Finally getting around to posting my December 2013 vegan news round up on January 3rd.
Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long. I have included some extra tasty pieces of news as my way of saying sorry.
Enjoy!
News you can eat December 2013
New Year’s Cheer
24 hours on, I am still a bit worn out from hosting my vegan New Year’s Eve dinner for 70 people at Saf Restaurant & Bar. It was a lot of hard work, but well worth it. Every single guest looked to be having a fantastic night out.
My pal Luke has kindly offered to stop by and give you his take on the evening. You can follow Luke on Twitter and check out his blog.
Tell us what you thought, Luke.
Chillin
My Vegan Ice Cream Wars feature is only sporadically updated due to the lack of diversity in the UK vegan ice cream market. We need more variety.
It is this lack of choice that is forcing me to include gelato in this category. However, the gelato flavours at Oddono’s Italian ice cream parlours are not going to make it appear as if I have stretched the category too wide.
Oddono’s is a company with half a dozen locations scattered around central London and almost-central London. They make all their vegan and non-vegan desserts on site and you can even peek into the preparation areas at some of the locations to see the magic in action.
Tempting tofu and tempeh
Do you enjoy cooking with tempeh and tofu? What about taro? Do you use a lot of bean curd skins in your kitchen? If yes is your answer, you will adore this supermarket in central London brimming with ingredients from Korea, Thailand, Japan and countries across Asia.
On a recent ramble along Queensway, a bustling street springing from the northern side of Hyde Park, I was delighted to see a shop front emblazoned with the words Oriental Supermarket. Well, I was delighted by the idea of the food inside but slightly confronted by the use of the word oriental. It always strikes me as an old-fashioned term used to frame entire cultures as mysterious and intoxicating.
But you didn’t come here for pseudo-sociology, so let me crack on with vegan food talk.
Animal Welfare Party
The European Parliament elections are coming up in 2014 and vegans the world over have the extremely rare opportunity to help London get animal activists elected.
The Animal Welfare Party has been formed to bring the issues vegans care about to the European Parliament. The party predicts it needs approximately 140 000 votes in London to gain a seat. Before I tell you how you can help, let’s find out a little bit more about the elections.
Some details from APCOForum:
In each Member State of the EU, everybody can vote to elect their Member of European Parliament (MEP). In some countries they’ll vote for an MEP in their region or city, in others they’ll vote on a national list meaning their MEPs represent the whole country, rather than a specific area. Potential MEPs will come from a wide range of political parties, from right to left, and will also include some independent candidates.
Whether you think the EU is a good or a bad thing, or somewhere in between, this is your chance to have a say. Despite what people say about ‘unelected bureaucrats’ making all the rules in Brussels, those people really just put a proposal on the table. It is then MEPs (who you elect directly) and representatives of all 28 Governments (who you also elect) that make the final decision on most issues. Your Government might like to ‘blame it on Brussels’ when things don’t go to plan, but they are part of Brussels too, so why not hold them accountable!
So, we kinda know what the elections are about but maybe we are not sure what the Animal Welfare Party are hoping to take to the table. What policies do they plan to influence? Take a look at these few talking points from their manifesto.
Some of the key policies of the party include:
- Redirect subsidies from livestock and fisheries farming to plant-based agriculture
- Phase out the failed practice of animal experimentation with binding targets for reduction and funding and support for alternatives
- Increased penalties for those convicted of animal cruelty
- Extend the current ban on hunting with greater enforcement and stronger penalties for abuse
- A ban on ‘puppy farms’ and a ban on the sale of animals in all retail stores
- Educate children about the importance of compassion and respect towards all living beings
The election takes place on May 22nd, 2014 and the Animal Welfare Needs your help in the following ways:
- Make a donation to their fundraising appeal (urgently as it ends on December 31st, 2013)
- Share the link for the fundraising appeal everywhere: http://igg.me/at/animalwelfareparty/x/4544
- Follow AWP on Twitter
- Like AWP on Facebook
- If you are in London, vote on May 22nd!
- If you are outside London raise money, spread the link and do whatever you can to help the Animal Welfare Party put the animal agenda front in centre in Europe.
I know it is a bit confusing but if every vegan or animal-concerned person reading this was to share, donate and vote (if eligible), we can get the Animal Welfare Party across the line.
Damn fine cookbook
Josh is popping in to tell you about a new vegan recipe collection we got our grubby hands on this week.
Take it away, Josh…
I love Christmas. Actually that’s a complete lie. I bloody hate Christmas and the orgy of capitalist consumption that it involves. But I DO like having a couple of weeks off work: time to try out new recipes and basically eat and sleep intermittently throughout the day and avoid the outside world in all of its grey, present-buying frenzied misery.
So when my friend Leigh Drew in Australia sent me her latest cookbook a couple of weeks ago, I happily flicked through the pages working out what I was going to make when I finally had some spare time at home. I’ll let you know which two recipes I chose, but first let me tell you about Leigh.
High on a hill
I’m not a physically-adventurous vegan, but I can’t assume the same of all my readers. In that vein, I am pleased to bring you the following information about the Snowdon Vegan Weekender.
Between Friday 25th and Sunday 27th July, 2014 you can stay in in a hostel, eat lots of vegan food and get active up a mountain. Oh, yeah. You can also help raise money for charity.
The 2nd Sponsored Walk up Snowdon, raising funds for the Vegan Organic Network and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is taking place on Saturday 26th July. You can get involved AND make an entire vegan weekend out of the adventure.
The YHA at Pen-y-Pass, which is situated at the foot of Snowdon, is where the walk will start and also happens to be the main accommodation for the weekend. People not staying at the hostel will still be able to join the walk, dine at the hostel for vegan meals and enjoy all the entertainment on offer. Information about the sponsored walk and veganism will be on show in the YHA’s cafe, which will be open to the public during the day and is adopting an all vegan menu for the weekend!
For those making the trek up Snowdon, My Cupcakes bakery are supplying free vegan cakes at the summit.
The Snowdon Vegan Weekender promises to be a unique experience, that’s for certain. Last year’s event saw 70 people on the summit, a world record for the most people eating vegan cake on a mountain. How awesome is that?
Everyone is welcome on the family friendly walk, though you do need to be reasonably fit and know that you can walk the distance, which includes some steep sections. It is after all the biggest mountain in Wales. Non-walkers can catch the Snowdon Mountain Railway train to the summit from Llanberis but tickets need to be booked well in advance.
Full informations about the weekend, the climb and how to book accommodation can be found here.
Let me know what the view is like from the top!
Gluten free Japanese secret supper
So, you are hunting around for a niche dining experience. Think you have seen it all? Think again. Leading London-based secret supper club expert The Vegan Ronin is hosting a special lunch that will have you redefining your understanding of the word exclusive.
Before I explore the actual food component of this limited event, I want to quickly let you know only five people will be able to book a space just in case you want to skip ahead of my ramblings in order to book instantly.
OK. Down to business.
The Vegan Ronin proudly presents a five course gluten-free Japanese lunch. Oh yes!
In an intimate setting, the fortunate and tiny group of diners will be served the following menu:
- Lotus chips, yuzu spinach salad, seared daikon, ginger-miso aubergine and Japanese potato salad
- Tofu course: fresh tofu, yuba, agedashi dofu, ganmodoki (Buddhist tofu patty), tofu sesame salad
- Tempura zaru soba with all the fixings
- Traditional meal ender of mixed miso soup, rice and fresh pickles.
- Sesame brittle and daigaku imo (candied sweet potatoes fries)
Make haste and get on over to the booking page. Once you have registered, you will receive notification on how to secure your booking.
- When: Saturday 25th January, 2014 – 1:00 -4:00 pm
- Where: Finchley Central, North London
- Cost: £35 pre-pay donation
- Drinks: A Japanese aperitif is included – BYOB permitted
See my own personal experience of eating at a Vegan Ronin event.
Cheese and cheese
Following years in the vegan cheese wilderness with little more than Cheezly to keep us alive, vegans in the UK are absolutely swimming in the stuff. A new dairy-free cheese seems to pop up every month. I don’t know where it is all coming from. I like to think of it as a cruelty-free cheese revolution.
Two brands that are new to me (but I’m already familiar with due to greed) are both found in the legendary London vegan boutique and grocery haven known as Vx.
Eat like an Egyptian
Unless something drastic happens such as a Veggie Grill opening in Soho or a Native Foods Cafe popping up on Regent Street, I will probably never again eat vegan food in another central London location other than Koshari Street.
Koshari Street is what vegan London has been lacking. Affordable, quick and incredibly tasty food to eat on the go. Every single person I know who has eaten there cannot sing its praises loudly enough. It is beyond game changing. It is the best vegan food in central London.
