Steam, bake, boil, shake…welcome to the taste space!
My name is Janet and welcome to my life, as experienced through food with a side of fitness and gardening. By day, I am a physician in Toronto after living for a year in Houston, Texas.
This blog started out as a gathering place for a group of friends that met over potlucks. As time progressed, I seemed to be the only one posting. It is just me and has been for over 4 years. Sometimes Rob posts, too.
In March 2011, I adopted a whole foods vegan diet without refined sugars or flours. You will still see some of my older recipes with meat in the archives, but rest assured everything I share now is vegan.
My culinary eats are inspired by my travels. As I have recently been to Madagascar, South Africa, Japan, Turkey, Morocco, Iceland, Colombia and Mexico (the photo is from the cooking class I took in Istanbul), I try not to limit myself in the kitchen. I explore simple, healthy, tasty cooking. I also believe that everything is ok in moderation which is why there are some decadent desserts here too.
My recipes and photographs have appeared in Canadian Living, the National Post, Vegan Health and Fitness Magazine, Definition Magazine, Get Waisted and used for packaging and labelling by WestSoy. My newest e-cookbook is A Vegan Dinner Party.
Here are posts that summarize some of my favourite things in the kitchen:
My Favourite Cookbooks (and the Recipes I have Tried)
My Favourite Blogs (and the Recipes I have Tried)
My Favourite Grocery Stores in Toronto (and How to Save Money as a Vegan)
My Favourite Ingredients in the Kitchen (aka ingredient FAQ)
My Favourite Kitchen Utensils That I Never Thought I Would Love So Much
My Menu Suggestions for Feeding a Vegan
My 10 Favourite Recipes from 2010
My 11 Favourite Recipes from 2011
My 12 Favourite Recipes from 2012
My 13 Favourite Recipes from 2013
Top 13 Reader Favourite Recipes from 2013
My 14 Favourite Recipes from 2014
My 10 Favourite Recipes from 2015 + Top 6 Reader Favourites
My Ongoing List of Favourite Recipes
I love receiving emails, comments, feedback, so don’t be shy! Email me back at saveur11 AT yahoo DOT ca or leave a comment on a post. I read them all. 🙂
the taste space 
We have exchanged comments and e-mails in the past, so I decided to reach out to you today with a request. I was hoping I could ask you for help with an event that I have put together for the last two weeks of August. For the last couple of months I have been organizing the Toronto FRESH Event.
The purpose of the event is to highlight local and sustainable food resources in Toronto. I have been doing this on a volunteer basis and many of the events are free or available at a nominal donation to the not-for-profit organizations that I am supporting. Through the event I am hoping to highlight some of the great community gardens, CSA’s, farmer’s markets, and other community food resources. The culmination of the event will be a screening of the documentary FRESH at the Bloor Cinema on August 26th.
As I am doing this on a volunteer basis I have limited resources available for advertising. I am attaching a link to the event info page on my site. You have a wide following on your site and I was hoping you could help me spread the word about the event and all of the great resources we have in the GTA. I would love if you could mention the event on Facebook or Twitter or even your blog. It runs from August 15th to 30th.
http://radishesandrhubarb.blogspot.com/p/fresh-movie.html
Thanks and all the best,
Allison Savage
Radishes and Rhubarb
0.416.972.6096
c.416.400.5279
radishesandrhubarb@gmail.com
Hi Janet! I just discovered your blog and I think it’s beautiful! I love Middle Eastern and Asian recipes! I recently moved to Canada, to Kingston, Ontario because my husband is in Med school here. Hopefully, we’ll be in Toronto after he’s done. I will be checking back to your blog very soon! Take care, Nadia 🙂
Hi! For the panko-crusted salmon recipe you would use 2/3 cups of panko. Enjoy!
Hello,
This is Jasmin of A Touch of RoJo and my husband and I wanted to pass along the Stylish Blogger Award to you. We enjoy your blog and think it has such great sophisticated taste. The recipes are awesome and so is the photography. Middle Eastern and Asian recipes are a favorite among us both. Especially if it’s done right. The blueberry salmon is calling my husband’s name and the couscous is calling mine. Well, keep up the work and check out our site for instructions.
I cannot tell you how inspired I am by your blog! I have never been a ‘salad person’ but each of your salads (and all of your other dishes) look incredible to me! Thanks so much! 🙂 Also, I always love to hear from another Toronto girl! Best wishes!
Hi Janet! I’m also very happy to discover your blog! You are a very seasoned cook and I am also very much into Middle Eastern and Asian flavours. I’m looking forward to following your culinary explorations!:)
Just discovered your blog. I am blown away by the quality of it! It’s the trifecta: great recipes, writing, and photos! I eat mostly a Mediterrasian diet, all vegetarian, mostly vegan. Your salads are so perfectly composed, with wonderful ingredients—a delight for the eyes and tastebuds. Thanks so much for what you do!
I see a cookbook in your future……..
You are too kind, Ellen. 🙂 Glad you are enjoying the blog, though. Definitely let me know which other recipes you try. 🙂
Just started reading and I’m so happy to have found another great Toronto blogger! Looking forward to reading more 🙂
Hi! A belated little note to let you know we loved your blog so much we nominated it for a Versatile Blogger Award. Pop over here if you want to check out our other nominations: http://nofoodwithaface.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/versatile-blogger-award/
xx Alana and Koren
Hey Janet, I realize not all bloggers participate in the awards that get passed around but I nominated you today for the Sunshine Award. I ADORE your blog! You can read about it here…http://justafrugalfoodie.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/thanks-guys-ive-been-awarded-the-liebster-and-sunshine-blog-awards/
Thanks so much, Justa!! You are too kind (and funny!). 🙂
Hi Janet! Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog =) I’m glad to find yours too, so many awesome veggie recipes at first glance, looking forward to browsing through more!
I stumbled upon your blog after clicking on a link from the veggie nook Creamy Thai Cilantro Ginger Sauce by Janet @ the taste space .. the wraps and the sauce sound fantastic btw!! Naturally, I started browsing through some of your other recipes..the dessert bars and balls are all so amazing, your salads make me drool, and I’ll pretty much take one of everything lol). I printed several of your recipes and I can’t wait to begin testing them :)) Thanks soooo much for sharing your incredible you with the rest of us 🙂 xo
Thanks Maria! Glad to hear it reaches out to you. 🙂 Please let Mr know how your meals turn out!
[…] from The Taste Space- Steam, Bake, Boil, Shake is a regular contributor to my monthly challenge, otherwise known as Ingredient Challenge Monday […]
[…] Salad in a Jar (with a Topaz Dragon Ginger Dressing) presented by Janet from The Taste Space – Steam, Bake, Boil, Shake! […]
[…] lovely pic above is from a cool blog, tastespace. Now, they can cook. Really cool food-togrophy too! Their pic turned out great, so share the […]
I love your pix and just recently started my cooking blog, indian vegetarian recipes, I’d love to know how you make such good pix, if you are able to share that would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for the kind words. I think lighting helps a lot for my photographs. I have a windowsill that I like to use in the afternoon when the light is more diffuse.. with a tripod, I can still take photos with limited light. Otherwise, just experiment, take a lot of photos and see what you like the most! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Hi Janet, I love your blog and have nominated it for the Inspiring Blogger Award. Check details here, http://soulofspice.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/appreciation-5-awards/ cheers, charu
Hey,
Congratulations, I have nominated you for the ‘Sunshine Award’
Claim it here-> http://gypsyfoods.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/happy-birthday-celebrating-with-awards/
Keep up the blogging,
Good Luck
🙂
Hi 🙂 I’m so glad I found your blog! You have so many recipes that I’m excited to try 🙂
Thanks! If you try anything, please let me know how you like it. 🙂
Hi! newbie to your site! I think its fantastic…
I cannot find a friendly recipe print option…????
Yeah, sorry about that. I usually recommend copying and pasting since the formatting is already set to go. Thank you for the suggestion, though. When I have the time, I’ll look into a widget of sorts that could help with.
Just wanted to share re printing: if you are on iPad or any other mobile devices there should always be a universal button in your browser that once expanded gives you an option to share the webpage via Facebook and other social media, to email the webpage and to print too. or if you are on PC you can always try to convert the page to PDF and print it from that format. It will save you time to copy and paste.
Great tip! Thanks for sharing.
Now my favourite way to save recipes is through saving it to ChefTap. 🙂
[…] How glorious… and THANK YOU the taste space – steam, bake, boil, shake! In another post, Janet also stuffed sweet red peppers with the besan chilla and roasted them. She is a […]
Hi Janet, I just came across your blog. Your recipes look fabulous and I can’t wait to try a lot of them, particularly the ones with pomegranates as this is their time of the year! I also just bought a bottle of pomegranate molasses and I’m hoping to try it out this weekend. Thanks for sharing your recipes. I look forward to following your blog and learning more!
[…] hemp seeds, chickpea flour, vital wheat gluten, amaranth and millet. Even as a seasoned vegan (almost 3 years of a whole foods based vegan diet here), I found it difficult to connect with the recipes. Some […]
What a great blog! I try to include lots of veggies in our diet, so I can see myself coming back here often. 🙂
[…] known Janet via our blogs for quite some time–in fact, it feels as if I’ve been reading […]
I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog, it’s so lovely! I’m on the almost-vegan path too, trying to avoid refined ingredients. Will surely find inspiration in your blog, looking forward to your posts.
Hi Janet! I love your blog! I am traveling for business to Toronto on the 28th and wanted to see if you could recommend a good vegan restaurant. I’ve gotten my co-workers to agree to go to an exclusively vegan restaurant one of the nights we are there, so I want to pick a good one! 🙂 I’d love to try an all raw place, as I have never been to one, but any vegan restaurant will work. We will be near Toronto Pearson International Airport, but can drive up to 30 minutes away. Any ideas?? Thanks!!
Hey Laura, Yayaya! Yes, Toronto has tons of fun vegan restaurants although none that are very close to the airport. If you aren’t driving during rush hour, you should be able to get downtown within 30 minutes, so I think you’re ok. 🙂
My favourites are:
1. Belmonte Raw. It is on the East side but easily accessible with a car. Check their hours to make sure you hit them up while they are open because they don’t have good hours in the evening: http://belmonteraw.com/
The menu is small but all very good. I have only brought the most adventurist omni eaters here, though. It is my favourite, though, because there are tons of veggies.
2. Raw Aura. This one is in Port Credit, so not Toronto but on the west side, so closer to the airport (kind of). I really love this place, too.
http://www.raw-aura.com/
3. Live Food Bar. Not my favourite (I tend to get more misses than hits) it is a bit more omni-friendly with cooked and raw options. I like their raw sampler (you get 4 different dishes to try out) and they desserts are usually very good, too: http://www.livefoodbar.com/
A bit harder to get to since it is more centrally located in downtown Toronto.
4. Rawlicious is another raw only restaurant. I like it better than Live (the BLT sandwich is amazing!) and their desserts are stellar. They have a few locations although not sure what is close to the airport.
http://rawlicious.ca/canada/
Those are raw-friendly places. I also really like: Hot Beans (quick vegan Mexican), Banh Mi Boyz (not vegan but great vegan options- think fast food Korean with quality ingredients), The Hogtown Vegan is more vegan comfort food (no credit cards, though, but it is a sit-down resto) and when I think of restaurants closer to the airport, I think of Dr Laffa’s which is in the middle of nowhere. It has great hummus. It is not a vegan resto, though.
http://www.drlaffa.com/Contact%20us/index.html
OK, I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, let me know. And please tell me where you ended up going and how you enjoyed it 🙂
Hi, my name is Pat and I am starting a blog to share recipes. Can I share some of your recipes? Thanks
Hi Pat, Please do not publish any photos or recipes without my consent. You may link to my posts to direct readers in interesting recipes, though.
Hi Janet! I have tried sending you an email at the address you have listed and it does not seem to recognize it as a valid email address so where should I send it?
Hi Jeanne, Please try at saveur11 AT yahoo.ca. (it is .ca at the end, not .com) I will email you back to facilitate the process. 🙂
Nice to meet you!
I have been following your blog a few years now & love, love your original take on recipes!
You have a pretty cool blog too!
I am not a vegan but do cook, bake & eat vegan 5x/week, so does my husband. I also blog about it all!
Greetings from a foodie from Belgium! 🙂
[…] found this recipe on The Taste Space. I customized it a bit, using broccoli in addition to the cauliflower (including the broccoli […]