THE VEGAN NEWS
THE VEGAN NEWS
JULY/AUGUST
2000
- Recipes
- Vegan Product Review
- Don't Miss! This Month's Article - 20 Reasons To Go Vegan
- In The Veganic Garden
- Liquid Feeds
- Websites
- Book Review
- The Wildlife Database
Recipe of the Month
Basic Pâté
(Source: The Raw Gourmet by Nomi Shannon.)
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of sunflower seeds, *soaked 8-12 hours, sprouted 2-4 hrs
- 1 cup of lemon juice (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos (or to taste)
- Chopped garlic, to taste
Method
- Using a food processor (or heavy-duty juicer with the blank screen) process the sunflower seeds, lemon juice, liquid aminos and garlic until smooth. Once made, this pâté can be stored in a covered container in the fridge and will keep for up to two weeks. Yields 6-7 cups. Note: Do not use a blender to make this recipe, unless it is a Vita-Mix machine - you could burn out the motor.
* Seeds should be soaked in twice the amount of water i.e. 1 cup of seeds to 2 cups of water. After soaking for the required time, rinse and drain the seeds and place them in a sprouting jar.
This basic pâté can be used as an ingredient in many raw recipes. For example you could eat it with a salad, use it as a spread, or serve it as a dip with crudités. It also makes an good stuffing for red pepper halves which should be served on a bed of sprouts and other salad vegetables. For extra flavour try adding some of the following ingredients: tahini, onion, parsley, ginger, cayenne, ground cumin, dulse or miso.
Variation: Sunny Pâté
To the Basic Pâté recipe given above: Add 1/2 cup chopped scallions, 1/4-1/2 cup of tahini, 2-4 slices of chopped red onion, 4-6 tablespoons of chopped parsley, 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic (no need to add, if already included in basic pate recipe), 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1-2 tbsp of ginger juice (optional) and 1 tsp of ground cumin (optional). Sunny Pâté can also be used as a stuffing for red peppers. In The Raw Gourmet, this pâté is used to make 'Sunny Roll Ups'. Sunny Roll-Ups look like sushi and are made from 3-4 tbsp of pâté, a sheet of nori, various types of sprouts, wasabi, chopped olives and slivers of red pepper and carrots, all tightly rolled up together using a sushi mat (See p.156 in The Raw Gourmet for more information.)
Note: If you do not own a food processor or a juicer, then you may be interested to know that I have made the Basic Pâté recipe, by finely grinding dry, unsoaked, sunflower seeds in a clean coffee grinder. After grinding the seeds, simply mix all the pâté ingredients together in a bowl.
July Product Review
Calder Valley Golden Grapefruit Soap
Calder Valley soaps are manufactured using an energy efficient, waste-free, low temperature method. These handmade soaps contain non-animal glycerin and are Vegan Society approved. They are kind to the skin and so are particularly good for people with skin problems. I tested out the Golden Grapefruit variety which I found lathered up well and had nice smooth edges. It also had a lovely citrus smell! Calder Valley soaps are available in many other varieties too including: Aloe vera, Vanilla & Ginger, Bluebell, Sea Kelp, English Lavender or Rose Petal. Why not try them all? You can purchase a mixed box of 12 soaps from the Vegan Society for £11.99. Look out for Calder Valley soaps for sale in health shops and at vegan events. They are also offered in Animal Aid's latest mail order catalogue for £1.40 each, or ten assorted soaps for £12.50 + postage. (Product information updated in February 2009)
Monki Carob Nut Spread
This really is a lovely, smooth, carob spread with more than a hint of hazelnuts. And all of the ingredients have been grown organically too (including the malted maize syrup) so it's completely free from genetically modified ingredients. It doesn't contain any emulsifiers either. Monki Carob Nut spread is delicious on bread and is made from hazelnuts, peanuts, carob powder, vegetable oil and maize syrup. I paid £2.99 for a 330g jar. (Updated in February 2009 - This product may no longer be available. However, other types of Monki Spread can be purchased online, if you are unable to obtain these products in your local health food shop.)
What's Happening in the Veganic Garden this Summer?
Sowing and Planting Outside
Make sowings of perpetual spinach in July and August in order to provide autumn and winter pickings. Also make a sowing of parsley at the beginning of August to provide you with good supply of fresh parsley throughout the winter months. (Incidently, parsley can also be sown in compost-filled troughs, indoors, for even easier winter picking, if you don't want to keep going outside and getting your feet wet!) Sow winter radishes outside towards the end of August. Black Spanish Round, Rosa, China Rose and Minowase (Mouli) are all good winter radishes to use and can be purchased from The Organic Gardening Catalogue (Product information updated February 2009). In mid-July, plant out young leeks sown in seed trays earlier. They should be pencil thick by now. If you want long stemmed, thick leeks, then when planting leeks make holes at least 6 inches deep with a dibber and drop a leek into each hole. Plant out any brassicas (such as winter cabbage, cauliflower, kale and sprouting broccoli) sown in seed trays earlier. These plants should provide you with an excellent supply of winter greens over the coming winter months.
- Indoor Sowings:
Make sowings of spring cabbage in trays of compost in early August.
- Other Garden Tasks This Month
Most of the crops have now been planted and they should all be growing well. However, there is still plenty to be done in the veganic garden this month! For example, if it is very hot and dry you will need to keep everything well watered, particularly if crops are flowering. You can cut down on the amount of watering you need to do, by keeping your raised beds well mulched, with old grass mowings, wood chips etc. However, when you do need to water, try to use recycled water whenever possible, perhaps using water collected in a water butt, or cleanish kitchen water such as that used to wash fruit and vegetables. Runner beans especially need to be watered frequently when they are flowering and making pods. And in addition their flowers can be sprayed with water from a plant spray in order to help the beans set. Tomatoes need a good supply of water when the fruits are swelling up.
You will also need to pick your crops regularly over the summer in order to encourage them to keep producing. But then harvesting crops never seems to feel like a chore! General garden maintenance tasks include stopping your runner beans when they reach the top of their poles by pinching out their growing points and tying up tomatoes regularly as they grow. Stop tomatoes when they have formed four or five trusses and feed regularly with comfrey and/or SM3 seaweed solution as soon as they start to produce fruits. By August onions should be ripening well. Stop watering them about a week before lifting and loosen the roots with a fork. They should be lifted by the end of this month and hung up to dry in an airy place.
Crops Available Throughout July and August:
July: Cucumbers and other salad crops such as spring onions and lettuces, peas, radishes, potatoes, globe artichokes, spinach, broad beans and marrows. And black currants, gooseberries, raspberries, red currants, rhubarb and strawberries are just some of the fruits available this month.
August: Beetroot, carrots, onions, shallots, tomatoes, runner beans, French beans, sweetcorn, garlic and cucumbers should all be available in August. And fruitwise there will be cherries, loganberries, pears and plums.
When plants are growing rapidly, they often need to be fed in order to ensure that they are fully supplied with all the nutrients they need. In last month's newsletter, I mentioned the use of SM3, an excellent liquid feed made from seaweed. This month I intend to cover some other easy-to-make liquid feeds.
- Compost Water - One of the most easily made liquid feeds is in fact compost water. This is made by adding a double handful of compost to a bucket containing 2 gallons (9 litres) of water. Cover the bucket and leave overnight. Compost water should be used within two days.
- Nettle Tea - Fresh nettles - which are high in nitrogen - also make an excellent liquid feed. To make nettle tea: Pack fresh nettles into a bucket, or other suitable container, and cover with water. You will need approximately 1 kilo of fresh nettles to 10 litres of water. Leave to soak for about 2 weeks, stirring occasionally. To use: strain the 'tea' and dilute one part with 10 parts of water. Nettles also make an excellent compost activator and support a wide range of insect life, including ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies, all of which are natural pest controllers. In my opinion every veganic garden should have at least a small patch of nettles! To keep your nettles productive cut them back about twice each season.
- Comfrey Solution - Comfrey is an important garden fertiliser, providing prolific amounts of mineral-rich leaf material. A must for the veganic garden! When purchasing comfrey obtain the 'Bocking 14' cultivar of Russian comfrey which is available from the Organic Gardening catalogue. Comfrey is a very versatile plant. Use it as a compost activator, in potato trenches, as a mulch for your vegetable beds, or mix it with leaf mould to make potting compost. I mention it here because it makes an excellent liquid feed for tomatoes, potatoes and peppers and is also good for use in the greenhouse or on pot plants. Easily established in a small corner of your garden, just five plants will provide you with a constant supply of balanced garden fertiliser, if cut regularly. Very good value for the money, it can be harvested 3-4 times each season and will keep growing for up to 20 years! Comfrey contains more nitrogen than either farm manure or compost and is a good source of potash and potassium. Comfrey liquid can be watered around plants or sprayed on as a foliar feed. There are two ways of making comfrey liquid. First of all comfrey leaves can be covered with water and allowed to stand for 4-5 weeks to produce 'comfrey tea' which is ready for use. But a more concentrated solution can be produced by stacking comfrey leaves in a container without any water. When the comfrey leaves decompose a thick brown liquid is produced, but this 'concentrate' needs to be diluted 10-20 times before use. The concentrate stores better than the 'tea' and can be kept over winter for use early the next season. It also has the advantage that it does not smell as much!
Comfrey Suppliers:
- The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Riverdene Business Park, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey, KT12 4RG. Supplies plants (£6.00 for 5 Code: CMFP) and a useful leaflet entitled 'Comfrey For Gardeners' which costs £1.35 (Code: BKNR). Tel: 0845 130 1304.
Other Interesting Websites
The Vegan Society (UK)
An excellent site and a particularly good starting point for obtaining information for the new or intending vegan. You can now visit their online Shop.
Graianfryn Vegetarian and Vegan Guest House
Set on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, this Welsh guest house provides vegetarian and vegan food and offers wonderful coastal and mountainous scenery.
The Ty-Agored Animal Sanctuary
Find out what this animal sanctuary is doing to help animals. Consult their calendar and discover 'What's On'. There's also a book shop, newsletter and and a 'Homes Wanted' section, if you are looking for a new pet.
Summer Book ReviewIncredibly Delicious: The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook (Gentle World, 2000).
Recently published, The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook is a collection of over 500 healthy and tasty, animal-free recipes. This cookery book offers a good selection of recipes for breakfasts, breads, salads, soups, dips, dressings, sauces, appetizers, side dishes, main meals and desserts. But what I particularly liked about it was the chapter entitled 'Rawsome Recipes'. Consisting of over 50 pages of easily-prepared, delicious raw recipes, this section of the book also discusses the advantages of including more living foods in your diet and provides information on veganic gardening, sprouting and growing wheatgrass.
As well as the recipes, The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook also provides quite a lot of useful background information, making this book highly suitable for the new vegan, whilst still containing much to interest those who are more experienced. There's a useful conversion chart, a glossary of vegan ingredients, a list of vegan products (USA only), a list of recommended kitchen appliances, details of vegan mail order suppliers and an interesting section on vegan cats and dogs. Recipes range from easy to gourmet. The book is lightly seasoned with interesting quotes and inspiring words of wisdom.