THE VEGAN NEWS

SPRING 2005

Vegan News is written and edited by P M Lloyd. Please e-mail your contributions to: paulinelloyd1@btinternet.com

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In This Issue:

• Recipes
• Vegan Product Review
• Don't Miss! This Month's Article -  Radish Roundup
  
• In the Veganic Garden
• Organisation Review
  
• In the Wildlife Garden  
  
• Web Sites
• Book Review(s)
• The Wildlife Database  

Spring Recipes

Steamed Veggies with Tofu

Source: Own recipe

Ingredients

• 125g firm tofu, cubed
• 1 potato/sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 2 mushrooms, wiped and thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, washed and sliced (best peeled if not organic)
  
• 1-2 green vegetables in season e.g. sprouting broccoli florets/spinach/cabbage leaves
  
• Any other vegetables you fancy e.g. broad beans, peas, parsnips, cauliflower florets etc.
• 1 tsp tamari (optional)
• 1 tsp olive/flax oil
  
• Nori seaweed flakes (to taste)
  
• Engevita yeast flakes
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
  

Method

1. Wash and prepare the vegetables and place them in your steamer.  If you have a multi-tier steamer, then quick-cooking vegetables such as green leaves, broccoli, peas, mushrooms and the tofu should be placed in the top basket and vegetables that take longer to cook (e.g. potatoes and carrots) should be placed in the bottom basket.
   
2. Add enough water to the steamer pan. Steam the vegetables for about 15-20 mins, until lightly done.
3. When cooked transfer the steamed vegetables to a serving plate and top with crushed garlic, olive oil, tamari, yeast and nori flakes. Enjoy!
   

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Spring Product Reviews  

YAOH have now produced three raw, vegan organic hemp bars, which are high in essential fatty acids and have no added sugar.  Choose from Apple, Apricot & Cinnamon, Date & Walnut and Coconut & Pineapple.The latter was awarded the 'Best Organic Product Award 2004'

Produced by Jessy Dowling in Australia, this 100% hemp sprout sack can be used to grow wonderful sprouts, the hemp fabric allowing the sprouts to breathe easily. Simply add your soaked sprouting seeds to the sack and hang it up somewhere where it can drip. Then dunk the sack into water twice a day and hang it back up again. Can simply be used at home, but because it's highly portable it's ideal for taking on walking and camping holidays too.

This milk maker is really easy to assemble and use. Simply add the water plus 70g of soya beans (or about 100g of nuts or seeds, if you want to make a raw milk) then press the button to select the correct  programme. There are four programmes available. The first two are used to produce soya milk from either soaked or dried beans,

What's Happening in the Veganic Garden this Spring?

• March: Plant out untreated onion sets and shallots and continue to make sowings of  early peas (e.g. Feltham First), broad beans, summer spinach, parsnips, carrots, turnips, salad onions and lettuces such as 'Winter Density' or Little Gem'. Cauliflowers, cabbages, Brussels sprouts and leeks can be sown, either indoors or in a cold frame. Towards the end of the month sow tomato seeds in trays of compost, placing the trays in a warm place such as on a sunny window sill indoors. Why not grow some herbs this year?  Parsley, chives, basil and mint taste delicious and have many culinary uses. Whereas hyssop, lavender, lemon balm and oregano are great for attracting bees/butterflies into your garden. Either grow the herbs from seed yourself, or buy ready-grown plants from a local garden centre. (See the herb article for more information.)
• April: Continue to sow parsnips, lettuces, carrots,  peas, broad beans, spinach and radishes. Landcress and parsley can also be sown outside this month. Plant out chitted second early potatoes, protecting the potato shoots with polythene if night frosts are likely to be a problem. Young Brussels sprout plants can be planted outside as soon as they are big enough. Make indoor sowings of tomatoes in early April (if not previously done) and sow sprouting broccoli and kale in a coldframe.
• May:  Sow French beans, runner beans and sweetcorn and continue to plant out young Brussels sprouts. Make further sowings of kale, winter cabbage/cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli in trays of compost for planting out later.
  

Crops in Season: 

• March: Jerusalem artichokes, Brussels sprouts, leeks, spinach, sprouting broccoli. 
• April:  Asparagus, sprouting broccoli, cabbage, early lettuces.
• May:  Asparagus, broad beans, spring cabbage, lettuce, spring onions, rhubarb, spinach.

Farm Animal Rescue

In the Wildlife Garden  

Honesty (Lunaria annua)

Ragged Robin  (Lychnis flos-cuculi)

Red Clover  (Trifolium pratense)

Red clover is a low-growing plant that prefers a poor, chalky, or dry soil and a sunny position. Its flowers are eye-catching and very attractive to look at.  I sow red clover on the paths running in between my vegetable beds for an attractive display.

Clover flowers are very popular with bumble bees and will also provide nectar for many kinds of butterflies including the silver-spotted skipper, common blue, pale clouded yellow and clouded yellow. In addition, clover is used as the larval food plant by idas blue, mazarine blue, common blue, clouded yellow, wood white and pale clouded yellow caterpillars and by various moth caterpillars such as the  larvae of the six spot burnet moth and grass eggar moth. Its seeds are also eaten by birds.

Red clover is often used in a grassland or meadow area, but because it has nitrogen fixing properties it  also makes an excellent green manure plant. Grow it as a green manure plant in an unused area of the garden, or alternatively it can be sown underneath certain vegetable crops where it will provide nitrogen directly to the crop. (Contact the Vegan Organic Trust for more information. Tel: 0161 9283614, e-mail: p.a.white@ukgateway.net). Seeds are available from the Organic Gardening Catalogue, Chiltern Seeds, John Chambers and Suffolk Herbs. Note: White and crimson clover are also well worth growing for wildlife purposes.

Supplier Details:

• The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Riverdene Business Park, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey KT12 4RG. Tel: 0845 130 1304.
• Chiltern Seeds, Bortree Stile, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 7PB.  Tel: 01229 581137.
• Suffolk Herbs, Monks Farm, Coggeshall Road, Kelvedon, Essex CO5 9PG. Tel: 01376 572456.
  
• John Chambers, 15 Westleigh Road, Barton Seagrave, Kettering, Northants NN15 5AJ. Tel: 01933 652562.
  

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Other Interesting Websites

The Vegan Society (UK)

Ann Wigmore Natural Health Institute, Inc

An organisation promoting self-healing through the Living Foods Lifestyle™ which was created by Dr. Ann Wigmore (see book reviews below).  Situated by the sea in Aguada, Puerto Rico, the Ann Wigmore Natural Health Institute runs a variety of living foods programs, providing practical experience in hands-on workshops that teach you amongst other things about planting, composting, sprouting, harvesting, food preparation, detoxing the body, breathing and yoga.

Aconbury Sprouts

Vegan Passions

A free online dating site for single vegans. Seems to be a mainly USA-based single's database.  Definitely needs more UK vegans to register!  Why not sign up now to enjoy free chat, message boards and email?

What you eat can profoundly affect your health.  Ann Wigmore, founder of the Hippocrates Health Institute in the USA, once again points out that the modern, highly processed diet is a prime cause of illness and overweight. This natural diet and health program provides a nutritious alternative to a convenience food diet.

The Hippocrates diet is based on uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, sprouted seeds/grains/legumes, home-grown salad greens and fermented foods and includes fruit, vegetable and green juices such as wheatgrass juice.  High in fibre and bursting with vitamins, minerals and enzymes, these foods should help to prevent ill health and thus enable you to fight disease and maintain a healthy body weight.

Contains useful hints and detailed growing instructions on how to grow your own sprouts, salad greens and wheatgrass for juicing and over 70 living food recipes.  Price £5.50 + postage from Amazon books at http://www.amazon.co.uk. Also available from the Fresh Network.

Vegan Cookbook by Tony Weston and Yvonne Bishop. (Hamlyn, 2004). 

I haven't seen this cookery book yet myself, but here's what the publishers say about it:

Inspirational vegan, vegetarian, dairy free nutritious and delicious recipes that everyone can enjoy. Published by Hamlyn to coincide with The Vegan Society Diamond Jubilee, celebrating 60 years of veganism, this innovative cookbook shows how far you can go without using eggs, cheese, meat and fish and other animal products high in saturated fat.

Luscious dairy free vegan desserts such as cherry chocolate cake, ice cream, creme caramel, chocolate cheesecake and bannoffee tart.

Breakfast, snacks and lunch ideas including egg free omelettes, pancakes, a cheesy ackee quiche and probably the best vegan dairy free pizza your friends have ever tasted.

A personalised signed copy with free postage and packing within the UK is available from the Vegan Society for £12.99. If you live outside the UK you can purchase a copy online from Amazon.com for $14.99.

To find out what the critics have to say about this book visit: http://www.foodsforlife.org.uk/recipes/vegan-cookbook.html.

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