DECEMBER 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.

[ Previous issue] [Next issue] [All issues]

• Advertisements
• Recipes
• Don't Miss! Growing and Using Herbs: The Vegan Way.
• Vegan Product Review
• Travelling Tips for Vegans
• In The Veganic Garden
• Queries
• Vegan Organisation Review
• Vegan Websites
• Book Review
• The Wildlife Database

---

Recipe of the Month

Wholemeal Seedy Bread

This additive and salt-free bread, smells and tastes delicious. Try some as soon as it comes out of the oven!

Ingredients

• 3 1b (1350 g) Sainsbury's organic wholemeal flour
  
• 2 tbsps (15 g) Allinson's dried active yeast
  
• 1 tbsp molasses
  
• 4 tbsps olive oil
  
• 1 oz (25 g) sunflower seeds
  
• 1 oz (25 g) linseed
  
• 1 tbsp organic hemp seeds (optional)
  
• 1 1/2 pints (850 ml) hand hot water
  
• Small amount of poppy and/or sesame seeds
  

Method

1. Put the flour into a large bowl and mix in all the seeds.

2. Make up the hand hot water in a large pyrex jug, by mixing 425 ml of boiling water with 425 ml cold water.

3. Add the yeast, molasses and oil to the jug of water and mix well.

4. Mix the water into the flour, with a wooden spoon. (You will probably need to add a little extra hand hot water, but the dough should be stiff.) You do not have to knead this bread, although you may need to use your hands in order to mix the flour in properly.

5. Grease the inside of two, 2 1b loaf tins with olive oil, using a small piece of grease proof paper. Divide the bread dough into two equal halves and press half of the dough into each tin. Sprinkle the top of each loaf with poppy/sesame seeds, pressing the seeds into the surface of the bread slightly, with the back of a spoon or your fingers.

6. Cover the tins with a clean tea towel and leave the bread to rise in a warm place. (This may take only half an hour in hot weather, but will take longer in the winter.) The bread should rise above the surface of the tin, but should not be allowed to 'flow' over the sides as this will make it very difficult to get the bread out of the tin, later.

7. Bake the loaves at Gas mark 6/200C/400F for about 50 mins. Leave the loaves to cool for a few minutes, then remove them from their tins. If you like a crusty loaf, then return the bread to the oven for another five minutes. When ready, the loaves should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool the loaves on a rack.

Makes two big loaves. This bread can be frozen.

Now Some Special Christmas Treats!

I expect many of you will have your own favourite Christmas recipes already, but for those of you who haven't, I have put together the following collection of Christmas recipes for you to try out. If you have any comments on these recipes, then you are welcome to send them in to the Vegan News, as I am sure that other readers will be interested in reading them.

First of all, some of you may like to try out my sugar-free, vegan Christmas cake recipe. I make this cake every year and it is really nice. (This year, I am going to try making it with olive oil, for an even healthier cake.) If you want to make your own mince pies, then 'mincemeatless' is a recipe for vegan mincemeat. And, anybody in the States, who fancies a change from the ubiquitous Christmas nut roast, might like try out some Tofurky, this Christmas. This product, produced by Turtle Island Foods, is made from tofu and wheat gluten and can be used as a substitute for turkey. Alternatively, there is a good nut roast recipe at vegan nut roast a la Peta which is part of the vegan Christmas menu. And, if you'd like to try something completely different, this Christmas, then you could try out Tourtiere which is eaten in Quebec at Christmas time. Sorry folks, but I couldn't find a egg-free, Christmas pudding recipe on the Internet, so if you're not able to find one either and are unable to buy a suitable Christmas pudding, then maybe you could try Tara's vegan pumpkin pie? (It's very nice, although more like a cheesecake than a pie.) And, remember Christmas isn't compulsory and you can always pack some sandwiches, a few snack bars and go for a long walk, instead!

Top of Page

1. Pack a flask of hot water and some herb tea bags. If the weather is hot then fill a bottle with a cold drink too. You'll be surprised how much money you can save by doing this and it also reduces the litter caused by consuming take-away food and drink.

2. Take a small, empty bottle (or similar container) for storing any left-over soya milk or fruit juice. Then open cartons won't spill over the car or into your luggage.

3. Pack a supply of soya milk if you think that you will find it difficult to obtain some on your travels. Plamil make a concentrated soya milk which comes in a fairly small carton and can be diluted to make 1 litre, but the carton needs to be stored in the fridge after opening. So you may find a supply of dried soya milk easier to transport, particularly when backpacking or camping, or when you don't have a fridge to store things in. Allergycare make a 250g tin of spray-skimmed dried soya milk for £3.45. It can be purchased in Holland and Barretts and other health food shops.

4. And did you know that if you are unable to find any soya milk, that it is often possible to use fruit juice or even pureed fruit to soften cereal, instead of milk?

5. Always take a supply of fruit with you - it's the ideal healthy snack! And, what could be easier to pack than an apple or an orange? Buy fresh fruit slightly under ripe, if you don't intend to eat it all straight away and pack a supply of dried fruit too, if you can't be sure of obtaining a regular supply of fresh fruit throughout your trip. Dried fruit is even easier to carry and will of course keep better than fresh fruit. Packets of ready-to-eat figs, or prunes, are very good, particularly if you are prone to constipation when travelling. And, dried apricots, ready-to-eat pears and dates are also good for a healthy, high-fibre, high-energy, vitamin-rich snack. Packets of sun-dried bananas or banana chips (see product review) are also tasty and easy to carry.

6. Unsalted nuts (e.g mixed nuts and raisins) and seeds such as pumpkin and sunflower seeds are an ideal source of calories for hill walkers and unlike chocolate, they don't melt in the heat either.

7. For sandwich making, pack some peanut butter, tahini, or a jar of yeast extract as these do not require refrigeration. Plamil Carob Spread also travels fairly well, but may need to be kept in a fridge if it is very hot. Mashed avocados or bananas can also be used as sandwich fillings. And, don't forget to pack a knife, then all you need to do is buy fresh bread, daily.

8. Take a small container of nutritional yeast flakes with you. They are light to carry and can be sprinkled on salads, on top of pasta or on beans-on-toast for extra taste and vitamins.

9. If you have access to cooking facilities, then pack some porridge oats. Light and easy to carry, they make a nice hot breakfast and can be made up with water if you don't have any soya milk. For a tasty topping, put some ready-to-eat prunes on top, instead of sugar.

10. I usually take a supply of rye bread with me, just in case I can't find any normal bread. It keeps for quite some time. but needs to be packed carefully or it will break. Rye bread is nice with peanut butter or tahini and mashed banana.

11. And don't forget to pack a good supply of snack bars too. These are particularly useful on walking, or activity holidays, as most of them are quite high in calories and provide 'instant' energy. Try and purchase bars which are sugar-free and low in fat as well as being dairy-free of course. The following types of bars are suitable for vegans and will provide you with a healthy, pleasant-tasting snack. You will find them in health food shops.
    • POW bars and 9-Bar Hemp

    • Barbara's Nature's choice. These fat-free, sugar-free, fruit filled cereal bars are remarkably nice for such a sin-free bar! They are available in many different flavours and cost about £2.25 for 6 bars. I particularly like the strawberry and raspberry flavours. Full of carbohydrate-rich energy, these bars are also sold separately in some health food shops and cost about £0.43.

    • Look out for the following bars, all by Lyme Regis. Try their ginger and pear, date and fig or banana fruit bars. Entirely sugar-free, these bars are made from a blend of fruit, nuts and cereal and cost £0.45. Sugar-free Zap bars are made in orange or apricot flavours, they're slightly smaller and cost £0.22.

    • Holly Mill fruit bars are a blended mixture of various fruits and cereals. They are available in raspberry, apple and cardamom, apricot and almond, hazelnut, or lemon flavours and cost £0.45 for a 40g bar. All Holly Mill bars are sugar and salt-free and do not contain any artificial additives.

    • Shepherd Boy make fruit and nut bars in coconut, multifruit, ginger or apple flavours. Good value at £0.37 for a 38 g bar. And, slightly bigger and also by Shepherd Boy, there is a rather nice organic fruit and nut bar with sunflower seeds. A 50 g bar costs £0.59.

    • Wallaby Natural make several types of sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free bars. I tried the apricot and nut flavour, but they are available in cashew and sesame and macadamia and fruit flavours, too. Imported from Australia, they are rather expensive at £0.80 for a 40g bar. (Quite a few of these bars do contain nuts and so if you have a nut allergy, check the labels.) I found mine in a healthfood shop, but I have also seen them in Julian Graves. Price £0.85. Made with rice cereal instead of wheat, they make a pleasant-tasting and healthy snack, although I found the apricot and nut one rather hard and difficult to chew. Yogurt-coated, Wallaby bars are not suitable for vegans.

Top of Page

1. Garden Planning

   If you have finished tidying up the veganic garden, then put your feet up, you deserve a rest! This month, to avoid the cold weather outside, we will do our gardening in an armchair in front of the fire. The only tools that are needed are a pencil and some paper.
   • First of all, make a list of all the crops that you would like to grow in your garden next year, but be realistic and take into account the amount of space that you have available. Don't list any fruit or vegetables that you don't like and never eat. By each crop, write in the approximate sowing date and the likely harvesting date.

   • Next draw a rough sketch of your garden on a piece of paper and mark in the position of all your raised beds.

   • If you are growing crops in the ground over the winter e.g green manure crops, radishes, cabbages, Brussels sprouts etc, these should be marked on your diagram in the appropriate beds. Write in the date that you expect each of these crops to have finished cropping.

   • If you haven't made all your raised beds yet, then mark their intended position on your diagram and as soon as you have a supply of natural carpet/cardboard boxes etc, then you can place your mulch material in the correct position, on the ground outside. (If you need further information, on making raised beds, then see the January issue.

   • Using the dates to help you, work out where you are going to plant your summer crops. Tomatoes could perhaps follow on from spring cabbage, which should have been harvested by early June. Crops (e g tomatoes and sweetcorn) that need a lot of sun, should be grown in beds which receive a lot of sun. You also need to rotate your crops, if possible, as this will reduce the chance of them becoming diseased. This advice applies particularly to cabbages, which should not be grown in the same place, year after year, in case they develop club root. Some crops, such as tomatoes, do actually prefer to be grown in the same position and this is fine as long as they remain disease-free. You should aim to make the most of all the space that you have available - so try not to leave land empty for long periods of time. If you can't think of a crop that will follow on after an earlier crop has finished, then consider planting a green manure crop in the empty ground. (See last month's article for some good reasons why you should do this.) Planning your crops should increase your yield. However, if you are having a lot of difficulty, then just plan out your summer crops at this stage - you can add your winter crops to your plan later. And as you get more experienced, you will find that the planning process gets a lot easier!

   • Purchase your seeds. Have a look at the varieties available in your local gardening shop, or gardening centre and if you can't find the varieties you require, then they can usually be obtained from a mail order catalogue. Send off for copies of 1998 mail order seed catalogues now and place your order(s) as soon as possible. The Organic Gardening Catalogue sells some organic seeds and many products for organic gardeners. (Those products labelled as animal-free are suitable for veganic gardeners.) John Chambers' Wild Flower Seeds offers a good selection of wild flower, green manure and herb seeds and also wildlife and herb gardening books. Suffolk Herbs supplies organic herb seeds, too. You will find their addresses in the address file.) Don't forget that onion sets, shallots, broad beans and early peas need to be planted by February/March, so it is particularly important to order these items early. And, remember that the final deadline, for planting garlic cloves, is February.

   • December and January are also good months for researching gardening topics. So if you need to find out more about herbs, salad crops or wildlife gardening, then have a look through recent Vegan News book reviews for a selection of recommended gardening books and have a look for them in your public library. Resolve to make your garden greener in 1998. And, if you're not sure how to do this, then you will find plenty of green gardening ideas in Roy Lacey's book. (See this month's book review.) You may also find Planning Your Organic Vegetable Garden, by Dick Kitto, quite useful, as he deals with making plans and rotating crops in some detail.

   • Finally, clean and repair all your garden tools. The most important tool for veganic gardeners is the scrapper. For more information on this tool see the January Issue

2. Harvesting

   Crops which can be harvested this month include: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, leeks, daikon radish and swedes.

3. In The Wildlife Garden

   In earlier issues, I have often mentioned various plants that will attract wildlife into the veganic garden. Over the winter months, whilst it is quiet in the garden, I am going to introduce you to some of the animals that you are likely to come across in the veganic garden. I will start off with garden birds, as these are the creatures that you are most likely to see in the veganic garden, at this time of year, particularly if you have set up a bird table or birdfeeder.
   1. The Robin
      As it's Christmas, let's start with the robin, although I'm sure that most of you are already familiar with this red-breasted, small, brown bird. Measuring about 14cm in length, the robin is a common visitor to the garden and is also frequently seen in parks and woodlands. Although European robins are somewhat shy, their British counterparts tend to be daring, inquisitive and friendly little birds. Apart from in the breeding season, robins are usually seen alone, as they tend to be rather aggessive towards one another. They eat all sorts of insect pests, larvae and some weed seeds, too. My very tame, garden robin is usually perched somewhere nearby, whenever I am disturbing the soil and flies down and cheekily pinches my earth worms whenever it thinks that I am not looking! Robins, unfortunately, eat spiders which are also beneficial creatures.

   2. Tits
      Attract tits to your bird table by providing special fat balls and peanuts in net bags (or in special bird holders). If you don't have a bird table, then these can be hung from a tree branch or nailed to a nearby fence as tits have excellent acrobatic skills. You are probably most likely to see great tits or blue tits on your bird table or feeder, but you may also see coal tits and I often get flocks of long-tailed tits in my garden, too. The great tit is about 14cm in length , with white cheekpatches and a yellow stomach, its head is black, whereas the blue tit is similar in colour, but is smaller, with a blue head. The long tailed tit has a small body, a long tail and is black and white. Tits eat caterpillars and insects.

   3. Finches
      The commonest type of garden finch is probably the greenfinch. Greenfinches are primarily seed eaters: they adore sunflower seeds and will appreciate your old sunflower heads if you hang them up for them, or alternatively you can remove the seeds and put them on the bird table. You can also buy bags of sunflower seeds from garden centres or pet shops, if you haven't grown your own. Greenfinches will also visit the bird table if you put out some wildbird seed for them and will eat nuts in birdfeeders, too. They are yellowish-green in colour and measure about 14.5cm in length. I also get goldfinches in my garden, occasionally. They are very fond of my dandelion heads which I allow to go to seed in my lawn. They will also eat alder, birch, thistle and burdock seeds. I have never seen one on my bird table though, perhaps because they tend to be rather wary birds. Goldfinches are very distinctive in appearance with red/white and black heads and bright yellow wing bars on their black wings. Chaffinches are also commonly seen in the garden. Young chaffinches are fed on insects and spiders, but the adult birds are mainly seed eaters like the greenfinch and goldfinch. The female chaffinch is a dull brown bird, unlike the male who is more distinctive with a reddish-brown plumage and a blue-grey crown. During the winter, particularly if it has been snowing, you may also see the bullfinch. The male bullfinch is a handsome red colour with grey/blackwing tips and tail, whereas the female is duller in colour. Young bullfinches are fed on insects, but adult birds feed mainly on seeds and berries. Unfortunately, adult bullfinches can also attack the buds on fruit trees, which can make them rather unpopular with gardeners. Roy Lacey suggests that you should protect your gooseberry and currant bushes from attack by chaffinches and bullfinches, by dusting them with equal amounts of weathered soot and hydrated lime, in the spring.

      Birds are, on the whole, very beneficial creatures to have in the veganic garden as they help to control insect pests, as well as livening up the veganic garden during the bleak winter months.

   Some of you may be interested in a hanging herb garden which is sold by Traidcraft. This product is available by mail order and costs £10.99 (+ a handling charge of £3.50/order). Essentially, a clay bowl with a jute rope hanger, it can be used either for growing herbs indoors, or as a bird feeder when it is hung from the bough of a tree, outside. Visit the Traidcraft website (listed in this month's website section) to order a catalogue. You can also obtain their address from the address file.

   Finally, I hope that those of you who planted a green manure crop, last month, were successful. The field beans that I planted directly into the soil in October, did in fact germinate by the 9th of November, when the weather turned milder for a while.

   Top of Page

   ---

   Any Queries?

   Mikael Mansson, Hoor, Sweden.

   Where can I buy Mcvegan t-shirts in Sweden?

   I am sorry but I do not know the answer to your query, Mikael. If you haven't already contacted the Swedish Vegan Society, then I would suggest that you do so, as they may be able to help you. (Tel: (46) 0159 12467.) And, if any Swedish readers know the answer to this query, then perhaps they could email Mikael at: straightedge@hotmail.com It may of course be possible to obtain a McVegan t-shirt by mail order, so if any one knows of any company that can supply these t-shirts worldwide, perhaps they could contact me.

   Top of Page

   ---

   Vegan Organisation Review

   The Vegan Society of New South Wales

   Is the Australian equivalent of the Vegan Society of the UK and aims to promote veganism. To find out more about them, visit their website. Here, you will find fact sheets on various topics, ranging from vegan ethics to vegan sources of nutrients and the article 'Ships of Shame', which is all about live export of sheep. They also sell many books, videos and leaflets and can supply you with an 'enquirer's pack, if you are thinking of going vegan. Recently, they celebrated 'World Vegan Day' by inviting people to speak on topics such as: factory farming, genetic engineering and vitamin B12. At this event, there were various stalls, from which it was possible to purchase products which did not contain any animal-derived ingredients. If you would like to become a member of the Vegan Society of New South Wales, then further information can be obtained by email from: aura@zip.com.au

   Top of Page

   ---

   Other Interesting Websites.

   Vegan World

   This site has a list of companies supplying vegan items by mail order and also has an information page for vegans. (USA)

   The Vegan Society (UK)

   An excellent site and a good starting point for obtaining information for the new or intending vegan.

   Vegan Village

   The Vegan Village is a virtual village of vegan shops and services in the UK.

   Traidcraft

   Find out more about Traidcraft, their products and their overseas work. You can also order a copy of their mail order catalogue. Not a vegan organisation, but some of the products, sold by Traidcraft, are suitable for vegans. (You may like their handcarved, Indian soapstone pestle and mortar set for grinding your herbs and spices! Price £7.99.)

   Recipes from the Vegging out Kitchen

   You will find some good vegan soy recipes at this website.

   Ethical Wares

   Ethical Wares is now on the Internet. Visit their website to find out more about their vegan products. This company specialises in non-leather goods, such as walking boots.

   The Vegan Page

   Visit this website for information on various products that are suitable for vegans. It has a good list of vegan recipe links and tells you how to say 'vegan' in many different languages.

   Top of Page

   ---

   December Book Review

   The Green Gardener - How to Make Your Garden Environmentally Friendly. By Roy Lacey.

   If you want to run your garden on green principles, next year, then you should read this book, this winter. It will give you many ideas, so make a new year resolution to try some of them out in 1998! The Green Gardener covers many natural gardening techniques including: how to attract birds into your garden, weed control without chemicals, composting and green manuring, water saving ideas, worm composting, wildlife gardening, safe pest control and the garden pond. Also has many recycling ideas - ever thought of converting an old hot water bottle into a kneeling pad, by stuffing it with rags? Although geared to the organic gardener, much of the information will be very useful to the veganic gardener too. Lovely colour illustrations. Well worth obtaining a copy of this book from your public library.

   A New World Order of Self Reliant, Tree Based, Autonomous, Vegan Villages. Produced by MCL.

   This twenty page booklet is now available from: The Movement For Compassionate Living. Price £1.00. It contains many interesting ideas. You can obtain a copy of it from: MCL 47 Highlands Road, Leatherhead, Surrey. KT228NQ. (If you want to find out more about MCL, then see the Vegan Organisation Review in the February 1997 Issue.)

   Top of Page

   ---

   View all issues of The Vegan News

   HTML written by P M Lloyd
   Copyright © Pauline Lloyd 1997.