Doffed caps to Debbie Callender and her bloke Ray O'Neill, who between them have come up with a really superb new veggie cooking blog Fiver Food. Debbie is a real natural in front of the camera and the videos (and indeed the choice of recipies) are first class.
They will apparently be uploading two new videos each week. Anyhow here's the vid for Veggi Chow Mein.
Ben and Jerry are world famous for their ice cream, a range of flavours with cutesy names and packaging ('Yes Pecan!' a new flavour created for Barack Obama's inauguration is my favourite name). Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started the company in 1978 after taking a correspondence course in ice cream making and have always focused on making their product and practices the best possible ethically, socially and environmentally, using free range eggs, sustainable dairy farming programmes and starting initiatives like the Climate Change College. The company was taken over in 2000 by multinational corporation Unilever, to wails of dismay and cries that they were selling out, but the brand has managed to remain ethical in its operation, today announcing its commitment to go 100% Fairtrade by the end of 2011. Hippyshopper caught up with Ben and Jerry for a short chat as they launched 100 Fair trades in Leicester Square this morning.
Q: Nowadays most companies are increasingly aware of ethical issues, as are consumers, whereas previously they weren't so prevalent. When you guys started out, what made you so environmentally and socially aware as a central concern of your company?
Ben: I just think it's what we cared about as people and then as the business started becoming larger we felt like we were in danger of just becoming another part of the corporate machine that tends to exploit the society and the community and the environment and its workers. We made a very conscious decision to only continue the business if we could find a way to use the business to be beneficial to the society and the environment and its workers and that began an experiment 25 years ago. You know, socially responsible business did not exist at the time and we had no idea whether we were going to be successful at it or not.
For 10 nights only from December 1st to December 12th, 'Mrs Paisley's' pop-up restaurant will be opening its doors once again to highlight the importance of eating in a more eco-conscious way.
Created by Ronnie Wood's ex, Jo Wood, and Arthur Potts Dawson, chef and co-owner of Acorn House, Mrs. Paisley's Lashings is a genuinely innovative project taking place at Jo's own home, Holmwood House, Kingston.
Every feature of the restaurant will be driven by environmental concerns. Ingredients will be sourced from the greatest producers in the UK as well as grown in Jo's own garden or picked at local allotments.
Several of the evenings will also be hosted in association with some of the world's most international renowned eco-luminaries in order to further the vital message about food and the environment. And profits from Mrs Paisley's Lashings will be ploughed back into creating Mrs Paisley gardens in schools across the UK where children can learn about growing their own nourishing food.
Costing £100 for a three course meal including house wine selected by the Chef and a sample cocktail, it's not exactly a cheap night out but it promises to be a great experience. For reservations at Mrs Paisley's Lashings you can contact Amy Wright 0207 4071407 or amy@outersanctum.net.
A humble cup of coffee is usually transformed into a stylish and sophisticated cappuccino by adding frothed milk, which has been whipped up using an electric 'steamer'. But if you don't want a bulky and energy-guzzling device taking up space in your kitchen, a cool alternative is on offer at Ethical Superstore, which now stocks the 'Presso' non-electric espresso and cappuccino coffee maker. It has handles, a bit like a bottle opener, to create the necessary pressure to make these speciality coffees and more.
Still confused? So was I. Follow the jump to see a video of the Presso in action!
The opportunity to share the many benefits of a great tasting healthy cruelty-free lifestyle with the world is upon us once again - it's National Vegetarian Week!
If you're already vegetarian you could use this week to help spread the word! Let everyone know that it's not just about lentils, tofu and open-toed sandals any more (although there's nothing particularly wrong with any of those). There's a whole world of deliciously sumptuous delights awaiting those who are willing to take a small dietary step. You veggies are the living proof of the benefits of this lifestyle - so get out there and show yourselves off!
What to do if you're not already a veggie...
Easter is on its way, and like any holiday, it brings with it a host of ethical dilemmas. If you're planning on tucking into a chocolate egg there are all the usual waste issues to consider, and are you're going to spend your hard-earned cash on fairtrade and/or organic eggs for you and your family this year? But even if you're going to stick to good old chuckie eggs, you're not off the hook, even if you always insist on buying free range.
Apparently, our greed for extra large eggs is causing untold misery and suffering to our national brood (and Lord knows hens seem to suffer enough already). The fairly obvious reason being that - as Tom Vesey, of the British Free Range Producers' Association put it,'it can be painful for a hen to lay a larger egg'.
Are you still getting a veg box delivered? When I started on this blog, I, along with most of my neighbours seemed to be having weekly shipments of organic goodness from Farmaround or Abel & Cole, but nowadays the green van seems to be visiting with much less frequency; presumably replaced by the discount shopping bag and can of baked beans.
But are we being fooled by supermarkets and their increasingly elaborate 'special discounts' into feeling like we're saving when we could be doing just as well on more wholesome food?
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