The Guy's Kitchen

Yesterday a group of us from work went to Hero Burgers for lunch.  I have been a fan of Hero for a while.  And it’s a good thing it’s a bit of a trek to get to the nearest one to my work, because I would most likely eat there way too often if it was as close as say, Craft.  We had a “buy a combo get a free burger” coupon, so we were motivated to go for the walk.

Hero makes their burgers from 100% Canadian range fed, hormone and antibiotic free beef.  I think they are in the top two of burgers in Toronto.  Lick’s being the other on that short list.

The burgers come in 4, 6 and 8 ounces.  You can get just the plain burger, the signature burger or a peameal bacon burger, the signature is cheddar cheese and a really yummy mayo like sauce, and the peameal is cheddar and peameal with the signature sauce.  Then you can add from a very wide assortment of toppings, both gourmet and the regular burger fare.  Everything from sauteed mushrooms, brie, and goat cheese to chipotle bar-b-q sauce, creole mustard and red onions.  Personally I find you don’t want to overdo the toppings, it makes for a really messy meal if you do.  The “gourmet” toppins cost extra, either 59 or 99 cents each.  The “regular” type burger toppings are free.

One of the best things about a Hero burger, is that the hamburger patty does not get lost in the bun.  In fact it tends to overhand the edges just a bit.  The meat is juicy and tastes like a burger is supposed to.  You don’t get that kind of cardboardy taste of a frozen patty, and it’s beefy, no filler in these burgers.  If you do add one or more of the gourmet toppings you can actually taste it on the burger.  I have been to places that charge extra for “special” toppings and then when you get the burger you cannot even tell if it is on there or not.  Of course with these big beefy patties you don’t have to worry about overpower the burger taste.  Even if you pile on the brie, sauteed mushrooms and chipotle bar-b-q sauce you still know you are biting into a hamburger.

The fries are really good, bringing back my memories of really good English fish and chips.  Though I will say that Craft Burger quite possibly has very slightly better fries.

I had a signature burger and fries for lunch and then took my free burger home and had it for dinner.  Even cold it is still a really good burger!

Hero Certified Burgers is still in the top two burgers places that I have been to in Toronto.

I have been roasting my own coffee at home for the last couple of weeks.  This has a few benefits:

1. Cost, a pound of green beans, free trade single origin, Costa Rican Tarrazu beans cost me $6 pound.  Gourmet roasted coffee is at least $12 a pound, and quite often much more.  Starbucks special release beans are usually over $15.

2. Taste, coffee made from freshly coffee beans is so much better than the stuff you get from the local coffee shop.

When I first started drinking the coffee I was roasting at home I found there was something really different.  At first I even thought that maybe I wasn’t roasting the beans long enough.  The difference was that there was no stale bitterness to the coffee.  The coffee is smooth and rich, I can actually drink this coffee with nothing added.  And I have always been a cream and sugar guy when it comes to coffee.

I have been using a hot air pop corn popper to roast my beans.  For $19.99 it is a very good investment.  The cheapest counter top roaster I have seen is over $100.  The only drawbacks are that I can only roast 1/2 cup of beans at a time, and that the cover seems to be starting to melt since roasting the beans takes longer than popping some popcorn.

It takes approx 8 minutes to roast a batch of beans.  I have been letting the beans cool for 10 to 15 minutes before grinding some up and brewing in my french press.  French press is my favourite way to make coffee.  Some people do find that the coffee from the french press is a little strong.  I have started just adding a little bit of hot water for anyone who is having coffee to lessen the strength a bit.

This is a trick I learned from a food and wine show that had a Merchants of Green Coffee booth.  And from watching the Good Eats “True Brew“coffee episode.  Something like 7/10ths of coffee are water soluable and there are a lot of bitter compounds.  Overextraction is what causes bitter coffee.  I use 2-3 tablespoons of coffee for a 12 oz mug of coffee.  This is perfect for me though you may find you prefer more or less.  Remembering of course that you can always add some hot water if you find it too strong.

I have gone through all my beans and now I need to head back to the coffee store.  The Green Beanery is close to where I work and is where I got the Costa Rican beans.  I will be making a trip this week, and trying some other beans.

Yesterday I made a really big pot of Irish steel cut oatmeal.  The long sloooow cooking stuff, not the instant cook for 3-5 minutes kind that is good for oatmeal cookies.  Though they are really great oatmeal cookies.

So you bring some water to a rapid boil and then you stir in the oats.  These oats look nothing like the ones with the old dude in a hat on the package.  They are not flat and pasty white.  The steel cut oats are a more of a golden brown colour and they look more like some kind of bird seed.  Once you have added the oats you stir alot until the liquid becomes milky and the oats have started to swell.  Everything becomes really thick and then you reduce the heat and simmer it for 30 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Once they were almost done I added a pinch of kosher salt, a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar, some cinnamon, raisins and little bit of maple syrup.  I don’t like my oatmeal too sweet so you should be tasting while doing this.  I wanted to add apples, but ours were going soft.

This oatmeal is the best I have ever had.  It’s almost like a risotto, the grains of oatmeal are all still individual, but it has this creamy consistancy just like . . .  a risotto.  I have all kinds of ideas of different oatmeals, you could go tropical, add mangoes and bananas, or all berries, almonds, walnuts and more maple syrup.  And probably what will be considered the craziest idea, make a really savoury oatmeal, some sausage, bit of onion maybe.

Because I made such a big pot, I had a lot of left overs.  So I have brought some with me and I am eating it at my desk.  I popped it in the microwave and it’s still really good.  It is less creamy than it was yesterday, but once again my risotto comparison holds, if you have ever microwaved left over risotto, it is never as smooth and creamy as when it is served fresh.

So it looks like I have solved my breakfast at work problem.  I will just make up a really big batch of oatmeal every few days.  And if you have never tried the steel cut oatmeal I highly reccommend it!

I am on a real yogurt kick these days.  I have been making smoothies and my own fruit yogurt and yogurt cheese .  This is waaaaay better than cream cheese if you ask me.  I have been using a plain 3% mf yogurt, no sugar, no artifical preservatives or flavours, and has a really great tangy flavour and smooth consistancy.

Smoothies are a great substitute for a milkshake or even a cure for a small ice cream craving.    Here is one I made for breakfast on the weekend:

One banana – should be quite ripe

1/2 cup of plain yogurt

1/2 cup of 2% milk

1/2 cup of frozen mango chunks

1 tablespoon of honey

Pour everything in a blender and blend.  You may find that you have to stop and give it a stir to get everything mixed up.  You can adjust any of the above to your tastes.  As a variation I made one where I added a teaspoon of almond butter and a splash of vanilla extract.  Really tasty!

Tonight I went to the Burger Shoppe on Queen Street East.  I have been on the lookout for a really good burger in Toronto as I posted on my blog here, so a friend suggested we go and check out the Burger Shoppe.

It is just a little joint, four tables for two and a few stools along the windows.  The burger toppings range from the your typical lettuce, tomato and onion to goat cheese, grilled pineapple rings, blue cheese and caramelized onions.  I tried the goat cheese burger and the poutine.  The burgers are served on soft egg buns, and mine was cooked excellently.  Just the slightest hint of pink the burger was juicy and that great beefy taste that you usually  only get from a freshly homemade patty.  The grass fed fresh beef makes a difference.  I would have prefered a little more goat cheese.  The poutine was good.  The cheese curds melty and gooey, the fries still crispy and the gravy  is a rich brown colour that brings to mind Sunday roast beef dinners.  My friend had the sweet potato fries and these are a personal favourite of mine.  I have made fries with sweet potatoes for a while now and I love seeing them pop up on menus.

Burger Shoppe is a casual place to get a really good hamburger, the prices seem to be about the same for the higher end burger joints in the city.  The two of us had a burger, order of fries and a bottled water each, and with taxes the bill was $28.  It’s more expensive than the golden arches, but you really do get what you paid for.  I will go back to the Burger Shoppe for sure, and I will try out the Ossington location as well.

Welcome to The Guy’s Kitchen.  A place to talk about food, drink and all the great things that happen when we get together to share them.  This is my place to share my recipes, try out new recipes, sample wines, and learn about food.

While you are here I hope you can find something new to enjoy about food and also share some of your own tips.  Please leave a comment if you like something I have posted, or let me know if you see somewhere I can make improvements.  If you have some ideas of what you would like to see let me know.  This is a growing site and I will be making changes as I learn and develop it.  I really appreciate your input.

So I hope you make yourself at home, after all The Kitchen is really the most important place in our houses these days.  It’s the heart and where we live and learn together.

- The Guy