Tuesday, 7 August 2012

Vegan life, love and belly dancing... meet Adriana Bellemans

Bellydancing isn't perhaps the most mainstream of dancing past times, but Adriana Bellemans has never been one for mainstream.  She took up belly dancing in Adelaide because she'd always wanted to learn.  When she arrived in Tasmania 21 years ago, she decided to offer classes. 

It was certainly a great conversation starter!
 
Adriana Bellemans is an inspirational lady.  While many of us try to follow our principles (at least most of the time), Adriana really lives them.  This animal lover set up Vegelicious with her partner Kate last Christmas after an opportunity arose at the Island Market.  And despite only being open 6 months, they have already attracted a loyal following and a HOFM award as Hobart's Best Takeway!

Adriana has always enjoyed cooking, especially beautiful vegetarian and vegan food.  She loves it when she is asked what is vegan at Vegelicious, only to tell them that everything is!  'Their eyes nearly pop out of their head!' she laughs. 

Vegelicious offers vegan food for everyone.  Adriana, with Kate's help, makes just about everything themselves.  As a result, everything is fresh and high quality.  The favourites?  Vegan cakes, and brekkie bagels (vegan bacon and scrambled tofu).  And of course, hot chips! It is amazing how many vegans order hot chips, happy knowing that they are not cooked in animal fat (like many takeaway shops).  Even carnivores seek out the Vegelicious hot chips because they taste better...!   
Her big tip for anyone interested in eating more vegetarian food or vegan food?  'If you treat tofu the right way, it can be very tasty.  People make the mistake of tasting it straight from the pack... blurrrgh!  Don't do that - it is very easy to cook with!'

So does she miss anything?  Yes, cheese!  Fortunately Adriana came across a recipe for vegan cheese, kindly shared by a friend who operates a vegan B&B.  You can find the recipe on the Vegelicious facebook page, and we've included it for you below.  And, Adriana can also make you up a tub of vegan fetta to take home on request!


Vegan Fetta
courtesy of Nikki from Bed and Broccoli 
250 g block of tofu (Nikki uses Blue Lotus, Adriana uses the Firm King Land brand )
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 tablespoons herbed vinegar (plain also works)
1 tablespoon of miso powder (or 1 small sachet)
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves of garlic, whole & smashed (Or use crushed garlic)

Drain tofu. Cut into cubes or crumble. Don’t crumble it too fine or it will become mush! Mix all ingredients together and pour over tofu. Marinate in the fridge for at least a day. A couple of days is best. But I have done this in the morning and cooked with it that night when in a hurry. Store in the fridge with olive oil."
 
Adriana also adds chilli and fresh rosemary and has also used miso paste. Like Nikki - Adriana is yet to work out how long this will keep as it hasn't lasted more than 3 days before it's gone!


You can find information about Vegelicious in the Your Market Place business directory, or visit them at their Vegelicious facebook page.