Gen Con 2013 & RESTAURANT REVIEW - Cafe Gratitude, Kansas City, MO

When last we left our intrepid explorers, they were looking for parking in downtown Indianapolis for Gen Con 2013.





An hour after reaching downtown, Hedgie finally spotted a garage that only charged $10 a night (there was no free parking anywhere). April parked and proceeded to make multiple trips from the garage to the convention center and then more trips to the hotel (because walking 8 miles in Toronto wasn't nearly enough), as the hedgehogs provided moral support.

April got her CDs set up on the table she was sharing with Marc Gunn -



- and went to play music for all of the wonderful geeky attendees (including an adorable Robin).



While at Gen Con, food consisted mainly of heat & eat Indian packet meals, cereal, and Cliff/Luna/Pro bars, so the hedgehogs regret to inform you that there are no exciting food pictures. To make up for it, here are some pictures from Gen Con itself -


Cardhalla. Anyone who wanted to could add to the impressive array of card structures.

Amazing cosplay -



After 4 days of exciting and exhausting fun, April and the hedgehogs packed up, said goodbye to Indiana, and drove to Kansas City, MO, where April would be staying during the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. April had a free week in between Gen Con and KCRF, and was planning on flying home to Austin for a quick visit, but had a chance to eat at Cafe Gratitude before the flight.

Cafe Gratitude
333 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
Facebook page





Everything at Cafe Gratitude is vegan, and lots of it is raw as well. The names of all the dishes are affirmations, and they even have a "community supported grain bowl" called "I Am Greatful", that helps to feed the hungry - "Shredded kale with quinoa, black beans & garlic-tahini sauce. Payment is by donation. Minimum donation is $2.00. Suggested value is $7. Feed yourself & someone in need $14. For grateful bowl policy details, see server."

On this particular visit, April had the "I Am Rich" juice (orange, carrot, lemon & beet) and the "I Am Fabulous" (a raw lasagne which isn't actually on the menu), which were delicious.



For dessert, she splurged a bit and got the "I Am Joy", a vegan truffle that does a great job impersonating an Almond Joy candy bar. (So very, very tasty.)



Since she went to Cafe Gratitude the day before her flight, April decided to also get something for the next morning's breakfast. The "I Am Peace" (live onion bagel with cashew crème cheese, nori “lox,” tomato, onion, capers & sprouts) sounded intriguing, so she got it to-go.



A note on the "I Am Peace" - it was delicious, but the "bagel" was really more of a raw flatbread.

Here's what April and her friend got the last time they visited Cafe Gratitude -


I Am Worthy - kale, beet, celery, apple & ginger juice.


I Am Awake - gluten-free buckwheat-banana pancakes drizzled with maple syrup. (Delicious!)


I Am Creative - a unique creation of pizza flavors with tomato, basil, hemp seed pesto, nut parmesan & cashew ricotta cheese on our live onion sunflower crust. (This may be April's favorite thing.)


Dessert Tray. We'll have one of everything, please.


I Am Bliss - chocolate hazelnut pie. (Very rich, very tasty.)

RESTAURANT REVIEWS - The Lunch Room (Ann Arbor, MI) & The Sinking Ship (Indianapolis, IN)

After a good night's sleep (though Buttercup says Hedgie snores), April and the hedgehogs woke up nice and early so that they could get to GenCon in time to pick up the badge and packet, set up in the exhibit hall, and check into the hotel.

On the way out of Michigan, they decided to stop at The Lunch Room for brunch.

The Lunch Room
Kerrytown Market & Shops, 407 N 5th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Facebook page & Twitter page



The pancakes were awfully tempting, so that's what April got. They were fluffy and delicious!



April also got a cold brew iced toddy coffee with the pancakes, as well as a molasses ginger cookie and a coconut lemon donut to go (yummy treats make long drives easier).




Cloudy with a chance of hedgehogs.

Four hours later, the travelers made it to Indianapolis, just in time for a late lunch!

The Sinking Ship
4923 N College Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46205
Facebook page & Twitter page

The Sinking Ship is a bar, so no one under 21 is allowed. April snuck Hedgie and Buttercup in inside her purse, and they hopped out just long enough to take photos, and then hopped back in.

There were so many awesome vegan things on the menu, but April jumped at the chance to finally try jackfruit BBQ.



It was amazing! The jackfruit had an amazing texture, and the sauce was delicious. For desert, April decided to test the true versatility of the jackfruit and have some cake.



It was also delicious! The cake itself wasn't overly sweet, nor was the icing, but when paired with the fruit, everything came together. The cake was fairly dense, and a bit hard to cut with just a fork (thank goodness for a knife!)

The staff at The Sinking Ship were extremely nice. April's waiter learned her name immediately, and called her by it the whole time she was there. He also engaged her in friendly conversation, and made sure she had everything she needed. The chef came out of the kitchen to ask how she liked the cake; it was a new-ish recipe for him.



Full and happy, April and the hedgehogs left The Sinking Ship to search for parking in downtown Indianapolis. *insert sound of ominous music here*

Pancakes & Pizza

Mark and I are currently performing at Sherwood Forest Faire in Paige, TX (on Hwy 290, about an hour outside of Austin - if you've got a free weekend this month or next and are in the area, come see us!), and we're living in our 14 foot tiny trailer.  I will post pictures of the trailer later (we're fixing it up), but I had to blog about this morning's breakfast.  Last weekend, Mark and I bought a 6-8" cast iron skillet with  a pretty green ceramic bottom.  This morning, he used some Bisquik (not particularly healthy, but vegan), powdered soy milk, and a banana as an egg replacer and made pancakes!  He also made syrup out of water, sugar, and vanilla.  Oh, the luxury of having a 3 burner propane stove while camping!




I brought my Republic of Tea Double Chocolate Mate, so Mark made me a soy chocolate mate to go with my pancakes.  This was such a great breakfast, and not something I ever thought I'd be eating while camping!



For lunch, Mark got creative and made personal pizzas by toasting Orowheat sandwich thins and topping them with tiny "beef" and chunky "chicken" TVP, vegan bacon bits, organic red pepper flakes, and marinara sauce.  After we each had a pizza, he put the rest of the toppings on some orzo.

Vegan Pumpkin Recipes

Happy Halloween, everyone! I'm spending this evening with my family, either going with my brother and sister-in-law and my cousin and his wife to take their kids trick-or-treating (my nephew is 2, and I can't wait to see his costume!), or staying in with my parents and grandmother to pass out candy to the kids that come buy the house. I haven't decided which yet, though I'm sure I'll have fun either way!

In honor of all of those Jack-o-lanterns out there, here's a round-up of delicious pumpkin recipes!


PIES
Pumpkin Pie by Ann Miner
Pumpkin Pecan Pie (Crustless) by LittleCrystal

CHEESECAKE
Pumpkin Cheesecake by KayceeBassett
Easy Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake by BreyettEyes
THE Pumpkin (un)-Cheesecake by sacdeals@peoplepc.com
Praline Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake by veggiewedgie

SOUP
Pumpkin Curry Soup by veganmiss
Simple Pantry Pumpkin Bean Soup by WinterClover
Pumpkin Ginger Soup by Isuelt
Savory Pumpkin Soup by joannac
Pumpkin-Ginger Soup by Melinda McBride

COOKIES, MUFFINS, and BREAD
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles by jilli
Pumpkin Oat Breakfast Cookies by deathrockmama
Pumpkin Orange Soft Granola Bars by tvaughan84
Pumpkin Spice Raisin Muffins by chickpea27
Delicious Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins! by Spiritree
The Best Pumpkin Muffins You Will Ever Eat by tigereyegirl123
Amazing Pumpkin Cornbread by maleficent_lovecraft
Tropical Mixed Grain Pumpkin Bread by oktokrewl
Pumpkin Roll by ammclendon
Pumpkin Cake Roll by AliAli009

SHAKES and SMOOTHIES
Pumpkin Chocolate Healthy Indulgent Shake! by sarahrugg
Petite Pumpkin Smoothie by Tara Petite
Dessert-for-Breakfast Raw Pumpkin Pie Smoothie by lebkuchen

PANCAKES
Pumpkin Pancakes by amandajomac
Pumpkin Pancakes by krs

OTHER RECIPES
Pumpkin Pasta Sauce by JGL
Maple and Brown Sugar Pumpkin Casserole by lauranc
A Beautiful Stuffed Pumpkin by kookoo4couscous
Pumpkin Dandies by Connie Warren
Pumpkin Butter by LisaViger
Chocolate Pumpkin Amazingness by vegirunner

Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes & Breakfast "Sausage"

A while back, I bought some Bob's Red Mill gluten-free baking mix and have been using it for all sorts of things. My favorite, so far, has been pancakes. (Strangely enough, one of the intended uses for the mix is biscuits, and I haven't made those at all. I think I'm a little afraid to!)

Today, I decided to make some pancakes for lunch today, and the bf made some breakfast "sausage" with "beef" TVP (that's Textured Vegetable Protein, for those that don't know), vegan chili mix, onions, garlic, Braggs, and liquid smoke. He mixed it all together and fried it in a little bit of canola oil until he decided it was done. Upon tasting it, he decided that the "sausage" had too strong of a flavor on its own, but that it tasted great wrapped in a pancake with a bit of melted Earth Balance.

I've never been one for savory pancakes (I ate most of mine with some lavender syrup, and I've been regularly known to eat them with 100% fruit jelly), but I decided to give this whole "faux pig in a blanket" thing a go.

It was surprisingly tasty.

So much so that I ended up eating *two* of my precious pancakes topped with "sausage".

Granted, it was very nice to eat the rest of them with the lavender syrup, but those sausage pancakes were an unexpectedly awesome way to start off lunch.

(Unfortunately, I was too hungry to take pictures. I'd say "bad blogger, no biscuit", but you already know that I'm not making biscuits. Scared to, you might say.)