It’s grilling season and nothing tastes better on the grill than a juicy and delicious burger. If your burger game is getting a little played out, we have some suggestions for how to step it up. Here are 5 seriously tasty burgers you’ve got to try this weekend!

The Perfect Burger

When something is called The Perfect Burger, you’ve simply got to try it and see for yourself. You only need eight basic ingredients to form the patties: egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper and medium ground beef. Then you can customize the recipe to make your perfect burger with suggested “stir-ins” like caesar dressing, curry powder or hoisin sauce.

Umami Burger with Port and Stilton

Umami is known as the “fifth taste”, it falls right after sweet, salty, sour and bitter. It is a deeply satisfying, savoury taste. Resist the urge to pile on any of the usual toppings on this Umami Burger. The only toppings you need are Port wine and Stilton cheese.

Quinoa-veggie Burger

Burgers don't need meat to taste delicious. If you’re avoiding meat you can still have a satisfying burger this summer. This super-nutritious Quinoa-veggie burger is sandwiched between two grilled portobello mushrooms for a protein-packed, low-carb twist on a classic.

Guacamole Turkey Burger

Not into red meat? These Guacamole Turkey Burgers are topped with a delicious dollop of guacamole. Dark-meat turkey makes the patties juicy and the chili powder, lime zest, and cilantro lends a Southwestern flavour.

Butter Chicken Burger

These amazing Butter Chicken Burgers are a rich and perfectly spiced twist on two classic dishes. Serve them with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a little plain Greek yogurt for an international taste sensation!

You really can’t go wrong with any of these amazing burgers. We hope they help you take a big bite of summer!

To find your home with Timbercreek Communities across Canada, please visit our website.

Spring has sprung and it’s almost time for Easter! The big day falls on Monday April 17th this year. If you’re planning a feast with family and friends at your Timbercreek home, Timbercreek Communities wants to help out in the kitchen with some delicious recipes for the best Easter main courses.

Crown Roast of Lamb

This Crown Roast of Lamb is an impressive cut of meat for a special culinary occasion. It’s perfect for an Easter dinner. It’s prepared in about 45 minutes by arranging two racks of lamb in semi-circles and cooking for 8 to 12 minutes per pound with minced garlic, fresh thyme, coriander, and rosemary. The video will help guide you along.

Sugar Glazed Ham

An old fashioned Sugar Glazed Ham, with it’s sweet golden brown coating, is a fabulous main course for Easter. The sweetness of the brown sugar is complemented perfectly by the mustard and vinegar. Best of all, it only takes 5 minutes to prepare, so you’ll have more time to spend with your family while it bakes for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Wild Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna

This hearty Wild Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna is an excellent vegetarian Easter entree.

It’s loaded with five pounds of fresh (or frozen) spinach and 3 pounds of wild mushrooms, and topped with a Madeira wine and parsley sauce. Frozen spinach can be used in place of fresh in this recipe.

Salmon with Dijon Dill

This Salmon with Dijon Dill will make a refreshing change to your Easter Holiday meal. The rich sauce is made with butter, dill, Dijon mustard, shallots and white wine. The sauce is a rich addition to the delicate flaky fish. This dish only requires 20 minutes of hands on time and another 20 minutes of cooking time.

Lemon-Thyme Split-Roasted Turkey

The classic pairing of lemon and thyme gives this Split-Roasted Turkey a springtime feel that is perfect for your Easter feast. The split-roasting method also saves time when compared to a traditional roast turkey. You’ll need 30 minutes of prep time and only an hour and a half to 2 hours in the oven.

Happy Easter from Timbercreek Communities!

To learn more about Timbercreek Rental Communities across Canada, please visit our website.

Liberty Village is located in Toronto’s west end, in one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods. The fascinating blend of old-world charm and modern, urban living is something that must be experienced to be fully appreciated. To help you get a feel for the neighbourhood, Timbercreek Communities created this guide to Liberty Village.

Bars and Restaurants

Liberty Village is a great neighbourhood for food and drink. There are many excellent restaurants and bars to discover. The interior of Les 3 Brasseurs (3 Brewers) feels lofty, yet cozy. The beams, brickwork and the brewery itself, are all exposed, in fact every step of the brewing process in on display. The menu outlines helpful pairing suggestions for those looking to have their beverage compliment their meal. For example, when you choose your Pulled Pork Poutine ($13), you’ll know to order the Amber or Brown to wash it down. If you’re looking for something cozy, LOCAL Public Eatery is an amazingly comforting option. This restaurant compares itself to a living room with better food and drink. LOCAL Public Eatery is obsessed with craft beer and constantly rotates new selections. The menu is loaded with affordable international fare, offering everything from Chicken Quesadillas ($7.50) to Perogies with bacon and fried onions ($8). Their drinks menu is incredible and features local craft beers (like Collective Arts) and more familiar offerings from around the world (like Sapporo). They also have some seriously delicious cocktails, comically served in a boot and not in a boot like their Lucky Lemonade in a boot ($9) -- a delightful mix of JD, lemonade and guava juice.

Concerts, Sports and More!

Liberty Village is home to BMO Field, a huge stadium located in Exhibition Place. It’s an incredible venue for soccer and football games (featuring the Toronto FC and the Toronto Argonauts), not to mention major concerts and theater performances. Get your tickets for upcoming events here.

Coffee Shops and Cafes

Ciao Europe Cafe (80 Western Battery Road) is a cafe by day and a wine bar by night. Enjoy their fresh panini, stone-baked pizzas, and house-baked pastries. Other options when you’re on the hunt for caffeine in Liberty Village include Balzac’s Coffee (43 Hanna Avenue) and Louie Craft Coffee (1187 King St. West). Click here for a full list of local cafes to visit.

Convenient Transit

True Torontonians are always on the move. We love how accessible Liberty Village is thanks to streetcars, buses, Go Train access, not to mention the Gardiner and Lakeshore. Residents are located close to streetcar lines on Queen and King street that run East and West, and are within walking distance of Go Transit's Exhibition Station. Drivers can access downtown Toronto in minutes thanks to the Gardiner Expressway and Lakeshore Boulevard, which are connected to highways leading out of the downtown core.

Design

If you’re looking for interior design and furnishings for your Liberty Village apartment, there’s no need to leave the neighbourhood. Everything you need is within easy reach. West Elm (109 Atlantic Ave) is a great nearby option that is full of contemporary furniture and more for your entire home.

A pet’s playground

Dog owners will love Liberty Village thanks to the outstanding off-leash area in Stanley Park. Owners of timid pups can alternatively stick to the main park paths or surrounding neighbourhood streets. The neighbourhood also boasts a few great pet shops, like Global Pet Foods, Pet Valu and Timmie Doggie Outfitters which features pet clothing, accessories, designer toys, treats, gourmet foods and grooming for posh-pooches and cats.

Groceries

Liberty Village may be ultra-modern but it can still feel like a good, old fashioned neighbourhood. You can step outside your front door and take a trip to the local butcher, baker, cheese shop, chocolate shop or health food store, or enjoy the convenience of a one-stop-shop at Metro Supermarket (100 Lynn Williams St.).

Timbercreek Communities hopes our guide to Liberty Village has left you wanting more. To find your home with Timbercreek Communities across Canada, or in near Liberty Village at  200 Dufferin Street, please visit our website.

Whether you’ve just made the transition from school to work, or have been grinding away at the office for years, it goes without saying that young professionals today are busy multi-taskers. When it comes to making meals, keeping recipes as simple as possible is key, so is having the right foundation ingredients. To help you plan ahead, Timbercreek Communities has put together this list of 14 ingredients every young professional should have in their kitchen. Keep them on hand so that you can whip up whatever you like, without having to put too much thought into the grocery list.

Flour

Flour is the base for so much of what we eat today --  breads, muffins, cakes, fritters, beer-battered delights and more. This glutinous staple has been a standby for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and for good reason.

Salt

This one speaks for itself. Salt goes well on just about any dish, and bumps up the bland ones. Just be careful you don’t overdo it — too much sodium can be detrimental to your diet. Foodies will love the many varieties of specialty salt now available in premium grocery stores like Whole Foods — they make a great finishing touch on your dish. If you’re health conscious, try some pink Himalayan salt — it contains all the minerals your body needs to thrive.

Pepper 

Salt’s spicy counterpart, pepper, will amp up any savoury dish to its full potential. For added freshness, arm your spice arsenal with a pepper mill and a stocked supply of peppercorns. Foodies will love experimenting with different varieties of pepper like pink and red peppercorns which taste subtly different. Health conscious people should try it with turmeric, a powerful anti-inflammatory spice that becomes much more absorbable when paired with pepper.

Tomato paste 

Though it's not delicious on its own, this canned treasure plays a big role in many dishes - like tomato sauce, chili, curry, shepherd’s pie and stew. Check out these great ideas for what to do with leftover tomato paste.

Lemon 

You can’t go wrong with having a lemon handy at all times. Dressings, juices, soups and salads all incorporate this wonderful, tart fruit. Not to mention lemon water — which, according to many, is great for digestive health.

Ginger 

Ginger plays a starring and supporting role in many classic dishes. Curries, soups and sauces all incorporate this invigorating spice. Fresh ginger and hot water makes a great digestion enhancing tea. Be sure to keep this one in your kitchen, it's available at grocery stores in either fresh root or powder-form.

Sugar 

From sweets like pies, cakes and cookies, to more savoury dishes like baked ham, sugared sirloins, or eggplant parmesan, this granulated cane product comes in handy more often than you’d think.

Garlic 

An age-old flavour-booster, key ingredient in many recipes and wellness aide, garlic is essentially, a miracle food. Check out some great uses for it here.

Onion 

This layered vegetable has many uses, but is primarily used to infuse a distinct, delicious savoury flavour into anything from sandwiches and salads, to pastas and wraps.

Vinegar 

This thin, acidic liquid will come in handy more often than not. Whether you have malt vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar or anything in between — from vinaigrettes to cleaning solutions, this ingredient is a must-have for your cupboard. Check out some of its many household uses here.

Olive oil  

A frying pan staple, this wholesome oil will come in handy in many instances. And remember, even though it's fattening, it’s good fat!

Pasta 

Cheap, quick and easy to make — a box or two of pasta should always be in your cupboard. You never know when Uncle Tony might stop by for some spaghetti.

Soy sauce 

Like vinegar, soy sauce plays a major role in many dishes, especially Asian dishes. It offers an umami-packed saltiness and can add a lot of depth of flavour to your recipes. Check out some great recipes for this food staple here.

Parmesan

Who doesn’t love cheese? Shaved parmesan is what makes a Caesar salad so delicious, and the secret ingredient that adds rich flavour to countless pasta sauces. We prefer buying good quality parmesan in block form and grating it fresh but powdered parmesan will kick up just about any savoury dish too if you’re on a budget. Be sure to keep this exquisite cheese in your fridge at all times.

We hope you use this list to stock up on food items that will come in handy over and over again.

For more information on Timbercreek Rental Communities across Canada, please visit our website.

Winter is all about comfort food. The cold weather makes most people want to curl up with something rich and delicious and ride out the storm. Its very important to eat your vegetables in winter because you are more prone to illness during the colder months. The Timbercreek team has a list of 10 ways to get your vegetables this winter.

Start With Soups

A hot bowl of soup can be incredibly comforting on a cold winter night. This basic vegetable soup recipe is easy to make. All you need is vegetable (or chicken) stock, lots of veggies and a little salt and pepper. You can use any vegetables you have on hand. Prefer broccoli instead of cauliflower? No problem. This recipe is so easy to follow, it’s hard to make a mistake.

Sneak Veggies Into Hearty Meals

A great way to get some extra veggies into your everyday life is to sneak them into a hearty meal. This Veggie Bolognese Pasta is satisfying and substantial. The meaty sauce is secretly full of veggies like carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes (technically a fruit, but let’s count it here). We promise you won’t miss the meat.

Roast Them For A Sweet Treat

Roasting veggies brings out their delicious sweet flavour as their natural sugars caramelize. When you come in from out of the cold, hot roasted root veggies can be deeply satisfying on their own or as a side dish. Leftover roasted veggies taste delicious cold the next day.

Sip On Them In Smoothies

Green smoothies are a great way to get some extra veggies in. This Veggie Cocktail, is a healthy take on a Bloody Mary, complete with a classic celery stalk garnish. This version of the cocktail is packed with 2 cups of kale! That’s a lot of greens in a delicious package.

Hide Them In Pancakes

Having trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies? Hide some spinach in your next batch of pancakes! Hulk Pancakes are delicious, healthy and vibrantly green. Kids will love their fun name and bright colour, and won’t be able to detect their healthy secret. 

Embrace Stew

Hearty beef stew with veggies is perhaps the perfect winter meal. The stew’s flavour is so rich and meaty you’d never guess this recipe packs in so many vegetables. Make a big pot of it, keep it in your fridge, and heat up a bowl to warm you up whenever the craving strikes.

Turn them into pasta

Spiralized vegetables offer an amazing new way to eat your veggies. Zucchini Noodles are the most common and a great option if you are looking for grain-free pasta or a way to pack more vegetables into your diet. They are easy to make, all you need is a vegetable spiralizer or mandoline. Add your favourite sauce with even more veggies and you’re on your way to getting your five a day.

Turn Them Into Wings

If you love the taste of buffalo wings, but are trying to eat more vegetables, consider whipping up a batch of cauliflower wings. This video will walk you through the process of preparing your cauliflower and buffalo sauce. Serve them with some blue cheese dressing, carrots and celery sticks.

Bake With Them

Is there anything cozier than baking? Vegetables aren’t just for savoury recipes. This winter, bake a warm loaf of Zucchini Bread to share with friends and family. Grated zucchini keeps the sweet loaf moist and delicious. It’s basically a spice cake with the added benefits of vegetables!

We hope these ideas will help you sneak extra veggies into your meals this winter. To learn more about Timbercreek’s rental communities across Canada, please visit our website.

Winter is the perfect time of year to enjoy hearty, rich foods. They fill you up and warm your soul on cold, blustery days. But rich foods can become overwhelming after months of indulging. Your body may be ready for something light and refreshing. Try a tasty detox this week with one of our top 10 winter salads.

Apple Pecan Arugula Salad

Peppery arugula pairs brilliantly with crisp apples and crunchy pecans in this Apple Pecan Arugula Salad. Make your own (vegan!) dressing and throw this salad together in just 15 minutes. Best of all, you only need 8 ingredients!

Warm Mushroom Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

We love this Warm Mushroom Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette. Mushrooms are amazing for your health and will help you ward off the flu this season. The warm temperature of the salad will also leave you much more satisfied than a typical cold salad when it's cold outside. Pro tip: simmering some oil with garlic will create the perfect flavourful base for your mushrooms-of-choice.

Warm Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Kale Salad

Quinoa, sweet potato and kale is an amazing superfood trio. Try it for yourself in this Warm Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Kale Salad which packs a powerful punch of protein, vitamins and minerals. Give yourself 40 minutes to cook everything and combine all the ingredients of this healthy and tasty weeknight winter meal.

Winter Spa Salad with Lemon Chicken

Brightly coloured cara cara oranges, avocado, pomegranate and fresh herbs come together in this stunning Winter Spa Salad with Lemon Chicken. Marinate the chicken as you prepare the rest of the salad for approximately 30 minutes. This recipe tutorial includes a recipe and instructions for the marinade, as well as step by step instructions for an easy homemade salad dressing that you’ll want to drizzle on everything.

Crunchy Thai Kale Salad

If you haven’t embraced kale, we don’t blame you. On its own its bitter, hard to chew and very green. Despite being hard to love for its taste, your body loves kale and you should try to add it to your day whenever you can. We LOVE this healthy alternative to Thai takeout. Make this sweet and savoury Crunchy Thai Kale Salad, it may just make you love kale.

Kale & Butternut Salad with Ginger-Miso Dressing

Turn an ordinary combination, like kale and butternut squash, into an extraordinary pairing by topping it with a bold Japanese dressing. For this Kale & Butternut Salad with Ginger-Miso Dressing you will need rice vinegar, miso, sesame oil, honey and finely grated ginger to finish.

Fig, Prosciutto and Goat’s Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

If you’re looking for a delicious salad that borders on indulgent, this Fig, Prosciutto and Goat’s Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette is for you. A perfect balance of creamy (goat’s cheese), sweet (fig), salty (prosciutto) and sour(citrus), take just one bite and you’ll be hooked!

Brussels Sprout Salad with Chicken and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

For a weeknight meal that calls for the seasonal brussels sprouts you snagged at your local market, try this Brussels Sprout Salad with Chicken and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette. If you’ve never paired brussels sprouts with bacon before, you’re in for a treat! The combination takes the cruciferous vegetable to a whole new level of deliciousness. This recipe is easy to make and ready in less than 30 minutes. Best of all, this salad is hearty enough to be enjoyed as a meal.

A “Christmas” Salad

The holidays may have come and gone, but you can keep the festive spirit alive with this Christmas Salad of Winter Greens and Fruit. We love the combination of crunchy cabbage, radicchio and kale with sweet and tart organic cranberries and pomegranate. Top this festive salad with a homemade clementine-coriander vinaigrette.

Chickpea Shawarma Salad

Chickpeas are hearty and tasty, loaded with protein, easy to throw into any salad, and make delicious leftovers. If you love them as much as we do, you have to try this vegan Chickpea Shawarma Salad. This salad is healthy, light, and bursting with shawarma flavours thanks to a delicious blend of middle eastern spices. It also has a great balance of crunchy and creamy textures.

Give your body a little love this winter with a tasty salad, like one of these 10 amazing winter salads from our foodies at Timbercreek Communities.

For more information about Timbercreek Communities apartments, located nationwide, please visit our website today.