NOVEMBER 1997

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.

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• Advertisements
• Recipes
• Don't Miss! This Month's Article - Green Manures
• Vegan Product Review
• Water Saving Tips
• In The Veganic Garden
• Your Comments
• Vegan Organisation Review
• Vegan Websites - Permaculture
• Book Review
• The Wildlife Database

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Recipe of the Month

Quick-and-Easy Fruit Crumble

Here is a healthy, low-fat and sugar-free dessert: a dessert that you can indulge in with a clear conscience!

Ingredients

• 5 oz (140 g) Sainsbury's, unsweetened, wholewheat muesli
  
• 1 large (or 2 small) Bramley cooking apple(s), peeled and sliced thinly.
  
• 1 oz (50 g) blackberries or other fruit (optional)
  

Method

1. Stew the fruit until just cooked, or if you prefer, the fruit can be microwaved instead. (In my model, apples take about 5-6 mins. Add a tablespoon of water to the fruit before microwaving.)

2. Put the stewed fruit into a small casserole (or oven-proof dish) and sprinkle the muesli on top.

3. Cook the crumble in the centre of the oven, until it is heated through and the topping is crispy and slightly brown. This should take about 15-25 mins depending on the selected oven temperature. If you want to save gas, then the crumble can be cooked in the oven at the same time as a main meal. The temperature of the oven is not critical: gas 4, 5, or 6 would all be suitable temperatures to use. (At the higher temperature the crumble would probably be ready in the shorter time.) Serve the crumble by itself, if you like a crispy texture, or with vegan custard. You can also mix in other stewed fruits such as plums/rhubarb, if you can't get blackberries. A plain apple crumble is also nice - try adding a handful of sultanas or raisins to the cooked apples.

Recipe Serves 2

Trick or Treat?

At the moment, the shops and markets are full of pumpkins. For some ideas on how to make tasty pumpkin dishes, this Halloween, visit

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Water Saving Tips

1. Fix dripping taps.

2. Take a shower instead of a bath.

3. Don't leave the tap running when you clean your teeth. Use a glass of water instead.

4. When choosing domestic appliances select ones that are water and energy efficient and have the EU ecolabel.

5. Install a 'Hippo' in your toilet tank. This small, blue bag saves about 3/4 gallon of water every time you flush the toilet.
   They can be obtained from:

   The Environment Agency,
   Rio House,
   Waterside Drive,
   Aztec West,
   Almondsbury,
   Bristol, BS12 4UD.
   

6. Ban hosepipes from your garden. Install a water butt and water your garden plants with rain water instead. Wash vegetables in a bowl of water and reuse this water on the garden.

7. Mulch plants (e.g. with grass cuttings) to reduce evaporation.

8. Plant drought-tolerant plants in your garden. Buddleia, berberis, hebe, hedera (ivy), lavender, rosemary, sage, sedum and thyme, are all drought tolerant and will attract wildlife into the garden too. (If you need more info, then look these plants up in The Wildlife Database .) To cut down on watering requirements, avoid growing plants in containers. And why not grow cacti indoors, instead of houseplants?

9. Use a bucket of water when you wash the car.

10. Reuse as much water as possible. Did you know that Water Dynamics Ltd produces a system which enables 'grey water' from the shower, bath or sink, to be recycled and used for flushing the toilet or watering the garden? It can cut domestic water consumption by up to 40%. (Price £950 + installation). Ask for details of their Pressure Butt System:

    Water Dynamics Ltd,
    Unit 32,
    Branbridges Industrial Estate,
    East Peckham,
    Tonbridge,
    Kent. TN12 5HF.

    For more water saving ideas visit Water Conservation in the Home

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1. Tidying Up

   Finish tidying up your raised beds and if you need to make any new beds and aren't sure how to do it, then see the January Issue. Compost any garden debris or crops that are no longer needed, as leaving waste lying around will only attract pests. Continue to collect leaves as they fall off garden trees and convert them into leafmould. At this time of year, you should add as much humus-rich, well-rotted organic material to your raised beds as you can. This will improve the texture of the soil and increase the level of nutrients available for next year's crops. Mature compost, leafmould, green manure crops and seaweed/seaweed meal, are just some of the substances which are suitable for this purpose. Organic matter should be placed on the surface of the raised beds; the earthworms will then do all the digging for you! Bonfire ashes can also be sprinkled on the soil and are particularly useful when placed in areas where you are going to grow runner beans/tomatoes next year.

   If any of your beds are too acidic them you may want to give them a dusting of lime. The Organic Gardening Catalogue sells an animal-free form of lime called 'dolomitic limestone' which has calcium and magesium and can be used to raise the pH of the soil. You can also purchase seaweed meal from this catalogue. It should be applied about three months before planting your crops and is very rich in trace elements.

2. Sowing

   Winter field beans and grazing rye can still be sown this month. Read this month's article on Green Manures for more details. It is also possible to make sowings of some varieties of broad beans (Aquadulce claudia) but I prefer to make my sowings in February when the worst of the winter is over!

3. The Wildlife Garden

   Stock up on fat balls, wild bird seed and peanuts this month. Then you are ready to set up the bird table if the weather turns very cold. If you grew sunflowers in the garden this year, the sunflower heads can be hung up outside for finches to eat over the winter. For more details on the types of bird tables available and how to feed birds, see the December 1997 issue.

   Apart from birds and possibly grey squirrels, you probably won't see much wildlife in the garden at this time of year. Do keep a look out for hedgehogs though. Underweight, young hedgehogs can sometimes get into difficulties at this time of year, particulary if the weather goes cold suddenly and they need to hibernate. Then, you may see them walking around in daylight hours and they probably need your help. They can be housed indoors and should be given plenty of food to fatten them up! They need to weigh between 500-680 gms before being released outside again. For more details on how to care for hedgehog orphans contact: The British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Knowbury House, Knowbury, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 3LQ. And, if you are unable to care for the hedgehog yourself, then they may know of a hedgehog carer in your area. (Telephone Anne Jenkin on 01584-890287 for details.)

   And of course, don't forget when tidying up the garden this autumn, to leave some areas untidy for the wildlife! Hedgehogs, for example, like to hibernate in piles of autumn leaves and will use dry leaves to make their nests in spring.

4. The Fruit Garden

   November is the best time of year for planting new fruit trees and soft fruit bushes. Before purchasing fruit trees, check if they are self-fertile and if not, then plant cross-pollinating varieties. If you have existing fruit trees, then they can be pruned after the leaves have fallen off. Currants, raspberries, blackberries, mulberry and medlar can also be planted this month.

5. Crops Available This Month

   Brussels sprouts, perpetual spinach, winter cabbage, leeks and celery.

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You can even save petrol by visiting the Centre for Alternative Technology on line. Here you can find out more information on all the points covered above and can send your queries to be answered by their information team.

Further information can also be obtained either by email from:

1. info@catinfo.demon.co.uk (For your queries).
2. orders@catmailorder.demon.co.uk (Send for a mail order catalogue, don't forget to include your address).
3. catpub@globalnet.co.uk (For a list of publications).

Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth, Powys. SY20 9AZ. Tel: 01654 702400.

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Other Interesting Vegan Websites.

The Centre for Alternative Technology
This site has many green ideas which I'm sure will be of interest to many vegans. Here you can find out about CAT's courses and publications and take a virtual tour of their 7 acre site in Wales! Send them your queries to answer too.

The Permaculture Visions Site
Find out about the 5 R's here: re-use, recycle, repair, reduce and re-design.

The Earth Repair Catalogue
250 books, videos and publications on sustainable living and permaculture. Items can be mailed outside the UK.

Friends of the Trees Society
This Society aims to double the world's forests. Visit this site to find out more about their courses, publications and events.

Permaculture Magazine
Subscribe to this informative magazine (£10.00 in UK, but will supply abroad). You can also find out if you have a local permaculture group near you and read up about permaculture courses and projects.

Gardening Books
A good selection of permaculture and organic gardening books available here, including most of Joy Larkcom's books and also the Plants for a Future book, by Ken Fern, called 'Edible and Useful Plants for a Healthier World.' They even supply a book on solar gardening!

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The second section covers the gardening techniques which are used to produce these wonderful and often very attractive looking vegetables. Joy Larkcom tells you how to sow them and also covers topics such as soil fertility, crop rotation, interplanting and growing these vegetables in a bed system, or under cover. If you want to know which mulching material to use, or how to deal with the pests and diseases that can attack Oriental vegetables, then you will find the answers to all your questions in this well-researched book.(She even tells you how to with cook them, although many of the recipes are not vegan/vegetarian.) Finally, at the end of the book, there is a list of Oriental vegetable seed suppliers, covering the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. This book is illustrated with eight pages of colour photos. I found my copy in the public library but it can also be obtained by mail order from The Organic Gardening Catalogue Price £17.90.

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