THE
VEGAN NEWS
AUTUMN
2003
In This Issue:
Mexicavo Salad
Based on a recipe in Incredibly Delicious: The Vegan Paradigm
Cookbook by Gentle World (Gentle World Publishing, 2000).
Ingredients
- 1 cob of sweet corn (kernels removed with a sharp knife)
- 1 tomato, diced
- Pak choi (about a quarter of a bunch), roughly chopped
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 1 tbs. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. tamari
- 1/2 tsp. mixed herbs
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. Engevita yeast flakes
- Parsley, finely chopped (to taste)
- The flesh of 1 avocado, cubed (prepare this just before serving)
Method
- Place the sweet corn kernels, tomato, pak choi and onion in
a serving bowl.
- Mix together the lemon juice, tamari, garlic, mixed herbs
and Engevita to form a dressing.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and leave to marinate
in the fridge for about an hour.
- Add the parsley and cubes of avocado, just before serving.
Mix in well.
Serves 1
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Autumn Product
Review
New from MotherHemp, this dairy free, organic fruit and cereal
snack bar is low in saturated fat and free from artificial additives, colourings
and flavourings. It's made from flaked oats, shelled hemp seed, puffed
rice, dried cranberries, dried apple pieces, apple juice, vegetable oil
and various sweeteners and is a good source of omega-3 and omega-6 essential
fatty acids (EFAs). I liked its chewy, crispy, rice-like texture
and found its mild flavour pleasant enough, although rather bland. Produced
in the UK to Soil Association Standards, this apple and cranberry bar is
completely free from GM materials. Look out for it in your local health
shop. It's also available in Sainsbury's for £0.59.
This high fibre pasta is both wheat and dairy
free and like the hemp bar reviewed above is a good source of essential
fatty acids. Made from spelt and hemp flour with just a little added salt,
it cooks quickly in just 3-4 minutes, making a speedy and nutritious meal.
Containing no artificial flavours or colours, this
grey-brown coloured pasta holds its texture well when cooked and I also
found it very easy to eat because it is broken up into fairly short lengths.
It tastes wonderful when served with a few tablespoons of MotherHemp Red
Pesto sauce. Look out for this product (and also for the MotherHemp
Hemp & Spelt Fusilli) in Sainsbury's and in your local health food store.
Approved by the Vegan Society and bearing the Soil Association
logo, a 250g packet costs about £2.79.
This vegan pesto sauce is made from sundried
tomatoes, sunflower oil, shelled hemp seed, cashews and cider vinegar and
is flavoured with garlic, basil, salt and black pepper. Try stirring some
into hot pasta, or use it as a spread, salad dressing or dip. Completely
free from hydrogenated fats and high in essential fatty acids, this red hemp
pesto adds a nice, slightly acidic tang to hot pasta. It's not too
greasy either and has a nice texture, which I would describe as just very
slightly crunchy. Incidentally, I discovered that it makes a rather nice
salad dressing for a cold potato salad. Available from Sainsbury's, a 160g
jar costs £3.49.
Bearing the Vegan Society symbol, this MotherHemp oil is cold-pressed
below 45 degrees C and is then nitrogen flushed to reduce the onset of
oxidation. Containing some omega-9 fatty acid, hempseed oil provides the
perfect balance of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids and also contains
significant amounts of gamma-linolenic acid, which is also found in Evening
Primrose oil and may be useful for treating PMT and eczema.
Hempseed oil is best consumed unheated and is ideal for
use in salad dressings. It can also be used on hot pasta, on cooked or raw
vegetables, or added to soups, fruit juice or smoothies for extra nutrition.
I tested out a bottle of MotherHemp natural hempseed oil, which is
sold in a 250ml dark, glass bottle that is packaged inside an eye-catching,
green carton. Although this product is not marketed as an organic oil, all
Motherhemp seed is grown without the use of pesticides and herbicides and
is not genetically modified. Green in colour, I thought it
had a pleasant nutty flavour. MotherHemp's Organic Hempseed
Oil costs £7.49 for a 250ml bottle. Whereas a 250ml bottle
of the natural hemp oil is available in Sainsbury's for just
£4.99.
Finally, I would just like to mention that MotherHemp also
produce a range of vegan, organic Hemp Ices. Look out for these tasty
treats in your local health food store and if they don't stock them, then
ask them why not! These dairy-free ices are made from crushed, shelled
hemp seeds and do not contain any hydrogenated fat. Available in four delicious
flavours: Vanilla Thriller, Scrummy Strawberry, mmmMint Choc Chip and NEW
Double Dare Choc Chunk, these hemp ices are low in saturated fat and are
lactose and cholesterol free. A 500ml pot costs around £3.98. Vegan
Society approved, this product was voted to be the Best New Organic Product
in the Natural Products Industry Awards in 2002.
For more up-to-date information on MotherHemp products visit the
MotherHemp web site to check availability
of the above products.
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What's Happening in the Veganic Garden this Autumn?
Autumn Sowing and Planting Schedule:
- September: Some types of onion
sets (e.g. Radar) can be planted out in September to give an early crop
the following June. Sowings of winter salad vegetables can also be made
this month. Try sowing some grumolo verde (a type of chicory), corn
salad, rocket, or a winter lettuce such as Rouge d'Hiver or Winter Density.
Sowings of Mizuna or Mibuna can be made under cover.
- October: Some kinds of peas are winter
hardy, producing an early crop in June from an autumn sowing. Suitable
varieties for sowing in October and November would include Feltham First,
Pilot and Meteor. However, when I have planted peas in the autumn
in the south of England I have not had that much success. Autumn
sown peas seem to be more at risk from slug damage and good results will
probably only be achieved in a mild winter unless you can provide some protection.
- November: A sowing of broad beans
can be made this month. Again, good results will probably only be achieved
in mild winters in the south of England, so unless you are able to protect
the beans in some way it may be better to delay sowing your beans until
spring, if you live farther north. Suitable varieties for sowing at this time
of year include: Aquadulce Claudia, Futura RZ, Masterpiece and Supersimonia. Field
beans are another kind of bean that can be sown in November. Field
beans are usually grown as a green manure crop, but if allowed to flower
and seed they will produce a worthwhile bean crop for human
consumption the following year. Garlic cloves (such as the
variety Thermidrome) can also be planted out in November.
All of the above
seeds can be ordered from the Organic Gardening Catalogue,
Riverdene Business Park, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey, KT12 4RG. Tel: 01932
253666 for a catalogue.
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In the Wildlife Garden
Many of our wildflowers and some garden plants are beneficial to animals
and can be used to attract wildlife into the garden. Here, I will cover
another two plants that are especially attractive to wildlife. (See
the Wildlife Plant Index for details of other
suitable plants.)
Stinging Nettle (Urtica
dioica)
Although stinging nettles are not especially attractive-looking
plants, they have great potential when it comes to attracting wildlife
into your garden. In my opinion every wildlife garden should have
at least one patch of stinging nettles. However, if the very thought
of growing nettles in your garden fills you with horror, or if you are worried
about what your neighbours might think, consider positioning your nettle
patch somewhere where it will not be too obvious - behind a garden shed,
or by your composter, perhaps.
Stinging nettles make excellent wildlife plants, providing food for
the caterpillars of many butterflies including the red admiral, peacock,
comma, painted lady and small tortoiseshell. Do, however, bear in mind when
deciding where to site your nettle patch that butterflies will only lay
their eggs on nettles that are located in a sunny position. The caterpillars
of many moths also feed on stinging nettles and birds including bullfinches,
siskins and reed buntings will eat the seeds. Caterpillars that are feeding
on the plants also provide food for insectivorous birds like tits. Incidentally,
have you ever noticed that nettles are often covered with aphids early in
the year? These aphids provide food for ladybirds at a time of year when
other food is often scarce. Nettles can thus be used to entice ladybirds into
your garden and who knows once they have eaten all of the aphids, they
could well decide to stick around and polish off other undesirable garden
competitors for you too.
But as well as attracting wildlife, stinging nettles have many
other uses. For example, they can be used to make a wonderful liquid feed,
which is very cheap to make, rich in nutrients and can be watered on to
container plants, hanging baskets, vegetables and other fast- growing crops.
In addition, nettle trimmings can be added to your garden composter to
activate the heap. When growing nettles for wildlife purposes, the
best time to harvest them is in May. Cutting them back at this time
will provide lots of new growth and the resulting young shoots are ideal
for attracting egg-laying butterflies. (By the way it's a good idea
when using nettles to make a liquid feed to allow the nettles to remain
on the ground for a day after cutting them down as this will give any caterpillars
the chance to escape.)
Believe it or not cooked stinging nettles are not only edible, but are
also highly nutritious. Do wear protective gloves when handling nettles and
be careful to cook them properly to be sure of removing their sting! Use
young, spring nettles to make soup. Alternatively, cook them as a green vegetable.
They are also often used to make a pleasant-tasting herbal tea. Nettles
are a good source of vitamin C and iron and are ideal for anybody who is
suffering from anaemia.
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Usually a magnificent yellow in colour, with a brown or purplish
centre, sunflowers are exceptionally attractive plants with flowers that
will brighten up any garden between August and October. With some varieties
reaching over six feet in height, sunflowers could well attract admiring
glances and comments from your neighbours, as well as enticing wildlife
into your garden.
Their large, dazzling flower heads supply nectar to bees and hoverflies
and some kinds are also attractive to butterflies, as well. Do not remove
the flower heads once the flowers have faded, for the ripe seeds will
draw many types of birds into your garden, especially finches, tits and nuthatches.
You may even receive a visit from a grey squirrel too, if you are really
lucky! Giant sunflowers are often popular with children too, so why not get
them to help with the planting? Dwarf varieties are now available, which
are useful for planting in the small garden, or else they could be grown
in containers on a patio or balcony. However, if you have a large
garden, then do grow the biggest ones you can find!
Incidentally, sunflower seeds make a useful addition to a vegan diet,
supplying protein and essential fatty acids. If you don't want to waste
time shelling out the seeds, then use the unhulled seeds to produce sunflower
greens instead. Alternatively, any spare seed could be dried and stored
and fed to the birds on your bird table throughout the winter months.
Sunflowers, as their name suggests, really do turn their heads to follow
the sun. So why not sow some sunflower seeds in your garden next
May and see if you can make a few heads turn!
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Vegan Hedgehog Menu
Every attempt should be made to encourage hedgehogs to come into
your garden. These loveable, prickly, harmless creatures consume
large quantities of slugs, snails, beetles and caterpillars, making them
one of the vegan organic gardener's best friends. They can easily be attracted
onto your land by providing them with extra food, especially in the autumn
when they need to build up their fat reserves before going into hibernation.
Special hedgehog food is readily available by mail order and hedgehogs
will also eat tinned dog and cat food. The trouble is that most of
the ready prepared food available contains animal products such as chicken,
dried meat, poultry fat, insects and honey. Not really the sort of
food that vegans want to put out for their hedgehogs is it? So, you
may be interested to know that the British Hedgehog Preservation Society
offers packets of peanut granules (the germination points of peanuts) that
are ideal for hedgehogs to eat. A kilo packet of peanut granules
costs £3.20, plus £2.50 postage. Hedgehogs usually
love these! Ring the BHPS on 01522 688300 for a copy of their Hogalogue,
if you would like to order some. Other foods that hedgehogs enjoy include
muesli, chopped up peanuts, raisins and banana. And do remember to
leave a saucer of fresh water out for them, too. (No up-to-date
information available, please contact the BHPS regarding the current availabilty
of this product.)
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Other Interesting
An excellent site and a particularly
good source of information for the those who are new to veganism, or for
anyone who is thinking of going vegan. You can now also shop online.
Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine (PCRM)
PCRM promotes preventive medicine, alternatives to animal research
and encourages the use of plant-based diets. (Neal Barnard MD is
PCRM's president.) This web site has much to interest vegans, including
an informative section on the vegan diet and
details of the facts and fallacies connected with animal experimentation.
Find out about the clinical research PCRM is carrying out, including their
recent research to discover whether the vegan diet can be used to cure
diabetes. Their
well stocked shop offers various vegan cookbooks, books connected with
animal experimentation, vegan sweatshirts, T-shirts and bags. PCRM also
produces a quarterly magazine entitled Good Medicine, which is sent
out to all members.
Vegan Harlow
A new web site offering information to vegans and vegetarians
living in Harlow and the surrounding area (Ware, Epping, Hertford, Bishops
Stortford and Sawbridgeworth). This site lists the cafes, and restaurants
that offer vegan meal options in the area and also covers shops that stock
vegan products. 'A Beginner's Guide to Going Vegan' provides useful information
to help you to get started on a vegan diet and there's also a listing of
dairy-free food alternatives and plenty of meal ideas, if you are wondering
how to cater for a vegan.
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Autumn
Book Review
Fields
of Green CD (Hemp Music Productions, 2003).
Recorded at the Cutting Edge Studios in Australia this CD combines the relaxing tones
of the harp, flute and guitar with angelic voices, rainforest sounds and
the ancient drone of the didgeridoo. Ideal for use anywhere where a relaxing
or healing atmosphere is required, this professionally recorded, hemp based
product is truly unique. Each of the musical instruments used to produce
the CD has been made from 100% hemp stone - a substance that is harder
than stone, yet also completely biodegradable. In addition, the CD tray
is made from novel Hemp Plastic with hemp paper inserts that are made by
the Living Tree Paper Company. Fields of Green is being released as a limited edition and is expected
to sell out fast,so don't delay! Sample the music and order your copy now from Hemp Music Productions - 10%
of the profits from the CD will be donated to good causes, with the remainder
being used to support the Hemp Plastic Industry. Price:
£13.95 (includes p&p). (Updated February
2009 - Product still available)
Raw Soups, Salads and Smoothies:
Simple Recipes for Everyday Health by FrėdėricPatenaude (Raw Vegan, 2003).
Why
not start the day with a smoothie? Whizz up a tasty soup for lunch, or dine
in style on an imaginative salad? Not sure how? This newly published, attractively
laid out booklet explains all. Containing over 60 simple and quickly-prepared
raw, vegan recipes Raw Soups, Salads and Smoothies is essentially
a straightforward guide to preparing these three basic kinds of raw meals.
But as well as providing lots of tasty recipes and a list of raw food
resources, it also looks at the ingredients commonly used in the creating
raw meals in some detail and covers the basic principles involved in creating
these dishes. So it shouldn't be too long before you are creating your own
raw recipes, too. These delicious smoothies, soups and salad dressings
are quickly prepared in a blender.
Excellent value, this booklet can
be obtained from Raw Vegan, 6595 St-Hubert, CP 59053, Montreal (Quebec),
H2S 3P5, Canada.
Please contact the author via the Raw Vegan web site for information on
how to order a copy.
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