THE
VEGAN NEWS
THE
VEGAN NEWS
NOVEMBER
2000
- Recipes
- Vegan Product Review
- Your Queries
- In the Veganic Garden
- 2000 Crop Review
- Websites
- Book Review
- The Wildlife Database
Recipe of the Month
Christmas Cake
Below you will find my own Christmas cake recipe which was originally published in the December 1996 issue. Over the years I have modified the original recipe somewhat, removing the brandy and using soya flour instead of the EnerG egg replacement. This newer version tastes just as nice, but it's far cheaper to make. But you can of course still make the original brandy-containing recipe, if you prefer!
Ingredients
- 150 g each of dried peaches, pears, apricots, raisins and almonds
- 500 g mixed dried fruit
- 400 ml pure orange juice
- 300 g wholemeal self-raising flour
- 100 ml of olive oil (or sunflower oil)
- 4 tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 5 tbsp soya flour, mixed with 10 tbsp water
- Desiccated coconut and reduced-sugar jam
Method
- Chop the dried peaches, pears, apricots and the almonds into fairly small pieces.
- Put all of the dried fruit and the almonds into a pan with the orange juice and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Put the pan of fruit to cool in a large bowl of water. When the fruit is cool transfer it to a large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
- Grease and line a 9" round cake tin. Fill it with the cake mixture and smooth the surface of the cake mixture with the back of a spoon.
- Bake the cake at Gas mark 2 (300F/150C) for two and a half hours. A scewer should come out clean when it is cooked.
This cake can be made in advance and frozen. Defrost thoroughly before use.
To decorate:
Brush the surface of the cake with a few tablespoons of low-sugar jam e.g. apricot. (This is easier to do if the jam is melted a little first, so I usually put the jam in a small cup and microwave it for a short time.) Then sprinkle the surface of the cake with desiccated coconut, until the cake no longer shows through. Christmas cake decorations and a cake frill can also be used to decorate the cake, if desired.
December Product Review
The following products are produced by Green People. They are based on natural ingredients and are formulated with respect for the environment. They contain certified organic herbs. These reviews were updated in February 2009 as some of the products were no longer available. For up-to-date product information please visit the Green People website where you can Download a catalogue.
Sun Lotion Edelweiss SPF15
Made from pure plant oils and extracts, essential oils and minerals, this product contains titanium dioxide and cinnamon acid to filter out the sun's rays. Eidelweiss is also added as an additional filter and has important antioxidant properties. Avocado and olive oil help to protect the skin cells and maintain a beautiful tan. Ideal sun protection, either for your skiing trip or if you are heading off to warmer places this winter! Available in 200ml tubes. The 15SPF costs £15.65 and there's also a SPF8 version for £13.70 and a SPF22 version for £15.65. (Prices updated in February 2009 when these products actually cost less than when I first wrote this section in 2000!)
Happy Kids Shampoo
This product is no longer available. However, Green People now offer Lavender or Citrus and Aloe Vera shampoo for kids. A 200ml tube cost £6.35 at the time of updating.
Ordering: The above products can all by ordered from Green People's website. Customer Care Line: +44 (0)1403 740 350. Email: organic@greenpeople.co.uk
Your QueriesMy girlfriend suffers from a rare condition, which the doctors cannot even name, which means that she cannot consume dairy products at all! She has not been able to eat chocolate now for three years and sometimes makes herself ill just so she can taste it once more. I would greatly appreciate it if you would be able to tell me where I can find a supplier of chocolate made without dairy produce.
Sent in by: Daniel Holden (UK)
I decided to publish the reply to this query in the Christmas issue, just in case there are any UK readers who do not know where to buy vegan chocolate and who may want to give some to a vegan (or non-vegan!) friend or relative this Christmas.
Editor's Reply:
There are quite a few dairy-free makes of chocolate now available and the easiest place to find bars of vegan chocolate is in a health food shop. Plamil make quite a few different-flavoured bars and all of their range is dairy free and is usually readily available in health shops. If you want to purchase a box of vegan chocolates, perhaps for Christmas or other special occasion, then visit Animal Aid's website. This animal charity offers a good selection of bars and boxes of vegan chocolate, all available by mail order. Tel: 01732 364546. You will find further information on vegan chocolate suppliers on the Links Page under shopping.
What's Happening in the Veganic Garden this Month?At this time of year, when it's quiet in the garden I usually review what's on offer in next year's seed catalogues. So here goes!
Well first of all I was very pleased to see the large increase in the amount of organic seed offered in the 2001 edition of the Organic Gardening Catalogue. It is now possible, for example, to purchase organic Barlotta Lingua di Fuoco beans. That's the nice red climbing French bean that I keep going on about all the time! It's a wonderful bean for drying and is excellent in winter stews. (This bean is still available in their 2009 catalogue - Order Code: FBLF) Another new, organic bean is the variety 'Super Aquadulce', which is smaller but just as hardy as the standard Aquadulce variety. (Still available in 2009 Catalogue) Also of interest was a new organic type of kale called 'Westland Winter' which can be harvested for a long period between October to March. (Still available in 2009 catalogue) 'Mixed Leaves' is now offered as organic seed and I would thoroughly recommend that you purchase a packet. (Try Saladini mixture instead, if this isn't available. The code for this is LESD) You will get a delightful mixture of different lettuces which look lovely in a salad bowl when they are all mixed up together. Other new organic lettuces include 'Rouge d'hiver' (an old French strain that can tolerate cold conditions). (Still available in 2009 catalogue) For a tomato with a difference you could experiment with 'Yellow Pear'. Dating from before 1900, this tomato as its name implies has yellow, pear-shaped fruits (still offered in 2009 catalogue). Or even more exotic is the 'Violet Tomatillo' (no longer available)! All of these seeds can be ordered online or by phoning 0845 130 1304.
One new product that I am all most certainly going to try out myself next season is the 'Slug Stoppa Granules'! Costing £7.95 for a 3.65 Litre box, Slug Stoppa is a natural product that is harmless to pets, wildlife and children. These long-lasting granules act as a physical barrier to both slugs and snails, stopping them in their tracks by sucking the slim from them if they try to cross. There's no need to replace them after rain either and if there's any left at the end of the season, then you just dig it into the soil. (Product information updated in February 2009)
Crops Available This Month:
Leeks, Brussels sprouts, kale, winter cabbage, swede, chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, spinach, celery and parsnips.
For more information on what to plant this month consult the Gardening Diary.
2000 Crop ReviewWell it has certainly been a peculiar year weatherwise! Unusually cold weather in the spring prevented proper germination of quite a few of my crops and the very dry summer that followed didn't help much either. And yes I did say dry - it may have been raining cats and dogs everywhere else in the UK this summer, but it certainly was not raining here in my backyard! True we did occasionally have a downpour which lasted for a few days at a time, but then after that it didn't rain again for weeks and weeks. As a consequence my water butt remained empty for long periods of time, cracks started to appear in some of my veganic beds and digging up crops such as potatoes became very difficult indeed. Of course now that most of the summer crops have finished it is chucking it down practically every day here. However, so far I have not experienced any flooding and I may even get a small crop of beetroot yet! Oh and my winter radishes seem to be doing nicely, even if most of the summer ones went to seed.
Cropwise then, my yield from both potatoes and onions was lower than usual this year and both beetroot and carrots failed to germinate well. The French beans were a dead loss and the Brussel sprouts failed to gain any height, although I do seem to be getting quite a few sprouts appearing on the stems now that its pouring down on a daily basis. The tomatoes also got off to a very slow start in the cool June weather. The Sub Arctic Plenty heritage variety yielded quite large numbers of smallish tomatoes, although the Early Outdoors variety (which I also tried for the first time this year) wasn't quite so prolific, producing more leaf than tomatoes. Despite the weather, I still managed to produce a nice crop of lettuces which kept me supplied with salad greens all summer and a reasonable crop of Barlotta beans for drying. And the rhubarb was also quite prolific, despite not getting any water.
This year I devoted a fair bit of ground to the production of seed, so my copy of The Seed Savers' Handbook came in very useful. I grew several varieties of French bean seeds (sent to me by The Heritage Seed Library) especially for seed production. And as my Cocarde lettuce went to seed easily in the dry weather, I saved quite a lot of lettuce seed this year too. (It really was quite amazing to see the lettuce flower and develop thistle-like seed heads!) Also, as many of my summer radishes bolted in the dry weather, I now have quite a large amount of radish seed put aside for next year as well.
As regards pests, things have not been too bad this year, the dry weather helping to keep the slugs at bay. My brassicas do seem to have suffered a bit though, with unusually large numbers of cabbage white butterflies visiting my garden this summer. Sadly, although white butterflies have been common, I do not seem to have had many coloured butterflies visiting my garden this year. Usually in the autumn I see large numbers of red admirals on my ivy flowers, but not this year for some reason.
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.
The Organic Gardening Catalogue
It is now possible to order a catalogue and to purchase your seeds from Chase Organics online. Watch out for special offers and promotions at this site!
An organisation which aims to persuade food manufactors to remove unnecessary animal ingredients from otherwise vegan food products. Don't miss their 'No Whey' campaign and check out the interactive bulletin board where you can post your news.
Fern Tor Vegan & Vegetarian Guest House
A twelve acre vegetarian & vegan guest house, located in Devon and offering bargain breaks.
H.E.M.P. Healthy Eating Made Possible, by Paul Benhaim (Fusion Press, 2000).
Healthy Eating Made Possible is more than just another cook book. It's a book which offers us an alternative way of living. In H.E.M.P. Paul Benhaim shows us how, by making more use of the hemp plant, we can live a much simpler, more positive and sustainable lifestyle. The author has thoroughly researched the background, the nutritional facts and the many uses of hemp, but the book's main emphasis is on using hemp as a source of food.
About a third of the book is devoted to delicious hemp recipes, many of which are vegan. There are basic recipes for hemp milk, bread, pesto, butter, cheese and yogurt. But you will also find out how to use hemp seeds and hemp oil in your salad dressings, smoothies, soups and juices. Plus there are exotic starters, main courses, sauces/spreads and desserts. Quite a few of the recipes are raw and throughout the book there is a strong emphasis on the living foods lifestyle, including chapters on juicing, fasting, food combining, holistic health and naturecure. At the back of the book there's an excellent resource section, listing suppliers of hemp products, both in the UK and worldwide.