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31st December 2011

Book Review – Drinking from the Hidden Fountain by Thomas Spidlik

Several days ago I came across a great book in a church bookstore, Drinking from the Hidden Fountain by Thomas Spidlik, A Patristic Breviary – Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World and upon seeing it, thought about “veganizing” it a bit:) It gives a very nice outlook of the Eastern Fathers and has reflections for every day of the year. What can be best just a day before 2012 starts? You can look it up and read it for yourselves. Exploring, one day at a time…

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28th December 2011

Film Review – Making The Connection

Film review

At the Vegan 2011 Festival, I was lucky to get a copy of “Making the Connection” short-film about the beauty of the vegan life style. It was such a pleasure to see all of the different people, sharing their experiences of how being and staying vegan had changed their lives! Produced by Environmental Films LTD in association with The Vegan Society it is a great compilation of stories and experience of people from all walks of life, working in different fields, who with their personal choice are making our planet a more compassionate place to live in.

You are able to see it also on YouTube and share it with both friends and family and/or people who are interested in veganism in general. A very positive and uplifting  half an hour guaranteed.

Please, – Make the connection!

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15th December 2011

A Book Review – Feeding Your Vegan Infant – With Confidence

Practical guide from pre-conception through to pre-school.

Author : Sandra Hood

A book review:

Done beautifully. Easy to read. Highly factual. Up-to-date masterpiece. Do I need to say anything else? Oh, yes, it’s vegan too. But you knew that already didn’t you? I honestly prepared myself for a boring read through, and to my surprise this book wasn’t.

Knowing the author from her workshop/discussion at the Vegan 2011 Festival in London, I firstly bought the book because of its high publicity. Thinking that, as it is one of a kind (for now anyway) it can get away with anything basically. And yes in many ways it was a “basic information” read, nicely presented with no revelations or big secrets to follow or be revealed in the process.  But in my opinion this is the power of it. And not a disadvantage at all.

It clearly carries through that veganism is easy, doable, safe, fun, healthy and even exciting.  And how much better can it be then?

Now when we are approaching Christmas season (depending on the Calendar of course) it is nice to know that this book may be included in Christmas lists of some people and then many more will benefit from it.  Check it out for yourselves. Share it. Smile while reading it, but most of all spread the message of the beauty of a vegan lifestyle in everything & everywhere, even and especially if/when you are expecting…

May God bless you and guide you in His Love and Wisdom,

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

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11th December 2011

Glamorous Wok

Shop K4, SunnyPark Shopping Centre, 342 McCullough St, Sunnybank Qld

This is a smart Taiwanese restaurant that was packed on the night we visited. For starters we ordered a dish described on the menu as balsam pears in plum sauce, but were in for a surprise, for the pieces were as crunchy as a gherkin, and the waiter later told us they were slices of bitter melon. Indeed, these ‘pears’ do not grow on a tree but on vines, and are members of the family that includes melons and cucumbers; there’s always something more to learn. The restaurant also offers fried battered mushrooms as a starter. When it came to a main course the menu offered nothing vegetarian, but the cook kindly prepared a special dish for us, made up of pieces of soft tofu with small pieces of mushroom and red chilli. It was bubbling as it was brought to the table and, when it had cooled down a little, delicious with rice. A most enjoyable, as well as educative, dinner!

Glamorous Wok on Urbanspoon

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4th December 2011

Red Chilli Sichuan Restaurant

42/342 McCullough St, Sunnybank Qld

Some the dishes at this popular restaurant are actually quite mild. The green onion pancakes, for example, seem free of chillis, and the tofu and bak choy soup, which contains more of the latter ingredient than the former, is if anything on the delicate side. But the chilli and seaweed salad, crunchy and dark green, packs a real punch, and the sauce that comes with the potato shreds and chilli is seriously hot. Top of the range, however, is the dish of cauliflower that comes with large pieces of fresh green chilli, dried chilli, lumps of garlic and shallots. It would be fair to say that the original taste of the vegetable has been lost; whereas the spices used in Indian cooking can add value to the mild-flavoured cauliflower, what’s been thrown at it here has smothered it.  Lovers of strong tastes will relish this restaurant, others may feel it’s not really their scene, but everyone will be glad to have a big glass of water standing at the ready.

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2nd December 2011

A New VVOC Contributor – Jason Derry.

VVOC.org is happy to announce that a new author is signing up as a content contributor to the site. His name is Jason Derry and he is a vegan Orthodox Christian based in, Michigan – U.S.A. Jason’s main focus will be Orthodox Saints’ (and religious figures) approaches to animal rights and caring for creation.

He comes to us as a Communication graduate who’s currently finishing his masters degree in Environmental Education. Jason is looking forward to starting a PhD in Communications next year. VVOC.org is most fortunate to have someone of his calibre putting together content for the site.

Jason’s journey is of particular interest (to many of our readers), as it involves becoming both an Orthodox Christian and a vegan, almost simultaneously. Please visit the testimonials page at: http://vvoc.org/about/testimonials/ and read how he embarked down this path.

On behalf of the site’s contributors – welcome to the team Jason. We’re all looking forward to your postings.

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