But I still wanted Pizza, and albeit the lemons, I had all the fixings in the kitchen. I had never made my own Pizza crust before, because let’s face it, waiting an hour for something you’ve relied on as “fast food” is not an ideal concept. For the past few years, when I’ve wanted “Pizza,” I’ve put toppings on either a really good, crusty, toasted slice (or three) of rye bread or a halved bagel. Wanting to try my hand at actually making a crust, I Googled “Quick Vegan Pizza Crust” and followed the instructions of the first recipe that popped up online. This was the result:

The results were promising, but without giving the yeast time to rise, the crust was a little too tough for my liking. It tasted like next-day, reheated pizza, which! Isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It kind of reminded me of my early salad days as a teenage stoner, heating flour tortillas on a stove top. I decided to get srsbusiness and remade the dough, this time; letting the yeast bubble separately in a little bowl while I worked grape seed oil in to the flour and salt mixture until I got a crumbly sand texture. Like you would with biscuit dough. I then combined the yeast and dough together until the dough came away from the bowl, covered it in plastic wrap and set my timer for an hour. I answered emails. I did the 30-Day Shred. I showered and got dressed.

When I came back, the dough had doubled in size and was ready for kneading. The other problem with my first pizza, that while the crust had cooked through (as per the recipe’s instructions), it remind white and unappetizing looking. I poured a couple of tablespoons of grape seed oil in to my palm and rubbed it all over the crust and the baking sheet, then poked it a few times with a fork and tossed it in the oven for the initial 5 minute bake through. When I put it back in with the toppings, I brushed it with a little more oil and sea salt. Result? A wonderfully, light and slightly flaky pizza crust with golden edges. Success! And with homemade sauce (following Jamie Oliver’s basic tomato sauce recipe), no cheese was required. Just a sprinkling of Nutritional Yeast and I swear, I didn’t miss the cheese at all. In fact, I offered pizza to friends and family and no one remarked on the cheeselessness until I pointed it out! Pizza all weekend long . What I love most is that I knew exactly what was going in my pizza and I could make it as healthy or lardfest-y as I wanted. Things that were no bueno: Yves’ Ground Round. I love Yves’ Ground Round in my spaghetti, but it didn’t hold up well on pizza. Castlevetrano olives were great and buttery tasting, but when I put garlic stuffed olives on, they had a weird aftertaste. And if you’re not careful, Kale can turn in to a soppy, dishrag-y mess on your pizza.

Eventually, the sad day came (see: the very next day) when I ran out of AP flour. Well, I had just enough for a small crust. Which meant not enough pizza to be worth the hour-and-ten minute long wait. Except! I saw RunnyRunny999 make Mochi Crust Pizza on his YT channel once! I added some sweet rice flour to the mix and kneaded it in more sweet rice flour when it was ready. Since it was small enough, I tried baking it this time in the halogen oven, flipping over the crust in the initial bake-through so that both sides were browned evenly. Below is the result, and the recipe!

Vegan Portobello and Spinach Pizza with a Mochi Crust

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 cup AP flour
• ¼ cup of Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
• 1 tbsp of Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast
• ½ cup of lukewarm water
• A pinch or two of sea salt (I used pink Himalayan Sea Salt, because it’s ridiculous cheap at CNY)
• 3-4 tbsp of Grape Seed oil or Earth Balance Butter
• 2 tbsp of Hemp Hearts (optional)

Toppings:

• 3-4 tbsps of Jamie Oliver’s Basic Tomato Sauce
• 1-2 tsp of dried Habanero pepper flakes (optional)
• 4 tbsps of Nutritional Yeast
• 3 tsp of dried basil (or 2 tsp of fresh, finely chopped basil)
• 1 Portobello mushroom, with stem, sliced in to bite-size pieces
• 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1 handful of baby spinach
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Whisk together yeast and lukewarm water in a small bowl. Set aside for five minutes. Meanwhile, combine both flours, salt, hemp hearts and half of the oil (or butter) until the flour has the consistency of wet sand. Combine flour with yeast and water and mix with your hand until the dough comes away from the bowl. Don’t overmix. Cover with either a warm, damp dishcloth or plastic wrap and set aside to rise for one hour. Then, preheat oven to 425º F. Dust your work surface and hands with flour and knead and stretch your dough in to a crust, folding it over a few times. Toss in the air and catch it when no one’s looking . Don’t over knead the crust! Grease a baking sheet and brush both sides of the crust with half of the oil (or butter) that you set aside earlier. Stab it a few times with a fork and then place in the oven to pre-bake for five minutes. If you’re using a halogen oven, turn over half-way through the baking time to ensure that both sides get browned evenly. While it’s baking, you can start slicing and dicing your toppings. Combine pepper flakes with the sauce, if you’re adding it.

When it comes out of the oven, spread the sauce on the crust, taking care not to go completely to the edge (I left about an inch of space all the way around), and making sure that it’s even. Carefully layer on the toppings, sprinkling Nutritional Yeast and basil between each layer. Brush the remainder of the oil on the crust and sprinkle it on top of the toppings (the latter isn’t necessary if you’re using butter). Bake for 12-14 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Slice and serve immediately. Serves 2 people, or one very hungry person .

Listening to: Broken Bells – Meyrin Fields: Meyrin Fields

Now, me? I’m just a rosy-cheeked lush pacifist . Click each photo to embiggen!

I headed over to the Cassis booth first, and they made this lovely plate of Beet Carpaccio specially for me, since normally it was served with slices of cheese. I never have the patience to roast beets at home; wait for them to cool and then slice them on a mandolin, so I always appreciate them all the more when a restaurant makes the effort and does it well.

Gilles B. of Cassis Bistro, whipping up some Cassispirinhas; his take on one of my favorite drinks ever: Caipirinha. But how can you not love a drink that encourages you to mash sugar and fruit together in to your rum? I made at least 3 trips back .

Van and Chris, slaking back some Sour Chair-y Colas from Taste’s booth. I met Van for the first time at Anju, and now we’re old pals.

Dan D.! I hardly ever get to see Dan, even though he lives close by, because he’s seen Fergie running diagonally in the park.

Sarah Louise and Tiffany Leigh! She hates everything, so it makes me that much more determined to win her over with my feminine wiles. That, and she bakes a glorious pumpkin spice cake that makes me weep with joy unspeakable.

Wendytron™! On Sunday, Wendy made some delicious homemade Namskar and then threw this party. Isn’t she awesome? I love Wendy.

Sabz! On Sunday, I left my shades and purse at Sabz’ lovely home, which is why I was wearing shades on my head indoors at an evening event. Stop judging me.

Sarah Louise and I, putting our best Angry Vegan faces on for Taste’s booth, since they were serving up some Horse Tartare. Which they never actually saw.

Although, I did approve of their Kraken rum.

One of the lovely owners of Endeavor, Maria Elena. She is a total sweetheart, and her name reminds me of a Mexican Telenovela which I sometimes watched on Telemundo after school.

Sabz was describing something and gesturing emphatically with her hands. Something about having to leave early in order to catch The Voice. Priorities!

“Hello. I totally was not here just five minutes ago, looking for drinks. It was the other Hapa with purple eyebrows!”

I haven’t seen Arc in forever! But sometimes I see him in srsbusinessmode, walking around the Core in his srsbusiness shades.

This is why I don’t take pictures facing this way. My face looks long and my arm looks huge. Angles! I know mine! Sabz wanted to take a picture with the adorable French chef Jean-Philippe (who arrived here a week ago, from the South of France!), from Cassis Bistro, so she asked her boyfriend Chris; how to ask him: in Montreal French. I can’t remember what it was, something like “Es cours ve… something something photo…” According to my dashboard translator, “Will you take a picture with us?” is “Rendrez-vous une photo avec nous?” In any case, I’m glad it was Sabz asking and not me, otherwise he probably would’ve cried rather than posed for two photos .

We are such classy adults, that when Van asked me ,”Why do you have a photo of ‘anal beads’” on my camera, I knew it was the most grown-up of questions. This was from the crafting table, where I was shown how to make things that light up. I was too inebriated at this point to proceed to step dos.

Not to be outdone; Wild Rose Brewery also had a table for their potable potions, of which, my favorite is the Raspberry Ale. Made from real raspberries, according to the tour of the brewery I went on last year! I asked, because Jamie Oliver said on his website that artificial raspberry flavoring is made from castoreum. Don’t click that link if you don’t want your life ruined.

“Let’s get some Yelp Sticks!” “Okay… did you just empty the entire cup in to your purse?? Put one back!” “No, let’s just put other swag in the cup.” “Okay, cool!”

Wendy’s hair looks like feathers and smells like sunshine. I put my hair up with a Yelp pen.

Wearing Van’s glasses; exhibiting classy, librarian realness. Would you like the T… from Tea?

Sarah Louise decided she also wanted in on classy, librarian realness. Hop in to the Sarahvan.

“Quiet! Wendy’s talking!”

Put two vegans in a room together, and you’ll get two ladies that can’t take a normal photo together. Oh, and also tears happen in the Space Time Continuum. Something like that. Tiffy Louise! Sarah Leigh… oh wait.

The goodbyes of the night started early, when Sabz decided to ditch us for Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo. It’s cool. At least I can do TWO pull-ups, Sabz!

Crystal H., Supreme Master of Yelp Canada. Referred to me as Inigo Montoya at one of the previous events. Forever won a place in my heart. (Fun fact: I was an extra on four episodes of “Dead Like Me,” which starred Inigo. I mean, Mandy Patinkin. )

Van had the Mr. Ed Tartare, but scowled at the Taste table anyway, because that’s what friends do.

VAngelo: “Oh! Oh! Take a picture of us! We’ll put it on our profiles!”

SARANGEVAN?

Say hello to Luis Martinez for me.

So, eventually, Angelo’s friend Mike grabbed hold of my camera and told us to make gang signs. Chris and SarAngelo were too cool. Sabany and Van were not.

“Now blow kisses!” Awww, yay, no one was too cool for that .

Crystalbot and Wendytron! Wendstral? Crystendy? Wendstral sounds like a peaceful village somewhere. “Where you from?” “Oh, I grew up in Wendstral.”

Blurry Reg and blurry me. I don’t know why I look like I’m flexing my neck.

Todd O., me and Van’s friend. They invited us to Buchanan’s but we said we’d rather go to the Hop in Brew. And then we took forever to get there. Appy-polly-loggies.

Sarah Louise, me and the nice lady I had a conversation with inside the coat check room .

Yogi Crystal (right) and I discovered that even after several drinks, we both can still do Tree Pose.

I have really small hands, but for some reason, it looks like a giant tarantula on Van’s shoulder. Angelo spilled my cocktail down one of my sleeves, so I covered my arms in Yelp sweatbands.

I really wish I remembered this guy’s name, because this picture looks like a really gross couple-y picture you find on someone’s combined FB profile. “Lulu Less Than 3′s Ben-Ben 4EVz.” Then, I remembered that I asked this guy if I had lipstick on my chin and he told me, “nope!” Guess what?? I spent half an hour cloning lipstick off my chin for these pictures.

I look like a cardboard cutout here, but I also look like I have cheekbones .

I feel like I tell ladies this pro-tip at least twice a year: “Never wear a black cotton top to an event that takes place in a poorly lit room, where photos may be taken. The light from the flash will turn your top transparent.”

Aww, Tara and me. I think I may have shown the lady behind us my butt.

“Hi, I’m Kim Jong Ang. I’m second in line; after the one that looks like a Toblerone.”

Sarah Louise and Art! Art always has an awesome sweater to wear, and did not disappoint on Monday.

Ha! I’m not sure why Sarah Louise and I decided to put on our serious faces, but Art doesn’t seem to mind.

<3!

My attempt at Vegan Black Metal face. Is it working? Am I the surf champion of Norway yet?

At this point, I think we were all about ready to head for the Hop.

(Insert caption here:)

Note to self: Cut your bangs!

Wendy and her lovely new Yelp bracelet .

We finally made it to the Hop in Brew!

The awkward thing about long tables, is I never bother to make any attempt to conversate with the people on the other end. Not because I’m a hater. But because I don’t want to yell at you.

I am excited for Sarah Louise and I to feast on Hop in Brew pizza .

Have you tried Alley Kat Aprikat? It’s scrumtralescent.

Angelo, Reg, Matt and Tristan.

Tristan looking suave next to Dhalsim Crystal.

Vegan Pizza always makes me happy. And homies like Van. Van and me. Banh and Mi?

Wendy .

Not sure why I have Bitchface in this photo, but I think I was just sleepy .

And Van kept saying he had to get up for work. Meanwhile I kept grabbing his phone and trying to post tweets on his Twitter account. My comeuppance was bailing on my right hip when I left the Hop.

Sarah Louise and I bid you goodnight. XOXOXOXO

Listening to: Take That – Progressed: Pretty Things

Click to embiggen (as usual)! Not surprised about the last one, as Fergie is usually the little guy that occupies the last frame in most of my memory cards and 35mm rolls. Merry Christmas!

Listening to: The Muppets Soundtrack – Rowlf the Dog, Sam the Eagle, Link Hogthrob and Beaker: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Joel’s one of my brother’s BFFs and is an honest, filterless kind of guy.

Reg! Reg and I have a mutual affinity for all things tech/comic geek/sci-fi related. He’s usually wearing a Transformers belt buckle.

Thank you, Wendytron™, for not yelling at me when I went on Munchie Patrol in your suitcase and stole your sweet corn snacks❣❣❣

TANgelo was my DD for the evening, and Vishnu’s photobomber. Vishnu told me later on that he planned on telling everyone that this photo was taken by THE Tiffany. Hahahaha, he’s probably going to change his mind now.

So I would introduce Vishnu to my friends that hadn’t met him yet as one of the happiest guys I know. Joel is making a strong campaign for 2^nd place!

Pretty, pretty ladies… and TANgelo. Linda was worried when she couldn’t add me as a friend on the Yelp App on her phone… but then I remembered I added her already earlier that week. Today is her birthday! Happy birthday, Linda!

Nick! I hadn’t seen Nick since May’s OMGWTFBBQ, but I talk to him all the time . He lived in the Bay Area at one point. What the noodle? I find Bay Area people in Calgary on a regular basis now! We all say “hella” and we all hate the snow!

And… here’s the rest of Nick’s face! Yes, I’m 5′ tall. Deal with it.

Carrie! She and I are neighbors, once separated by a wall that separated a part of town that was declared “toxic and uninhabitable.” But now the wall’s gone, and that part of town now has restaurants and office buildings on it. Here’s to us growing tentacles!

Sabz! She’s so pretty and makes my head look so huge here, hahaha. Seriously, one of the cutest girls I’ve met this year. And fun to hug!

At one point during the night, when the crowd had started to thin out and the booze supply was dwindling; the Wine Sampler Guy decided to show the staff at Anju how to saber a bottle of champagne. One of the owners became worried and muttered, “please not in here!” But then relaxed after he took down one of the pieces of artwork hanging on the wall. Commence sabering!

Pretty, pretty Yogi Crystal and me . I wish I had gotten to talk to her more!

Isn’t it funny how, after you talk to someone online so often, you start to refer to them by their usernames, even IRL? I kept mentally referring to Merry here as “Merry120″ (her twitter name) in my head, but thankfully I remembered to say “Merry” out loud . When Merry and I met earlier this year, she told me I had pictures of her husband’s first cousin in my portfolio. Mike, formerly of Platinum Alibi! He hates this picture the most, so I’m going to link it again.

TANgelo, alongside Reg who is once again, demonstrating Jazz Hands . 

Wendy was starting to pack up for the night, so I decided to help out, by taking out what she was trying to pack in and snack stealing . Sadly, there was no room for this Yelp blanket in my bra. I was, however, allowed to take home a Yelp “I Shop Local!” tee and a bandana, which Fergie has been wearing all day.

Listening to: No Means No – Wrong: Two Lips Two Lungs One Tongue

(Click to embiggen!)

Today is my Dad and I’s 55^th and 27^th birthday! I celebrated on Saturday; there’s photographic evidence, but… it’s probably better if it never sees the light of day, hahaha! Today has been pretty low-key and mostly, I’m just enjoying spending it with the people I care about most and reading through some amazing birthday wishes. From the adorable cards from the sweet ladies I go to church with, the twitter greetings, friends fighting over which one says “Happy Birthday” to me first at midnight, to this heartjerking message I received from my Dad:

Happy Happy Birthday Tiffany! I remember the day you were born (sorry we have to share this day forever!) While many newborns have that “squished” look before they show their true features, you came out pretty as a doll! A jewel indeed made in God’s image! Love you sweetie!!!

This birthday is doubly special for me, when I consider the fact that I was incredibly close to not celebrating it. It would’ve also been my Nanay’s 83^rd birthday. Life is so wonderful and I thank God for surrounding me with health, hope and awesomeness. Enough cheese. How about some cupcakes?

The lemon ones with the green frosting are my favorite! The pumpkin spice ones are a close second, though .

Listening to: Aaliyah – Dr. Doolittle Soundtrack: Are You That Somebody?

♫ Hello, everybody and how do you do? How do you do? Hello, everybody and how do you do? Pleased… to… meet… you! ♪

I promise I haven’t abandoned my blog. The summer was… crazy simply does not describe it.

There was the good: My sister, Nikki, got married! I didn’t shoot her wedding, because I was the Maid of Honor (or as I referred to myself in our numerous emails prior to the wedding: the MOH-fo). So now I have a new brother! I did shoot their engagement photos, which you can view here. Family came from Vancouver, Saskatoon, Chicago, Grapevine, etc. It was wonderful to see my Aunt from Illinois and my Grandma from Texas who later spent her 80th (80!) birthday with us. She still does yoga and looks flawless. I hope to have inherited her genes:

There was the not-so good: In the second week of July I was struck with a mystery illness that left me bedridden and unable to eat. I had severe joint pain, chest pains, difficulty breathing and I would be screaming in pain in the middle of the night. So I was told. I don’t remember the screaming. I lost 15 lbs in a week and when antibiotics didn’t make me better, my doctor admitted that he had no idea what was wrong with me. I was rushed to the emergency room and spent a week in hospital, where I received a battery of tests and still the doctors couldn’t decipher what was wrong. Afterward, I spent the rest of the summer recovering. Thankfully, I was released just in time for the wedding. I’ve been writing in detail exactly what happened while I was sick and I may post that here later. I will say that I have been getting better every single day since I was admitted to hospital.

At the end of August, my Grandma in the Philippines, my Nanay, died after dealing with pneumonia for most of the summer. She was 82 and I hadn’t been able to see her since I was 12 years old, but I always felt a kinship with her since we shared a birthday. My mom and her brother and sisters all flew to their hometown in a tiny province called Talibong (near Biliran Island, in the Central Philippines) to be at the funeral. My mom’s younger brother, my Uncle Alex, had undergone heart bypass surgery in May and had been unable to fly to my sister’s wedding. For some reason, he was given the okay to fly to the Philippines. It’s a rough flight. You take the 18-20 hour flight to Manila, followed by another flight to Tacloban and then you board a tiny, rickety plane to Talibong.

The stress proved to be too much for my Uncle Alex, and he suffered a stroke shortly after arriving in Talibong. There wasn’t a chance to get him to a doctor in time and he died, surrounded by his wife and sisters. My mother flew to Talibong to bury her mother, and now she had to bury both her mother and younger brother in the same week.

So between, illnesses, weddings, deaths and recovery; it’s been a little hairy. But it’s life and I still think life is amazing and beautiful and wonderful and awesome and… and… if I stop to think about it too much my heart hurts from all the weight of the love I feel.

—

I’ll be back to posting photos, illustrations and vegan recipes soon! I promise .

xoxo,

Tiffany

Listening to: Young The Giant – Young The Giant: My Body

(Click to embiggen!)

Listening to: Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream: Today

Finally got around to updating the design of my main site! I got rid of the outdated links and changed the headline from “Photography and Digital Artwork” to “Photography and Illustrations.” Simply because not every piece there is digital anymore. What I wanted to achieve was a cleaner, more streamlined look that still gave hints to my personality. I also wanted it to look a little more like the blog. I’m kind of sad about no longer having a Fergie-centric header, but I think that confused people that aren’t familiar with me. Especially when they clicked around and saw that I don’t really take pictures of other animals. There are far better photographers for that sort of thing. Anyway, have a look! Feedback is always welcome .

Listening to: Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters: Filthy Gorgeous

(Click to embiggen!)

Listening to: Peter Furler and Steve Taylor – He Reigns: He Reigns

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