Some of the recipes were a little too dry probably because I left them in too long because I was watching a CSI marathon on Spike while I was baking. The recipe I liked the most was a Carrot Cake Cupcake recipe from the Tiny Vegan Kitchen. Vegan carrot cake always tastes great. The icing is yummy too but I can only take icing in small quantities, it gets too sweet for me. The recipe calls for crushed pineapples and grated carrots, it’s not wonder why it is so moist. It’s a really yummy recipe. You should give it a try.

In Japan, they were getting ready for Valentine’s Day. The Japanese tradition is to have the ladies give men chocolate or other goodies. Some buy brand-name chocolates and others make their own. There were a bunch of stores selling silicone molds for chocolates and cakes. I bought a whole bunch because they were so adorable. They also had pre-made mixes for things miniature cheesecakes, miniature chocolate cakes, biscuits, and sugar cookies. I wanted to buy them all.

Everyone at school wears them, so I’m just jumping on the band wagon 10 months late at the school and 4 years late in the world. I bought a full-back version of the Malindi and an Audrey. I don’t like the bow on the Audrey much but I was there and I was buying one anyways and they were going to be indoor shoes so it didn’t really matter that much. I like the Olivia but the huge faux-gem kind of irked me so I put it back on the shelf. I spent 428 CNY for both, which according to the website and today’s exchange rate and taking into account Ontario taxes, I’m paying the same price. They’re kind of comfy. I’m just not fond of the plastic-on-skin noises if I’m not wearing socks. Some of their styles are cute but others are really tacky. You win some, you lose some.

You gotta love sleepless blog posts.

This year, Summerlicious runs from July 3 to July 19. Reservations will be taken for Summerlicious starting June 18, 2009. I’m told the “good” restaurants fill up quickly. By your standards, I’m guessing those are the restaurants that offer steaks and seafood, so I’m pretty safe.

I always say I’m going to go to Summerlicious, but I never end up going. The restaurant listing still lists which restaurants have vegetarian courses. This year, they’ve even included which courses are vegetarian in the menu. It might have been my wave of emails to every vegetarian-friendly restaurant to ask what was in each dish that didn’t look like it had meat, egg or cheese in it.

Summerlicious 2009 Restaurant Listing

Who knows? Maybe I’ll go this year. Has anyone seen a vegan list somewhere online for Summerlicious?

我吃素
wǒ chī sù
I eat vegetables

我吃斋
wǒ chī zhāi
I am vegetarian

我不吃…
wǒ bù chī…
I don’t eat…

… 鸡蛋
… jī dàn
… (chicken) eggs

… 鱼
… yú
… fish

… 海鲜
… hǎixiān
… seafood

Time to get the travel guides out. I wonder if I’ll have time to go see everything.

• WuhanTime.com – Best Wuhan guide I’ve seen so far.
• Wuhan.com
• Map of Wuhan, China – In English
• Map of Wuhan – In Chinese
• Virtual Tourist’s Wuhan Restaurants
• Wuhan East-Lake High-Tech Development Zone – Where my school is located.
• Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone
• China Planner’s Hubei Cuisine an Restaurant – A few more restaurants than China Highlights
  
• China Highlights’ Wuhan Restaurant Reviews – No reviews, just names.

There’s two vegetarian restaurants listed on Vegetarian China, you know where I’ll be going when I’m in Shanghai. If you’re a vegetarian traveling in China, there’s a restaurant guide at HappyCow for Beijing, Changchun, Fujian, Guangdong, Guilin, Hong Kong, Macau, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tibet, Xiamen, Xinjiang, and Yunnan. A blog post on WorldFoodieGuide about vegetarian food in Hong Kong and Macau. One vegetarian shared her vegetarian experience in China and how accomodating they were. Is you just want eye candy, here’s a photo gallery of places in Wuhan.

A new veggie restaurant just opened last weekend. I tried to go with PH on Saturday but it was packed when we got there and it was almost closing. So we went yesterday to give it a try. It was pretty good, I’m definitely going back to try out more of their items. They don’t have a web site yet, so I can’t send you anywhere to take a look.

Go shopping. If you’re buying mock meats, read the label and find out what’s in it. A lot of vegetarian options have animal by-products in it. Read through the entire ingredients list.

• In veggie burgers you’ll commonly find dairy in the natural flavouring and egg albumen or egg whites as the binding agent.

Read cooking instructions. The cooking instructions aren’t the same for every veggie burger and every veggie dog out there. Read the instructions.

• Not all veggie dogs are made for grilling. Don’t be disappointed if your veggie dogs don’t turn out well because it wasn’t made for grilling. Read the label.

Prepare the grill. After each round of servings scrape off any bits left on the grate, as you normally would. As vegetarian products lack the fats that its meat counterparts have its a good idea to oil the grill before cooking each serving. Use a towel dipped with oil and rub it on the grates or use a non-stick cooking spray like Robert Rainford from License to Grill or you can opt to brush oil onto the foods you’re grilling if it allows it.

Burgers. There are a variety of different burgers out there that are not made from any animal products or by-products. Here’s a list of some available pre-made veggie burgers crafted without animal products or by-products.

• Amy’s All American Veggie Burger
• Amy’s Bistro Burger
• Amy’s California Veggie Burger
• Amy’s Quarter Pound Veggie Burger
• Amy’s Texas Veggie Burger
• Boca Burgers Original
• Boca Original Vegan
• Boca Vegan made with Organic Soy
• Gardenburger Black Bean Chipotle Burger
• Gardenburger California Burger
• Gardenburger Flame Grilled Burger
• Gardenburger GardenVegan Burger
• Lick’s Nature Burger
• LightLife Light Burgers
• Morningstar Farms Grillers Vegan Veggie Burgers
• Morningstar Farms Vegan Burger made with Organic Soy
• PC Blue Menu 9-Vegetable Vegetarian Patty
• Soyboy Okara Courage Burger
• Yves’ Garden Vegetable Patties
• Yves’ The Good Veggie Burger
• Yves’ Veggie Bistro Chicken Burger
• Yves’ Chick’n Burgers
• Zoglo’s Multi-Grain & Vegetable Patties
• Zoglo’s Tofu Patties

I personally haven’t tried all of these, but it will come down to what taste and texture you like. Some have similar textures to beef burgers, some have similar textures to chicken burgers, some are grainy, some are mushy. Go out and try them! I think my favourite is still the Lick’s Nature Burgers, just remember that Lick’s Guk isn’t vegan. Even before I turned vegan, all I ate at Lick’s was the Nature Burger. If you do try a vegan veggie burger, let me know how you like them.

The following lists some of the veggie burgers that contains some form of eggs and/or dairy. When reading the labels, look for egg albumen and dairy products in the natural flavouring–popular animal ingredients in veggie burgers. This list is just to highlight the fact that most brands aren’t classified as purely vegan but they do offer options.

• Boca All American Classic made with Organic Soy
• Boca All American Flame Grilled
• Boca Garden Vegetable made with Organic Soy
• Boca Grilled Vegetables
• Boca Roasted Garlic
  
• Boca Roasted Onion
• Gardenburger The Original Burger
• Gardenburger Sun-dried Tomato Basil
• Gardenburger The Classic Burger
• LightLife Mushroom Burgers
• LightLife Smart Patties Burger Style
• LightLife Smart Patties Chick’n Style
• LightLife Smart Patties Mushroom Burger
  
• LightLife Veggie Burgers
  
• Morningstar Farms Asian Veggie Patties
• Morningstar Farms Classic Burger made with Organic Soy
  
• Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Patties Veggie Burgers
• Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime Veggie Burgers
• Morningstar Farms Mushroom Lover’s Burger
• Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burgers
• Morningstar Farms Tex Mex Burger made with Organic Soy
• Morningstar Farms Thai Burger
  
• Morningstar Farms Veggie Medley Burger made with Organic Soy
• Morningstar Farms Zesty Tomato Basil Burger made with Organic Soy
  
• PC Blue Menu Lentil & Bean Vegetarian Patty
• Yves’ Prima Veggie Burger
• Yves’ Veggie Bistro Harvest Veggie Burger
• Yves’ Veggie Bistro Veggie Burger
• Zoglo’s Broccoli Patties
  
• Zoglo’s Meatless Chicken Flavour Patties
• Zoglo’s Mixed Vegetable Patties
  
• Zoglo’s Tender Meatless Burgers

Condiments. Some people like the bun+burger+ketchup+tomato+lettuce combo, but there’s so many different ways to dress up your burger. I always end up defaulting to the b+b+k+t+l combo, I get bored of it. Make it a medley! Stray away from the ordinary. What do you put on your burger? Some ideas:

• alfalfa sprouts
• barbecue sauce
• beans
• chili
• chips, barbecue/ketchup/original
• chutney, mango
• corn
• cucumbers, fresh/grilled
• fries
• fruit sauces, cranberry
• gravy
• hummus
• mayonnaise, vegan
• mushroom, button/Enoki/king/oyster/portobello, fresh/grilled
• mustard
• onions, confit/grilled/fritters
• peppers, bell/jalapeño, fresh/grilled
• pesto
• pickles
• salsa, tomato/tropic-fruit
• tapenade
• tomato, fresh/sun-dried
• zucchini, fresh/grilled

If you don’t like buns, you could slice up the burgers and make wraps out of them.

Hot dogs. Weiners. Sausages. Links. Call it whatever you want. All in a category of mashed-up something stuffed in edible “plastic” casings. Veggie dogs don’t tend to have the same texture as the meat counterparts, but they’re not all terrible.

The following is a list of some veggie dogs that don’t contain any animal products or animal by-products.

• LightLife Smart Dogs
• LightLife Smart Dog Jumbos
• LightLife Tofu Pups
• Soyboy Not Dogs
• Soyboy Vegetarian Franks
• Yves’ Bavarian Sausage
• Yves’ Hot’n’Spicy Chili Veggie Dogs
• Yves’ Jumbo Veggie Dogs
• Yves’ Spicy Italian Sausage
• Yves’ Tofu Dogs
• Yves’ Veggie Dogs
• Zoglo’s Tofu Wieners

Veggie dogs you should avoid if you don’t eat animal products or animal by-products:

• LightLife Smart Franks
• LightLIfe Smart Sausages Chorizo Style
  
• LightLife Smart Sausages Italian Style
• LightLife Smart Pretzel Dog
  
• LightLife Veggie Dogs
• Zoglo’s Savoury Meatless Wieners
  

Fruits and vegetables. Vegetables and fruits taste great when cooked on the grill. Spice it up with your choices of rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, cinnamon, chives, allspice, salt, pepper, olive oil, margarine, maple syrup, garlic, red wine, white wine, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, vegan mayonnaise, vegan sour cream, etc. Wrap up some of our favourite vegetables in aluminum foil and throw in some flavour and throw it on the grill. Just some ideas:

• apples
  slice in half and coat with maple syrup or brown sugar with cinnamon
• asparagus
  soak in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling
• bananas
  grill unpeeled; add a bit of sauce when it’s done
• bell peppers
  marinate halves with some balsamic vinegar and herbs; grill skin down
• corn on the cob
  wrap it in foil with margarine/salt/herbs or grill directly without foil
• garlic
  grill the bulb; eat as it is or spread over bread/potato
• pineapple rings
  with cinnamon and sugar
  
• portobello mushrooms
  brush with oil and treat it as the patty in the burger
• potatoes
  wrap in foil
• yams or sweet potatoes
  brush with maple syrup and wrap in foil
• zucchini
  slice length-wise; marinate in balsamic vinegar and herbs and grill

Pick a vegetable or fruit and you can probably grill it. You can eat these on their own or put them in salads, topped on pasta, topped on rice, or in some non-dairy ice cream (e.g., pineapple banana split). Vegan doesn’t mean you’ll be okay with boring food. Change it up.

• Arriba Restaurant, Renaissance Toronto Hotel Downtown1 Blue Jay Way, 416-341-5045
  Special Reservations Through Correspondent
  No vegan options on Summerlicious menu
• Brassaii
  461 King Street West, 416-598-4730
  Lunch Starter: Salad, Special Request (SR): No cheese
  Lunch Entrée: Vegetarian Sandwich, SR: No mayo
  Dinner Entrée: Nightly Vegetarian Option, SR: See least note
  Dessert: All include dairy, SR: Fresh fruit
  Reserve seats two-days in advance and tell them on the phone that you’re vegan and the chef will cook accordingly that day. When you’re seated on the day-of, let your server know.
• Noce
  875 Queen Street West, 416-504-3463
  No vegan options on Summerlicious menu
  Outside of Summerlicious: “we can prepare any vegan dish you desire.”
• Five Doors North
  2088 Yonge Street, 416-480-6234
  “There are a couple of Vegan options on the menu and we can also modify other to accommodate” I asked which dishes…
• Café Moroc
  49 Front Street East, 416-961-0601
  Starter: Harira (tomato-based soup), Café Greens
  Lunch Entrée: Grilled Vegetable Pita, SR: No cheese
  Dinner Entrée: Keskesu Casablanca (Coucous with grilled vegetables)
• Bistro 990
  990 Bay Street, 416-921-9990
  Starters: “most of our salads are vegan”, SR: Vegan soup or vegetarian spring rolls
  Entrée: Fusilli with Fresh Tomato, Spinach, Mushroom, Roasted Garlic Broth
  Dessert: No vegan options, SR: “The chef will provide you with a vegan dessert alternative.”
  When making reservations, tell them of the special requests.
• Jaaadu Restaurant
  1415 Yonge Street, 416-944-8885
  Dinner Starter: Curried Squash Soup
  Dinner Entrée: Alu Gobi Masala

Restaurants I have contacted by email who have still not replied yet:

• Alize Restaurant
• Autogrill Restaurant
• Canoe
• City Grill
• Coca Tapas and Wine Bar
• Coppi Ristorante
• Edward Levesque’s Kitchen
• Fat Cat Bistro
• Jaipur Grille
• Lolita’s Lust
• Millie’s Bistro
• Monsoon Restaurant and Lounge
• Sequel Restaurant
• Spice Route
• The Superior
• Veritas Local Fare
• Victoria’s
• Zaffron

The following restaurants didn’t have an email available or I received a mail error but the restaurants may have vegan options. So I’ll leave this list here for when I feel like calling in and going through the hostess/host to ask the chef what’s in their food:

• Amaya, The Indian Room (Bounced; Over quota)
• Cataplana Restaurant (Bounced; Over quota)
• Eight Wine Bar (Bounced; Failed permanently)
• Cajú Restaurant
• Celestin
• Four
• Imperia
• La Bruschetta
• Marcel’s Bistro
• Matignon Restaurant
• The Citizen

If more people start asking about vegan options they’ll probably change it for next year’s menu. I should email them from different email addresses and ask them about vegan options, then they’ll get the idea. :p

Last year, I attempted to go through all the Summerlicious menus and pick out vegan-friendly restaurants. That list was incomplete. The number of restaurants I had to sort through seemed overwhelming, I was on the Toronto.com website and the way the menus were posted was horrible. This year, I was on the City of Toronto website and I was looking at their Special Events section and I saw Summerlicious posted. They have the Summerlicious menus on the City of Toronto website and it clearly shows you which restaurants are vegetarian-friendly. If the City of Toronto website had this available last year, I didn’t know. I was probably doing a web-engine search and the first thing that popped up was the Toronto.com website. So here is the City of Toronto listing of Summerlicious restaurants:

Summerlicious 2008 Restaurant Listing

Now that the list already screens out the vegetarian-unfriendly restaurants, I might find some time to pick out the vegan ones for personal reference.

By the way, this year’s Summerlicious is taking place from Friday, July 4 to Sunday, July 20. Start making your reservations early if you’re planning on visiting during the weekends, I’m told the “good” restaurants fill up quickly.