A local radio DJ made a New Years resolution to eat two vegetarian meals a week and Niki, along with her Dad went popped into the BBC Radio Merseyside drivetime show to help Simon Hoban get started…

Below you can hear or download Niki and Ray’s appearance on the show, as well as read the transcript of their Friday (6th Feb) evening appearance.

Before the show Niki made Simon one of her legendary curries and those of you who have tasted these know…. Listen on:

» Download/embed

Transcript:

{STATION ID] SIMON HOBAN. BBC RADIO MERSEYSIDE.

[SIMON HOBAN] Oh we’ve got food coming into the studio and I like that fact.
It’s a Friday night and you might have heard earlier in the week one of my New Years rezzies, err was to try and eat two vegetarian meal, err a week which was part of a you know cut down on the old red meat thing and try and eat a bit more healthfully. So who better to encourage me to to do that and to provide culanary inspiration than Liverpool vagan Niki O’Leary who runs scouseveg dot co dot uk and her Dad Ray, hello to you both.

[NIKI O'LEARY] Hello ! (giggles)

[SIMON] Thanks to you both for coming in…

[NIKI] You’re welcome

[SIMON] Scouseveg dot co dot uk and that’s a website I’ve not been to yet and what’s on there ? What would I find on there then ?

[NIKI] Err ooh gosh a whole host of information, errm details about anything that’s relevent in the news at the moment about going veggie or vegan… places to eat in Liverpool, if you are veggie or vegan…

[SIMON] Are there many ?

[Niki] Err… there’s quite a few yeah, it’s getting much better.

[SIMON] Is the egg place ? Egg Cafe ?

[NIKI] Yeah the Egg Cafe is fully veggie, erm and there’s lots of restaurants on there that cater well for veggies and vegans.

[SIMON] Ok… so I’m saying this rapth (?) cos I wanna do it for health reasons – is it going to help me in terms of my overall health to try and have two veggie meals a week ?

[RAY O'LEARY] Yeah certainly it’s erm… its a start. I mean vegetarians and vegans it’s a journey anyway. Err it doesn’t have to be severe overnight, err thing that you take on…err so

[SIMON] You wean yourself onto it then ?

[RAY] Yeah… I mean all of the, the less meat you eat you obviously have less saturated fat in your body. Err… a vegetarian diet is proven to be – to reduce obesity, err which is a problem these days anyway, it also erm… when we go vegetarian, you know when you look into vegetarianism, you do tend to look at your food a bit more… and you tend to try things out. You tend to cook your food more. You tend to eat less processed food, which is a good thing of course – and that’s great for your health.

[SIMON] Yeah, yeah… because I am always wary of, you know, these slices of ham you get in a packet, they just can’t be you know they’re pumped full of water for a start aren’t they ?

[RAY] Well that’s right.

[NIKI] Yeah yeah – and all the ready meals that you know, people seem to be buying these days.. full of sugar, salt excetera…

[SIMON] Well I tell you what I did I went out and bought and I don’t know what I can do with these yet – I bought some red lentils, some yellow split peas and some pearl barley.

[NIKI] Right that’s a good start !

[SIMON] I was pretty impressed with that yeah, what can I do with that ?

[NIKI] Well, with the lentils you can make a Dal errm… yeah lentil dal is really filling as well, erm with the other stuff, you make soups and things like that which are obviously good for lunches…erm and you will find that the more you experiment, erm there is a misconception that you know veggies just eat salad and lentils and nuts and stuff like that, but actually you know once you go on that journey, you find there’s a whole host of things… and err personally I find that you experiment more, errm you know because there’s this kind of, you find that you want things to be more interesting.

[SIMON] That’s right, because it’s not all mushroom risotto is it…and you know, nut roasts and I tell you – and I can tell that because the smell that’s assaulting my nostrils is beautiful that we’ve got here that producer Lou’s brought in and you have made me, well it’s err, erm a curry – clearly by the smell isn’t it ?

[NIKI] Yeah it is I made it for you last night. (laughs)

[SIMON] You’re an angel I’m actually quite hungry as well so… What’s in this then ?

[NIKI] Well in erm…the spices are all blended by myself I don’t any curry powder or anything like that… put individual spices in…

[SIMON] It must have taken you ages.

[NIKI] Not at all you just throw them in, and erm.. the base of it… erm basically is.. I put in the like a faux, faux meat in there which is like a pretend beef really.

[SIMON] Is that Quorn ?

[NIKI] No no it’s actually err… a soya based one… and the reason for that is I just wanted to let you have a taste of something that was kind of a pretend meat, just to give you the experience and also there’s chick peas in there… erm thrown in there for good measure… and tomatoes…

[SIMON] What I would say about that having tasted it is because the, spices are so strong and it’s so…err sort of flavoursome – you don’t really notice it’s not meat, if you know what I mean it’s just texturally the same isn’t it ?

[NIKI] Yeah.

[SIMON] So you don’t really notice and you get away with it.

[NIKI] That’s it a lot of my friends who come to dinner at mine I obviously always cook erm, vegan, and err they say like anything I cook they’re like wow… if you make the flavours good, you don’t need the meat.

[SIMON] That’s right there’s a few, what are they chick peas ?

[NIKI] Err yeah, yeah.

[SIMON] and… *ahem* wow… that is quite hot !

[NIKI] Ha ! Ha ! Ha !

[SIMON] What is the spice in this ? Is it cayenne or something like that ?

[NIKI] Erm… there’s chilli in there, there’s egg al masala, there’s cumin.. err there’s ginger, there’s garlic… Erm yeah I have been known to be a bit…

[SIMON] I like it spicy I do like it spicy…. The next hour of the show could be a bit risky though err… So what’s the difference your… if you could explain the difference again between vagan and vegetarian ?

[NIKI] Ok, yeah vegetarians don’t eat meat, erm tend to stay away from slaugherhouse by-products like geletin and stuff like that, they don’t eat fish. A vegan it’s a little bit more it’s a lifestyle thing so it’s basically everything – nothing derived from an animal, erm which includes things like also what you wear… erm your make up, the things that you drink stuff like that.

[SIMON] You know most people haven’t got time, Ray, have they, to run around supermarkets checking the back of packets to make sure there’s nothing in there thats… not compatible.

[RAY] Yeah but things are getting better, erm and you know.. it really was hard slog, at one time. It is getting better… – Going back to what you were saying about preparing food though even, I mean… people seem to… we live in a very fast society, but we do need to slow down and start thinking about our food and spend more time actually cooking it, and eating it with our friends and family. At the end of the day what we put in our bodies, reflects on our health. So we should spend more time and that is the trick really, that is the trick. We need to do that.

[SIMON] Well that’s delicious and in the news I will, consume more of that it’s absolutely Niki thanks for doing that for us.

[NIKI] You’re welcome.

[SIMON] And you’ve brought me some recipe cards to get me going.

[NIKI] Yeah we’ve actually brought you, not only recipe cards we’ve brought you a bumper starter pack and a bag of goodies as well, to take home.

[SIMON] The thing that, the thing that I’m going to struggle with the most is it’s such a cliche now is the bacon butty Saturday morning, you know that’s such a huge treat that.

[NIKI] Well…

[RAY] You can get, you can get mock. bacon erm…

[SIMON] Does it smell the same ?

[RAY/NIKI] Mmmm.. aher…not quite…

[SIMON] That’ll be the last thing I kick, you know that’ll be the bit where I’ll have to go cold turkey.

[RAY] Well Simon I can tell you that was me.

[SIMON] Yeah ? Same thing ?

[RAY] I was yeah you will crave it, you will crave it because at the end of the day you are used to having this food for a long time, err comparatively and err you will crave it, but that craving does go and you replace it with such flavours as you’ve just tasted there.

[SIMON] There’s a vote I’m going to give it a go two meals a week is what I’m going to aim for first of all… Thanks alot for your recipes and it’s scouseveg dot co dot uk right ?

[NIKI] Yep. Thank you very much.

[SIMON] Niki O’Leary and err… Dad Ray. Thanks a lot for that. It was delicious.

[RAY] Enjoy.

[SIMON] Everyone at home is jealous at home. Thanks for that.

ENDS.

I was browsing the messages on the ScouseVeg Mailing/Discussion list [sign up here] when I saw a forwarded newsletter from the Peas website. Yes there is a website. Yes they have a newsletter. I myself love mushy peas but was also interested on what else you could do with the humble pea.

On the pea website they have a big selection of vegetarian pea recipes and I’ve chosen one which you could make for – if you are having one – a New Years Eve party:

Pea Guacamole

Time taken: 10 mins/Serves: 4

Ingredients

Method

Cook peas for 3-4 minutes in lightly salted boiling water or until tender. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Put the peas into a food processor with all the remaining ingredients (apart from a sprinkling of the chopped chilli). Pulse until mixture is crushed but not completely smooth.

Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a few drops of Tabasco as required. For a spicier Guacamole add more Tabasco. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining chopped chilli. Ideal as a dip or to serve as a starter with blinis and vegan sour cream.

This recipe © peas.org.

We’ve investigated these apps and most are a letdown, but this one we found interesting:

Be Vegan is developed by Vegan Los Angeles and it has ideal vegan recipes and articles about the vegan lifestyle. As well as items about animals, science and related news..

It is American-centric (obviously) but the information is good and you will spend time browsing this.

It’s a free app so… what have you got to lose.

- There is another excellent app called A Complete Cookbook: Vegan With A Vengeance which does as it says on the tin. Unlike the above this app costs, and it a bit of a cost at £5.49, but what you get is an iPhone/iPod/iPad app version of the best selling book * All the recipes and photos, everything.

(There’s a note on the Amazon UK page for the book that recommends you buy the USA version of the book – if you want to purchase the book instead – because the UK version doesn’t have the pictures. But the app does.) Again it is American-centric with eggplant instead of aubergine, but realistically nearly all the apps are developed by the people/companies in the U.S.A, sadly.

Do you know of, or use a useful app ? Let us know…

A Well-Fed World is a food justice and animal protection organization working with individuals, social justice groups, and global leaders to mend our food system in a way that better feeds families and saves animals. In an increasingly populous world, animal-free foods are an efficient, environmentally-friendly and nutritious way to create a healthier, well-fed our world for all.

» Read more…

Feed More International (FMI) is our new gift-giving campaign that feeds people without harming animals.

Instead of using a “gift-pig” as food from a group like Heifer International, your gift will save that pig by supporting “on-the-ground” animal-free hunger relief projects. Both those that provide immediate assistance and those that provide long-term community solutions.

About the Name

The name, Feed More International, is derived from the fact that plant-based diets are more efficient and “feed more” people directly than when used as animal feed.

Plant-based foods and animal-free agriculture also “feed more” people who are too poor to pay for animal feed or medical care, as well as feeding people in areas that are not conducive to rearing animals, such as cities and certain geographical zones.

» Read more…

They are a Swiss 100% plant-based gourmet company and their products are dairy-free and soy-free.

Looking for a Chrimbo prezzie for somebody ? How about the No-Moo Gift Bag:

“The No Moo Gift bag containing six cheeses? is the perfect offering for friends and family. It contains our Classic, Herb, Piquant and Mild-Aromatic cheeses, encompassing our most popular picks. Don’t miss out as there is only a limited number of these available for the holiday season.”

In light of all these Occupy protests going on at the moment – a reminder of a documentary about some climate protests which was screened in Liverpool last August.

The documentary film is now being released on DVD on October 17th:

Many thanks to Hannah for the heads up

Candice has mailed to tell us about a monthly event taking place at Delifonseca, at their Stanley Street location.

‘Veg Out’ is going to be a regular monthly event occuring on the 2nd Thursday of each month.

The first one is in a couple of days: on Thursday October 13th, so there’s still time if you want to reserve a seat.

- You can download/view a pdf file of their vegetarian menu HERE.

Address:

Noted vegetarian Chrissie Hynde is *whisper it* 60 today…

“The Ohio-born rocker was a big part of the burgeoning London punk scene in the mid-to-late 1970s after leaving Akron for the excitement of England and her experiences there gave her the confidence to form her own band, The Pretenders, who have been chart-busting and paving the way for a collection of female-led rock acts – and some male ones too.

With hits like “Back on the Chain Gang,” “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” “Stop Your Sobbing,” “Kid and Brass in Pocket,” Hynde has written and/or sung many of the hits that make up the soundtrack to the lives of 30-somethings and older.

A fierce animal rights campaigner, Hynde was at the forefront of PETA’s celebrity campaigns and she has tirelessly fought injustices against all creatures all over the world…

…A big animal rights activist and supporter, she owns a vegan restaurant in her home town of Akron, Ohio, called the VegiTerranean.

Thanks to Karen who runs Dragon Indulgence, one of the shops that has just moved to New Beginnings on Williamson Street has kindly taken the time to update us with info and photographs of their new venue.

Karen says:
“We have joined up with two other shops who are mookow army and candi bambino and all come under the title of New beginnings a mini department store where you can buy cosmetics, handcrated jewellery, giftware, vegan chocolate and food and chill out in the cafe that serves a range of vegan foods.”

More details:

De cafe – is a great place to chill out and serves vegan breakfast with vegan bacon, vegan sausage, mushrooms etc as well as soups, baked potatoes, specials and foods from the redwood range, such as vegan chicken burgers, Vegan burger and chips with salad, speciality coffee made with soya milk.

Dragon Indulgence – We are allways on the lookout to expand our range of vegan chocolate and treats. we have a range of redwood foods, vegan ice cream, chocolate, friut bon bons, goody good stuff, as well as a small range of faith in nature products.

Candi Bambino – cosmetics who stock directions, urban decay, W7, two faced etc with lots more to come.

Mookow Army – who stock a range of handcrafted jewllery and nemesis now giftware and more goodies.

Please support your local businesses, especially the veggie/vegan friendly ones.
Please visit them soon:

Address:

Photographs:

MelloMello on the corner of Slater & Parr Street in the Liverpool City centre has mailed to let us know that they now have a full veggie/vegan menu.

They now serve a full veggie or vegan breakfast between 10-1pm, they’ve got homemade (veggie) lasagne and pasta dishes. There’s a veggie/vegan sausage dish, a veggie burger plus of course their soups plus selections of sandwiches and grilled wraps.

Oh and don’t forget their homemade cakes !

- If you’ve visited recently or are planning to go very soon, please leave some feedback about the place:

Eating Out > MelloMello