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WINTER 2008/2009

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In This Issue:

Winter Recipe(s)

Leek and Potato Soup

Source: Vegan Rustic Cooking for All Seasons by Diana White (Permanent Publications, 2006)

Ingredients

Method
  1. Place the potatoes and leeks in a large pan with 1 litre (4 ¼ cups) of water. Bring to the boil, then turn to simmer and place lid on.  Cook until tender, approximately 10 minutes.
  2. Drain the stock off into a jug and mash the vegetables.  
  3. Add the milk, shoyu and paprika and enough of the stock to make a thick soup consistency.  
  4. Bring to the boil stirring thoroughly.  Then  simmer for 1 minute, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  5. Garnish each portion with parsley or watercress and serve with croutons if wished. 
Serves: 4 - 6

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Winter Product Reviews

ORGANICA SWISS DARK CHOCOLATE BAR  
Produced by Geo Organics, this rich, dark chocolate bar contains 71% cocoa solids and is made from fairtrade ingredients. It's organic, vegan, non-GM and gluten free. Rather yummy! In fact just about right, being neither too sweet nor too bitter and with a melt in the mouth smoothness and a pleasant after taste.  Do try it, if you prefer dark chocolate. A 100g bar costs around £1.69.

NEW! ORGANICA CHOCOLATE COUVERTURE BAR WITH RAISINS & ALMONDS 
Containing 41% cocoa solids and 66% fairtrade ingredients, this bar is the vegan alternative to dairy milk chocolate.  With added rice syrup, it's much sweeter and creamier than the other two bars and contains chopped almonds and raisins. Personally I found it a little too sweet and was a bit disappointed with the texture, which I felt could be improved by adding bigger pieces of nuts and more raisins. This bar, which is also produced by Geo Organics,  meets the Soil Association Organic Standard and when purchased 5% of the cost of each bar is donated to the Monkey Sanctuary Trust, which promotes the welfare, conservation and survival of primates. A 100g bar costs from £1.79.  

ORGANICA FOOD OF THE GODS SWISS DARK CHOCOLATE BAR WITH COCOA NIBS
Another rich, dark chocolate bar from Geo Organics, similar to the first chocolate bar reviewed above, but with added cocoa nibs. These give this bar a very pleasing texture with lots of interesting little crunchy bits embedded in the smooth, dark chocolate.  Containing 65% cocoa solids, this is a lovely chocolate bar, which is made from 100% fairtrade ingredients. A 100g bar costs from £1.99.

Look out for these chocolate bars in your local health food shop. More product information and a list of online stockists can be obtained from the Seriously Organic web site.

ESSENTIAL ORGANIC PESTO
Essential Pesto
Produced by an organic co-operative in Italy for Essential Trading, this concentrated pesto sauce contains organically produced fresh basil, pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil + sea salt (non-organic) and is approved by the Vegan Society.  This is a rather tasty and versatile pesto sauce. Simply mix some of the concentrated pesto sauce with  additional olive oil and then use it in pasta dishes, dips or sandwiches.  It has a nice tangy flavour that will enliven most pasta dishes,  but I found it went especially well with tomato-based sauces. Look out for it in your local health food shop. Price around £3.49 for a 175g jar.





GEO ORGANICS BALTI CURRY PASTE
Belonging to Geo Organic's Taste of the East Range and certified by the Soil Association, this product consists mainly of  a tomato puree and sunflower oil base, flavoured with a mixture of organically-grown spices. I used it to make the tofu and tomato recipe suggestion given on the side of the jar and produced a very tasty and quickly-produced meal.  This is a medium hot, spicy and very tasty sauce that will probably set your lips a tingling, but is not too overpowering. It certainly livened up the bean curd, but could also be used with any other vegan ingredients that you have at hand, for example to make a tasty vegetable curry. I also tried it out using a mixture of home-grown vegetables and found it gave my local produce a rather exotic flavour. Easy-to-use, versatile and a useful store cupboard item. A 180g jar costs around £1.99.  To find out more about this product visit Seriously Organic.

GEO ORGANICS THAI RED CURRY PASTE
Also in the Tastes of the East Range, this red curry paste contains a red pepper, sunflower oil, concentrated orange juice and white wine vinegar base that's thickened with corn starch and flavoured with garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper. This organic product bears the Soil Association Standard and you will find a serving suggestion for a vegetable curry on the jar. This is a very tasty, but powerful sauce, so don't use too much! It's perhaps a good idea to add some coconut  milk to balance up the spices and to  counteract the effect of the chilies Price is around £2.09 for a 180g jar.

Look out for these two curry pastes in your local health food shop. To find out more about this product visit Seriously Organic.

LIVE NATIVE DEEP HAIR REPAIR

Hair Repair Product Live native is a new company, which offers a unique range of living, organic skin products, all handmade from organic and fairly traded ingredients. This raw product is made on the Isle of Skye and consists of a raw blend of organic coconut oil that penetrates the hair, conditioning it and giving it body and shine. As well as the coconut oil this product contains aloe vera, natural vitamin E and GMO free soya oil and is perfumed with rosemary, neem, tea tree and orange essential oils. It can be used by both men and women. It comes in a small, attractive pot and because it's a raw product is best kept refrigerated. To use simply massage a small amount into the hair and scalp and allow to absorb, preferably overnight before washing off.  When I tested out this product it was easy to apply and I found that it left my hair feeling very soft for several days afterwards. It also removes the frizziness caused by dry ends quite well and has a lovely fresh smell. In fact the only problem I had with this product was in reading the instructions enclosed with the tester size, which were in very small print and somewhat difficult to read even with my glasses on. A 15ml tester pot costs £9.99. There is also a 30ml pot for £15.85. Highly recommended. To order phone: 01470 521 504 or you can also order online here. Other Live Native products include: Love Lube, Fresh Feet and Essential Woman. Please visit Live Native for more information on these products.

RED STAR SOAP

Red Star Soap Bar This smooth-as-a-baby's-bum bar of soap is made from almond, sunflower and coconut oils and the bar I tested was delicately perfumed with ylang ylang and cloves.  I found that the soap's edges quickly soften up on use, leaving a very smooth bar of soap with a refreshing smell and a creamy-smooth and almost transparent lather.   Lavender and fragrance-free versions are also available and each generously-sized 125g bar costs £2.75.

Other Red Star products include environmentally-friendly natural liquid soaps, dog shampoo and pony polish. You can purchase, or find out more about these products online. The Red Star Orderline is 01384 873748.  
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Christmas Gift Ideas

Stocking Filler Ideas:   Some Larger Gift Ideas:
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Gardening News

Winter Sowing and Planting Schedule:

For more information on what to plant throughout December, January and February please see the GARDENING DIARY.

GOJI BERRY BUSH Goji Update: By the end of August, lots of green goji berries were starting to appear on my two flowering goji berry bushes. These berries started to turn red by the end of September and where ready for picking by early October. This was the first time that I had ever tasted raw goji berries. These are more bitter than shop-bought dried berries, but it was nevertheless wonderful to be able to consume my own home-grown berries knowing that they hadn't clocked up any food miles. I am currently experimenting with drying some of the berries in my airing cupboard in anticipation of a bumper crop next year. In fact, I found that they dried very well and developed a much sweeter taste.

Goji berry bushes are available from Thompson & Morgan - Price £9.49 per bush or three bushes for £17.98.  For further information on the Health Benefits of Goji Berries see my earlier article.


2008 Crop Review: On the whole I obtained a reasonable harvest in 2008 despite the rather difficult  weather conditions.  My main problem this year was attack by slugs during the frequent spells of wet weather.  This was a complete surprise as normally there is very little rainfall here between May and the end of August and slugs rarely attack my crops.  My cucumber crop failed completely this year and I ended up with only one squash due to slugs attacking the young fruits. My Feltham First peas and both my broad beans and drying beans cropped well, although somewhat later than usual. My potato yield was down on last year.  The unique climbing courgette 'Black Forest F1 Hybrid'  I was testing out produced well and consistently throughout the whole season and was still producing some small courgettes in October despite early frosts. Fortunately, the slugs didn't seem to bother with it. Incidentally, seeds are available from T & M if you want to try this variety out in 2009. I also had an excellent crop of strawberries and plenty of salad lettuces throughout the season. I have yet to sample the parsnips, but the top foliage looks very promising and my leeks, kale, turnip greens and cabbages are growing nicely.

PEAR (left) & Apple (right)



My newly planted Cox's apple tree produced five apples (to the right in the picture) in its first year of planting and my Concorde pear tree (left), planted last year produced about a dozen delicious pears. I am hoping that my Russet apple tree, also planted in 2008, will fruit next year.  





What's New in the 2009 Seed Catalogues?
I would just quickly like to mention the following new seeds available from the Thompson & Morgan 2009 Catalogue: Tomato Vilma - a compact tomato suitable for container growing on the patio;  Chili Pepper Super Chili - a thai chili to grow on the windowsill/patio and Kale Reflex F1 Hybrid - a new hardy curly kale.

New from the 2009 Suffolk Herbs Catalogue  is Handy Hands (S46025) - this nifty gadget should  enable you to pick up your grass clippings, autumn leaves and garden debris much faster (Price £4.95).  Finally, if you have managed to produce such a good harvest that you are unsure what to do with it all, then Suffolk herbs are currently selling the book How to Store Your Garden Produce for £7.95 (S49164).  

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In the Wildlife Garden  

Many wildflowers and commonly grown garden plants are beneficial to animals and can be used to attract wildlife into your garden.  Some of the plants, trees and shrubs that are suitable for this purpose have been covered in previous issues and are listed in The Wildflower Index. Plants that are also suitable for growing in a cottage garden are now marked with the letters CTGR in this index.

Cottage Garden Plants

In this section I am going to cover some of the plants that would traditionally be planted in a cottage garden. I intend to focus on cottage garden plants that have particular value to wildlife. The following plants will all grow well on Chalk Soils.

Meadow Crane's-Bill (Geranium pratense)
Crane's-bills grow well on chalky or limy soils and will thrive in either a sunny or a shady position.  Meadow Crane's-bill is particularly attractive with its lovely, showy, large sky-blue, five-petalled flowers and is often found growing wild on banks or by the roadside in chalky areas in the south of Britain. On a good soil it can reach a height of 75cm. It can be grown as a border plant, but is somewhat invasive and is more easily controlled if grown in rough grass, or in an area of wild garden.  Bloody Crane's-bill (G. sanguineum) has very attractive, magenta flowers and still grows wild on rocky limestone in parts of northern Britain. Both species are attractive to bees and birds will eat their seeds. In addition, Meadow Crane's-bill is sometimes used as a caterpillar food plant by the brown argus.

Cheddar Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus)
Originally found growing wild in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, this pink has adapted well to garden conditions. Pinks have generally been grown in cottage gardens since the seventeenth century.  Forming large clumps and reaching up to about 20cm in height, they are ideal for growing in a sunny rockery, although they can also be grown at the front of a well-drained border. Pinks are used as a nectar source by both butterflies and moths.

Clustered Bellflower (Campanula glomerata)
Growing wild on chalk downs, mainly in the south and east of England, this plant has colourful clusters of purplish-blue flowers. Reaching a height of up to 45cm, it grows in clumps and is ideal as a rockery plant, requiring a sunny position and a poor, well-drained soil. Its flowers will be visited by bees.

Common Rock-Rose (Helianthemum nummularium)
Also known as the 'sun rose' and as 'beauty of the sun', this plant grows on chalky soils thoughout Britain.  Growing up to 30cm in height, its flowers are generally bright yellow and usually only last for a day. This rambling plant likes a sunny position and is very suitable for use in a rock garden, for growing at the front of a border, or for planting in the crevices of paving stones on a path. It is mainly used as a nectar source by bees and butterflies, but may also be used as a caterpillar food plant for the brown argus and by various other butterflies. 

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Other Interesting 

The Vegan Society (UK)
An excellent source of information for new vegans, or for anyone who is thinking of going vegan. You can also Shop or become a member online. Why not check out their Vegan Caterers Booklet and order a copy to pass on to your local caterers?

Siiren.Co.UK
This site offers a wide selection of ethnic, handmade and fairly-traded products, including musical instruments, jewellery,  hand-carved wooden ornaments, buddhas and bamboo wind chimes Note: This is not specifically a vegan site and some items contain animal products such as shells, coral and pearls e.t.c. Do check with the company before purchasing, if you're unsure.

Vegan Poet
 Poetry and photos that speak of animal, environmental, and human rights, written by a 30 year vegan. Also contains inspirational and informative articles on various vegan subjects. If you want to learn how to feed your dogs a healthy vegan diet and see photos of vegan dogs, then click here.
Venture Foods
A vegetarian web site selling a range of organic and fairly traded products, including Geo Organic and Organica products. The products seem to be mainly vegan except for the Rain Tree range and include curry pastes, chocolate bars, dips and sauces.

Vegan Health & Beauty
This company offers an excellent range of vegan, cruelty-free products including cosmetics, body care products and perfumes.   There's something for everyone with products especially designed for men, women and babies.

Green Valley Online
I've already mentioned this company in an earlier issue. It sells a wide range of vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal remedies that are all suitable for vegans. I have personally found their Agnus Castus supplement very helpful for stopping uterine bleeding and it also seems to work well on hot flushes.

BeWithUsOnline
This Cambridge-based company sells a range of products including Bioflow magnetic bracelets, magnetic animal collars and animal coats, magnetic products to help reduce home energy consumption, crystal deodorants, supportive insoles and skin care products.  

The Purity Project
A site offering affordable vegan, skincare products. The company has just launched 'The Face Range' and is offering this new range of products at half price for a limited period.  So don't delay in checking out this site!

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Winter Book Review(s)

Quick & Easy Face Massage by Beata Aleksandrowicz (Duncan Baird Publishers (London), 2008)

Quick & Easy Face Massage
Anybody can benefit from this little book of five minute face massages that enable you to discover your own face.  These straightforward massages, which can be tackled in any order, can be used anywhere, at anytime, in order to de-stress, re-energise, or simply to slow down the aging process. Use them to tone your face muscles, boost your circulation and to release any tension and tiredness stored in your face. Ideal also for blocked sinuses, aching shoulders, tensed up neck muscles, or for bringing back the sparkle to your eyes! Use them everywhere: at work, before an exam, in bed, in the shower, when travelling, or on holiday.  In fact why not share a massage with your partner when you want to spend some extra time together? The compact size of this book makes it easy to carry around with you everywhere you go and it would also make a good stocking filler.  I liked the book's magnetic closing mechanism and the menu of massage sequences at the back of the book.  Price £5.99. ISBN:  978-1-84483-658-1.
 
To find out more about this book click here. It's also available from Amazon UK for £4.49.

Other Health & Well-Being books published by Duncan Baird Publishers include: Overcoming Diabetes, Overcoming High Blood Pressure (both by Dr Sarah Brewer), The Top 100 Healing Foods, Meditation Bliss and Food Is Medicine.

Metamorphosis: Poems to Inspire Transformation

Metamorphosis
You may also be interested in this newly launched book that has been written by a vegan poet. Beautifully presented. It contains 50 poems and more than 50 color photos that speak of  animal, environmental and human rights, written from the viewpoint of a 30 year dedicated vegan. 

It costs $18.00 and can be purchased from The American Vegan Society in Malaga, or from the author at http://veganpoet.com.











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