The Hedgehogs See The Carter/Lea Duo!

The hedgehogs would like to appologize for the lateness of today's post. Besides technology generally being very unhelpful, they had a very full day.

First, they went with April to her Tulstin Troubadours band business meeting, where Mark's girlfriend Demaris' dog, Isabella, showed off All The Cute -



Then, they all went to the coin-op laundromat to do some clothes. Hedgie and Buttercup broke out into song.


"Tell you how. How you make. Make me feel. What's the phrase? Like a fool. Kinda sick. Special needs. Anyways."

Then, the group all traveled to Prospero's Books so April could pick up the debit card that she'd left there a couple of days before (Hedgie tried to tell her she'd forgotten it, but did she listen? By the way, you'll hear more about Prospero's Books and Cafe Caliban on Monday!) On the way out, they saw a monkey in the window, and Buttercup swears she heard it talking.



The group's ultimate destination was their stagemate, Marianne Carter's, show with her musical partner, Darrell Lea. Since the show was going to be at Cutter's Smokehouse in Eudora, KS, April decided to walk just down the street from Prospero's to grab dinner from Mud Pie Vegan Bakery. An Eggy Breakfast Burrito (made by FuD) and a chocolate coffee muffin really hit the spot.



Once they all got to the show, April asked about possible vegan options on the menu. Just in case. For science. Apparently, all the appetizers (like the corn nuggets, stuffed mushrooms, and onion rings) have dairy in the batter, the veggie burger is made with egg whites, and the waffle fries are seasoned with something that probably isn't vegan. That being said, the rest of the varieties of fries, including the sweet potato fries that April ended up getting, are vegan.

The show was awesome! The group is used to hearing Marianne (Matty Stryker, at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival) play hammered dulcimer and cittern, so hearing her play guitar and upright bass was a real treat (and a bit of a surprise!)







On the way out, Hedgie and Buttercup made a new friend, and stopped to chat for a bit -

RECIPE - Faux Mocha / RESTAURANT REVIEW, Part Deux - Mud Pie Vegan Bakery, Kansas City, MO / Green Acres Market

After getting unpacked and situated in her temporary living quarters, the hedgehogs told April that she was required to drive into the big city and get some chocolate.



She decided that the best place to do that was Mud Pie Vegan Bakery.

Mud Pie Vegan Bakery
1615 W 39th St, Kansas City, MO 64111
Facebook page







Since April didn't get anything chocolate on her last visit to Mud Pie, this time would be different.



April got a Cashew Milk Mocha, Lemon Blueberry Bread, an Eggy Breakfast Burrito (made by KCMO restaurant Fud), and, to satisfy the chocolate craving/requirement, a s'mores cupcake. The was the second time she had got some food from Fud without actually going there (they always seem to be closed when she wants to go out). The burrito was gooey and delicious, the lemon blueberry bread was the perfect level of sweetness with a great flavor, and the s'mores cupcake was the perfect way to get that chocolate fix. The mocha was a great compliment to it all, and April was once again impressed by the milk options - soy milk is standard and *free*, and various other milks are available for a bit extra (like cashew, rice, coconut, almond, and hemp!)

While enjoying the yummy food, Buttercup's sharp eye discovered that the bookshelves on the wall were actually a door. Hedgie said that all doors should also be bookshelves.



On the way back to Leavenworth, April decided to stop in north KCMO and check out Green Acres Market, as she needed to pick up a few groceries (i.e., Hedgehog Bribes).

Green Acres Market
4175 N Mulberry Dr, Kansas City, MO 64116 (Also has locations in Wichita, KS and Jenks, OK)
Facebook page

Green Acres is located in a collection of shops, at the end of a row next door to Sugar Mama's Bakery (but not the one in Austin!) It's a decent-sized store; not too small, and not so big that you get lost. April picked up some organic produce - a couple of pluots (a combination between a plum and an apricot), some lemons, some broccoli, and some sweet potatoes, and also got a couple more heat & eat Indian packet meals and some cocoa powder from the bulk section. Since hearing about The Great Vegan Yogurt Shortage, she was pleased to find a brand new offering -


Quick review - the plain was the only flavor they had. It's not sweet, and the texture is good; not too thick or thin.

She also found a couple of things that looked very tempting, but that she didn't buy (yet!)


This company sells three types of coffee drinks and two varieties of plain almond milk in very cool bottles.


BBQ jackfruit and jackfruit tamales! April will definitely be getting some of this before leaving Kansas.

When she got back home, April decided to try her hand and making an instant iced mocha drink mix for the hot days out at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. While at Green Acres, she had picked up a canister of Cafix, a barley/chicory drink which seemed very similar to Teeccino, except that it was labeled 'instant' (no brewing required!). The Cafix can said to mix with "very hot water", but Hedgie told April to go ahead and try making a small cup with cold. You know; for science.



April went with a 1/1/3/3 ratio - 1 spoon of Cafix, 1 spoon of cocoa powder, 3 spoons of coconut sugar, and 3 spoons of soy milk powder. She then added cold water and stirred well. It didn't all mix up immediately, but it did mix fairly well within 30-45 seconds. The hedgehogs tossed in a few ice cubes. It was good! April tripled the amounts for her giant wooden faire mug, and put the resulting mix in a small container to take with her to faire.

More faux-mocha info - this mixture tastes good hot, too! Also, the Better Than Milk company makes a rice milk powder, but don't use that for a cold faux-mocha; the rice milk powder doesn't blend well in cold water at all (though it's ok in hot, and mixes beautifully in a blender.)

The Hedgehogs Take Pennsic (Slippery Rock, PA)

After the 24 hour drive from Austin to Pennsylvania, April and the hedgehogs finally made it to Pennsic. Pennsic lasts for two weeks - the first week is called "Peace Week", and the second week is called "War Week", since that's when most of the battles are fought. Hedgie and Buttercup are a bit worried about getting anywhere near large armies in heavy plate mail carrying swords (rightly so!), so they have nothing to report on the actual fighting.

They did, however, provide cheering and moral support while April set up her tent.



It's not an authentic canvas pavilion, but it'll do for now. Just big enough for a musician and her hedgehogs.

The next morning, April donned her handmade linen cotehardie (dress) and handmade linen veil, grabbed her instruments (bowed psaltery, bodhran, flute, and pennywhistle) and hedgehogs, and headed out to play music for the masses.



Hedgie and Buttercup would like to credit their extreme cuteness and congeniality as the reason that April made the front page of the Pennsic Independent -



After several hours of playing, Hedgie took Buttercup on a tour of his favorite places. (He's been to Pennsic twice before, but this was Buttercup's first time.) He showed her House Hedgehog (the Latin on the tent translates to "The Hedgehog Can Not Be Buggered At All") -



as well as the TARDIS (which leads into another encampment) -



Pennsic is run by the Coopers (who own the land). The Coopers run the convience store onsite, as well as Penn Market, which moved from the food court to the big barn this year. April was thrilled to notice that Penn Market had a whole section devoted to organic foods -



Each year, Pennsic has a theme. Since this was Pennsic 42, the theme made itself readily apparent -


This sign happily provided by Vogon industries.


The official site medalion. If you can't quite make it out, that's a bowl of flowers that says "Don't Panic".

One of April's favorite places to play and hang out at Pennsic underwent ownership and a name change this year. Kafe Merhaba (formerly Your Inner Vagabond) provides coffee, tea, other drinks, and light snacks in a big shaded tent with tons of straw-stuffed cushions. It's very easy to forget that you're in a tent in a field when you're lounging on cushions and sipping an iced coffee.


Did I mention it was Pennsic 42?


Hedgie and Buttercup meet the Merhaba camel. "We found a camel! Can we keep him?"

This year, the food choices were much fewer than last year. (Here's the menu.) There were some vegan options, but they were a bit out of April's budget - $4 for a small bowl of mixed olives or a small bowl of mixed fruit and nuts. April's favorites this year were the drinks (which they gave her for free after she'd played a set - bonus!) April started out trying a Yemeni espresso with ginger and orange blossom water. It was sweet, perfectly spiced, and delicious!


The hedgehogs beg for coffee. "See? It's just our size!"

April's other favorite drink was an iced chai. When she first got there, they told her they had no non-dairy milk, so she had several chais with no milk at all. On the last day, they proudly told her that they had almond milk, so she was treated to the most amazing drink ever (at least, that was what it seemed like after a long day playing music in the heat!)



One of the other awesome things about Penn Market was that they sold freshly baked bread of all sorts. Each day, there would be day-old bread for half price. On the last day, they offered buy one, get one free on all the remaining bread, so April bought a bread bed for Hedgie and Buttercup.


The hedgehogs get comfy. The dipping oil was given to April free from one of the ladies who worked at Penn Market.

April took down her tent and packed everything up (with the cheering and moral support of the hedgehogs), and prepared to embark on her first trip to Canada!

Bouldin Creek Coffee House - Austin, TX

I reviewed Bouldin Creek a couple of years ago, and it's still just as yummy as ever. I always have a hard time deciding what to get, but it's really hard to pass up the tofu scramble and blueberry cornbread -


I got spinach with it, so it's healthy, right? I also got cold brewed iced coffee with chocolate syrup.

For desert, my friend and I decided to go with an almond espresso brownie. This was some seriously fabulous chocolate -




Here's some other shots of Bouldin Creek Coffee House -





The same yummy tofu scramble with two tamales, tortillas, and salsa.

Mud Pie Vegan Bakery & Coffee House - Kansas City, MO

Mud Pie Vegan Bakery
Facebook Page
1615 W. 39th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64111
(816) 931-4539
Mon - Fri: 6 am - 9 pm
Sat: 7 am - 9 pm
Sun: 8 am - 7 pm


Yesterday, before my 12 hour drive from Missouri to Texas, I decided to stop at Mud Pie Vegan Bakery, Kansas City's only 100% vegan bakery and coffee house. A warning to all of you who might have problems making decisions - everything in there looks absolutely delicious (and it's all vegan, so that doesn't help narrow anything down!)




Check out all the milk options! Also, soy is standard and free- take *that*, Starbucks!

I ended up getting a vegan cheddar scone, a slice of coffee cake, and an almond milk chai latte. Upon further reflection, this is a bit out of character for me - no chocolate at all?




I liked what I got, but I'm thinking next time I'll pick something chocolate, because it's bound to blow me away. (I'm still dreaming of those mini chocolate bundt cakes...)