Vegan yummies in your tummies.

This Sat (May 31st) there will be samplings of vegan foods supplied by some local companies (which we’ll give a mention to later on) at the food fayre in the Basement next to News From Nowhere on Bold Street. (not far from Matta’s actually, so you can pop in there afterwards)

What ?

A Liverpool Vegan Food Fair

Where ?

The Basement (next to News from Nowhere)
96 Bold Street
Liverpool
tel: 0151 708 7270
http://www.newsfromnowhere.org.uk/

» Map/Directions

When ?

Saturday 31st May 2008
From 12.00 to 4pm

Come and sample some vegan delights

Hello Beth and thanks for mailing us about this. Your messages was posted to the ScouseVeg mailing/discussion list and as you can see on here as well.

She writes…

Please can you circulate this?

Sad news, The Greenhouse in Manchester is facing closure due to slow trade.

Calling all Veggies, Vegans & anyone with taste, (!) in the area - please go and support the fabulous restaurant before it is too late & it is gone forever. I have had many a wonderful meal there & been looked after so well by the wonderful Robin.

There are too few good veggie places out there as it is, lets NOT let this one go.

Thanks Beth

Their full address and phone:

The Greenhouse
331 Gt Western Street,
Rusholme, Manchester
M14 4AN

tel: 0161 224 0730

Website: http://www.dineveggie.com/

Map:

View Larger Map

My mistress Niki asked me to give a shout out to Matta’s International Food Store on Bold Street in Liverpool.

Matta’s is a favourite place for Liverpool’s No.1 Vegan and she is seen shopping there in her episode of Come Dine With Me.

The store, as you can tell by the name stocks international foods and an excellent vegetarian and vegan selection.

It is a family run and very friendly shop which is only round the corner from where you live - or if you are visiting Liverpool - an easy walk from anywhere in the city center.

The full address and phone number is:

Matta’s International Foods
51 Bold Street,
Liverpool
L1 4EU

phone: 0151 709 3031

Map:

View Larger Map

The local talk radio station City Talk 105.9FM wanted to chat with somebody about vegetarianism and National Vegetarian Week so who you gonna call…?

That’s right it’s her again !

On Monday she talked via the phone with a City Talk presenter for about 10 minutes, but on Friday night it was the Niki O’Leary show.

Liverpool’s Number 1 Vegan, as they described her, was a guest on Late Night Nicksy and arr Niki was talking and taking phone calls well into the late hours.

I will be editing and posting some audio later on next week, but for now listen below to the first 20 minutes of her appearance. The sound is a bit rough sorry. I will try to fix it.

- Niki O'Leary on Late Night Nicksy part 1:

» Also have a listen to a previous appearance on CityTalk with Niki as a guest of Simon O’Brien on his show.

Tomorrow - May 25th is Towel Day

From Wikipedia:

Towel Day is celebrated every May 25 as a tribute by fans of the late author Douglas Adams. The commemoration was first held in 2001, two weeks after his death on May 11, and since then has been extended to an annual event. On this day, fans carry a towel with them throughout the day. The towel is a reference to Adams’s popular science fiction comedy series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

So don’t forget to pack a towel before heading out to the Wirral Veggies picnic tomorrow.

Extra linkage:
BBC > Hitchhikers > DNA > Last Chance To See
» Wikipedia > Last Chance To See
» Endangered Animals > Another Chance To See (soon to be a TV series)

As part of the National Vegetarian Week here’s a recipe from the Vegetarian Society Cordon Vert School recipe section: Season to Taste

Warm New Potato and Asparagus Salad

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 – 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 700g baby new potatoes (cut in half if more than 4 cms)

Dressing

• 50ml olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 good tsp runny honey* (or 2 scant tsp apple concentrate)
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 25g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 16-24 asparagus spears (at least 6 spears per person if thin or 4 spears if asparagus is thicker)
• 80g young spinach leaves
• 100g soft vegetarian goat’s cheese log, thinly sliced* (or 75g vegan soft cheese)
• 6 large radishes, sliced
• Season to taste

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to Gas 6/200F/400F. Parboil the potatoes for 15 minutes until slightly tender. Drain and cool for 5 minutes before placing in a roasting pan.

2. Mix the dressing ingredients, seasoning with salt and pepper if desired, and pour half over the potatoes, mixing well. Roast for approx 25 minutes until soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. Sprinkle the walnuts on a separate baking tray and dry roast for 3 - 4 minutes to intensify their flavour. Do not let them burn!

3. Trim the woody ends off the asparagus spears and discard. Steam the asparagus for 5 to 7 minutes (depending on size) until tender. Place in a dish and pour over the remaining dressing.

4. To assemble the salad: cover the base of a large, wide salad bowl with spinach leaves; place the potatoes on top followed by the sliced goat’s cheese (which will melt slightly), and then by the asparagus. Finally sprinkle with the roasted walnuts and garnish with the radish slices.

This recipe ©The Vegetarian Society 2007 » Link

» Print this

The Wirral Veggies are going to be out on Sunday, why not join them ?

What ?

The Wirral Vegetarian & Vegan Social Group Picnic

Where ?

Royden Park, Wirral     >Map

When ?

Sunday May 25th, 2008
From 1pm

More info:

Veggie Picnic, bring your own or bring and share picnic. Safe off road area with facilities, playing fields and miniature railway within the park. Family friendly.
Royden Park, Wirral. Meet at 1:00 - 1:15pm.
Further details on the website: www.wirralveggies.org.uk
If you bring to share please mark veggie or vegan on container.

For any of you out there who are thinking of going veggie - I found an excellent article which gives an introduction and guide to vegetarianism.

It comes via the Sri Lankran Daily Mirror of all places:

Getting the best from a Vegetarian diet

A well-planned vegetarian diet is a healthy way to meet your nutritional needs. Find out what you need to know about a plant-based diet.

Adopting a healthy vegetarian diet isn’t as simple as scraping meat off your plate and eating what’s left. You need to take extra steps to ensure you’re meeting your daily nutritional needs.

A healthy vegetarian diet consists primarily of plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Because the emphasis is on nonmeat food sources, a vegetarian diet generally contains less fat and cholesterol, and typically includes more fiber.

To keep your vegetarian diet on track, you may find using a vegetarian food pyramid helpful. This pyramid outlines various food groups and food choices that, if eaten in the right quantities, form the foundation of a healthy vegetarian diet.

No matter what your age or situation, a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet your nutritional needs. Even children and teenagers can do well on a plant-based diet, as can older people, and pregnant or breast-feeding women. If you’re unsure whether a vegetarian diet is right for you, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian.

» Read the full article it has lots of pointers and help on changing to a healthy veggie diet.

- and of course don’t forget the Vegetarian Society !

It’s not just National Vegetarian Week - it’s also National Vegetarian Week and here via the Common Dreams website is a list done by Bruce Friedrich, the vice president for campaigns at PETA:

Top Ten Reasons to Go Vegetarian During World (and National) Vegetarian Week

This is a couple from the list. Click here to read all of them.

- Helping Animals Also Helps the Global Poor

While there is ample and justified moral indignation about the diversion of 100 million tons of grain for biofuels, more than seven times as much (760 million tons) is fed to farmed animals so that people can eat meat. Is the diversion of crops to our cars a moral issue? Yes, but it’s about one-eighth the issue that meat-eating is. Care about global poverty? Try vegetarianism.

- Eating Meat Supports Cruelty to Animals

The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes of years past are now distant memories. On today’s factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy windowless sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other confinement systems. These animals will never raise families, root in the soil, build nests, or do anything else that is natural and important to them. They won’t even get to feel the warmth of the sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day they are loaded onto trucks bound for slaughter.

- Eating Meat Is Bad for the Environment

A recent United Nations report entitled Livestock’s Long Shadow concludes that eating meat is “one of the … most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” In just one example, eating meat causes almost 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, and planes in the world combined. The report concludes that the meat industry “should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.”

- Heart Disease: Our Number One Killer

Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health and provide protection against numerous diseases, including the United States’ three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and strokes. Drs. Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn — two doctors with 100 percent success in preventing and reversing heart disease — have used a vegan diet to accomplish it, as chronicled most recently in Dr. Esselstyn’s Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, which documents his 100 percent success rate for unclogging people’s arteries and reversing heart disease.

- Cancer: Our Number Two Killer

Dr. T. Colin Campbell is one of the world’s foremost epidemiological scientists and the director of what The New York Times called “the most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease.” Dr. Campbell’s best-selling book, The China Study, is a must-read for anyone who is concerned about cancer. To summarize it, Dr. Campbell states, “No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein.”

» Read the full list

News article via the BigHospitality website:

Chefs back National Vegetarian Week

16-May-08 - Emma Eversham

Dozens of restaurants, pubs and cafes will be adding extra veggie dishes to their menus next week in support of National Vegetarian Week.

The annual campaign, organised by the Vegetarian Society, aims to promote the benefits of a meat-free lifestyle and show off a range of inspirational vegetarian recipes.

Independent restaurants and pubs that cater well for vegetarians could also be in the running for the best UK independent restaurant or pub for vegetarian food award.

Nominations for the award – part of the Vegetarian Society Awards 2008 – are open until June 30 and can be made by clicking here. Winners will be announced in October.

Businesses that have so far failed to get behind National Vegetarian Week are being urged to get involved and help boost sales.

“Catering well for vegetarians will not only make veggie food lovers happy but a good range of meat-free meals will keep all your customers coming back for more. After all, interesting tasty food appeals to everyone. Customers are often put off because menus rely on cheese, heavily salted food or wheat as the basis of their meat-free experience,” said Christine Tilbury, Manager of the Cordon Vert cookery school.

National Vegetarian Week runs from May 19-25. For more information about how to get involved visit the Vegetarian Society’s website.

» Full article