THE VEGAN NEWS
SUMMER 2006
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In This Issue:
Mesquite 'Toffee' Smoothie
Source: Recipe developed
by Karen Knowler of the Fresh Network
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe organic bananas
- 1-2 cups of water
- 2-3 Tbsp agavc nectar (or 4-6 dates)
- 2 heaped Tbsp mesquite meal
Method
- Blend the ingredients together, adding more mesquite or
agave/dates to taste.
Variation: Try adding
some cacao nibs for a chocolate alternative.
Serves 2
Editor's Comment: Very quick and easy to make. Agave nectar (£13.99 for 16 fl oz) and cacao
nibs (£8.99 for 227g) are
both available from the Fresh
Network.
Rainbow Salad
Source: Incredibly
Delicious: The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook (Gentle World Inc, 2000)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup courgette, grated
- 3/4 cup red pepper, diced
- 1 cup carrot, grated
- 1/2 cup purple cabbage, grated
- 1 stalk celery, diced small
- 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
- 1/3 cup spring onions, diced
- Half a tomato, diced
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp *oil (e.g.
organic extra virgin olive oil, or flaxseed oil)
- Bragg's or tamari, to taste
- 1/2 Tbsp herb seasoning, or mixed herbs
- 2 Tbsp Engevita nutritional yeast flakes
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Method
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Allow
to marinate for a short time, then serve.
Serves 5-6
Editor's Comment: Rainbow salads are excellent during
the hot summer months. This is just one example. Why not invent
your own using whatever raw vegetables
and salad ingredients you have available? You don't
necessarily need to mix the ingredients together. Instead,
try
arranging a selection of different prepared vegetables and
salad
ingredients in sections on individual plates to make a colourful
display, then pour on a dressing of your choice. Alternatively, you
could eat the rainbow salad with a dip (e.g chickpea
hummus or guacamole) or simply add some avocado cubes for a complete
meal. I often
sprinkle plenty of nori seaweed flakes and Engevita yeast flakes onto
my salad and do without a dressing. For extra flavour try
adding some
freshly chopped herbs, such as
parsley, mint or basil, or include some peppery tasting watercress,
crushed garlic or chopped chili peppers. You can also add small
amounts of fruit such as halved
orange/grapefruit segments, slices of apple, or some
cubes of pineapple to your salad if you wish. As well as the vegetables
mentioned in the above recipe try using sweetcorn kernels, grated
beetroot, cauliflower florets, chopped onion, homegrown sprouts
(e.g. lentil, alflalfa, red clover etc), young spinach leaves, radish
slices, lettuce leaves or diced cucumber. Enjoy!
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Mesquite Meal
This highly nutritious raw product is a traditional native
american food,
produced by gathering seed pods from the mesquite tree and grinding
them into a fine powder. Use it to make a delicious 'toffee flavoured'
smoothie (see above recipe). This
Nature's First Law product is available in 454g packets from the Fresh
Network for £10.99
+ pp. You can order it
from the Fresh
Network website, or by phoning 0870 800 7070.
Nature's Aid Coconut Oil
Containing nothing but pure coconut oil, this product is
ideal for use on the skin and scalp. I find it especially useful
for treating dry or cracked skin and it can also be used as a lip salve
to keep the lips moist. Excellent value at £2.39
for a 100g pot. Look out for this product in a health shop near
you. Incidently, if you are unable to obtain this particular
product
locally, then a different brand of coconut oil is available by mail
order from the Fresh
Network for £6.99
(114g jar) or £28.00 (709g)
+ p&p. Ring 0870 800 7070 to order.
Certified Organic Pure Shea Butter
Another excellent moisturiser, though rather more expensive
at £11.50
for a 100ml pot. I use this product (mixed with some organic extra
virgin olive oil) as a night cream. When mixed with olive oil in this
way it can be rather greasy when first applied, but soon soaks into my
face and seems to keep the wrinkles at bay. Unlikely to cause
allergy, it can be used on the hair, face and body and on babies too.
This completely pure and natural, organic product is high in
phytosterols and vitamins and is handmade in Burkina Faso by a women's
co-operative by manual extraction from the shea nut. It's also
available in
50ml pots scented with either lavender or Geranium rosa for £15.50. It can be purchased
by mail order online from the Natural Collection, or by
phoning their orderline on 0870 331 3333.
VEG1
This vegan multivitamin tablet is now available by mail order
from the Vegan
Society. A pot of 90 chewable tablets costs £4.99 and provides vitamins D,
B12, B2, B6, Folic acid, Iodine and Selenium. Excellent
value. Incidently, the Vegan Society are now selling fantastic Seven
Wives Shampoo Bars, which I am going to review in the next issue!
For more information phone: 0845
458 8244, or order online.
Jason Natural Lavender Shampoo
Enriched with lavender and evening primrose extracts and
vitamins that help to protect the hair, this biodegradable shampoo does
not contain any animal products, Lauryl/Laureth Sulphates or parabens.
Price £5.99
for a 473ml bottle. Look out for it in your local health food
shop. See my previous review of Jason
shampoo for more information.
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Summer Sowing and Planting Schedule
For more information on what to plant throughout June, July
and August
see the Summer
2005 issue.
Crops in Season:
- June: Broad beans, peas, new
potatoes, lettuce, spinach, asparagus (until mid-June), broccoli,
spring cabbage, spring onion, radish, gooseberry, rhubarb,
strawberry.
- July: Globe artichoke, broad beans,
French beans, runner beans, beetroot, carrots, cucumber, lettuce,
marrow, peas, potatoes, radish, spinach, black and red currants,
gooseberry, raspberry and strawberry.
- August: As for July
above, plus sweet
corn, onion, cherry, pear and plum.
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The Monkey
Sanctuary Trust
Established in 1964, this registered charity is based at Looe in
Cornwall. The Monkey Sanctuary Trust provides
advice and support for primate rescue centres around the world and is
currently working and campaigning to
end the trade in primates in this country and in South America.
They also care for a colony of woolly monkeys and give formal talks to
visitors about the monkeys and their conservation in South
America. Complete with 'bat cave', children's activity room,
picnic area, cafe and gift shop (selling fair trade and recycled gifts)
a visit to this Victorian house and gardens is a must if you are in the
area. By visiting you will help to fund the care of the
monkeys and contribute to funds for education and conservation
work. For more information on opening hours and admission
charges visit the Monkey
Sanctuary Trust website, email: info@monkeysanctuary.org, or
phone 01503 262532. Or
why
not adopt a monkey for £2.00 per
month? Donations can also be made online. The
Monkey Sanctuary Trust is based at Murrayton, Looe, Cornwall PL13 1NZ.
Newsletter available.
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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 three more 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 for easy reference.
Fleabane
(Pulicaria dysenterica)
This bushy plant has large,
daisy-like golden-yellow flowerheads. It is of great value in a
wildlife area as its flowers are very attractive to many insects,
including bees. It is an outstanding butterfly nectar plant, being
especially popular with the small copper, common blue, small heath and
small skipper butterflies. Grow it in moist soil, either in wet
woodland, or in a marshy area by a pond. Seeds should be sown in late
summer in pots of compost. Historically, Fleabane's dried leaves were
burned and used to drive fleas away from houses in the Middle Ages.
Bugle (Ajuga
reptans)
Bugle is another plant
that grows well in a mini-marsh area, but it needs to be planted in
large
patches in order to attract butterflies. It is a good
ground cover plant that spreads rapidly and likes heavy clay soils. Its
blue flowers provide nectar for the wood white and pearl bordered
fritillary butterflies. An outstanding butterfly nectar plant whose
flowers are also attractive to bees and hoverflies.
Red Valerian (Centranthus
ruber)
This handsome plant has deep pinky-red fragrant flowers and
blue-grey foliage. However, it is a tender plant that can be
damaged in a cold winter. It prefers poor, dry, alkaline soil and
a sunny position and is often at its best when grown on walls. It can
be grown in coastal areas. A very good plant for butterflies, providing
nectar for comma, gatekeeper, large white and small tortoiseshell
butterflies and is also used by the elephant hawk moth and dark arches
at
night. Grow it on dry walls, on paths, or in a rockery.
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An excellent site
and a particularly good source of information for new vegans, or for
anyone who is thinking of going vegan. You can
also shop or become a member
online.
Dedicated to the rescue of primates suffering in captivity, this
registered charity specialises in chimps. Here you can shop for T
shirts and books on primates, make a donation, adopt a chimp and
find out about volunteering opportunities and the charity's campaigns
and fundraising events. Mona run a primate sanctuary in Spain.
Why not help them to raise funds by recycling your print cartridges and
mobile phones here?
Situated in peaceful countryside about 10 miles from the historic
city of Kingston upon Hull, this B & B offers vegan food and a
chance to refresh your mind, body and spirit. Various natural therapies
are provided including reflexology, body massage and Reiki sessions.
Ideally situated for walking and cycling and close to the coastal
resorts of Hornsea, Bridlington and Scarborough.
Located in the New Forest about five miles from Southampton, this
vegetarian/vegan guesthouse is ideally situated for walking and cycling
and visits to the south coast. Breakfast provided, evening meal
available. There's cycle storage, with a discount offered to those
arriving by
bike or on foot. Price information and sample menus are available
online.
I am sure that most of you will already be familiar with
this well-established vegan company, offering mainly vegan
footwear and fairtrade products. But have you checked out their
new
hemp flip flops, the lady's hemp shoe and their motion boots and shoes
yet?
Downbound.com
An
American company selling over 200 organic hemp clothing and footwear
products as well as vegan cat and dog food, bags & wallets, things
for the home & garden and music and videos. Well worth a visit!
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Summer
Book Reviews
The Salad
Garden by
Joy Larkcom (Frances Lincoln Ltd,
1984)
This comprehensive guide to salad growing covers planning and laying
out the salad garden, as well as related topics such as
how to raise the plants, use of compost/leaf mould, mulching,
weeding, blanching, protected cropping, container growing and seed
sprouting. Providing information on a wide variety of salad
plants, edible wild plants and flowers, it
also includes an introduction to the art of salad making and contains a
selection of recipes (not all vegan). With its garden-to-table advice,
this is an excellent book for anyone who fancies having a go at home
salading. Illustrated with often fascinating colour photos. ISBN: 0-7112-0366-0.
Asian Vegan
Cookery: A High Energy Approach to Healthy Living
(Dr Kim Le, 2002)
Containing about 150 vegan recipes, this
cookery
book also offers advice on how to transition to a meat-free
diet and has five-day sample menu plans and an interesting
chapter on tea making. The recipes are geared to high energy
living, are mainly Oriental in nature and are based largely on
grains, legumes, fruit and vegetables. They include
a selection of muffins, some interesting sandwich ideas and recipes for
soups, salads, rice/noodle dishes, tofu, tempeh, tvp and seitan
containing recipes, beverages and
desserts. Easy-to-prepare recipes with some quick
cooking five-minute recipes (mainly stir-fries) that are ideal
for when you're in a hurry.
ISBN 1-4027-0627-8.
Power Juices Super Drinks: Quick, Delicious
Recipes to Prevent and Reverse Disease by
Steve Meyerowitz (Kensington Publishing Corp, 2000)
This medicine chest of power drinks is excellent value
for money, providing comprehensive coverage on preparing fresh
juices and superdrinks and their therapeutic benefits. Learn how to
boost your energy, optimise your athletic performance, nourish your
mind and increase your longevity by drinking these highly
nutritious juices, drinks and milk alternatives. Also contains a
comprehensive A-Y (no ailments seem to start with a Z!) on how to treat
115 different health disorders, plus an in depth and often fascinating
coverage of the phytonutrient aspects of some of nature's
finest healing foods and herbs. Recipes are quick and easy to prepare -
some can be made using a simple citrus juicer and blender, if you don't
own a juicer. ISBN: 1-57566-528-X.
A super book!
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1996-2006
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