The Grumpy Vegan hasn’t been active here lately because … well, because he’s been busy elsewhere.
Something has got to give, as they say.
This is why the Grumpy Vegan website is going on holiday for a while, which means that la Grump’s alter ego can focus on other things.
For example, Kim Stallwood’s long-awaited and much ballyhooed book (yawn, yawn) will be published this year. The poor thing has got to focus on it. There’s also other stuff that demands his attention. He can only juggle so much!
So, that’s the Grumpy Vegan’s advice, which is to go to Kim Stallwood’s website and follow what he’s up to from there.
Meanwhile, may the blessings of la Grump be with you.
Oh, you can also follow the Grumpy Vegan on Twitter!
The Hastings Vegan Dining Club recently enjoyed a treat. We usually meet in each other’s homes or in locations which can accommodate our rapidly growing numbers of now more than 20. Further, we prepare, cook and serve ourselves all our vegan meals.
The staff and students at the Sussex Coast College Hastings preparing the Glazed Stuffed Marrow, Caramelized Onion & Garlic.
But not this time! Our treat was a special dinner of five courses prepared for us by the staff and students of the Hospitality and Catering Department at the Sussex Coast College in Hastings. The college has its own kitchens and restaurants which is open to the public.
One of our members, Trevor Goodwin who, with his wife Penny run the vegan Bay Tree House Hotel, contacted the college and agreed to prepare for us a special vegan dinner. Our meal would form part of the curriculum for the first year students.
The restaurant accommodates 50, of which 25 seats were allocated to the club. Normally we don’t advertise where we meet because we gather in our own homes. This time, we thought, we could not only fill the 25 seats reserved for us, but also sell out the other 25. All but four of the 50 places were reserved by us, our friends and vegans from Sevenoaks and Eastbourne.
The fee per person was £18.95, which included hors d’oeuvres and a cocktail on arrival. The menu consisted of
Lasagne of Leeks, Ratatouille, Garlic & Herb Crust
Sticky Toffee Pudding, Fudge Sauce
Banoffee Pie, Chocolate Sauce
Chocolate Bread Pudding, Rum Roasted Fig
Sticky Toffee Pudding, Fudge Sauce.
Everyone enjoyed the dinner. We were thrilled to be a part of the opportunity for the students in their first year to learn how to cook delicious vegan dishes. We hope very much that the college will serve us a special vegan dinner each term. Of course, everyone has different personal tastes in how they like their food. Some thought the tastes and seasonings were about right. Others thought they could be improved. Instead of having to choose one dish from three, some wanted, instead, to be served a plate with small samples of all three, or have them served individually like a tapas.
Some of the delights from this year’s vegan picnic on the East Hill.
The Hastings Vegan Dining Club Fourth Annual Picnic on the East Hill recently took place in fine weather. About a dozen of us met, including Shelly, the new canine member.
The pot-luck picnic included various salads, vol au vents, sandwiches, savoury tarts, sausage rolls and raw vegetables. Desserts included fruit cake, upside down plum cake, muffins, fresh fruit and much more!
Afterwards, many of us went into Hastings to celebrate the opening of the vegan 1066 Cake Stand!
Hastings Brewery's Pete Mason took us on a tour of the vegan brewery.
The Grumpy Vegan isn’t one to suggest that he’s the centre of the universe (his friends might say so) but Hastings, where he lives, is clearly fast becoming a hotbed for all things Vegan.
The Hastings Vegan Dining Club met last week at Hastings Brewery, which is a vegan micro brewery run by Kim and Pete.
The evening was a pot luck with a brewery tour and, of course, free beer!
Vegan friends, vegan food, vegan
We all took turns to smell the hops used to brew the beer.
beer….what else would anyone want?
Additional local vegan businesses present were the Bay Tree House, a family run vegan hotel, and 1066 Cake Stand, our local vegan bakery, who recently published their first cookbook, 1066 Cake Stand’s Compendium of Cakes.
Who says vegans can't put on a spread!
Some 20-odd vegans (well, we are all that way) followed Pete around the brewery as he explained how he and Kim brew beer.
He shared exciting news that there might be soon our very own vegan micro-brewery, micro-pub!
Really, what else would anyone want?
Next up for the Hastings Vegan Dining Club is a barbecue at an
Chocolate cake topped with meringue crumbs baked by local vegan bakery, 1066 Cake Stand.
organic farm near Rye in July and a cream tea in Hastings Old Town on August Bank Holiday Monday afternoon.
Kim Stallwood is an independent scholar and author on animal rights. His forthcoming book, Animal Dharma, explores what it means to care deeply about animals. Starting in 1976, he has held leadership positions with some of the world’s foremost organisations in the UK and US, including CIWF, BUAV, PETA, The Animals’ Agenda, Animals and Society Institute and Minding Animals International. A vegetarian since 1974 when as a student he worked in a chicken slaughterhouse. A vegan since 1976. His evil twin is the Grumpy Vegan.
Animal Dharma
Learn more about Kim Stallwood's forthcoming book Animal Dharma, which explores what it means to care deeply about animals and discovers how we can live peacefully with ourselves and others by proposing four key values: truth, compassion, nonviolence and interbeing.
Learn more about Kim Stallwood's forthcoming book
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