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When I tell the story of how my husband Dan and I met, I usually mention he was living in a boat. What good California girl could resist a guy with a house on the water? In the next seven months before he proposed, I fell in love with his love of the water, his humor, his dancing, his hair… but what really sealed the deal for me was the way he cooked. 

I don’t really cook…like really at all.  I can make brownies from a box; an important skill, but not really a skill right?

So when Dan confessed his love for cooking my basic instincts kicked in and I snatched him up so my family-to-be would never go hungry.

In our first years of marriage I tried to cook for him. When he is sick he wants grilled cheese sandwiches, and so I tried in the first few months as a wife. It ended with me crying on the kitchen floor. The next year it was chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Again tears; and cookie dough all over the inside of the oven. The final straw was when I opened a bag that had a day-old baguette inside and lost my grip. The bread fell onto my leg and cut open my thigh. I have a scar to this day.  This was not the knife my friends, this was me actually cutting myself with bread. I always knew carbs were dangerous.

Dan is very understanding and it’s a running joke in our family and with our friends that I don’t really get to go in the kitchen. When he goes out of town he makes us food and we keep them in Lock N Locks for easy heat up.

When we were dating in Manhattan Beach, Ca we fell in love with this little beach bistro. We couldn’t afford dinner but we would always go for this spectacular portobello mushroom appetizer and a glass of wine. Before we moved he begged the recipe of the chef. 11 years later it’s still one of my favorite things he makes.

Portobello & Goat Cheese Appetizer

Ingredients:

4 portobello mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned, and cubed

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup olive oil

1 bottle of red wine

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

As much goat cheese as you like!

Directions:

Put portobellos in a Ziploc bag or a covered bowl. Add soy sauce, olive oil, and balsamic, then let marinate for about 30 minutes. Pour the bottle of wine into a pot over medium-high heat, and let it simmer until it’s very thick, and almost evaporated. Add the portobellos into the reduced wine and let simmer until liquid continues to thicken, about 5-10 minutes. Place in a bowl and add the goat cheese.

Years later in San Diego, we had another go-to restaurant within walking distance. Brussels sprouts were never something I thought about until I tasted them roasted with prosciutto and balsamic. Again, my husband was able to recreate the recipient and cook it for me and my four-year-olds (who love Brussels sprouts, score!) nearly every week.

Brussels Sprouts Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 bags of Trader Joe's Brussels Sprouts

½ cup diced pancetta (or more if you prefer)

Balsamic drizzle

Parmesan

1 tsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Boil the sprouts until you can cut with a knife but not mushy. Cut them in halves, and then set them aside. Fry the pancetta in a pan until it’s translucent. Add a little olive oil and butter to the pan, then add the sprouts and cook until they are a bit crisp. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar, transfer to a bowl, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

He also loves to cook sausage and peppers, and his turkey chili is amazing! We do Thanksgiving dinner a couple times a year complete with my quinoa stuffing (that he cooks) and my guilty pleasure, crescent rolls.

As California natives, we do a ton of Mexican food like enchiladas and tacos, all with a little healthy twist; and his salsa is also to die for.

With the Vitamix, I have actually started “cooking” a little too.  I earned permission to at least work with that kitchen appliance. Though I do need to confess my first day using it, I put the tamper in without the top and chopped up the bottom. Don’t do that. But, I’ve gotten much better and now I even get major kudos from Dan and our usual dinner guest, my cousin Katie, over my dips. Here are the two I make every week; hummus and Tzatziki. In the summer, I grow my own dill, cucumbers and mint and use that in place of the store bought.

Tzatziki Recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cucumbers (more if you prefer), sliced into rounds

½ cup fresh dill (more if you prefer)

¼ cup mint

1 Tbsp champagne vinegar

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1 pint plain Greek yogurt

½ cup sour cream

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place the cucumbers on a paper towel, draped over a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let the salt leach the water from the cucumbers for a few hours, or overnight.

Add the cucumbers, dill, mint, vinegar, lemon and garlic to the Vitamix and blend on variable 4 or 5 until the ingredients are mixed and the cucumbers chopped but not pureed. Fold the mixture into the yogurt and sour cream. Add a dash of salt and place in the fridge for at least an hour. Serve with any chip, pita or veggie, Yum!

I also do a mean hummus.

Hummus Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cans chick peas, drained

½ cup lemon juice (more if you prefer a creamier hummus)

1 tsp cumin

6 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ cup sesame seeds, or tahini if you have it

1-2 or cayenne peppers (optional, and also easy to grow in the summer!)

Dash of Tabasco, or tarjin; a spice you can find in Mexican grocery stores (optional)

Directions:

Chill the chick peas overnight, and then add to the Vitamix all other ingredients. Blend from 1 to 10 variable slowly, then on high for about 30 seconds until creamy.

I’ve got my hubby’s salsa recipe and my corn and tomato salad recipient on my Facebook page, so go there for more fun food from the Lindquist family!

No matter who does the cooking, I wish you mindful meals and happy comfort food this fall.

Blessings,

Kerstin