The Irish Vegetarian 140 by Vegetarian Society of Ireland

The Irish Vegetarian Magazine of the Vegetarian Society of Ireland

The

foodie issue

MAESTRO CHEF Learning to cook with the Italians

RAISE A GLASS

All you need to know about veggie vino

RAW POWER

Meet the queen of Ireland’s raw food scene

VEG OUT

Recipes, reviews and member discounts

€ 2.50

Issue 140 Autumn 2013

At Last, Raw Cuisine Arrives In Dublin! What if burgers, pizzas, ice cream and all our favourite fast foods suddenly became extremely good for us?

CONTENTS 2

EDITOR

Aileen Power

DESIGN

Aileen Power

FEATURES

CONTRIBUTORS

THE MEDITERRANEAN WAY

Maureen O’Sullivan Oliver Jackson Grace Hillis Sarah Allen Eilís Scully Sarah Gee Sarah Burnham Mary Burnham Natalie & Eric

Learning from the chefs at the Flavour of Italy cooking school

It's time to eat more to weigh less: the right foods help us drop kilos and curb cravings. That's what Sseduced, Dublin's first raw restaurant is all about: indulging in our favourite foods witout sacrificing our health. All our food is suitable for vegetarians, vegans, raw vegans and meat eaters who wish to taste something deliciously new. Whether you're on a special diet or eating ethically, eating out should always be a fuss-free experience! Please let us know in advance if you have a special dietary requirement that is not already listed here as we'd love to help.

VEGGIE VINEYARDS

RAW TALENT

A guide to veggie vino

In conversation with raw chef Natasha Czopor

AMY AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Raw chocolate course review

11 MISADVENTURES IN VEGETARIANISM

The highs, lows, and hilarity of being an Irish vegetarian

GUEST CONTRlBUTORS Aileen Power is a writer, editor and mediocre cook who tries to improve her veggie cooking by interviewing chefs. aileenpower.com

FRESH VEG

Report on a meat-free lifestyle, six months in

We also cater for: PKU  Coeliac  Diabetic  Kosher  Low-fat  Low-salt  Hippocrates Diet ...and more! Join us in the making of Sseduced! We're launching our crowd-funding campaign and this will insure we can stay up and running for you for the first few months. We have a perk for every pocket! Share this campaign with your friends on Facebook, via email or tweet using #sseduced: http://igg.me/at/sseduced/x/3989388 We look forward to seeing you at Sseduced soon! 20 Cecilia St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Ireland, Dublin Please visit our website www.sseduced.com for contact details and opening hours or call us at 01 677 9287.

RECIPES

STUFFED MUSHROOM RECIPE

IRISH CUPCAKES RECIPE

PANELLE AND PARMIGIANA RECIPES

17 18

MEETUP REVIEWS

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE

New veggie Mary Fleming creates and illustrates paper craft. She is distributing a veggie booklet for kids from late September onwards. facebook.com/thepapermate

Sinéad O’Hart is a writer and vegetarian who lives with her meateating (but supportive) husband in the wilds of the Irish midlands. She blogs about her reading and writing life on sjohart.wordpress.com. Follow her on Twitter @SJOHart.

21 DISCOUNT DIRECTORY BP

LOCAL GROUPS

Cover photo: Irish Coffee Cupcakes by Mandy Mortimer Printed in Ireland

Slaine O’Brien has been in the wine business for 10 years, making wine in Australia and New Zealand and studying at The Wine & Spirit Education Trust. She became vegetarian at 10 years old after watching Babe, and lives in Bray with a fleet of rescued animals.

Mandy Mortimer is the food blogger and photographer behind the wonderful What The Fruitcake?! blog. A cupcake fantatic, she also teaches baking classes. mandymortimer.com

REGULARS

MEMBERSHIP FORM

Vegetarian Society of Ireland c/o Dublin Food Co-op, 12 Newmarket, Dublin 8 Phone: (01) 488 0250 Email: info@vegetarian.ie Web: www.vegetarian.ie Registered Charity no: CHY12238

The Wizards of Oil

There will be

Basil

Ireland has its own Little Italy, and it’s just off the Naas Road. Aileen Power meets the chefs behind the Flavour of Italy cooking school, bringing authentic Mediterranean cuisine to Ireland’s kitchens, one recipe at a time. Photography by Mandy Mortimer Giuseppe Crupi has a beef with the Irish. “Too much. They eat too much meat.” The Sicilian shakes his head. He tells how appalled he was discovering that in Ireland, an aubergine is less important than meat. “They ask ‘Where is my meat?’ and I think ‘But there is an aubergine on your plate looking at you’. I want to defend the owner of the aubergine.” As he darts around the kitchen, adding olive oil and herbs to students’ efforts at parmigiana, his t-shirt reads “if you don’t like aubergine you have no soul”. As the director of the Flavour of Italy cooking school, Giuseppe has been bringing mozzarella to the masses for eight years. He delights in his role of ambassador-chef, scolding students for not using enough olive oil (“what the hell was that? This is Italy!”) and appropriate dough kneading (“like you’re playing a piano… no, more like Chopin”). Many of the students slinking into the school have been trying to adjust to a vegetarian diet. The Mediterranean diet is effortlessly meat-free, explains Giuseppe, citing Caprese and bruschetta as examples. “So many dishes are vegetarian,” chimes in the co-

owner of the school, Maurizio Mastrangelo. “I think the best vegetarian sauce is the pesto, especially if you do it fresh.” If your vision of Italian food is Hawaiian pizzas, penne with chicken, and creamy carbonara, then you’re not alone – but you are wrong. These are American ‘twists’ (though Giuseppe would use a harsher word) on classic Italian cuisine, and they’re on the menu in most of Ireland’s ‘Italian’ eateries. When Maurizio first came to Ireland from his native Molise, he reckons about 40% of the Italian restaurants were authentic. He wanted to see a real taste of Italy in Ireland, and felt the Irish did too after travelling so much – call it the Ryanair effect. Sensing this demand for authenticity, Maurizio and his business partner Marco Giannantonio set up the school in 2005. They gave the Irish the real Calzone, and guess what? It’s heavily vegetable-based. The school offers a variety of half-day courses, and while some are specifically vegetarian, the others, from pasta sauces to pizzas to seasonal dinners, are often unconsciously meat-free. In their sister restaurant, Pinocchio in Ranelagh, over half

the dishes on the menu are vegetarian – and not a goat’s cheese risotto in sight. Pinocchio got a glowing review from Irish Independent food critic Paulo Tullio for its “pure Italian” taste. “Everything that you can eat there is authentic Italian, we can do nothing different”, shrugs Maurizio. Tullio commended the dishes for their balance of flavours and “extraordinary simplicity”. This, in fact, is the main lesson for students at the school, and may well be the secret of Italian cooking. “The golden rule”, Giuseppe tells me solemnly, “is not to put too many ingredients together”. Most of the pastas, breads, salads and desserts on the courses have only three or four ingredients. However, this concept of simplicity is a bit of

The Italian passion for fine ingredients includes one demand for the finest: extra virgin olive oil. “It is the most important ingredient” Maurizio told me, before citing various studies proving the health benefits of the oil in the Mediterranean region. Both Maurizio and Giuseppe spoke wistfully of olive trees in their family gardens in Italy. “My grandpa used to think that you could cure everything with olive oil,” says Giuseppe, “and if you were sick you would just put a spoon of raw extra virgin olive oil on whatever you were eating. I still do that.” Extra virgin is the highest standard in olive oil classification. To qualify it must be produced by mechanical means, without the use of solvents, and under temperatures of less than 30°C. The best producers are in Spain and Italy according to Maurizio. Olive oil in the north of Italy has a different flavour, “it’s like the wine”, he says. “In the past the farmer used to mix all of the olives. Now like the wine they are separating the different cultivations of the olives. So now you taste the different flavours like you taste the wine.” He admits Irish people aren’t quite at that level yet, but he has hope. “10 years ago or 15 years ago the culture for the wine was very low in Ireland. But now I see that Irish people understand the wines and know their wines. It will be the same with the extra virgin olive oil.” Giuseppe admits it can be very heavy. “Now of course it wouldn’t be a good idea to fry with olive oil. When I am making the pasta dish, I always drizzle some olive oil on top, because it brightens the colours and gives a shine. Also because I think that is the exact heat that you should use; the heat of the pasta warms it up but it’s not frying it.” Before you come out of the supermarket with boxes of it, be warned that olive oil crime is a lucrative business. It is a big problem in the EU, as good olive oil is time-consuming and expensive to make, but it is quick and cheap to fake. Tom Mueller, author of Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, estimates that 70% of extra virgin oil sold is a fraud. If you want to hone your Italian cooking with different varieties of extra virgin olive oil, start by being a discerning consumer. Buy your oil somewhere you can taste it first. It should taste fruity, bitter and peppery – you should feel it in the back of your throat. Extra virgin olive oil is simply pressed fruit juice without additives, so buy it as fresh as possible. Check the bottle for a harvest date, or at least a ‘best by’ date which should be two years after the oil was bottled. Go for bottles or containers that protect against light, and choose a quantity that you’ll use up quickly. The key words you’re looking for are “extra virgin”, accept no alternatives.

Giuseppe on:

Aubergines “I feel there is something truly rotten inside people who do not like aubergines. They simply have no soul”. Basil “As a kid, I’d go to my grandpa’s field to pick the basil and with the heat the smell became so strong, it was like a drug” Garlic and onion “You actually cannot put them together because they are too strong. My granny used to say that they punch each other like boxers. Here in Ireland it is easier because there are mild enough as a taste. In Italy, you cut the onion and the whole village is crying.” Pasta with chicken “We have pasta with everything; with broccoli, with potatoes, with everything. But we do not have pasta with chicken. We do not! You know when you read about a historical fake, that this painting was not painted by the master. Well this looks like something that could be Italian, but it is not. It is a fake.”

a struggle for the Irish. Apparently we have a tendency to throw everything into a pot, committing culinary murder by mixing mushrooms and peppers in the same dish. Giuseppe thinks it might have been a habit of the boom years; we were putting aged Parmesan, sun-dried tomato pesto and onion marmalade all in the same dish just because we could afford it. Post-recession, however, Giuseppe has seen a big change. “Before there was this idea, the more complicated, the better. When I came they were making these sauces where they were putting in onions and mushroom and meat; the more, the merrier. Now, they are moving to the real recipe where there are just a few ingredients. People are trying to simplify things”. The next commandment of Italian cuisine is quality: if you’re only using a handful of ingredients, they must be the best. Their reverence of extra virgin olive oil is a perfect example (Maurizio spent 15 minutes explaining the importance to me), but it extends to every ingredient. They source organic ingredients when possible, and often if they are not happy with the quality of the product from their suppliers, they send it back. Maurizio explains: “Italian cuisine is based on the freshest ingredients. If you have the right ingredients your recipe and dish will be great. If you don’t have good ingredients, you cannot cover the flavour by adding something.” Giuseppe says that when you’re working with as many vegetables as we do, the key is finding a way to enhance the flavour without covering it. “The taste of vegetables is quite subtle; it’s not as

Pesto “For me, Pesto is not one recipe; it is more an approach to life.” Tomato sauce “There are schools when it comes to tomato sauce, honestly. You put in the onion, and people will say “That is not tomato sauce!” You have no onion and others say “That is not tomato sauce!” It is a dogma. It is a faith.”

obvious as fruit or meat or fish. Because of the gentle, subtle taste, the less you do to them, the better.” That means cooking them al dente, not over-seasoning and using a little bit of extra virgin olive oil to retain the taste. We need to respect our vegetables. Giuseppe praises Ireland’s mushrooms, carrots and “excellent” potatoes, gesturing to pizzas topped with potatoes. In Italy, he admits, sometimes the choice of a vegetarian dish is down to cost. Cheap ingredients can make for tasty dishes though, and he feels this is especially relevant at the moment. “Say I am inviting some friends over and I don’t have much money”, he begins. “Well not me, because I am very rich. I can pay my bills – that’s our definition of rich.” He continues: “If I can say to somebody ‘I cooked everything from scratch; I made the pesto, I made the pasta’, that person feels wonderful. You don’t have to put much money into it. I think that’s what is happening in Ireland with the recession.”

It’s all about the simple pleasures, and if anyone can teach us about getting pleasure out of life, it’s the Italians. Both Giuseppe and Maurizio talk of the pride and honour they feel in spreading the Italian culture through the school. Food is the maximum way to enjoy a culture because it becomes part of your body, Maurizio muses. Giuseppe describes how his mother and aunts call him with recipes (“you need to teach them this”), and the summers he spends in their kitchens with a notebook gathering ideas for the next year. “Chefs are the new artists”, Maurizio declares. “You choose the ingredients for your masterpiece, you see the result of it, and then you can eat and enjoy.” Next time you frown at the suspicious simplicity of grilled aubergine with chilli and extra virgin olive oil, remember in Italy, that’s a masterpiece. Either that, or you have no soul. The Italian School of Cooking is offering a special €35 rate to readers on all cooking courses (usually €65). Just say the word ‘aubergine’. See www.flavourofitaly.net.

Ironically, many wines are already vegetarian and vegan by default, yet aren’t labelled so. This is because animal products can be an expensive addition for the winemaker. I am often approached by friends questioning the ingredients of wine, only after they have noticed the V on the back of a particular label. Hopefully winemakers will see growing consumer interest and awareness in wine production techniques as an opportunity rather than a threat, and take advantage of their vegetarian status by promoting it. After all, the less additions and manipulations made to a wine, the more the winemaker can focus on quality grapes and good winemaking technique, an argument even the staunchest Bordeaux and steak advocates can’t deny.

The Veggie Vineyards

Three Reds to try Vegan red wines will often throw a slight sediment in the bottle. This is perfectly harmless, and personally I love to see it, as it indicates that the wine has been interfered with as little as possible.

Make sure your cruelty-free dishes have a wine to match, says sommelier Slaine O’Brien I’m at a wine tasting when the speaker in front of me suggests pairing the Bordeaux he is swirling with a steak. Our eyes meet. There’s an awkward pause and a mumbled apology: “ I’m sorry, I’m not sure what vegetarian dish you could match this with....” Mushroom and chestnut wellington comes to my mind, but I say nothing. Being a vegetarian in the world of wine can be difficult. Many wines themselves aren’t vegetarian, and as a consumer, it can be hard to make informed wine choices. If you ask for a vegetarian wine in a shop or restaurant, you will often be met with a blank face. It’s a minefield: not all vegetarian or vegan wines will state so on the label, not all organic wines are vegetarian, and a wine which is vegetarian one year, may not be so the next. Animal products are often used at the final stages of winemaking. Fining agents are introduced in order to speedily clarify and stabilise the wine. The additives bind to suspended particles in the wine, causing them to sink to the bottom of the tank where they can be removed, but trace amounts of these additives can remain. Traditionally, bull’s blood was used to fine wines, however its use was banned in 1997 after the BSE crisis. Several animal products are still permitted in winemaking, the most popular of these being isinglass (made from the swim bladder of fish) and gelatine. Casein (milk) and albumin (egg whites) are both often

used as well. Vegan alternatives do exist for the fining process; bentonite clay can be used in place of animal products, for example. The addition of fining additives can also be skipped entirely, with any solid particles in the wine being left to naturally settle in the tank over time. Frustratingly, wine labelling laws are much more lax than those of food or soft drinks, and current labelling laws in Europe need revision. Small progressions are however beginning to take place. Last year, after a decade-long campaign, the organic terms of wine production were properly defined, with regulations set for practices both in the vineyard and in the winery. European wines can now be labelled ‘organic’ for the first time, replacing a previously vague term of ‘Wine made from organically grown grapes’. Buyer beware: organic wines can still contain animal products. Other new laws brought in last year will see European wines state when egg or milk remains in the wine, however there are no such requirements for isinglass or gelatine. There are several calls being made for greater transparency in the industry, and for wine ingredients to be listed on the bottle. The natural wine movement is gaining momentum, thanks hugely to Isabelle Legeron, a French Master of Wine advocating sustainable, organic and vegan wines. Despite a lack of any legal directive over vegetarian and vegan wines, many retailers are stepping up. Marks & Spencer have labelled their wines vegan and vegetarian for the past several years, Tesco’s own brand wines are also labelled accordingly and recently O’Briens Wines added vegan and vegetarian sections to their website.

Photo: Trey Ratcliff/Flickr

Negroamaro

Marks & Spencer €10.49, Vegan Made from the local Negroamaro grape in Puglia in the South East of Italy. This wine has lashings of plum and dark cherry fruit flavours. Italian red wines are naturally high in acidity and pair brilliantly with the acidity of tomato-based dishes. Enjoy this with pasta and spicy tomato sauce.

Ars In Vitro

O’Briens Wines €14.99, Vegan Made by a small producer in the Yerri Valley, Navarra, Spain. This wine is a blend of Merlot and Tempranillo grapes. An extremely elegant wine, with plum, blueberry and violet notes. Pair this wine with aubergine parmigiana and vegetarian stew dishes.

Yalumba Organic Shiraz

Available in all good wine shops €14.99, Vegan Shiraz with a small touch of Viognier grape (similar to the blends typical of the northern Rhone in France.) Some of the bigger Australian Shiraz’ can sometimes be overpowering and too tannic for vegetarian dishes. This is a great medium bodied, fruit driven alternative. Juicy plum and cherry with hints of vanilla. This will pair brilliantly with really flavoursome dishes such as grilled smoky marinated tofu.

Three Whites to try Muscato

Marks & Spencer €13.49, Vegan This is a lower alcohol (9.5%) medium sweet wine, but beautifully balanced with crisp acidity. Very aromatic, with hints of exotic fruits and floral notes. Enjoy this wine on its own or use its sweetness to pick out the sweeter elements of a salad, such as pomegranate, pear or honeyed figs.

Finest Pouilly-Fumé

Tesco €18.79, Vegetarian Made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes in the Loire Valley in France, this wine has crisp citrus acidity, touches of gooseberry fruit and plenty of refreshing minerality. Enjoy it with risotto and other rich white sauce based dishes.

Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc

O’Briens Wines €18.99, Vegan This wine hails from a family vineyard in the Marlborough region in the South Island of New Zealand. It’s crisp and clean with citrus fruit, herbaceous notes and plenty of gooseberry. This wine was born to be accompanied by goats’ cheese.

TALENT Natasha Czopor’s raw food empire of healthy snacks and vegan desserts have swept the country, winning awards and omnivore fans along the way. Aileen Power talks to Dublin’s raw food queen about starting a business, feeding Olympians, and why going raw is easier than you think

It’s official: raw food is rock’n’roll. “Thanks Natasha for having us” shouted the lead singer of Mikey & The Scallywags to his 2am audience at this year’s Body and Soul Festival. He was shouting from Natasha’s Living Food tent, which staged over 20 acts during the three-day festival and convinced the thousands that wandered into the tent that raw food could be delicious. Raw quite literally rocked. Natasha is very fond of the festival catering side of her business, and quite rightly proud of the place it has in Body and Soul and Electric Picnic. “My vision is always that the music, the lifestyle, the joy of the music and the food are all aligned together. So I program all the music myself. The energy of the musicians that play in my tent have to mirror what’s happening in the food, so the energy all goes together.” This energy and lifestyle has been part of her for 23 years, since she discovered raw food in East Germany. “I was 20, living in a community north of Berlin; the wall had just come down. One of the guys there was into foraging. So I started foraging, and learned a lot about plants and herbs. I read Leslie Kenton’s book Raw Power, and I just thought this makes total sense.” Natasha was raised vegetarian, and was vegan when she discovered raw food. She feels lucky that she didn’t

come to living food from illness, as a lot of people do. “It really suited me. I was living in nature, I was making a lot of herbal essences tinctures. I came to it because, I really understood about taking the livingness of your food in your body.” Her products are free of flour, refined sugar, dairy, wheat, eggs, meat and fish, and organic where possible. Ingredients are not heated above 40°C to preserve enzymes, nutrients, minerals, amino acids and vitamins. You won’t find a microwave or oven in her factory in Parkwest, just food processors, blenders and dehydrators. Everything is made by hand. Coeliacs, type 2 diabetics, and allergy sufferers must love her products, though she says not everyone who eats her food has allergies or illness. She reckons the main reason is that it’s simply full of flavour, and not tasteless like most other snacking foods. Living foods also make you fuller for longer, “because your body’s really taking up the nutrition in your food”. There’s no better endorsement of their nutrition than athletes knocking on her factory door. “Athletes are turning to plant-based foods, and living food is a component of that. Because it’s a real quality product, they get a lot out of it in terms of their performance. Deirdre Ryan, Irish Olympic athlete, she

eats my food. I feed the Olympic sailing team. So there’s a lot of cyclists, endurance cyclists, ultra marathon runners, people who are really, really conscious about what’s going in their body, they come to my factory.” Besides Olympians though, she notices that people are getting fitter and choosing her food as a result. Her products are stocked in bicycle shops, and she’s been asked to sell at triathlons. Cooking is in her blood; her family tree branched out to family-owned restaurants and cafés before she started her own veggie café and bus for festivals. She loves cooking for other people, and has an incredible affinity with food, claiming “I could make recipes up and taste them all out in my mind without making anything.” “Living food has different kinds of flavours because they’re fresher, they’re brighter, they can be more intense. With living foods, you have this subtle blending, and the flavors are quite strong. You can’t add loads of flavour, so it’s a different way of making food, but people think ‘Oh my God, there’s so much prep’, but actually, it’s really easy.” You might be forgiven for thinking that someone with two decades of catering experience might lose sight of what’s ‘easy’ for us mere mortals. But she insists it is. “Take tomato soup; get a blender, chuck some tomatoes in there, some basil, a bit of miso, lemon, a bit of salt, a bit of olive oil. And just blend. It’s just getting to know your ingredients.” She believes the increasing amount of processed food on the market takes away people’s strength and their ability to understand how to make food for themselves. For those taking baby steps to a raw diet, she recommends starting with the types of food you like, and discovering how to make them in more of a raw way. “Start simple. Don’t set yourself up to be complete raw food straight away and then have the meltdown. Introduce stuff into your diet, enjoy it, try some recipes that you like. There’s heaps of information on the internet.”

You can make an Alfredo pasta or tomato pasta raw, she points out. Cashew nuts can make a ‘white wine’ sauce. Amazing raw food cheeses don’t need lots of equipment; just nuts, water, olive oil, lemon juice and a food processor. One of her favourite recipes is taking greens, lemon juice, garlic, cashew or walnuts, and hey presto, vegan pesto! Tamari is her secret ingredient. Lemon juice and a really good sea salt are essential in a raw kitchen. “You can marinate with lemon juice, you can bring out loads of flavor in lemon. It helps break down the cellular wall of your veg. I always have loads of greens. At the moment, I have rainbow chards, dinosaur kale, mixed leaves, spinach. And tomatoes, broccoli. And Spanish extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed.” Sourcing local ingredients is important for the quality, and for supporting Irish businesses. “I’ve got someone in Mayo with ten acres who grows the kale for me now. She’s more expensive, but it supports her on her farm. And I’ll write that on my new packaging; ‘kale supplied by Anne Walsh, County Mayo, grown on her farm’ with a little picture of Ann.” Living food is about conscious decisions, she explains. Consciously supporting local and ethical businesses, as well as being more conscious of your health and what you put into your body. Which brings me to the subject of her own (glowing) health. When I remind her a blogger recently described her as looking 25, she laughs and replies that she is four-months pregnant at the age of 42. Motherhood will not slow down this shrewd businesswoman though. The next step for her company is exporting. “There’s a big market for it. It’s just getting the production right. Trying to get machines and moving to a bigger factory. And getting an investor.” With rock stars in her festival tent and Olympians in her factory, we’re guessing a venture capitalist ready to invest in her business can’t be too far behind. For a full list of Natasha’s goodies and where to get them, go to www.natashaslivingfood.ie

Chocolate is not the latest treat to go raw, but it is one of the sweetest. Maureen O’Sullivan joined renowned raw chocolatier Amy Levin for a course to remember. Photography by Marie Stone Professional chef and author Amy Levin is considered the UK’s leading raw chocolatier. She discovered vegan and vegetarian raw food in 2004, and now teaches raw chocolate and raw food classes in the UK, Ireland and North America. Lucky for the 13 of us in the Fionnuisce Centre in Bandon that Sunday, she also comes to Cork. We ranged from the beginners (myself) to experienced chocolatiers with their own chocolate companies or health food stores. Many had travelled for this Sunday daytime course. Amy is a wonderful communicator. Everyone learned something, yet the inexperienced were not overloaded

Amy and the Chocolate Factory

with information. We were informed about the most appropriate blenders to use: the Vitamix being the best as it blends extremely finely. We learned that cashew nuts can be used to create vegan “milk” chocolate. The importance of tempering chocolate, which gives it that glossy, silky appearance, was explained and we were taught about what can go wrong and how to deal with this. Everyone received a booklet of recipes to follow throughout the class and all got hands-on experience of making chocolates. It was fun being shown how to fill chocolates. The chocolates themselves were absolutely delicious. My favourite was a dark chocolate filled with a raspberryflavoured almond centre and rolled in coconut coloured with beetroot powder. Another outstanding chocolate was filled with soaked and dehydrated almonds which had been flavoured with aniseed and orange. Amy is very knowledgeable about flavour combinations, probably due to being a classically-trained chef. There was much recommended reading for people who wanted to know more. We learned about different moulds, flavourings and colours and where to get them. Apparently

r a e ll w

give peas a chance

It’s

a dehydrator is an important piece of equipment, especially to avoid any moisture getting into the chocolate, which can be ruinous. This is why liqueurs always have a sugar shell which separates the liquid from the chocolate exterior. After the course, we signed up to a Facebook page where Amy regularly contacts us with wonderful recipes, photos and solutions to any difficulties experienced. The Fionnuisce centre itself is a very nice space with several rooms and a large kitchen. The owner also has a well-stocked health food store, An Tóbarín, where many of the products used in the course can be purchased. If you’re looking for raw ingredients, Galwaybased company Ireland’s Raw Kitchen has a great range for this style of food preparation. The course cost €180 and was money well-spent. The subsequent inclusion in the Facebook group was a real bonus, as well as the booklet and all the continuing support. For more about Amy Levin and her courses, go to www.ooosha.co.uk

ng i y a s

never an easy thing, ‘coming out’ as a vegetarian. It’s particularly hard when, like me, you’re from a family where meat-eating is seen not only as a right, but as a duty. I’d actually wanted to become a vegetarian from my earliest years – I was the sort of eightyear-old who cried over dried-up earthworms and squished baby birds – but it took until I was almost seventeen, and had endured a summer working as a butcher’s assistant, before my parents truly believed my aversion to meat was less of a phase, and more of a lifestyle choice. One of the stranger aspects of my transitioning to full-time vegetarian was my father’s sudden, and disturbing, facility with animal impressions, and his tendency to perform said impressions at the dinner table. If the rest of my family were eating beef, for instance, he’d eyeball me and my plate of gently boiled veg while making ‘moo’ noises between bites; his sheep impression over a lamb chop was truly a sight to behold. I’m still not sure what he was hoping to achieve by making me more, rather than less, aware of the connection between animals and meat, but in any case, his attempts to turn me back into a carnivore were not successful. I know he only wanted the best for me, being of the opinion that living on vegetables alone was not only unhealthy but also slightly politically-suspect. I remember how frustrating it was as a teenager to have to explain, repeatedly, that ‘no, I’m not ill, I just don’t eat meat,’ and that ‘no, I’m not going to run away to join a protest march or become a Communist, I swear.’ Being a non-meat-eater, it seems, is more than just a dietary issue. To be fair, my parents’ concerns about my health may not have been all that ill-founded; my mother – rightly, as it turned out – feared that when I finally

Sinéad O’Hart

became a vegetarian, I’d subsist mainly on cheese. She was aware that I came to vegetarianism not out of a deep, abiding love of vegetables but more out of a vague sense of not wanting to eat things that had once walked and breathed and wept and had lives and dreams of their own, and that I had no notion of what a meat-free world would actually be like. My experience of vegetables was like most Irish people’s – spuds, carrots and parsnips were about the height of it – and none of it set my soul on fire. Wonders like asparagus, olives, purple sprouting broccoli, sundried tomatoes and ginger were all discovered during or post-college, and mainly through other people saying things like: ‘Are you serious? A vegetarian who’s never eaten lentils/tofu/sweetcorn? You’ve got to be joking!’ It took me ages to realise that becoming vegetarian was supposed to expand, rather than restrict, my palate, and for many years I was a vegetarian who didn’t really like vegetables. I once turned up at my best friend’s house for lunch, clutching a loaf of brown bread and pack of instant noodles, wearing the dazed look of an MSG addict. My friend was horrified to learn I’d pretty much lived on said bread and noodles for over a year; she promptly stuffed me full of vegetable stir-fry, quite possibly saving my life in the process. Luckily, in the past 16 solid years of being meatfree, I’ve managed to develop a love of vegetables so profound that it forms the basis of my life. I’m also blessed with a mother-in-law who is vegetarian, and has become a pillar of support. I still make the occasional misstep, mainly in terms of buying products which are meat-shaped and/or meat-flavoured, purely for convenience, but I’m weaning myself off those, too. One of these days, I may even learn how to make proper nut roast – but until then, I’m perfectly happy with my green, leafy little life. And I only break out the instant noodles for special occasions, these days.

New kid on the Broccoli

Mary’s Stuffed Mushrooms Serves one smug vegan

When I decided to become a vegetarian six months ago, I think it’s fair to say that I hadn’t a notion of what I was getting myself into. Vegetarianism was a lifestyle I had wanted to embrace for years and yet, meat was still about 60% of what I ate up until that point. So what finally made me take the plunge? Well, it was a mixture of working in a greasy fried-chicken shop, realising I couldn’t say I loved animals and eat them at the same time, and basically feeling like rubbish because of my poor diet. Although I had been considering it for quite some time, my decision to become vegetarian once and for all was pretty much made overnight. On Saturday night I was having a burger before bed and on Sunday morning I was staring blankly at a banana wondering how I’d ever manage. I think the hardest part of being a new vegetarian is living with those who aren’t. When I looked in the fridge, all I could see was cheap

ham. This made me reminisce back to when I could lie on the couch inhaling individual slices from the packet, savouring that mysterious flavour. Strange as it is, I think I had a bit of an emotional attachment to meat. I had many fond memories of eating it; the cocktail sausages at childhood parties, the salty bacon I was served at my granny’s house out west, and of course, the Sunday roast that would bring my family together once a week. I realised that if I was going to try vegetarianism for real, I’d have to immerse myself in it and make some new food memories. In the beginning, I survived by experimenting with meat supplements such as ‘chicken’ style burgers and every sort of veggie sausage. My daily dinner was ‘meat’ and two veg, and I was delighted to find a chickenstyle burger that tasted just as bland as the real (depending on how you define real) ones that I used to love. As I began to eat a

I think every vegetarian finds a cookbook at the early stages that saves their tastebuds. Mine is ‘Complete Vegetarian’ by Nicola Graimes. It makes vegetarian cooking simple and eases the transition because the recipes are so satisfying. Every new vegetarian should read the introduction. It includes important nutritional information, such as the essential nutrients for good health and how to apply them to a veggie diet. She also lists essential vitamins and minerals and their role in our wellbeing. Even if you don’t pick up this book, remember to take these points into account when beginning your veggie journey!

greater volume of vegetables, I became less enamoured with the meat alternative products. I soon realised that there was a whole world of flavour I had deprived myself of. Vegetables tasted good! This revelation led me on a quest to invent the most delicious vegetable dishes I could possibly make. My favourite comfort food has become a simple stuffed Portobello mushroom. Throughout my whole life my mother’s stuffing has been a source of wonderment for me. The crunchy texture and garlic flavour was always a mouthwatering accompaniment to a roast, and I was happy that I could edit the recipe to replace the meat with a vegan option that is both cruelty-free and very tasty. I hope that you too can create some good food memories with it.

Photos: Rebecca Sims and Katherine Lynch/Flickr

Remember those first six months as a vegetarian? Illustrator and ‘fresh veg’ Mary Fleming talks making new food memories

Ingredients 2 Portobello Mushrooms Handful of chopped chives Chopped garlic Wholemeal bread Soy butter (for frying) 1 tablespoon olive oil Sprinkle of salt

1. Prepare the Portobello Mushrooms by peeling off the skin and tearing off the stalks 2. Finely chop the garlic and chives. The amount used depends on your taste for these ingredients. When making two stuffed mushrooms, I use two cloves of garlic and two or three sprigs of chive. I love my garlic though 3. Blend at least two slices of wholemeal bread to make breadcrumbs. I use wholemeal as white bread can be too stodgy. The number of slices you need depends on how much stuffing you wish to make. The more the better I say, because you might want to eat it out of a bowl with a spoon afterwards 4. Turn the oven on at gas mark 4, pre-heat for about 10 minutes 5. Put a pan on low heat and add soy butter. I tend to use a ridiculous amount that I am ashamed to list here. Let’s say, two (heaped) tablespoons 6. Once the pan is sizzling, add the bread crumbs first, followed by the chives and garlic. Only lightly fry this mixture as it will be cooked as well 7. Place Portobello mushrooms on a tray and spoon mixture into the middle of them 8. Drizzle the olive oil over them as they can become quite dry when heat is applied 9. Cook for 10-15 minutes in the oven (15 minutes if you want a nice crispy result) 10. Add a sprinkling of salt to taste 11. Serve and enjoy!

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

Mandy’s Irish Coffee Cupcakes Makes 12 cupcakes

Super baker and blogger Mandy Mortimer reveals her secret recipe for impressing visiting in-laws

One of the first things my dad-in-law scouts around for in our kitchen are all the bits needed to make his fresh pot of coffee. My mom-in-law is also a coffee fiend, but her guilty pleasure is a cappuccino topped with whipped cream, something found regularly on menus back home in South Africa. So when you combine coffee with whipped cream and a shot of Irish whiskey and put it all together in the form of moist and tender cupcakes... Well, then you get in-laws who will love you forever! These Irish Coffee cupcakes are not overly sweet but are still indulgent and hit all the right notes. They’re a pick-me-up in the afternoon or a perfect end to a delicious dinner.

Ingredients 3/4 cup Self Raising Flour 1/2 cup Plain Flour 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 cup Milk 3 Tbsp Instant Espresso Powder 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 115g Unsalted Butter 1 cup Golden Granulated Sugar 2 Free Range Eggs, lightly beaten 1. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake papers and pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan assisted) 2. Sift the flours and salt together 3. In a jug or small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in milk and stir in vanilla 4. With an electric beater or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and well creamed, about 3 - 5 mins 5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly and scraping the sides of the bowl down before adding the second egg

6. Mix in a third of the dry ingredients 7. Mix in half of the wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl 8. Mix in half of remaining dry ingredients until just combined 9. Beat in remaining wet ingredients 10. Fold in the last of the dry ingredients until just mixed 11. Divide batter amongst cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full 12. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, or the top of the cupcake springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, between 18-20 mins 13. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in pan for about 10 mins 14. Remove cupcakes from the pan and leave cupcakes to cool on a wire rack completely before frosting 15. Attach a large plain tip to a piping bag and fill with Jameson Whipped Cream Frosting 16. Pipe a generous swirl of frosting on each cupcake 17. Enjoy!

For the Jameson Whipped Cream Frosting 450ml Double Cream, cold 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar 4 Tbsp Jameson Irish Whiskey Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, then whisk just until stiff peaks form and can hold their shape. Tip: Because double cream has a higher fat content, it whips up quicker than single/whipping cream, so be careful not to overbeat as you’ll end up with some rather tasty butter. The cream will be completely liquid for quite a while, but literally go from medium peak to stiff peak in the space of a few seconds. You can also use single/whipping cream, just beat for a little longer.

Giuseppe’s Recipes

Vegetarian Society of Ireland Membership Application Form To become a member, or to renew your subscription, simply complete this form and send it to: The Membership Secretary, VSI, c/o Dublin Food Co-op, 12 Newmarket, Dublin 8. You can also join online at www.vegetarian.ie/mem.htm

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Involtini di Melanzane alla Parmigiana Oven-baked rolls of aubergines filled with Mozzarella and basil, topped with Napoli tomato sauce. Serves 6 Ingredients 1 onion Extra virgin olive oil 400 g peeled tomatoes Basil 3 Aubergines Salt Vegetarian parmesan cheese Mozzarella cheese 3 vine tomatoes

1. Finely slice the onion and fry in olive oil over a low flame until translucent 2. Add peeled tomatoes and some basil leaves to the pan 3. Simmer until all water is absorbed and the sauce is dark orange (about 20 minutes) 4. Cut the aubergines into slices 5mm thick 5. Put them on an oven tray with a drizzle of olive oil and cook gently at 150°C till they are soft

Panelle Siciliane

Panelle is the most popular street food in the Sicilian city of Palermo. They are believed to be of Arabic origin and are eaten with the typical sesame seed Sicilian bread, or on their own as a snack.

Ingredients 250 g chickpea flour 750 ml cold water Bunch of parsley Salt and black pepper 1. Pass the flour through a sieve and add to the water in a pot 2. Put the pot over a medium heat and heat the water and flour mixture until there are no lumps (about 1213 minutes) 3. Add salt, black pepper and parsley according to taste 4. Put the dough in a high baking tray, ideally rectangular 5. Let the dough cool for about 30 mins and then cut into rectangular or square slices 6. Deep fry the slices 7. Serve seasoned with salt and a squeeze of lemon

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I wish to become a member of the Vegetarian Society of Ireland. I am in sympathy with the aims of the Society (see page 4) and declare that while I remain a member I will not knowingly consume the flesh of animals (meat, fish, fowl) as food, and I will aim to avoid the use and consumption of battery hen eggs and slaughter-house by-products.

6. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese 7. On each slice, place a basil leaf and a piece of mozzarella cheese and a little piece of fresh tomato on the narrow end of the slice 8. Roll it tight, and then place each roll on an oven tray 9. Spoon some sauce on the bottom of the tray and on the roll 10. Cook in the oven at 180°C, until the cheese starts to melt 11. Serve with a basil leaf and parmesan cheese on top Serves 5

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OR I wish to become an Associate Member of the Vegetarian Society of Ireland. While I cannot yet practise vegetarianism at all times, I am in sympathy with the aims of the Society and would like to support its work.

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You are invited to an evening of wisdom with a meditation teacher from Art of Living Friday 18 October 2013, 7pm-9pm Venue: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown

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VSI Meetups

Sarah Gee and Sarah Burnham at Vegan Pizza Day

Louisa organised a lovely lunch in Pizza Hut on Suffolk street for Vegan Pizza Day on Saturday 29 June. Pizza Hut provided a really tasty ‘all you can eat’ vegan pizza buffet and a salad bar. There was a great turn out with 30 vegetarians and vegans attending. Everyone was friendly and despite not knowing anyone when I arrived I was introduced to others in the group and made to feel welcome. A small group of attendees went on to Lurve in Temple Bar for tea and cake after Pizza Hut. There was a wide range of vegan cakes to choose from: chocolate cake, carrot cake, cappuccino cake and Victoria sponge – they were spoilt for choice! Well done to Louisa for organising a great afternoon.

Mary Burnham on Bray to Greystones Coastal Walk Eric on Lunch at Hibiscus Wilde Vegan Food Bar

On a glorious Tuesday evening in July, I headed for The Exchange Dublin; a volunteer run collective and space. I was greeted by friendly faces; Sarah B, Tim from Ruuts and Shuuts and others. There were about 17 of us in all. I had the courgette pie and salad which was very reasonable at €6. It was filling and very healthy. Others had the just as deliciouslooking broccoli and chickpea curry with quinoa. Desserts were tempting with berry tart, rhubarb cake and raw coconut spice balls. That evening, supply did not meet demand for food but I’m sure that’s not always the way. After the meal, Tim spoke about Ruuts and Shuuts and how it was a not-for-profit, educational and vegan catering collective. He introduced Sandra Higgins, a psychotraumatologist who gave an insightful talk about the factors involved in burnout among activists. Mary Maddock of MindFreedom followed for a wellreceived talk. Coffee at Accents Café, Stephen Street Lower polished off a lovely evening of good food and chat.

Sarah Burnham at Seomra Spraoi

On Wednesday 19 June a small group of us met at the Spire and walked together to Seomra Spraoi (10 Belvidere Court, off Gardiner Street in Dublin 1). Seomra Spraoi is an autonomous social centre run by a non-hierarchical, anticapitalist collective on a not-forprofit basis. Most importantly – they serve tasty vegan food on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings for a suggested €5/€7 donation! We enjoyed our dinner of asparagus risotto, served with olive and lentil tapenade and a green salad. Dessert was a delicious chocolate torte, which I was excited to hear contained avocado!. Scrumptious food and good company – a great evening!

Photo: Aileen Power

The VSI Dublin meetup Group visited Hibiscus Wilde at The Ferocious Mingle Market, 72 Thomas Street, to enjoy good food and even better company on Saturday 15 June. Hibiscus Wilde is a vegan food bar with a generous selection of vegan dishes – both sweet and savoury – for the most discerning palate. While boasting great taste, Hibiscus Wilde also manages to offer healthy, nutritiouslybalanced meals. Several of our members ordered the veggie burger, which is handmade with lentils and whole grains. After lunch the group moved to Cassidy’s pub for a slow pint and friendly conversation.

Twenty-four cheerful voices rang out in the upper room of the Happy Pear Restaurant, Greystones as if they hadn’t seen each other in weeks. Some of us were a tad tired after our exhilarating cliff walk from Bray to Greystones but others were already planning a return journey back! The sun obliged with glorious warmth, a gorgeous blue-green sea lapped up against the rocks, as the lush greenery on either side of the path gently brushed our skin. It took about 90 minutes from start to finish and was a great appetiser for the meal ahead. I enjoyed my cannelloni dish stuffed with butternut squash with two colourful side salads, and topped the lot off with a raw chocolate cake. All the dishes and desserts were affordable and extremely tasty. I felt very welcome at my first meetup, and will certainly be repeating the experience.

Eilís Scully in Ruuts and Shuuts

JOIN US

Member Discount Directory

Become a VSI member

Active Balance Clinic, Family Resource Centre, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, offers discount on selected complementary health treatments. Contact Tomas Ronan for more info. Tel. 0872711215 www.therasage.ie [10% discount]

Members of the Vegetarian Society of Ireland can: • Get discounts in participating restaurants and shops • Meet other vegetarians and vegans • Hear about meet-up events for vegetarian and vegan people in their area • Get a copy of our magazine delivered to their door

An Bhean Feasa Health Shop, Unit 1, Clifden Court, Bridge Street, Clifden, Co. Galway. Tel. 095 30671, Email: info@ clifdenhealthandtherapy.com, www.clifdenhealthandtherapy. com [5% discount] Anahata Healing, Desert, Clonakilty, Co. Cork. Lomi Lomi Massage, Pregnancy Massage, Holistic and Aromatherapy Massage, Reflexology, Ear Candling, Sound Healing, Baby Massage Classes, Reiki Treatments and Attunements. Tel. Angela: 087 2030869 www.lifevibes.ie [10% discount] Arusha Fair Trade, fair trade gifts of jewellery, bags, home accessories & children’s items. Email info@arushafairtrade. com mentioning the VSI in the subject line, for discount code. www.arushafairtrade.com [10% discount]

Annual membership is just €20 for adults and €10 for those under 18. It’s easy to sign up online. Go to:

Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork. (021) 4652531 www.ballymaloe.com [10% off vegetarian dishes]

www.vegetarian.ie

Be Organic, fresh, local, seasonal organic fruit & vegetables and other sustainably-farmed organic products delivered direct to your door. Tel: 01 8385552. www.beorganic.ie [5% discount]

Photo: Liz West/Flickr

The spring issue of The Irish Vegetarian will be about Vegepreneurs: vegetarian and vegan entrepreneurs.

Bursting with ideas?

We’re looking for articles or interviews around these topics: • Vegetarian catering companies and farmers’ market stalls • Clothing companies such as leather substitutes, online shops, and vegan shoe brands • Competitiveness with non-vegetarian items • Cruelty-free cosmetics • Ways in which vegetarian businesses deal with other ethical issues such as environmental • Vegetarian-friendly hotels and B&Bs Send your proposal to editor@vegetarian.ie by 7 December 2013. The deadline for receipt of articles is 21 December.

THANK YOU

The Vegetarian Society of Ireland would like to thank those who made donations to the Society, and the volunteers who give their time to organise VSI events and work on the VSI magazine. It is greatly appreciated.

Blazing Salads, 42 Drury St, Dublin 2. Discount available at Drury Street premises. Not applicable with any other offer (inhouse promotions and the loyalty card scheme). www. blazingsalads.com [15% discount] Clare Island Retreat Centre, Ballytoohey, Clare Island, Co Mayo. Tel: 087 2621832. www.yogaretreats.ie or www.yoga-ireland.com [10% discount on yoga and vegetarian cooking courses] Cocoa Bean Artisan Chocolates Company, Limerick. 087 7594820 www.cocoabeanchocolates.com [inquire for discount] Cork Acupuncture Clinic, 50 Cornmarket Street (above Dervish), Cork City. Caroline Dwyer (Bowles), dedicated and caring acupuncturist). Tel Caroline: 0872516528. www. corkacupunctureclinic.com [10% off Acupuncture treatments] Cornucopia Restaurant, 19/20 Wicklow, St., Dublin 2, www.cornucopia.ie [10% discount] D.A.F. Clinic, 17 Inglewood Rd, Rainford, St Helens, Lancashire, WA11 7QL. Email: dafclinic@hotmail.co.uk or Tel: +44 1744 884173 [25% off Chiropody / Podiatry / Auricular Therapy / Reflexology (Merseyside & Manchester)] [50% on vegetarian and vegan nutritional therapy & profiling by post, fax & email)] Delhi O’Deli, 12 Moore Street, Dublin 1. Indian street food and vegetarian restaurant. Tel. (01) 872 9129 www. delhiodeli.com [10% discount] Dónall na Gealaí, Gift Shop, Claregate St., Kildare Town (books, CDs, essential oils, candles & crystals). Tel: 045 533634. www. donallnagealai.ie [10% discount] Flying Baby Cake Company. Gluten-free bakery. All products are vegetarian and any orders can be easily adapted to be vegan. Cakes and cupcakes for all occasions. Tel: 0857373729 flyingbabycakecompany.com [5% discount on orders]

VSI members get discounts on everything from gifts to lunch to retreats. Remember to show your card!

The Italian School of Cooking, Unit C4, City Link Business Park, Old Naas Road, Dublin 12. Offering special €35 rate to VSI members on cooking courses (over 50% discount!). All courses have vegetarian option. Call Giuseppe (01) 460 8800 www.flavourofitaly.net. Freelance translator, Patricia Tricker MCIL Cert Ed (FE), working into English from French, German , Italian & Spanish specializing in economics, finance, accountancy, company law & archaeology. Tel/fax: +44 1677 450176 or email translation@ phonecoop.coop [10% discount] Govindas, 4 Aungier Street, Dublin 2. Vegetarian restaurants. www.govindas.ie [10% discount in Aungier Street restaurant only, not applicable in the Middle Abbey St restaurant] Greenway Emporium, Market Yard, Bridge Street, Boyle, Co. Roscommon. Run by a family of vegetarians, the shop has a range of health foods, natural toiletries, baby care products, relaxing music, organic aromatherapy oils, plus Fair Trade and ethically-traded. Tel: 071 9664090 [10% off all purchases over €20]. Holistic.ie, Ireland’s importer and distributor of Vitamineral GreenTM [20% discount] Lake Isle Retreats, Inish Rath Island, Upper Lough Erne, Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh, BT92 9GN. Short Breaks, Workshops in vegetarian cookery, meditation and yoga. Tel: 086 1608108. www. inisrath.com [10% discount] Lurve Vegan Café, 11 Fownes Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. www.facebook.com/LurveFabulousVeganFood [10% discount] Moher House B+B, Drummin, Westport, www.moherhousewestport. com [10% discount for members] Nature’s Gold, Healthfood Store, 1 Killincarrig Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow. Tel: 01 2876301 [10% discount] Newtownpark Clinic, 7 Rockville Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Ciara Murphy MH Ir RGN (Master Herbalist and Colon Therapist) 10% discount on all treatments, consultations and workshops. Tel: 01 210 8489 www.irishherbalist.ie Quay Co-op, 24 Sullivans Quay, Cork City; Main Street, Ballincollig; and Main Street, Carrigaline, Cork www.quaycoop.com [10% discount in the shops] Sunyata Retreat Centre, Snata, Sixmilebridge, Co Clare. Tel: 061 367-073. A spacious haven outside the bustle of modern life, Sunyata is perfectly situated for relaxation, meditation, and contemplation. www.sunyatacentre.org [10% discount on retreats and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction] The Happy Pear, Church Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow. Natural food market with organic and non-organic produce, dried goods, a world-class smoothie bar, café and restaurant. Tel: 01-2873655. thehappypear.ie [5% discount] The Hopsack, Health food store, Swan Centre, Rathmines, Dublin 6. Tel/fax 01- 4960399. www.hopsack.ie [5% discount] The Phoenix Restaurant and B&B, Castlemaine, Co. Kerry. thephoenixrestaurant.ie [10%discount] Well and Good, Health Food Store, Coolbawn, Midleton, Co Cork. Tel: 021 4633499 [5% discount]

Vegetarian and Vegan Group listings Clare Veg Group Email: clareveggroup@gmail.com Website: www.clareveggroup.blogspot.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/clare.veg9 Cork Vegans, Raw Vegans and Vegetarians Regularly meet up to socialise and to discuss and promote vegan issues. Email:corkvegans@gmail.com Website: https://www.facebook.com/ corkvegans Galway Vegetarian Group Usually meet on the first Thursday of every month in Massimo’s Pub, William Street West, Galway City at 8pm. Contact Paul Campbell on 085 6872088. Email: paulcampbellgalway@gmail.com Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ GalwayVegetarians And Vegans Kerry Vegans, Raw Vegans and Veggies Hoping to connect vegans in Kerry and anyone else interested in the vegan lifestyle. www.facebook.com/ groups/454762484576907 Kilkenny Vegetarian Group Organises “No Meat and Greets” where vegetarians and vegans bring their favourite dishes to share with others. Omnivores welcome but no meat please! Email: vegkilkenny@gmail.com Laois Vegetarian Group An opportunity for people to discuss issues relating to living a veggie lifestyle and offer support to each other. All are welcome: young, old, families and singles. Website: http://www.meetup.com/laois-vegetarians Meath Veggies A page for vegetarians, vegans, and those trying to reduce meat from their diet, based in Meath. We will be organising a Supper Club and events, local to Trim and Athboy that will be about good food, company, exchanging information in a friendly environment. Website: www.facebook.com/groups/ meathveggies

V Meetup Welcome all vegetarians, vegans, raw foodists, fruitarians, (and any kind of plant eater!) from Northern Ireland. Website: www.meetup.com/Northern-IrelandVegetarian-Vegan/ VSI - Dublin Meetup Group Meet at least once a month in various Dublin city centre locations. To participate in this group join meetup.com (free) and then become a member of the group. Contact: Sarah B (Organiser), via Meetup.com. Website: www.vegetarian.meetup. com/485/

Vegan Social and Local Groups Galway Vegan Foodies Group For vegans and aspiring vegans living in and around Galway who love to eat! Website: www.meetup.com/The-GalwayVegan-Meetup-Group/ Vegan Ireland Vegan Ireland regularly sends newsletters by email with details of their latest activities, including meetups and information stands. Email: vegansireland@gmail.com. Website: www.veganireland.org. Vegan Sligo Bringing the vegan lifestyle to Sligo. Email: vegansligo@gmail.com Website: www.facebook.com/pages/ Vegan-Sligo/215528968478165 Is your local group missing? Email socials@vegetarian.ie and we’ll include it. If you’d like to create a group in your area let us know. We can help with leaflets and publicity.

Vegetarian Society of Ireland C/o Dublin Food Co-op 12 Newmarket Dublin 8