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March 06 2010

planetveganscotland
09:41

polytunnels and taps

Weve had a few spring-like days now, causing me to dig over some ground for the little polytunnel and clean and set up the coldframe to let the ground warm up for salad seeds. Browsing Suttons trying to decide what to plant this year – will have more room with extra raised beds… this really does feel like waking up after winter! The pond is finally unfrozen today so I expect frogly activity soon :) It’s been like this in varying thickness of ice and pattern for months:

Dance mania continues with ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary being studied :)

Books and films amany dug out to accompany this in fine home educating fashion. The Ballet Companion is a gorgeous book, it’s been to good for me to read that things have come on with problems such as eating disorders and painful pointework (ouch pouches – love them!) being dealt with much more compassionately in general. High quality vegan ballet shoes are even available :) As for films… oh so many, from White Nights to A Chorus Line, loving them all, also deeply appreciative of friends sharing the enthusiasm and cost of DVD purchase… Had a nice time reading over T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and then watching Cats and boring delighting others with tales of cast members I knew/was taught by or with… same goes for Billy Elliot… ah to be an old “when I was young — fill in with unbelievable sounding fact–” person – it’s great fun!!

February 06 2010

planetveganscotland
12:44

swan lake

There were swans on the loch yesterday :)

swans on the loch

Had a lovely day with friends morphing into a very balletic afternoon which was great fun. It’s been wonderful rediscovering ballet being for enjoyment, rather than an eternal striving (not to mention starving) for perfection. Looked out the old class music etc. I have but it’s all on cassettes – technology moved on a bit fast for me there ;)

old pointe shoe

Fast Food Nation

Watched Fast Food Nation (quite good trailer there on amazon), fictional film based on the non-fiction book – strong stuff, a round of exploitation to go with the fries… good cast, making it very watchable though gradually more horrifying.

February 02 2010

planetveganscotland
15:31

cheap

baking

a frugal recipe again, basic pasties :)

and bargains to be had – the book people are offering 10% off all orders until midnight tomorrow (Wed. 3rd Feb) – just enter WIN10 at checkout for offer.

January 30 2010

planetveganscotland
16:49

January 23 2010

planetveganscotland
12:46

January 12 2010

planetveganscotland
11:19

a casserole and a cookbook

casserole and Cranks cookbook

We will have been married 20 years this year… which causes me to reflect how far weve come, how much the world has changed in that time and to note the two items above. They were given to us as a wedding present by friends who I used to babysit for and here they are still with us, I don’t think any other dish we own has survived that long! The Cranks Recipe Book sparked my interest at once, as I had eaten in their restaurant in London while a student, and it called to mind lovely brick walls and earthenware plates of hearty soup (they now have one restaurant in Devon). 

It really taught me to cook, being the only cookery title I had at the time (bit of a change there then) in our first flat that we loved so much. I was fairly clueless when it came to the culinary arts. I remember phoning my mum at times with questions such as ‘how do you cook a neep? I can’t even seem to cut it up’. With the book I learned to bake bread, make cakes and the wonderfully frugal crecy plate pie, prepare soups and casseroles got put in the dish :) It influenced me in more subtle ways too. Being the one and only it got thoroughly read and I absorbed the health oriented nature of the pages, reading for example, how much adding fresh herbs enhanced the nutritional value of the food. I remember the excitement of planting up a small herb garden and reading more deeply into these subjects. Looking at it now I notice all the cheesy recipes but you could just use any one of the many vegan cheeses available now or leave it out altogether. 

Bit different when we first went vegan - a vegan cookbook obtained from the library that shall remain nameless (mainly as I can’t remember it’s name, I think it was somewhat generic, but also I do not want to slander it as it may have had other redeeming recipes) was responsible for me making a vegan cheese out of marg and yeast extract 13 years ago - absolutely disgusting, totally foul!!

So, my cranks book, heavily marked with food, water and childrens crayons. It is now available in a swanky new asparagus covered edition but you can still pick up the original for a penny :D

well used

As for the dish, it still gets used though not as much anymore. The odd apple/rhubarb crumble is popped in it. I now favour my big Le Creuset that you can cook on the hob and in the oven with - very handy for making a sheperdess/red dragon pie base in and just putting mashed tatties on top and then into the oven it goes. I am very lucky to also have two similar cast iron AGA pans/casseroles given to us by another friend who had them sitting unwanted and unused in his garage, and these are my 3 usual dinner cooking pans now.

AGA handle

Weve always been blessed with friendship :) I am currently reading Walking to Greenham sent to me by a wonderful woman and friend… a fascinating book and I find myself contemplating the larger worldwide changing of the times. What will the next 20 years bring?

January 08 2010

planetveganscotland
11:56

Porridge - Breakfast of Champions!


My transatlantic friends might prefer to call this dish by its primary ingredient i.e. oatmeal, but to me it will always be porridge. I love to eat thick cooked porridge with lashings of cold soya milk on chilly wintry days as it's a wonderful filling dish that sustains and warms without overloading your digestive system the way a traditional veggie fry-up (with compulsory fried bread!) can. After I had my first child, my mum came up and looked after me once SVD went back to work. She came to let me spend time with McGonnagle just feeding, bonding and enjoying my new little girl. And the two things she believed essential to provide me with during this time were ample rest and a healthy, hearty diet. So porridge for breakfast was a given. That was when I first developed my taste for it!
These days, I rarely have time to make trad cooked porridge on the hob for breakfast so I reserve it for high days, holidays and dire weather conditions. Today when we woke to -20oC weather and sniffly noses all round I knew it was time to break out the pan and whip up some warming goodness for our breakfast!

Cooked Porridge

1 cup pinhead oats
11/2 cups water
1 cup soya or other dairyfree milk
pinch of salt

You will also need: wooden spoon and strong wrist(!)

Combine all ingredients in a large pan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to the boil before reducing to a simmer. Now get your wooden spoon and start stirring. You want to stir continuously for about ten minutes to achieve the right consistency. If your mix starts looking a bit too thick just add more soya milk to thin it. You want the porridge thick but still easily stirrable - no spoon-standing properties please! - with the oats soft and free from any hint of powdery bite.
Serve hot with cold dairyfree milk and your choice of sweeteners and add-ins.
My kids love theirs with maple syrup, sliced banana, cinnamon and ground flaxseed.


I prefer mine with a generous dollop of fruity jam (as in top picture).
In Other News: I recieved my copy of 'Come In Spinner' through the post from Abe books. To my joy, not only was it a second-hand book but the cover illustration is just awesome!


I first became acquainted with this story as a kid when it was shown by the BBC as an afternoon miniseries. It was high melodrama and tackled lots of the injustices and trials faced by women in postwar Australia. Rape, abortion, extramarital affairs, husbands messed-up by the war - needless to say, as a naive young twelve-year old it left something of an impression! I can't wait to finally read it, especially as I've got the unabridged version complete with all the scandalous bits!
Hope you all have a good day!

January 05 2010

planetveganscotland
21:35

edinburgh xmas

we went into the kitchen on xmas day morning to make a cup of tea (xmas or not, everyday begins with a cup of tea!) and were amazed to see an unusual-looking bird. not just one, though:

they're fieldfares, and had made their way into j's mum's garden to eat the last of her pink rowan berries during the hard frost that accompanied the snow we've been having for the past few weeks.

we'd gone for the handmade xmas approach and so didn't really have much to offer in return for our epic treatfest, which included a new teapot and some pekoetea to go with it, an alessi jar with some dried beans to fill it, two sets of whisky glasses (j and i love our single malt!), a tweed flatcap for j and some awesome books:

so, left to right, that's veganomicon (unbelievable book! super-highly recommended), vegan cupcakes take over the world (perfect for the sweet tooth in everyone, not just vegans), jekka's complete herb book (how to grow, harvest and prepare herbs for cooking, medicinal and cosmetic uses), and the twisted sisters sock workbook (beautiful handspun, beautiful socks, inventive approaches and inspiring ideas), phew!

we just gave folk homemade truffles and knitted items...

apparently, this is the coldest winter for 30 years. really, it couldn't have come at a worse time. just as it seemed the tide was turning on public opinion of climate change science, this year has really put a spanner in those works. a feeble summer, dodgy scientific practices, failed UN summits, and now more snow than there has ever been in my lifetime. as much as this is actually evidence for rather than against climate change, it rarely gets interpreted that way - least of all by the deniers. so, it really feels stacked against at the moment...

listening: most of the day, to j's sister's will young cd
reading: too many brilliant books!

November 24 2009

planetveganscotland
09:54

pressies

Ethical Superstore have a good offer on until the 1st of December - spend £60 and get a free £10 voucher, a free lavendar soap and free delivery :D

The Book People and Stocking Fillas also good priced gift finding places.

Our kids book store lists many books that our kids have loved over the years in various themes from vegetarian and spiritual to self esteem, caring for animals and the environment.

and on the decadent side:

Minty Mistletoe


Minty Mistletoe

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