AlannaCA

aaaawww...... i saw that feed on twitter and i couldn't believe another one of her cats died. i swear she must be cursed or have bad karma! i just didnt know how it happened until just now. poor cat! no animal should have to die like that!

I watched some of this as I'm a bit obsessed with british reality tv, and I wanted to flush her head down a toilet.

ahahahaha....i couldn't even get through the whole clip she just fuckin annoyed the shit out of me. even in my industry if someone tells you to sweep the floor or do their dirty dishes you do it and you make sure you have a smile on your face to boot!!

Nick, i love your post and it makes me want to go out and try all those places right now!!

if your ever in Toronto my favorite places to go are:

Bymark - www.bymark.ca - owned by chef mark mcewan - every visit to this restaurant has been amazing from beginning to end!

Chiado - www.chiadorestaurant.com - amazing portuguese food! this is portuguese fine dinning at its best. the service is impecable and the food is just like you would get if you took a trip to Portugal. they fly their fresh fish in from Portugal and its always amazing!

sassafraz - www.sassafraz.ca/- great seasonal food and i was really impressed with the dessert

The black hoof- best brunch ive had to date!! they specialize in pork and different organ meats. i had banana and bacon waffles and i cant wait to go back for more!

the sweet escape patisserie - thesweetescapedistillery.com/- michelle edgar is a dear friend of mine and she has a lovely little bakery in the distillery district and if you go you must get a flourless chocolate cake, cupcakes, or macaroons. she has a selection of sammies and salads that are great too!

clafouti - www.dine.to/clafouti- AMAZING croissants!!

Live organic food bar- www.livefoodbar.com/ - now what kind of a dessert chef would i be if i didnt plug my own restaurant! for those that are vegan and raw foodist this is the place to be! even if your not vegan the food will still blow you away! all the desserts i make are raw and if your looking for something tastey you must get the tira misu or the black forest cake. those are my favs!

hmmm im pretty sure thats all i wanted to reccomend! if you get a chance to go let me know what you think!

wow i cant believe all the responses this thread got but i was so happy to read everyones thoughts!!! thanks for all the great info!

Liz- for sure you will see me again soon! i already know what i want but im just trying to pace myself! im glad you liked the cookies, my intension was they would be accepted as a friendly gift and not that i was being a kiss ass or anything. :)

I love Pizza!! i try my hardest to eat healthy and i found a store bought thin crust that is amazing. i made some last night and i brushed the crust with olive oil and sprinkled with oregano and topped it with marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and hearbed goat cheese. mmmm i think it was my best pizza creation to date!

my favorite movie is Dirty Dancing. its the one i can watch on a loop and not get board. i also love movies that take place in a different time period (the untouchables, pirate radio, the young victoria etc.) . if you look in my movie cabinet now the common theme seems to be horses. in my teens i spent alot of time working in a barn as a stable hand where i worked for lessons and an education.

my second and newest tattoo also has meaning. its the words " im stronger now then i ever was before". yes i know its alot of words but its lyrics from Villian a song by Hedley. im a big fan of the band but even after they are dead and gone the words will still mean something to me. the other elements i have in there are some ivy and roman numeral 23. the ivy represents strength and growth and i put the 23 in there because i just turned 23 and i am hoping that this coming year will be a year of change. i dont have a picture of it yet but i look at it evey day and im just amazed at how beautiful it is!

I've been reading through all of the threads and everything that people have been posting and i havent stumbled upon anything that talks about what artists like to see when it comes to good client behavior.

i am a new tattoo collector and before actually visiting a shop for the first time all i knew was what i saw on tv from the reality shows like Miami or LA ink.

so i like to hear from anyone on what they like to see when it comes to well behaved clients. ( walk ins, consultations, day of the appointment)

i did see that "customer from hell" post and even though it was sooo funny, i felt so bad for the dude in the blue flame shirt

yes im hearing the bad things about agave as well. i dont competely believe all of what is being said. i think that in small amounts it s all right but if you over do it and use too much too often yes i believe it is bad for you. but thats the same principle for everything in life, moderation. i love it because its low on the glycemic index and its so much sweeter than white sugar so i use half as much when i bake. it doesnt cause my blood sugar to spike, so i dont come crashing down after.

so i love agave! maple syrup is just as good but i use it when i want my food to have a certain flavour profile. it has more of a caramal flavour where as agave is just sweet.

lacauma is a fruit that comes from south america and its dried and made into a powder. it is packed with tons of nutrients like calcium, beta-carotene, fibre, and iron. its got a malty/caramel flavour profile and so i use it to make any caramel toppings and in my pecan pie at the restaurant in conjunction with maple syrup and i get that same buttery flavour with it being 100% vegan.

yes the two tattoos that i have so far both have meaning. the attached picture is of my first tattoo i got in august. its on my ribs and its the names joia(joy-a) and avelan. joia was my first portuguese water dog and she passed away almost 3 years ago but i still got her name on me because she affected my life so deeply in such a short amout of time. she was only with me for 7 months and she was very very sick, but i gave her a good life until she passed on a cold Feburary night. i hate the way she had to go, and it still haunts me. avelan is my current portuguese water dog. shes 2 1/2 years old and shes just a ball of life and constant entertainment. i couldnt be any happier with the way Lizzie(speakeasy) did the tattoo. its perfect!

hahaha! Mario what an awesome story! im reading tattoo machine by jeff johnson right now and its all his stories and experiences, just like the ones people are leaving here. i love it!!

if you have any requests let me know!

in the mean time here is my favorite quinoa salad recipe i made it for a party last weekend and it was a hit:

Quinoa salad

3 cups cooked quinoa

1 ½ cups canned or boiled black beans

1 ½ cups canned or boiled lentils

1 ½ cups canned or defrosted corn

½ a red onion chopped fine

2 fresh medium size tomatoes chopped

1 ½ cups defrosted edema me

¼ cup green or black olives

1 cup slivered almonds toasted

¼ cup fresh mint

¼ cup chopped fresh coriander

Cook quinoa directed on package. Let cool and add the other ingredient. Dress and serve at room temperature or chilled. Mmmmm!!

Dressing:

1/3 cup lime juice

¼ cup olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Put all ingredients in a container and shake to combine

I always wonder who's checking us out but not joining. I see that you're a dessert chef at a vegan/raw place? You just made me hungry. What are your specialties? Go ahead, make me crave something delicious!

At the restaurant I make only raw food desserts, but at home I make a mean vegan cupcake! The best dessert at the restaurant is the raw tira misu that I make, seriously its the stuff dreams are made of!

MsRad, i will for sure share some recipes, heres a raw fig newton bar i made today. its super easy and i gotta say it actually made me like figs.

Pecan Fig Newton’s

You will need a 9x13 pan lined with plastic wrap

5 cups of pecans (not soaked but roughly chopped use food processor)

1/3 cup of Agave Nectar

About 20 dried figs (soaked until plump) reserve a few dried one and rough chop for later(optional)

2 tbs of vanilla extract

Pinch of Celtic Sea salt

Water to blend

In a food processor blend the soaked figs with vanilla, salt and enough water until they are creamy and smooth. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, fold in roughly chopped pecans and extra fig pieces for more texture . spread into a 9x13 pan. Let stand in refrigerator for at least an hour before cutting. Yields about 32 pieces. They are good on their own or you can add the extra caramel sauce :

Caramel sauce

16 dates (pitted and soaked)

¾ tsp of mesquite powder

3 Tbsp melted coconut oil

¼ cup lacuma powder

Water to blend.

In a blender, mix dates and mesquite with enough water until smooth and creamy. Add melted coconut oil and lacuma and blend again. This should be pourable but not too watery and you can spread it or pipe it on top to make fun designs.

You can half the recipe to make it more manageable and then whatever you don’t eat put in the freezer for later!

I asked a heavily tattooed co-worker for some good reccomendations on female tattoo artist in Toronto and thats how i ended up at Speakeasy. before going in person to make my appointment i did as much research online as i could to make sure i really wanted to go to that shop. once i was there( as nervouse as i was) the vibe of the shop really resonated with me and i knew that it was the right place.

hiya

i just wanted to say hi and i am happy that i finally joined! ive been visiting LST and reading everything i could for the last month and a half and i love the site so far!

Alanna