THE VEGAN NEWS

OCTOBER 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.

Well folks! The Vegan News has its first Anniversary this month. And, as a couple of readers have contacted me recently about the yellow background colour being rather hard on the eyes, we will celebrate our Anniversary with a new look! It was, of course, quite a big job to update all the old files and errors can creep in. So, if anyone discovers anything wrong (such as an unchanged yellow file) please don't hesitate to email me, giving as many details about the location of the problem as possible. Thanks!

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In This Month's Issue:

Recipe of the Month

Pauline's Tofu Stir-Fry with Noodles

Ingredients

Method

  1. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Add the tofu cubes and leave to marinate for several hours in the fridge.

  2. Bring a fairly large pan of water to the boil. This will be used for cooking the noodles.

  3. Drain the tofu cubes, reserving the marinade liquid and place them in the wok. Stir-fry the cubes in the olive oil, turning frequently, until all the cubes are golden brown. This takes about ten minutes.

  4. Put the noodles into the pan of boiling water and cook for about ten minutes, until tender, but still firm.

  5. While the noodles are cooking, add the rest of the stir-fry vegetables (except for the bean sprouts) to the wok and pour in the reserved marinade liquid. Stir-fry for 5 minutes.

  6. Finally, add the beansprouts and cook the vegetables for a further five minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender and heated through.

To serve:
Drain the noodles and divide them between two plates. Put the stir fried vegetables on top of the noodles and sprinkle with tamari sauce.

Recipe Serves 2

Note: If you are unable to obtain any of the above vegetables, then simply increase the amounts of the vegetables that you do have, or use a replacement vegetable e.g. broccoli instead of mange-tout.

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Readers' Contributions

Tom Samuels has sent an e-mail from the USA. He wants to tell everyone that 'Vegan Epicure' manufactures a great seitan and seitan burger. This is available in New York, so keep your eye out for some!

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October Product Review

Clearspring Organic Japanese Tamari Soya Sauce

This rich tasting, wheat-free, tamari sauce is made from organically grown soya beans, using a 500 year old Japanese recipe. It is matured in cedarwood kegs over two summers and is a very useful seasoning for many savoury dishes. Try it sprinkled on top of stir-fries, use it in marinades, or mix it into savoury sandwich fillings. This tamari is made in Japan by Clearspring. For a free information pack write to Clearspring, London, W37QE. You will find this product in some health food shops, where a 150 ml bottle costs about £1.99. Product contains salt.

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Recycling Tips

This month - more battery saving suggestions - Solar Calculators:

  1. The Casio fx-82SOLAR and fx-260SOLAR Calculators

     Both of these calculators are completely solar powered. However, the solar cell needs at least 50 lux of light in order for the calculator to function properly. The fx-82SOLAR costs £7.99 and is available from W.H. Smith.

  2. The Casio fx-85B-s Calculator

     Has two power sources: a solar cell and a LR44 battery. In good light conditions, the calculator works using the solar cell, but if the light intensity becomes too low, the battery is used as a power source instead. This calculator can, therefore, work in complete darkness if necessary and the battery back-up system prevents any information from being lost from the memory, if the light level suddenly becomes too low. The calculator does not have an off switch, but turns off automatically if no buttons are pressed for a certain period of time. It has most of the usual scientific functions and can be purchased from W.H. Smith. Usual Price £11.99, but we purchased one on special offer for £8.99.

  3. Solar Pedal Power

     And while we are on the subject of solar power, did you know that the West Wales ECO Centre has developed a solar power-assisted bicycle? This bike has solar panels and uses solar power to recharge a battery. So if you need a little extra help, to get you up those hills, then this could be the bike for you! Find out more about the solar bike and the Welsh solar bike ride (on 25th Sept 1997) at the     Suncycle web site.

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What's Happening in the Veganic Garden This Month?


  1. Harvesting

    This month, you should lift and store crops such as beetroot, potatoes, turnips and carrots. Also, pick any remaining runner beans and if using nets to grow your beans, then it is better to take them down in order to prevent hedgehogs from becoming entangled in them, in the colder weather. Other crops that may be harvested in October include: autumn leeks, Brussels sprouts and some varieties of cabbages, cauliflowers, apples, pears and plums.

  2. Tidying Up

    October is a good month to tidy up the veganic garden before the cold weather arrives. Clear the land of any crops that have now finished and if you have any compost left, then place it on the surface of the cleared beds, but do not dig it in. If you want to start using veganic gardening methods next year, or simply wish to extend your present veganic vegetable plot, then autumn is a good time of year to start making any new raised beds. The easiest way to do this is simply to cover the ground with a thick mulch such as: old natural carpet; thick cardboard, or a thick layer of newpapers and to leave the mulch in place until the spring. More details of how to make raised beds can be found in the     January Issue.

    October is also the time to collect any leaves that have fallen off garden trees and to recycle them by converting them into leafmould. Incidentally, if you made some leafmould last autumn, then take a look at it now, as you may be able to use it to make some comfrey potting compost. If it looks well rotted with a fine crumbly texture, then place alternate (3-4 ") layers of leafmould and chopped comfrey leaves in a black polythene sack. Punch some air holes into the sack and leave it in sheltered place until the spring. The potting compost is ready for use when the comfrey leaves have rotted down and virtually disappeared. (Leave the leafmould for a further year if it is not yet ready to be used in this way.) If you do not have any comfrey plants in your garden, then it may be worth growing your own plants next year. Comfrey is not only useful as a replacement for peat in potting compost, but can also be used as a liquid feed for tomatoes and peppers, as a mulch, or as an activator for the compost heap.

  3. Seed Sowing

    A bit late in the year to be sowing most types of seeds, but at the end of September, I made a sowing of some Field Beans (Vicia faba) in my tomato patch. Field beans are usually sown for animal fodder, but they can also be sown to produce a nitrogen rich green manure crop. (More details about this in next month's issue.) Field beans are winter hardy and can be sown in the autumn between September and November. They are good nitrogen fixers. Field bean seeds can be obtained from the Organic Gardening Catalogue. A 112 g packet is enough to sow 60 sq ft and costs £1.08.

  4. Planting

    Plant out spring cabbage plants (e.g. Offenham or Flower of spring) and new fruit bushes this month. It is also the right time of year for planting bulbs. So, why not try some Ecobulbs. These organically produced, Dutch bulbs, can be obtained from: the Organic Gardening Catalogue.

  5. In the Wildlife Garden

    This year, towards the end of the summer, I had several interesting sightings of wildlife in my garden. Firstly, in my herb garden, where I have a variety of Marjoram (Origanum vulgare variegatum) I noticed that, in August, there were often 8-9 colourful, tortoiseshell butterflies feeding on this one plant, at once. It was lovely to watch them feeding outside my kitchen window. On another occasion, a baby greenfinch flew onto my trough of green peppers and went to sleep, enabling me to take some good close-up photos of it! And, this year, frogs have been spotted hopping about in my tomato and cucumber beds on several occasions. August and September also attracted many large dragonflies into my garden. On some occasions, I counted as many as 10-12 at once. One large, turquoise and green dragonfly even flew into the house whilst I was working on the Vegan News - another excellent photo opportunity, that I was unable to resist! Unfortunately, I must also report the sighting of an unwelcome garden visitor, an extremely large variety of orange/brown slug. This, I removed from the veganic garden promptly!

    Sadly, with the approach of the cooler weather, most of these creatures have now disappeared, leaving the garden looking rather empty. However, there are still quite a few Red Admiral butterflies coming into the garden, probably enticed in by the ivy flowers and the rotting greengages! They seem to like to sunbathe on my garden table.

  6. Review of 1997 crops

    The weather, this year, has again been rather unpredictable. After suggesting that you all prepare for another drought, it poured down here, in Southern England, for the earlier part of the summer! Then in August, when it would have been nice to have some rain to water swelling crops, it was of course very dry. However, my onions appear to have benefited from these rather peculiar weather conditions and this year I had a very good crop of large onions. This climate pattern did not, however, suit the runner beans which rapidly became tough, stringy and inedible - although, some later flowering beans, were a little bit better. So, next year I am going to try the white-flowered variety 'Desiree', which is supposed to be stringless and does better in drier conditions.

    I, once again, obtained a good crop of tomatoes. And, mild weather at the start of September, allowed me to leave them outside for longer this year and so the resulting crop should last well into the autumn. The June pea crop was also very successful and the new strawberry bed , planted up in April, although rather slow to get going at first, started to produce flowers in August. By the end of August I was able to pick the first strawberries and they continued to crop well into September. The crop should be even better next year, as by then, the strawberry plants should have become well established and should have sent out new runners.

    The sweetcorn crop, unfortunately, was very poor this year. Next year I may try a different variety, or may try to grow Florence fennel, instead. All my salad crops did quite well apart from the Saladini which refused to germinate in the cool, wet, conditions in June. (In other years I have had very good yields from my Saladini patch.) The beetroot crop is rather late this year, probably because of dry conditions in August. Never-the-less the crop still looks good and will be harvested towards the end of October and either stored for the winter, or pickled. Unfortunately, the Broccoli was savaged by caterpillars! But, this crop never does terribly well in my garden soil and I will probably not plant any next year. The Spring cabbage, available from early May until July, produced a reasonable crop again this year.

    Well, I have mentioned my most obvious successes and failures. The remaining crops: peppers, cucumbers etc. gave moderate yields. The pumpkin seeds, unfortunately, did not germinate very well: I planted six and produced two plants. One plant produced two pumpkins, the other grew to an enormous size, rampaged around the garden, but unfortunately seemed unable to reproduce properly and all of the small pumpkins it produced dropped off! Rather disappointing, but I will have another go with pumpkins next year.

  7. Winter Crops

    My crops of parsley, winter radish, Chinese cabbage, rocket, land cress, 'Imperial Winter' and 'Winter Density' lettuces and broad leafed prickly spinach are now all well established in the veganic garden.

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Any Queries?

Is it possible to use the net to find out more about the suitablity of ingredients from large companies, Heinz etc? Can you help?
Andy Shell

I don't know of any Internet site that provides this sort of information about British products. I think that your best bet is probably to contact the Vegan Society and to order a copy of the Animal Free Shopper - Price approx £4.95. (The Society will be publishing a new edition of this small, but useful, book in the next few weeks.) The food section contains information on approved Heinz products and there is also a useful glossary of animal substances, including unsuitable E numbers, at the back of the book. I am afraid that if the Vegan Society haven't yet tested a product, then the only way is to work out if it is suitable for yourself, by reading product labels and using this ingredient glossary for guidance. The Vegan Society address is: 7 Battle Rd, St Leonards-On- Sea, E Sussex TN37 7AA. Tel: 01424 427393.

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Vegan Organisation Review

The Vegan Society (UK)

An educational charity, first established in 1944, 'The Vegan Society' is the primary point of contact for vegans living in the UK. The Society publishes a quarterly magazine called 'The Vegan' (£1.95/issue, or £7.80/year) and also supplies many useful leaflets on various aspects of veganism. To become a member, or simply to obtain a free vegan information pack, please write to the following address:

The Vegan Society,
Donald Watson House,
7 Battle Road,
St Leonards-On-Sea,
East Sussex
TN37 7AA.

(For the information pack, send a large, 9"x 4", SAE marked 'Enquirer's Pack'.) Alternatively, you can phone: 01424-427393.

If you are finding it difficult to obtain vegan books, then it is also possible to purchase many vegan cookery, nutrition and reference books, by mail order from the above address. Other merchandise, also available by mail order, includes the videos - Forest Gardening (£15.00), Nutrition for Optimum Health (£8.95) and Truth or Dairy (£8.95) and sweatshirts, t-shirts and even food supplements for vegan cats and kittens! Eventually, you should also be able to purchase merchandise directly from The Vegan Society website, so don't forget to check out this informative site!

The Vegan Society also licenses a trademark for use on animal-free products and publishes a useful little book called The Animal Free Shopper which lists many animal-free products that have not been tested on animals. The new edition is due out soon and can be purchased directly from the Vegan Society.

Incidentally, if anyone reading the Vegan News would like details of their vegan organisation to appear in this section, then could they please email me about it! Also anyone who is doing anything interesting for World Vegan Day should visit the advertisement section.

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Other Interesting Vegan Websites.

The World Vegetarian Guide.
This site gives information on vegetarian/vegan eating places and food shops in most major cities in England. It leads into a guide which covers cities in the rest of the world. Although geared mainly to vegetarians it could also be useful for vegan travellers.

The Zero Deficit Climb
Read about the group of climbers who recently succeeded in climbing Denali (in Alaska) on an entirely vegan diet! The vegan expedition menu will be available at this website soon.

VSCP
Want to know which products are vegan friendly? VSCP certifies suitable animal-free products with 'The Certified Vegan Seal'. The certified products are then included in the VSCP's Certified Vegan Guidebook. This website also has a good list of vegan and veggie links and a lot of other useful information for vegans. (USA)

Vegan Action Catalogue
A mail order catalogue based in Berkely, CA. Five types of t-shirts are available here and various vegan cookery and nutrition books.

FAQ Leather
This site has a list of mail order suppliers of non-leather vegan goods in the UK and the USA. Covers such items as: hiking boots, accessories, drums and 'leather' jackets.

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October Book Review

Salads for Small Gardens. By Joy Larkcom (Hamlyn)

A useful little reference book that will help you produce an all-year-round supply of fresh salad crops in your garden. The book has sections on: dealing with pests and diseases; soil fertility; composting; mulching; crop protection (using frames, cloches and poly tunnels) and the use of edible flowers, wild plants and herbs in salads.

Detailed information is given on the many types of salad plants and salad vegetables that can be grown in gardens, including the many varieties of lettuces, endives, chicory, cress, tomatoes, radishes and onions. The book also has quite a lot of information on many of the Japanese vegetables that I wrote about in last month's issue of the Vegan News. On page 80 there is a very good 'recipe' for comfrey compost which can be used instead of ordinary potting compost.

Salads for Small Gardens is available from: The Organic Gardening Catalogue. Price £9.40. The Organic Gardening Catalogue also stocks several other books by the same author including: Oriental Vegetables; 'Vegetables For Small Gardens' and 'The Vegetable Garden Displayed.' I ordered my copy of this book from the public library.

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Copyright © Pauline Lloyd 1997.