VVOC.org

30 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2, UK

There’s a whiff of New York Jewish about this place, as there is of Mittel Europa (a friend of Hungarian background pronounces the goulash excellent.) But for veg*ns, the chief interest will be the dishes from the Middle East, among them falafel with hummus in warm pitta bread, and the fine array of salads, both cooked (the potato and aubergine are recommended) and raw (tomato with onion is hard to beat.) The mood is laid back, the food excellent and reasonably priced.

Take the tube to Leicester Square; Gaby’s is on the eastern side of Charing Cross Rd. It’s wonderfully located for various activities in central London: theatres are all around, to the north lie the serious bookshops of Charing Cross Rd, while just to the south are the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square, beyond which it’s a gentle stroll to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.

248 Great Western Highway, Blackheath NSW

A significant milestone in the lives of some good friends brought a sizeable number of us together in the Blue Mountains, a bit over two hours west of Sydney by train. While Italian restaurants are usually fine for vegetarians, and this place is renowned for the quality of its pizzas, they can prove a bit tricky for vegans. However, the chef kindly offered to cook a mushroom risotto using olive oil in place of butter, and the result was excellent, beautifully moist while densely textured, the mushroom taste coming through loud and clear. Such a dish needs to be followed by something that cleanses the palate, and as it happens the sorbets here are water based, offering a genuinely fruity taste rather than bland sweetness. People of the most diverse dietary habits left the restaurant in the best of cheer, and after such a happy evening it only remains to wish the wonderful couple who had been responsible for our coming together: Many Years!

135 Prince St Grafton NSW

If you’re lucky enough to be walking away from the river along the left-hand side of the main street in Grafton,

Where the lordly River Clarence flows in splendour to the sea

And the stately jacaranda blooms in regal majesty

(spare me the adjectives!), after a few blocks you’ll pass the entrances to two Chinese restaurants. That nearer the intersection with Bacon St, the Fountain Court, is the one you want. You can order cashews or tofu with vegetables (if you go for the latter, it may be an idea to check that it will be cooked in vegetarian fashion), while from a Thai section at the back of the menu you can order the same vegetables in various sauces. The servings are generous and the staff friendly, two things I always think of as being characteristic of a country town and the people who live there. It’s possible to sit back with a VB and give thanks that you are in Grafton.

58 High St, Toowong Qld

Even by the standards of Indian restaurants, the veggie menu here is extensive. It includes a good number of stand-alone dishes, such as several varieties of dahl, pumpkin, and ‘creamy’ mushroom (the chef will happily prepare this vegan-style on request.) There are also numerous dishes that can be served with vegetables, potatoes or paneer, among which the mughlai,  made with date and tamarind, is a particular favourite. A good range of starter dishes (the vegie samosas, which come on a bed of salad, are particularly good) and incidentals complement the main dishes. The food here is excellent; the staff invariably friendly and obliging. This restaurant is a real treasure.

Minutes VVOC 12/12/09

1. Talked about the t-shirts and decided that Helen would look into the possibility of ladies styles. Will order 2 mens shirts and tote bags for Jacki, Melissa and Helen.

2. Need to put up a post about fasting and our different perspectives. Should we be discussing what we do? Does this diminish the purpose of fasting? Perhaps some general information about fasting – this needs to be a communal posting so that we are all comfortable with the content. Add in a comment regarding the nature of fasting – that it doesn’t have to be scary or an impossible task. (Frederica Matthews-Green book had a good passage about fasting)

3. Vasilios clarified that the personal aspects of the site would be testimonials and recipes etc and that all other info is resource based/links out.

4. Dates for VVOC 2010
* 6/2/10
* 10/4/10 – Picnic
* 5/6/10
*7/8/10
* 2/10/10
*11/12/10

5. Tasks for 2010:
* Jacki – to continue campaigns
* Melissa – recipes
* Vasilios – contact us form
* Helen – nutrition focus
* John – restaurant reviews

6. Noted the importance of stating the nature of content – fact or individual opinion.

Everyone at VVOC would like to offer a big welcome to our new member and contributor – John Moorhead. John is a Vegan and Orthodox Christian and has been with the group for over two months.

Looking forward to John’s posts on the site.

Cheers – Vasilios Theodorakis – VVOC Administrator

Coming up to Christmas, it seems the perfect opportunity to remind our meat eating friends of the cruelties of factory pig farming and encourage them to either go without or to buy free range. Especially since some of them will have seen the expose recently shown on 60 Minutes about the topic.

Have a look at:
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/60-minutes-the-hidden-truth.php#article for more information about the work Animals Australia has been doing in conjunction with 60 Minutes to show the truth to the Australian public.

VVOC 14th August 2009 6:30pm

Members Present

Vasilios
Melissa
Helen
Cyrano
Josie
Bert
Harry

Apologies
Jacki (With very good reason:-)

Minutes
1. All members agreed that work from previous list needs to be completed!
2. Lentil Loaf and roast veges were a hit.  Recipe to go up on site.
3.  Vasilios discussed his latest creation of the “Eurasion Salad.” ( A combination of endive and other salad veges with a dressing based on soy sauce – very yummy but not auditioned at this meeting!)  Vasilios to put up recipe on site.
4. Melissa requested a Greek Salad recipe to go up on site.
5. Meeting interrupted for a discussion about Cyrano the cat.  After sufficient pats and cuddles, meeting continued…..
6. All members agreed to put up their testimonials regarding becoming vegetarian before next meeting.
…..short interruption to enjoy chocolate coated strawberries from Melissa – yum!….
7. Discussion about our dream to set up an animal rescue farm.
8. Melissa to write a review of “The Loving Heart,” cafe.
9. Vasilios to create a page for Testimonials.

Lentil Loaf

Ingredients

2 cans lentils
1 medium carrot
1 stick celery
1 cup bread crumbs
130g tomato paste
1 medium onion
1 egg or equivalent egg replacer

Method

1. Use a food processor to process 1 can of lentils. Remove this to a large bowl.
2. Process the carrot, celery and onion until finely grated. Add to the processed lentils.
3. Add the unprocessed lentils, tomato paste, bread crumbs and egg or egg replacer.  Mix well.
4. Press into a lightly oiled loaf tin and bake in 180C oven for about 35 minutes.  Stand for 10 minutes before turning out.
5. Serve with gravy, green beans and roast potatoes.

Kangaroo Campaign

Animal Liberation is running a campaign to try and protect the devestation caused to kangaroo populations by the gourmet dining industry.  Please read the information found at the following site: 
http://animal-lib.org.au/campaigns/120-kangaroo-campaign.html
It is really worthwhile to read the information they have compiled which outlines exactly how devestating it is to the kangaroo population in ways that would not necessarily be obvious.

Please, if you have time, write some letters to the lists of restaurants they have compiled, and ask them to stop contributing to the suffering of these beautiful animals which are a symbol of our country and deserve to be better protected by our government.