AlannaCA

haha this is so funny that i should stumble upon this post becuse i was just looking at that book tonight and its amazing!! i didnt have time to read much(as it was not my copy) but i flipped through all of the pictures of his flash multiple times just trying to absorb it all. i loved it!!

i put tons of fresh dill in my tatziki(sp?) sauce, i use it on salmon also.

I ask becasue my dad does not know about the new additions to my body and i seem to be having a very hard time finding a way to tell him. I grew up in a very strict home with a catholic/christian influence. tellin my dad about my tattoos is a very scary thing for me because he looks down on tattoos and people with tattoos, well at least while i was growing up he did. i know that tattooing is going to play a bigger part in my life and i am going to continue to add to my collection so before i get a new piece i figure telling him is something i have to do. thinking about this gives me a little bit of anxiety and i am really paranoid that he might kick me out of his house(worst case senerio).

I am very curious to hear peoples stories of how you told your parents about your first tattoo. where they mad, accepting, do they not know, whats the deal? please share your stories whether they be funny, sad, harsh or stupid! were you old enough that your parent influence didnt matter? do you still hide them to this day?

deb, the book looks amazing but i just need to find someone that has a copy so i can look it over!! :) :)

I've thought about posting in this thread since it was opened, i keep going back and forth in my head. As most know i am a pastry chef so i really really love good food and even better cakes and pastries. when i go out to eat first thing i do is look at the dessert menu. that usually helps me determine what im going to eat during my meal. anyways in the exercise department growing up it was pretty non-existent and so a lazy child turned into a pretty lazy teenager and so on. its been an up hill battle for a long time. yoga doesnt seem to be doing it for me but i keep trying becasue i think maybe im just in the wrong type of class. over the summer i started walking everyday for an hour or more along with watching my calorie intake and that has really given me great results! i have to say that also getting my first tattoo over the summer really played a big part in the weight loss game because i realized that i have this beautiful piece and now i really want to take care of it and make sure it looks good forever and that means shedding the pounds. so now when i reach a new goal i let myself get a new tattoo. it gives me a goal and something that i really strive for. i love being active, i love tennis, soccer, volleyball, walking, going to the gym(occasionally because i hate being inside) horseback riding, trampoline and lots of other activities.

here are the 2nd and 3rd links to episodes of permanent mark: Tokyo | SPIKE Bangkok | SPIKE

I love this thread, so much! all the information everyone has contributed has been great reading. japan has such a special place in my heart, but when i went it was with a Christian Missions group in 2005 so even though i got to see the cities and stay with some very nice people i wasnt exposed to night life or drinking or anything that would be considered a sin!! i have since become less of an uptight set in my ways Christian and just started experiencing life and i cant wait to go back and really see japan. i really loved the episode of Permanent Mark where he travels back to japan to get his handpoked tattoo from the yakuza. it blew my mind to see what night life is really like! heres a link to the episode i was talkin about: http://www.spike.com/full-episode/tokyo/41615

Now that i think about it, all the dates i have gone on and the few reletionships i have entered into i have made sure that my partner was interested in tatoos or at least ok with it. i did this even when i didnt have any tattoos because i knew it would be part of my life at some point. i knew that if a common bond was not shared that the reletionship would not go anywhere.

hiya, i am trying to find out more about Amund dietzel. i notice you mentioned his name up there. what little i have seen of his flash i really really like and i want to see more pictures but google is really not that helpful. is there anywhere else i can look that someone can recommend to me?

Steves Everything Marinade for steak: dianas bbq sause or your favorite bbq sause. this should be the base and be about 1-2 cups. add soy sause, garlic, ginger, hoisin sause, Worcestershire sauce, seasame oil, green onion, a wee bit of lime juice or mirin contains all of these things and you can add as much or as little as you want. i did and its soooooo good! marinate for 1-2 hours and then bbq. the flavour of a little bit of char and the asian flavours will blow your mind. i cant wait for cottage season so that i can through these on the bbq. its been a staple for the last 4 summers. we roast sweet potatoes and corn and even foil pack some asparagus with olive oil and garlic and throw those on to cook with the steaks. its not even february yet but im already dreaming of days at the cottage!!

i posted the cookie recipe above in response to tammy's request but here is the latkes recipe: Horseradish-caraway crème fraîche 2 tablespoons caraway seeds 1 cup crème fraîche 1/4 cup freshly grated horseradish Salt andPepper 1. Place the caraway seeds in a small sauté pan and cook over medium heat, shaking occasionally, until they become aromatic and begin to pop, 3 to 5 minutes. 2. In a medium bowl, combine the crème fraîche with the toasted seeds and the horseradish. Season with one-half teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper, or to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days. Serve cool. Carrot purée 3 tablespoons canola oil 2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely diced 2 cups fresh carrot juice Salt andPepper 1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the diced carrot and cook for 2 minutes, until the color is vibrant. Add the carrot juice and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a good simmer. Cook until the liquid has been reduced by a little more than half, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 2. Remove the mixture from the heat, cool for several minutes, and purée in a blender or with an immersion blender. Season with three-fourths teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper, or to taste. Cover and refrigerate for up to a week. Serve at room temperature. Latkes and assembly 1 large red beet 3 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds) 2 medium red onions 1 carrot 2 cups canola oil, divided 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup flour Salt Pepper Kosher salt 1 recipe horseradish-caraway crème fraîche 1 recipe carrot purée 1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Trim the beet, wash it and wrap it in foil. Roast it in the oven for 1 hour, until a knife easily pierces through the flesh. Cool before handling; remove the skin. 2. Peel the potatoes, onions and carrot. Using a box grater, grate the potatoes, carrot and beet separately, squeezing the moisture out of each vegetable using a colander or paper towels, then combine the vegetables in a large bowl. Grate the onion, squeezing the moisture from half and adding it to a large bowl with the other vegetables. Reserve the remaining grated onion. 3. Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil and the reserved grated onion. Sauté the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of grated vegetables, tossing to combine. 4. Stir in the eggs and flour, and season with one-half teaspoon salt and one-fourth teaspoon pepper. 5. Heat the remaining oil in a medium skillet until it shimmers. Drop the latke batter (beginning with a single "tester latke"), a quarter cup at a time, flattening slightly with a heat-proof spatula to form a pancake. Fry the latkes, 1 or 2 at a time, for about 2 minutes until they're a golden color on one side, then flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. Remove the cooked latkes to drain on a paper towel-lined tray, sprinkling each with a good pinch of kosher salt, and continue with the remaining batter; you should have about 14 to 16 latkes. 6. Serve immediately withthe horseradish-caraway crème fraîche and the carrot purée. Each serving of 4 latkes with two tablespoons each of crème fraîche and carrot purée: 585 calories; 11 grams protein; 60 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 35 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 118 mg. cholesterol; 766 mg. sodium.

as you requested: Yellow Butter Cake 2 cups A.P Flour 4 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ cups sugar ½ cup butter softened 1 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla 3 eggs preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your cake pans and line with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir in sugar. Add butter, milk, and vanilla; beat with electric mixer at low speed for 30 secs. Beat at medium speed 2 min. add eggs and beat another 2 min. pour into pans and bake as directed below. Cool for ten min. loosen and invert on a wire rack. Baking guide: 1- 13x9 cake: 35-40min 1- 10in bundt: 45-55 2- 9in rounds: 35-40 2- 8in squares: 30-35 3-8in rounds: 20-25 8 lrg 4in cupcakes:35-40 24 med 2in cupcakes: 20-25 Dulce de Leche sandwich cookies cookie dough 2 cups A.P flour or gluten free flour mixer* 2 TBSP sugar 225g vegetable shortening or butter(my coworker used shortening) water * if you use gluten free flour once the cookies are baked they are super soft and very crumbly, sometimes hard to work with and not good for transporting but still very delicious. 1 can sweetened condensed milk. Take off the label and boil in a pot of water( water should be half way up the can approx.) on medium the unopened can of milk for 2 hours straight. Cool completely and open can very carefully(some pressure may have built up inside)! Put flour in the bowl and add sugar. Break in shortening or butter until well combined. Use a TBSP of water at a time if needed to help the dough come together. If using regular flour make sure you do not knead your cookie dough a lot of you will end up with a very tough cookie. Put in fridge for 2 hours or overnight and then roll out in a large sheet. Use a cookie cuter to make circles of any size. I like bite size but feel free to make them bigger and cut out a window in the top cookie. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Cool cookies. add a tsp of dulce de leche or your favorite jam and sandwich between too cookies squeezing enough so that you can roll the cookies in coconut and it will stick.

ooo...ooo....how do you make dulce de leche with coconut milk? please share that sounds great!

as far as i know you can make a good veggie stock in a crock pot but just make sure that you dont use veggies that disintegrate. i made a really really tasty red lentil soup with carrot and celery in the crock pot and it honestly tastes like chicken soup but it was vegan

I've been cooking up a storm these last 2 weeks!!! so much food, too bad all y'all live so far away, i tend to make enough food for an army. I've made: chicken chili with lots of veggies, corn and its kind of sweet spicy butternut squash soup.....mmm so heart-warming! vegetarian lasagnia with cabbage leaves instead of pasta. its so tasty and guilt free too! Cornish hens stuffed with cornbread chorizo stuffing and served with maroccan barley risotto italian zucchini patties. they are usually fryed in a lot of oil but i used Pam spray instead and it worked! Roasted beet and carrot latkas with caraway creme frais chicken Pad thai made from scratch( no store bought sauce) vegetarian and/or turkey filled cabbage rolls sauteed veggies(onions,peppers, zucchini, baked sweet potato) coated in homemade tomato sauce topped with crispy polenta rounds. finished with melted cheese. on the dessert front: i tried a new vanilla cake recipe (im always trying new and interesting recipes) cranberry and pistachio biscotti drizzled with white chocolate i've been also collecting old recipes from family and coworkers like in my family whenever there is a baptism, wedding shower, wedding or any significant event there are always italian cookies. i've been picking up recipies as i go and collected a new one last weekend. its a flakey cookies dough with wrapped around a dollop of nutella. they are then rolled in sugar while still warm! my co-woker gave me a simple cookies recipe that is a very easy sandwich cookie with dulce de leche in the middle then rolled in coconut! OMG recently i took a trip with a friend to the Lindt Chocolate factory and i bought 15lbs of different types of melting chocolates. i have been experimenting with them and making truffles and filled chocolates. ya know praticing what i learned in school so i dont get rusty! :) if any of whats written above makes your mouth water and you want the recipe ill be happy to post it!

THank you very much!!! :) :)

Welcome to LST Lucas! i love that ive "met" so many awesome people on this site from all over the place. i really hope you enjoy the site and the sense of community/friendship that goes on here! looking forward to you imput!

i'd say go for it! they have made alot of advances in that technology and as time passes they find ways to make it less and less painful. i speak from experience! i've been plucking, waxing, doing electrolysis for the last 8 years, and now more recently laser hair removal. i going to start laser hair removal on my legs in a couple weeks because probably come the fall i want to get a nice big piece done on my thigh. the darker your hair is the better the treaments will work because the laser can pickup on the dark hair better. just be sure to finish the laser hair removal before you get any work done because i was warned that even though the lasers most places use are not that strong, it can still cause some fading to your tattoo. i have been so happy with the results i have gotten so far and i will probably continue to go for other areas of my body. im not made of money so i will let you in on my secret. i go to aesthetic schools. if your services are done by a student they cost about a quarter of the price of going to a spa. these places always have a professional with alot of experience surpvising the students and also they are always open to constructive comments on how to be better. the only down side is that they might be a little slower than a professional. I hope this helps!!

Wow awesome!!! Welcome and i envy that you live in such a culturealy( is that word??) amazing country!!

Whoa that's really crazy!!! It looks a little creepy and I would probably react the same way as you if I were watching that being done to someone on TV

Very cool!! loved all the photos!! Thanks for sharing!

i watch his show all the time! i am such an MTV junkie. anyways i see everyones point. Ms.Rad, i agree what a waste of space, he could of gotten something so much better, maybe hes on the brink of bancrupcy and he needs to do something extremem to get paid. yea i kind of did think it seemed a little to good to be true in the end, but didnt you see the artist applying the black outline. that looked really real!

this is sooo awesome!! you really do have a way with words and i really love the story in this one!