Feltham First' early peas.) The early, dwarf variety of sprout 'Peer Gynt' is ideal for the small garden, maturing from September to Christmas. A later sowing of peas, this month, will provide peas for autumn use - try the dwarf variety 'Little Marvel.' Continue to make sowings of lettuce, salad onions, beetroot, turnips, radishes and carrots.
Sow kale, winter cabbage (e.g. 'January King,' 'Holland Late Winter'), sprouting broccoli and winter cauliflowers.
Asparagus, broad beans, spring cabbage, lettuce, rhubarb, spinach and salad onions.
Your QueriesQuery: I am looking for the name of a British company which makes herbal soaps. One of the names is the name of a city. Help, please!
From: Patricia Maguire, Lexington, Ma. 02420, USA.
A bit of a riddle that one! But, if you think that you know the answer, then e-mail: Maguire20@hotmail.com
Query: I am looking for a supplier of mushroom spawn any ideas?
From: Alan Sharratt, Widnes, Cheshire.
You could try Future Foods. They offer a variety of mushroom spawn, by mail order, including: oyster mushrooms, shaggy cap, shiitake and wood blewit. Their address is: Future Foods, P.O Box 1564, Wedmore, Somerset, BS28 4DP. For more information visit the Future Foods website.
Query: Do any readers know of a good vegan Yorkshire pudding recipe?
From: Coral Putman
The last query first appeared in the February issue, but Coral changed jobs and lost your replies. Any Yorkshire pudding recipes should be e-mailed to Coral at: cputman@dlj.com
Vegan
Organisation ReviewVegans International (Australia)
Established in 1992, this non-profit educational organisation promotes the vegan way of living and membership is open to anybody who supports the vegan philosophy. Vegans International produces the quarterly journal 'Vegan Forum' which allows discussion of all matters relating to the vegan philosophy and lifestyle and also provides the opportunity for groups and individuals to inform other members about their activities. Vegan Forum is free to members and is available by subscription.
For more information visit the Vegans International website. Here you can find out about membership, access other vegan websites, find out about news and events, read interesting articles on many vegan topics and you can also purchase vegan books and other merchandise. The Vegan and Cruelty-Free Ring site is also owned by Vegans International.
If any vegan organisation would like to be reviewed in this section, then please e-mail me at: pauline@bury-rd.demon.co.uk.
Other
Interesting Vegan 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.
Find out about Friends of the Earth's campaign. Read about the health and environmental concerns associated with genetically modified food. See what action you can take. You can also access the magazine 'Splice' ( a genetics forum) at this site.
Are you trying to avoid genetically modified soya products? Not sure which brands of ice cream, yogurts, milk or cheese to buy? You can find out which companies are still using organic, or non-genetically modified soya at this Vegan Society website.
Find out what Vegans International (Australia) have to say about genetically modified food. Read up about what Monsanto is up to. Find out what you can do.
Alison Coe is a London Vegan. She makes and sells handmade greeting cards and woven pieces which can be framed and hung on the wall. Her website has eight samples of her designs. Why not take a look?
The Vegan Couples Club | The Vegan Singles Club
Are you looking for vegan friends? These two websites are for people who want to meet, date, socialize and develop friendships with other like-minded vegans in their area. They're free of charge too.
Easy Vegan Cooking by Leah Leneman (Thorsons 1998). Price £8.99.
'Easy Vegan Cooking' is the updated version of Leah Leneman's book '365 Plus One Vegan Recipes'(1993). It's slightly smaller and fatter in shape and has a delicious-looking slice of vegan chocolate cake on the front cover! However, apart from that it's almost identical to the original version, except that it costs £2.00 more. Another minor difference is that in the newer version, ingredients are measured in metric units, ounces and in cups, so that people in America can now use this book too. This is a nice recipe book. For more information, see my original book review which appeared in the October 1996 issue. I obtained my copy of 'Easy Vegan Cooking' from the public library, but this book can also be purchased from Amazon Books for £7.19 (a saving of £1.80.)
Copyright © Pauline Lloyd 1999
May Book
Review 