Urban Vegan Permaculture Project – Credit Crunch Living outside the BOX

Urban Vegan Permaculture Project – Credit Crunch Living outside the BOX

Are you running to stand still and paying a heavy interest Inherited “Mortgage for life” Debt ? Working 9 to 5 …and the rest? Don’t Drink ? Don’t Smoke ?… sick of politics and can’t be bothered to Vote (and why should you ?). Can’t keep up with the Jones’es and sick of the sight of them ?

There is half a nation like you out there, financially crippled by the lies and small print of the monetary system. Sold the Reality Asylum “Dream” but more like a cell where no one can hear you scream.

If Austerity has not yet reduced you to “I Daniel Blake” then there is a way to start turning the tide. Regardless of whether you even know about the concept of a Resource based Economy or a Vegan Lifestyle this post may open your mind to selling your square wheeled life for a new set of rubber treads and some more.

Free Thinkers have been engaging the Public in, discussing, theorizing debating the benefits of Ethical Monetary free living for decades. We have seen Communes and housing projects, ECO villages, even whole city programs like the Venus Project. What is missing will all of them is mass engagement. Access for  large groups of people to engage with change systems.

Whilst advocating a resource based Economy, the frustration we are left with on the daily is in still paying , living, being locked into the rat race and the money trap which burns down our pitiful financial resources and our time and head-space.

With that in mind we looked closer to how at a three step strategy to getting breathing space from the System. Our focus for this project fell in three  main steps:

1 – Food (shift to Home Grown) to cut costs of £600 – £900 (all food and drink – family of 4 average) all in a month

2 – Power (shift to Home Produced) to cut costs of £200 (Water Gas / Electricity / Fuel  – family of 4 average) all in a month

3 – Self Sustainability (shift to Self Funding) , barter and trade with the increasing network of other people achieving the same, zero financial cost living, (that’s everything else we pay on from taxes to toilet paper)

Like 24 million other home dwellers in the UK, We are Stuck in the bog standard Urban / Suburban House, a 3 or 4 bed, the usual, some crubby semi or an end of terrace scenario with a slap-on under delivering box extension and a 100 – 120 foot garden of wilderness and bare lawn pressed in between two rows of decaying council fences, a collection of old pots, marigolds and tomatoes a potato here and there and a general lack lustre pair of unkempt fruit trees.

Gearing this up into an all year round pesticide free and ethical home grown supermarket seemed like a mammoth task.

Visualising and implimenting the change (Step 1 FOOD)

Rather than lead you up the garden path, a few good connections can see you straight to an organised satisfying home farming solution. On a lazy afternoon up at Dial House I raised the issues, Penny Rimbaud forever thoughtful on who needs who and why seemed to know the right person to get in touch with and be able to see why long before you do yourself,  dropped in to the conversation “Do you know of a chap called Graham Burnett” (Spiral Seeds)…

Graham was the enabler to our “Step 1” and for those who don’t have the all solving connections in their daily trudge and want to get out of the mud and clean up their “trench foot”, this post is your short cut guide to getting home farming up and running fast.

If you need any background into why this only works as  a Vegan Permaculture Project, then before you cut your power off so to speak, tune in to Netflix and watch COWSPIRACY…

specifically the below 1.22 Minute section which points out your biggest enemy as an urban home grower, lack of space…

Step 2 is tied into knowing what you need power wise, not just a case of a solar power upgrade and sell back to the grid, or finding bio gas home generators that generate the right consistency of gas to power your car or home appliances or whether and how to set up a grey water system….

Step 3 is the final stage where you apply the wishful thinking “If I can’t grow it or get it through shared home farming network or barter it, then I do without it” to the rule.

Then step out of your job, resell the overs on the power supply to cover insurances and taxes and in true Felicity Kendall Style, embrace the good life.

THE KNOWLEDGE:

There’s an endless list of self sustainability stories , dreams, ideas, vegan this and that, anti capitalist this that, so we are just going to spoon feed you with what you need for an “urban” change and walk you through our project.

You will need to understand your space, be able to grow, harvest and eat from it all year round and make sure you can protect what you grow naturally to make this work.

The best hand books we found and used were Graham Burnetts “Guide to Vegan Permaculture “combined with the “beginners guide” along with “ecology of the self” and “top of the crops”. They cover the basics and inspires all sorts of environment improving ideas that ensure success and yield.

We are shamelessly plugging those titles as “The Knowledge”

Free sample page download 

https://spiralseed.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vegan-Book-of-Permaculture-lowres-extract.pdf

Here is the sales plug:

https://spiralseed.co.uk/product/the-vegan-book-of-permaculture-and-permaculture-a-beginners-guide-offer/

Get the book ,

Get reading NOW.

You are due to plant for summer in the next 2 – 6 weeks !

INFASTRUCTURE:

This again you can find and build low cost low stress from the guide. We wanted NO cost and NO stress so we took building composters and planters a little further.

Stone paving crates. They are dumped everywhere. All you need is a large vehicle to haul them. Line them with 1 ton sand or gravel haulage bags, again, these are found literally lying about everywhere and you have a dual purpose composter and planter ready to put together.

Cut the bag to fit the frame but leave the flaps, as initially you will need to wrap the whole planter  with the additional Canvas and secure whilst using as a composter. This protects and keeps the heat in. Composting will take a minimum of 12 months.

SEEDLINGS:

We use Steel racks, and a little potting compost. (Yes the ones you see in your local large grocers or corner shop.)

They are on wheels  so you can move them around, have adjustable levels so you can create or remove space depending of the height of your seedlings as they grow (or don’t  – forgot to water ? over-watered ? too hot too cold wrong soils, too rich, not rich enough, rich or poor sand or stone mixed soils ?… oh dear…………its death death death death – how to avoid “death” – read the guide to Vegan Permaculture)

Dead heading…

Eaten something you want to grow ? Never ever want to pay for it again but want to eat it forever ? then dead head it.

Our experience –  it was great for salads, celery, herbs, spring onions (cut to bottom of stem let it grow back up, do not dig up, use when season regular onions run out… ) poor success with root vegetables but don’t let that stop YOU ! We just had too much on to keep on top of the deadhead root veg.

Conservatory or garden ?

Ginger, Chilli’s and Peppers thrive inside or in a sun trap or conservatory. Our experience is that all these did much better inside rather than outside buy hey try you luck split your seeds and compare.

Planting directly into planters, this means less work transferring seedlings or plug plants into planters later on though if you are planting early you will need to use plastic / poly tunnels to keep in heat and protect against any last frosts. We plant straight in and the results are very good all year round.

COMPOSTS / SOILS:

Except for potting compost, we prepare our own soil through composting. Ours mostly came from our rescue work with Chickens, recycling our “crops not shops” lifestyle and a few adds such as seaweed to make rich ever giving compost.

Cook on an open fire –

There are some controls to observe in Urban Areas when cooking on an open fire A guide from the department of the environment food and rural affairs is included below.

https://www.north-herts.gov.uk/sites/northherts-cms/files/171204open_fires_wood_burning_stoves_FINAL.pdf

When done correctly, and, by the guide, with the correct fuel, wood burning is environmentally friendly, cost-effective and produces very little smoke pollution . Done incorrectly with wet wood , treated wood it is not.

Burn Clean Fuel, Eat well, Compost well.

We use seasoned (dried) wood which we have collected or dried from tree cutting. Make a space to store and dry your wood. Wet wood gets smokey which is unpleasant as well when cooking.

Use the wood ashes. They do not contain nitrogen and will not burn plants, they can be useful in the garden, especially in the compost pile. Wood ash compost can be a valuable source of lime, potassium, and other trace elements.

Composting seaweed speeds up the compost process – 

When you are next at an AV event in Southend, be sure to pick up a bucket of Seaweed from the beachfront after. Don’t wash it as when using seaweed as compost, any saltwater or clinging sand simply add to the beneficial and essential elements within the soil amendment.

Apples, don’t let them rot just compost them –

like practically all other organic waste, are ideal for composting. Even hard apples will rot and get soft very soon

Chicken Manure –

Perfect, it is very high in nitrogen and also contains a huge amount of potassium and phosphorus. The high nitrogen and nutrients are the reason that chicken manure compost is the best kind of manure to use.

Save animals  AND secure a supply:

Rescuing Chickens is your best step to excellent constant supply of high grade organic compost and fertilizer.

Chickens have a seriously hard time in a Human dominated world – Based on the rate of destruction,  http://thevegancalculator.com/animal-slaughter/ Chickens are pretty much the most hated land based animal on the planet.

They have become so objectified in mainstream society as to be seem as little more than a coveted snack food, whose value is assessed wholly on the limitation of their life, how they can be modified, abuse enslaved and com-modified planet.

The constant endless breeding, hatching, fattening processes they are pushed through has led to them being unable to ovulate normally (period is accelerated 26 times to lay an egg a day instead of once a month) to over feed and to have an artificially shortened life and excruciating painful death (cancer, tumours).

These accelerations have all been driven by human financial demand to eat them. Basically “YOU” the consumer ensures that these animals suffer and die for snack food.

So there is nothing kinder that to get in touch with your local British Hen Welfare Trust and re home some hens. Take a look: https://www.bhwt.org.uk/

There are restrictions in most councils in urban areas on keeping Roosters, though Hens do not have to registered up to flocks of 50. A usual amount for an urban sustainability project of this size, to meet your composting needs, would sit around a comfortable 6 to  8/10. Some councils have chicken coop limits on sizing though a small flock of under 10 will sit comfortably in local guidelines.

For those of you that like the idea but are new to Chickens be aware of The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 which sets out minimum standards under which farm animals (including chickens kept for domestic purposes) and try to make a couple of trips down to a Vegan Animal Sanctuary such as The Retreat in Kent, or Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norwich, Hopefield Animal Sanctuary (went fully Vegan in Jan 2019) in Essex.

More Sanctuaries can be found in the below list, though do check with them before visiting that they are 100% Vegan as to visit a sanctuary that is peddling animal products out of their rescues are just perpetrating the cycle of abuse.

https://www.animalaid.org.uk/list-of-sanctuaries/

Eggs – Got Chickens now – Eggs everywhere !!

The first question you will be asked if you keep chickens is do you eat the eggs ? What you have to take in to consideration is that the chicken is breed to have an accelerated menstrual cycle. They have a cycle (an egg) every day in stead of once every 26 – 28 days naturally.  Look at any human female and how difficult their lives are during their monthly cycle and ask your self how would their health and quality of life be if they menstruated every day ?

Feeding the Eggs, that’s ALL the eggs back to the Chickens is important for them because a large amount of the calories they are eating are put into producing the daily egg, and not into their own bodies, which, if not fed back to them debilitates them quickly hence why a free range hen only lives a life of 2 – 3 years whereas a wild hen would live for around 8 to 10 years.

Taking Eggs from a chicken with the misbegotten “ethic” that they lay them anyway and discard them shortens their life by 75% . imagine again an average Human female and limiting her life form 80 years to 20 and making her suffer every day of her adult life with a menstrual cycle.

With that in mind, It is common practice for farm animal sanctuaries to feed eggs back to their rescued chickens, as it has shown to help them live longer,combating tumours, cancer and exhaustion and lead to fuller healthier lives.

FREE RANGE EGGS ? Just say NO

https://www.peta.org/living/food/free-range-eggs/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/30/free-range-eggs-con-ethical

http://www.foodispower.org/hens-raised-for-eggs/

In addition the consumption of eggs works against the health benefits of home growing as the single biggest cause of high cholesterol are eggs.

What about Protein ? – Eggs are high in Protein:

In our own project our Hens are living on average 6-7 years and are battery farm and hatchery rescues. Don’t take the eggs, feed it back to the Chickens, supplement a non GM layer pellet feed with Apples, Seeds, Brocolli, green vegetables Rice, Porridge, wholemeal. In short, Make sure to try and feed your chickens wholesome foods,.

As a general rule if you can eat it so can they. EXCEPT  fatty foods or foods with lots of salt in, (Junk food). Processed food is in direct contradiction to the principle and practice of this project and also consumer chronic poison. (See Sugar the bitter truth and Fast Food Nation)

So back to our building blocks , our foundation of the project: SOIL – Our Compost rots down naturally, no odour, no additives, in 12 months.

For Year ONE we had pre-prepared 4 tonnes of ready rotted compost , supplemented with 4 tonnes of organic shop bough compost.

For year TWO we had a full 12 tonnes or high quality compost from recycling. we turned over the Year ONE compost with Year TWO and doubled the output.

Graham Burnett’s Book “Vegan Permaculture” is an excellent source on soil, “make compost not war”.

Mummy , There’s a Monster under my Bed !!

No Hunny that’s just my Mushrooms sprouting !!

To create an indoor bed for your mushrooms, fill a wooden box that’s at least 6 inches deep with your hopefully by now) good old trusty Chicken manure from your rescues.

Leave a few inches of space below the rim of the box. Spread the readied spored material from your mushroom kit on the top of the soil and mist it thoroughly so its moist, place in darkened corners everywhere.

So we finally got there on Button Mushrooms, we grew them forgot them , they died, we grew them didnt harvest them and they tirned in to massive flying saucers, still ate them. we grew them cut them and ate them perfect..

For outside growing you can grow in closed composters (fold the flaps of your planters over or use early composting to give yield before ready for regular vegetables, you can use part composted manure after about 6 weeks (if forked) or 3 months (if not). It needs to reach the stage where it has zero odour of manure or ammonia at all when exposed to the air (you can’t smell it with the flaps closed so open up and do a smell test). Chicken Manure, and their hay / straw spent bedding that has partially decomposed is perfect

Fork it over every few days, which will speed up the decomposition process. When the heat goes, it should be in the right state. Make sure there is no ammonia smell – as ammonia is very toxic to mushrooms. It also needs to be cooled to 25C, before you can use it – button mushrooms will die at 35C and composters are hot in the centre. Spreading the compost and mushroom spawn into a layer no more than about 9″ high,  on the surface of the composter block will help to cool it once the thermophilic decomposition is complete and inspire good growth.

Quantities of spawn –  60g to about every 2kg of manure/straw. We worked on scales on 1000 kg (1 tonne) selecting 100kg being the top layer and used a 250g pack. Sprinkle some on the surface and then dig it in to homogenise it.

What about a woodpile like you see in the forest ? Mushrooms grow very badly in wood bark and straw only, as it is a secondary decomposer, and needs to have the cellulose cut into smaller pieces by bacteria before it can grow. Stick to indoor or composters for success.

You can grow it in the log-pile if you like, but button mushroom doesn’t like to grow on logs, so the logs would be nothing but decorative. As the aim is to grow to eat, our recommendation is stick to interior boxes in dark corners cupboard and under beds or use a closed composter.

Apples…

Doughnut Peaches….

Tomatoes all varieties…

Plums…

Figs and Olives… (New plants, will need south facing sun spots)

Cherries, Pears…

We also put in Honey Berry, Goose Berry and Blue Berry. Strawberries, Hob Nuts…. all good essential fruits

Sweetcorn..

Squashes, Pumpkins, Courgettes, Zuccinnis. From 5 full tonne planters. We got 3 full annual yields of around 40 -55 a yield. 150 a year. after each harvest we cut back and composted dead leaf. The seeds were mixed so we were nto exactly sure what was going to come up as a apart form colour of seed (brown to blueish to red) you can’t really tell them apart. The planters were placed in full sum tray at rear and part shade in front, Leaf growth was larger in semi shade but yield only half of the rear planters.. just a pointer, root veg for semi shade and squashes, corns, tomatoes in full sun.

Potatoes…

Peas and Beans..

Cabbages..

Cabbages, We sacrificed these to slugs and snails mostly planting between spinach and chard as fodder for the garden battlefield. We picked up 5400 cabbage seeds for 1.99, of which around 600, 700 grew . our yield was very low but it kept the snails and slugs off the aubergines, chard, spinach and salads which were the more important crops.

Why not use Slug Pellets or pesticides ?

Aubergines… 8 plants, outdoor 1/2 tonne planter, yield 38 aubergines –  long (late crop) and short (early crop)

Mustard Lettuce

Spinach (Epinards) Planters 3 tonne all year round snow or dry

 

Chard all year (cut and come again, allow self seeding, never dies snow or dry) 2m sq Ground sewn

 

Chard and Spinach together delivered yield 4 carrier bags a week spring summer autumn and 1 bag a week in winter

Rhubarb…

Beetroot (seeded and early growth over packed in 1 tonne planter  cut and come again for the leaves then separated out twice and grown sewn to allow larger growth of the beetroots to continue)

Harvesting Beetroot leaves all year, beetroots constant supply from October to February. We seeded 500.

Broccoli – Autumn all through winter.. again harvest the leaves, over and over until the florets come through

 

Through the frost and any snow just shake off the poly-tunnels every day, check moisture level ensure no exposed gaps. Frost under the poly tunnel will kill your crop.

Nutrition

Vegans get up to speed on nutrition very very fast. If you are new to having to think through and plan what you need to maximise health and performance, and, also translate that to what you put in the ground here is your essential must have bible:

Get a copy here: https://www.lizcookcharts.co.uk/so-what-do-you-eat-book.html

Recycling your Materials – 

Any left over wood from planters or tree cuttings, build furniture , stools, seating..

Harvest… Whilst the main crops come in season there are constant weekly , daily collections to be done of ripened crops, even when you get to the tail ends (corn for example) you can cut away any damaged veg and feed it back to the Chickens.

    

Preserve it, Cook it , Eat it ..

Process your fresh grown supply as fast as possible, stew it, bake, it, curry it, stir fry it, dehydrate it, freeze it get your meals processed and stored as back up for Winter short supply and for any shortage fail in any type crop.

Over he Project life of 24 months, we reduced food monthly spend reduced by £600 to £150 – 200 by supplementing with an urban home grown program of vegan permaculture.

Our new spend covered all food and drink for (in our case) a live in family of 6 average and visiting additional 3 two weekends a month.

Being able to live “The Good Life” in an urban environment,the stranglehold that Austerity has on so many of us through crippling finances was pushed right back.

There is a large time and responsibility commitment needed through out the project to ensure that crops are protected, tended and watered without fail. Be proactive, don;t let the basic gardening slip and your yields will stay high.

The focus gained in understanding our immediate environment and how to maximise it for best return is highly satisfying, not only that, to be able to ensure that the majority of your food supply is free from pesticides, storage, contamination , stabilisers or other additives or processes, means that our food supply is the best we can offer our body’s and souls, the change in quality to home grown is something, from our experience, we firmly believe we can all thrive on.

With food tested and proven, our attention shifts to Power sources. We are all living in a box,. you don’t have to be told any more.. Break out.

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VEGAN KITCHEN – No Mutton Stew – Thick Rich Winter essential Broths – CREDIT CRUNCH Cooking

VEGAN KITCHEN – No Mutton Stew – Thick Rich Winter essential Broths – CREDIT CRUNCH Cooking

Credit Crunch cooking is all about healthy ethical meals at Penny Collection prices – Why pay more ? Why pay for death ? In the world of “for the many not the few”,  being financially and socially oppressed as people, doesn’t lend well to then oppressing animals to death just to eat, there is a cheaper better way that the corporate meat sausage just ain’t going to tell you about because they make money out of you buying shit, eating shit then feeling like shit because of it.

There’s a endless supply of corporate financed celebrity vegan this and that out there, its a media favorite, where the basics of the vegan revolution are completely sidelined over planet based health kicks and designer plant leather.

None of that Media Hype is about NOT being part of the wheels of oppression (from fodder for the battlefield, to the factory floor to the slaughterhouse to the NHS waiting list).

The way in which society treats the 99% is all about subservience, rules and the rule book, school army government church, is all designed to make you happy for your lot and your lot is not and never will a lot.

When the punk sell out blew out the candle of revolution in the early eighties the last Album they could have cashed in on would not have been “Anarchy in the UK” but instead “Apathy in the UK”.

That the nation is so apathetic and so lost in the “Cult of the Selfie” to have handed over their Future, their time, how they spend their lives, what they eat, who they see, what they believe make or do and even fight for or against to a unholy trinity of Media Government and Industry without even questioning what they are intending to do and why is frankly mind blowing.

Most UK industry bosses have earned more since the start of the new year (4 days) than the average worker will earn in the entire year ?And still you work, vote go to school, toe the line, support the system rather than become socially engaged for change.

  • You can have your say in your future but only if you give your say away in a vote to a complete stranger who only his / her interest at heart
  • You can eat whatever you like but only if it comes from a list of food brands that we have plastered into your thoughts trough advertising from birth
  • You can have children but only if you give them away form age 4 to 18 so that they can be desenitised undermined and channeled into believing and behaving how the state wants them to be
  • You can pursue activities and develop yourself as adults but only if you work and are separated 5 out of 7 days from any meaningful bonds, love or family

Vegan Anarchism is about change. Without (r)evolution you are all just fodder for the battlefield and the factory floor supporting the slaughterhouse and expanding the NHS waiting list – Wake Up get engaged and find out about real change know as Vegan Permaculture, Sustainability and the Resource based Economy.

Ever wondered about another way of thinking ? Get back to basics, if every step , wherever possible, a human takes does not result in the oppression of some other being won’t things start improving for everyone ? Start with what you eat , what you wear and take it from to collaborating with others doing the same. From there everything else starts to fall into place.

So that is where we start today, what we have on offer is the Vegan no Mutton Stew, “no mutton” because its rich thick and “meaty”. In order to steer clear of the wheel of oppression start with no making any other being die so that you can eat.

Pretty simple eh ? Let’s Cook and for the rest of it “Get Stuffed”

Vegan “no mutton” stew with bread balls (like dumplings)

The Bread Balls:

This is a simple flour, sat , sugar, water mix with a rising agent, bicarb, baking powder or yeast. mix it all to a knead-able dough and separate in to balls  place in a muffin or Yorkshire pudding tray and bake for 25 mins

The Stew:

10 potatoes
250floz of caramalised onions (precook these)
I tin chick peas and aquafaba
125g large chunk dehydrated soya (indian shop)
10 chopped carrots
10 broad bean or other large bean runners
20g palm oil free vegan butter
I carrier bag size of chard or cabbage leaf finely cut
Slice of palm oil free vegan cheese
I whole leek
Two whole broccoli steams
3 tablespoon of corinander, tumeric
1 tablespoon of garlic powder, garam masala
250floz palm oil free gravy

Boil turn boil about an hour , add bread balls , serve.

That’s all there is to it. It takes a while to cook down, use that time to think on the politics of why we eat free from oppression and cruelty and you will be on the way to Social engagement and real change.

DISCLAIMER: Links to information and information collected from external sites on external sites other than those operated by FISHINABOX RECORDS are provided for your convenience only and are not an endorsement or recommendation of those sites, findings or opinions. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not control or provide any content or information at these sites, makes no representation or warranty of any kind with respect to these sites or their content, and does not maintain, operate, or take responsibility for information provided. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of such content or information and any use thereof is solely at the user’s risk.

EPIPHANY CAKE – We 3 Kings of ORIENT are – Ethical enlightenment in the very best of VEGAN bakes

EPIPHANY CAKE – We 3 Kings of ORIENT are – Ethical enlightenment in the very best of VEGAN bakes

This weekend sees the Annual Epiphany Festival, celebrated mostly in Catholic home and nations from France, Iberia through Italy and the Med to the North African Coast, This is a bake off to get stuck into..

When it comes to amazing “Divine” religious bake offs, France really did perfect the Epiphany Cake (Galette des Rois. The Galette is like the ultimate super size me stuffed butter cookie, which, personally I find much more satisfying moorish than the fluffy “Christmas tree light” cakes of the south, Spain and Mediterranean (Roscon de Reyes).

The only down side is that the traditional Galette has been a graveyard for the fattiest animal by products, and, as such, out of reach for the Ethical.

UNTIL NOW

Baking has moved on, we have dropped the unethical animal cruelty, and finally we can dispense with the last of satanic ingredients being “Palm Oil”.

Yes we Veganised it.

So Epiphany,.. in some parts, the arrival of the Three Mages; in some parts the baptism of Christ and his first recognition as a God.

Thats all very well and nice and church like but don’t let pagan types be put off from getting some cake too, for like so many of the Christian festival, they generally are rooted and repackaged from pagan faiths. In the case of the Epiphany, we draw from the Befana…

For those that want to delve into Epiphany’s Celtic or Druidic roots ( also see Yule, Yule log, Bonfire, Krampus, Crampus, Odin and the goats) Check out these links below. If you are not bothered about that then just carry on dear Christians, or cake lovers, or both, for there be much of interest in this little festival.

The Befana goes back to more ancient times than the Epiphany feast from which it takes its name (Epifana) and combines elements from Pagan, and other pre-Christian elements.

A  witch and guide for the Magi, she flies on her broomstick the eve of Epiphany delivering sweets to the good children and coal to the naughty ones with which to warm themselves and better their temperament, bonfires of pine and pine cones are lit to drawn back the sun and shorten the cold night and after her visit, Befana lays seeds for the people and fertilises the soil ready for Spring. Over time she has become somewhat morphed into the common symbolism of the celebrations surrounding the Christian Deity, and also backstory in the Pagan Druidic traditions of the burning of the old year, and birthing of the new.

Exciting stuff though Befana is only celebrated unabridged in small regions these days and was on the way out by the 4th century as the Christian Epiphany took over.

Epiphany, as it is today originated from the merging of the old stories into the new of the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem to honour the newly born with gifts and this date is, however, recognized as national festivities, in many countries as Three Kings Day. if you want to delve into Epiphany’s pagan past, check these links below:

https://worldofgemstones.rocksandco.com/2019/01/04/epiphany-ancient-folkloric-connections/

https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/history/7-pagan-festivals-still-celebrate.html#Epiphany%20or%20Three%20Kings%20Day

Over with the ancient history and on with the baking in the new:

There is no excuse for Animal Abuse, Christianity, in it’s orthodox form, lends strongly to Vegan Ethics, the following links explore the relationship between the two:

https://freefromharm.org/veganism/christian-basis-veganism/

https://www.peta.org/living/food/vegan-bible-quotes/

http://www.adaptt.org/animal-rights/the-bible-jesus-and-veganism.html

http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2011/06/the-christian-basis-for-animal-welfare-and-vegetarianism/

There are quite a few mysteries and secrets around the Epiphany Cake and Celebration that have just been steam rolled over and stolen by zealous inquisition prone Catholics, and in doing so have lost all that was / is Divine about the cake.

When John Henry Hopkins Jr. penned the hymn “We three kings” in 1857, he picked up on more truth that he could have imagined, the key is in the lyric”we three kings of Orient are.

The Orient up until the late 1800’s was classed as the land as far west as Morocco and to the east, India, and to a lesser extent China. With a dumbing down of language and studies toward the end of the 19th Century, and the Geographical Americanization of the known world, the old Orient was displaced to the Levant as the primary subject of Orientalist research.

This decay continued to further hem the borders of the Orient to East Asia, Southeast Asia, and eastern Central Asia by the mid-20th century,  history books of our Modern Western scholars generally considered “the Orient” as just the the Middle East or the Far East.

The shifting of borders leads to a whole re-visualization of our 3 kings as no longer oriental and instead Arabic.

Roll back History and follow the trail of these oriental 3 kings and a whole new journey opens on he road to religious historical truth, one covered beautifully in the BBC Documentary “Jesus was a Buddhist Monk”.

 

Combine the findings of this documentary with Knight Lomas The Second Messiah along with The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ and you need up wanting to book tickets fro a trail to the final burial-place of Jesus Christ in Srinagar, Kashmir. (known to the locals as Rozabal, meaning the ‘Honoured Tomb’)

  • Where historical literal fact pinpoints that the Ascension story didn’t exist for over 200 yeas after events on Calvary hill
  • Where a 1st Century agitator executed on Roman record for sedition has been re-branded in Rome by the Emperor Constantine (AD 306–337 as the undisputed resurrected Son of God.
  • Where three sages traveled from the Orient looking for the Ascending enlightened being, a Dalai Lama and of wealthy earthly standing, and who’s life teaching have more in relation with eastern tradition and belief than Judea

Questions while baking the Divine start to create questions upon questions. We hope that the content of this post and he Questions thereon will create in your thought a genuine “Epiphany” in the true meaning of the word:  “an intuitive grasp of reality,” “an illuminating discovery, realization, disclosure, or insight,” or simply “a revealing scene or moment.” in short an epiphany is “a moment of sudden or great revelation that usually changes you in some way.”

Anyway Away with 200 years of controversial truths, its time to get the baking done:

What do you need to create and “Epiphany” ?

Firstly you need one  feve / pebble / ceramic figure :

Whats all this about ?

https://www.stopoverconnections.com/blog/the-tradition-of-the-galette-des-rois-in-france/

Its a 2 step recipe – FIRST the insides….

125g of Vegan Palm oil free Butter – yep you can get it in Sainsbury’s https://www.livekindly.co/naturli-launches-vegan-palm-oil-free-spreadable-butter-sainsburys/ 

100g of Caster Sugar – its finer than the regular stuff, easier and cleaner to work with

1 tin of Aquafaba (you get that in a tin of chickpeas in water  – drain the water and put it in a blender until it looks like egg white (obviously its a replacement for eggs….)

125g of ground almonds

250g of flour

1 feve

2 tbsp of Almond Extract

Step 1 Step by Step:

Mix together the Vegan Butter and Sugar then  add the Aquafaba mix again then finally add the Flour and Almonds Mix and the extract and mix well. Place the mixture on a sheet of clingfilm wrapping the mixture in to disc / circle shape. Put it on a plate  and freeze for 30 minutes.

Its a 2 step recipe – SECOND the outsides….

250g of strong plain flour

1 tsp of salt

250g of that lovely vegan palm oil free butter again

150ml of COLD water, not warm not tepid (COLD as your ex’s heart…)

Sift flour and salt in to bowl. Chop the butter into chunks and add to the bowl and rub in loosely still being able to see bits of the butter though in the mixture.

Make a well in the mixture in the mixing bowl and add in 2/3 of the cold water. Mix until you have a firm rough dough adding water if needed. Cover with a dry cling film and put it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Insides in the freezer and outsides in the fridge – got it ?

20 minutes later – Turn out the outsides onto a floured board and knead and roll gently into the form of a rectangle. It doesn’t have to be perfect but try to do some justice to divine geometry at least.

Roll in one direction only until 3 times the width of 20cm x 30cm. Keep the sides straight and even , don’t overwork leaving a marbled effect (the butter streaks through the layers NOT worked all the way through)

Fold the top third down to the centre then the bottom third up over that. Give the dough a quarter turn to left or right then roll to 3 times the length, fold as before  put back in cling film for another 20 minutes then its ready to roll out and cut as below

Just follow the pictures:

That’s two identical layers of outsides. Take out the insides from the freezer, push your feve into the frozen mixture and place between the outsides and press together the edges with your fingers then with a sharpe knife score a pattern on the top from the centre out in slow circular curve (like the start of a spiral) to the edge of the top edge with a design with a fork.

Decorate with Almond flakes and then it is ready for baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 -25 minutes minimum then check every 5 until done (some fan assisted ovens bake close to 25 minutes and non fan more like 45 minutes) remove from oven , leave to stand to cool for 45 minutes dress with the Kings Crown and serve.

Overall verdict..

Though the tradition of becoming the Queen/King (based on who finds the feve and therefore takes the crown and commands) leans to Royalist or elitist social pyramid models (correctly lack of values rather than values as they are based on devaluation of the majority) of class division and servitude, this also opens the subject is open to discussion with family and leads to understanding the evolution of the “idea” of equality which fits snugly with how we live today. This is further supported by reproducing this classic “untouchable”recipe as a vegan cruelty free cake. The subject of equality is tied intrinsically to Species-ism, and can be captured in the language of modern political spin by the Corbynist slogan “for the many not the few”(The Many actually refers to ALL beings not just the human voting public).

Enjoy the history, Bring in meaning to the “game” and enjoy the cake.

Its cruelty free and it’s damn good. This Vegan Palm oil free Version  of this cake really delivers, there is no difference in process or output, apart from the ethics. no extra effort to source ingredients either.

Its “religion”,

its “politics”,

its “history”,

its “truth and lies”,

its also great fun – tuck in. ENJOY.

DISCLAIMER: Links to information and information collected from external sites on external sites other than those operated by FISHINABOX RECORDS are provided for your convenience only and are not an endorsement or recommendation of those sites, findings or opinions. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not control or provide any content or information at these sites, makes no representation or warranty of any kind with respect to these sites or their content, and does not maintain, operate, or take responsibility for information provided. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of such content or information and any use thereof is solely at the user’s risk.

ANONYMOUS FOR THE VOICELESS – Get Michael Green 2 the 168hr CUBE in TIMES SQUARE

ANONYMOUS FOR THE VOICELESS – Get Michael Green 2 the 168hr CUBE in TIMES SQUARE

https://www.gofundme.com/get-michael-green-to-the-168hr-cube-intimes-square

Folks, It’s a New Year, whats the New Story ? You know about Anonymous right ? Though do you know about Anonymous evolution groups? Not to be confused with cyber terrorists, hactivist, and anarchist organizations, Evolution movements deal with awareness.

Anonymous for the Voiceless (AV) have been on the rise since 2016. They hold an abolitionist stance on animal exploitation and use Truth content to challenge Animal Agriculture Media Marketing subversion.

Philip McCulloch-Downs

https://www.gofundme.com/get-michael-green-to-the-168hr-cube-intimes-square

With the largest ever AV event in History rolling out this summer in Times Square NY we need to get funding to send one of our colleagues, friend and veteran street activist out to cover the event live from New York.

AV events are taking the world by storm, though coverage, frustratingly, still remains sidelined by corporate media channels.

Social Media carries the stories though often these rotate mainly around the supporting networks.

We can run the live feed and coverage through need a reliable source out on the ground to cover the event.

YOUR ACTIVIST NEEDS YOU ! NOW !

https://www.gofundme.com/get-michael-green-to-the-168hr-cube-intimes-square

Michael Green is a veteran of street activism, Awareness and Public Engagement and familiar face attending and supporting hundred’s of events day in, day out.

The Cube of Truth is an awareness event that Michael has engaged, supported and attended in many global locations run by Anonymous for the Voiceless.

Michael Green at AV:

Mainstream Media is simply not a reflection of reality of what is happening on the ground, and social Media does not have the scope and spread to communicate Truth events without restriction within community guidelines (i.e. corporate censorship) on their respective platforms.

We would like to see Michael on the ground to pick up a full and thorough report on the event in it’s entirety including the wide scope of public interest, engagement, outreach, and overall response to this form of street activism.

This event is due to run for a week with more global participation than ever before seen for this form of event. We need to be the media eye, to ensure this type of event is made available on all channels.

We need your support to get him there for the event in it’s entirety.

The event has its own Charity funding direct through the Anonymous for the Voiceless site for those that are supporting the event. Though independent (of AV team) activists will need to fund themselves to attend.

For those that recognize the importance of independent investigative media, urban journalism, and live feeds on challenging the arts, culture, and social political events; this is your opportunity to support and follow this event live, and unedited.

This kind of work can only be done with your support – We have a shortfall in costs to cover the event for the whole week, please help, close the shortfall.

Click here to support funding the shortfall to get Michael to the event:

https://www.gofundme.com/get-michael-green-to-the-168hr-cube-intimes-square

DISCLAIMER: Links to information and information collected from external sites on external sites other than those operated by FISHINABOX RECORDS are provided for your convenience only and are not an endorsement or recommendation of those sites, findings or opinions. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not control or provide any content or information at these sites, makes no representation or warranty of any kind with respect to these sites or their content, and does not maintain, operate, or take responsibility for information provided. FISHINABOX RECORDS does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of such content or information and any use thereof is solely at the user’s risk.