Posted on 1/29/2023 00:01 / up to date on 1/30/2023 16:55
(credit score: Sibele Negromonte)
Lívia Aquino and Luana Freitas took very completely different paths to veganism, however, after an unlikely assembly through the pandemic, they realized that they had far more in widespread on this journey than they may have imagined and ended up changing into companions at Casinha Vegan Café, the charming cafe Vegan espresso store in Asa Norte.
Born in Brasília, Lívia graduated in museology on the College of Brasília (UnB) and moved to São Paulo in 2016. There, the younger lady, who considers herself “contemporary to eat”, has to work within the kitchen. However, he admits, he eats badly. I all the time eat the identical factor and am not open to new flavors. Regardless of this, I did not even take into consideration leaving animal protein from the menu.
Captivated with cats and canine, Lívia works at a daycare middle for pets that has a restaurant. He then had the thought to arrange an identical enterprise in Brasilia. On this entrepreneurial spirit, he took a course at Senac and returned to his homeland a 12 months later, decided to open a enterprise.
On the similar time, Livia determined to cease consuming meat. He turned a vegetarian, however nonetheless drank milk, which was later faraway from his food plan for well being causes. The world of meals, particularly wholesome, opened up for girls from Brasilia, who from “contemporary” started to eat the whole lot. “I all the time cherished to prepare dinner, however I ready extra sweets. To interchange meat, I began doing a thousand trials and the world opened as much as me,” he says. When she realized it, she had change into a vegan.
Lívia then started to be taught extra in regards to the world of veganism. He learn, experimented and, on a visit to New York, visited a number of eating places. So he determined to alter plans. A dream daycare middle — with a restaurant — for animals will change into a vegan cafe. Casinha opened in November 2018, at 411 Norte.
Lívia herself went into the kitchen to kind out and put together the menu and, little by little, left the area as she wished it to be: a pleasant “house,” with couches, a spot to work, and a spot the place everybody was welcome. The vegan public finds locations with affordable costs and nice meals, and non-vegans have the chance to open their minds to different forms of meals. Every little thing was going effectively, till the pandemic got here, and ladies entrepreneurs started to face the challenges posed by the well being disaster, the answer was to shut their doorways and put money into supply.
soul assembly
It was exactly through the pandemic that Luana Freitas was pressured to alter herself. Endossa’s collaborative store associate, through the lockdown she additionally closed her doorways and located herself virtually with out earnings. So he determined to make vegan meals to promote. She, like Livia, has gone vegan lately, in 2017.
Luana additionally by no means thought-about eradicating animal protein from her food plan, till she began noticing that she felt heavy, with discomfort, every time she ate meat. The truth that he was transferring alone and he did not know learn how to fry even a steak sped up his choice. “Till then, I managed to arrange some gororobas. I had no urge for food and all the time ate the identical factor”, he recollects.
First, Luana cuts the meat. “I had a variety of well being issues: unhealthy intestine, allergy symptoms, sinusitis, rhinitis, excessive ldl cholesterol… After a month of being a vegetarian, the whole lot went away”, he attests. Going vegan is the subsequent step. The Brazilian lady then went to check the topic, on the lookout for recipes and experimenting. When the pandemic hit, I used to be on this universe a very long time in the past, mastering recipes and strategies. With the entrepreneurial spirit that all the time accompanies it, got here the thought to promote its merchandise.
Sooner or later, Lívia makes use of Luana’s delicacy: she needs to attempt the vegan cream cheese she sells. Luana, who’s already a buyer at Casinha, mentioned she would swap the cream cheese for one of many scrumptious waffles Lívia ready on the cafe. The deal closed, when the 2 went to change scrumptious meals, the cafeteria proprietor instantly acknowledged the brand new “supply” as an outdated consumer. They immediately turned mates. “We spent the entire afternoon speaking about veganism, espresso and, ultimately, we determined to change into companions”, they recall.
Within the following years Endossa guided Luana to convey to Casinha the executive expertise Lívia wanted to run the enterprise. “I am exhausted. With the lockdown, I am doing the whole lot: cooking, taking orders, and delivering.”
It was the fuel Lívia wanted, however there was no relaxation from her work. Because the payments have been heavy and so they wanted cash, they began doing the whole lot when the lockdown ended. They put together lunches, lunches, events, birthdays. “We labored from 9 am to 11 pm on daily basis. And the worst half was that we have been banging our heads, as a result of the whole lot was disorganized. We have been exhausted and determined to drop the whole lot.”
In February 2022, the companions closed Casinha and commenced to re-plan the enterprise. They created new recipes, did monetary and administrative planning, employed skilled consultants, and once they felt prepared, reopened their doorways in July 2022, with new enterprise hours and a brand new menu. “Our clients have been nice, they turned mates. It is nice to start out over”, emphasizes Lívia.
On the menu are cium buns (vegan cheese), hamburgers and fritters made with peas, to not point out the well-known waffles in a wide range of flavors: banoffe, churros, purple fruit, chocolate and guava. Tiramisu and panna cotta have been additionally hits. None of which comprise animal protein. On the weekends there’s a nice brunch and there are all the time cultural actions, equivalent to an open-air cinema, the place movies are projected onto a neighboring constructing.
Thus, Casinha turned an extension of Lívia’s and Luana’s own residence and so many others who arrived there and have been welcomed!
Casinha Social gathering Cupcakes
(picture: On line casino/Disclosure)
Substances
200g sugar
240g flour
One teaspoon of yeast
A pinch of salt (about half a teaspoon)
180ml of water
One and a half tablespoons of vinegar
100 ml of oil
Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
Coloured granules to style
Preparation technique
1. Preheat your oven to 180º.
2. Combine dry components in a single bowl and liquid components in one other bowl (for higher outcomes, sift flour and sugar).
3. Mix the 2 mixtures, stir sufficiently till the combination turns into homogeneous.
4. Insert the granules into the dough and pour the combination right into a paper or silicone mildew.
Essential: Add sprinkles solely when the whole lot is able to go within the oven. If left for some time, the sprinkles might start to launch their colour into the batter.
5. Preheat the oven for about 18 to twenty minutes or till a toothpick stands proud and comes out clear.
6. Beautify nevertheless you need!
Instagram: @casinhacafe