Bean-Free Roasted Beet Hummus

I realize, dear loyal blog readers, that it has been a while since I have posted anything new, and for that I humbly apologize. It is not for lack of kitchen creation, let me assure you! Life simply gets in the way at times, between working full time, creating new recipes for upcoming classes, and life in general, eeking out time to post recipes can be a challenge!
The recipe I want to share today is so simple and easy though, I wanted to post it quickly this morning to share the yumminess!!  I was taking a veggie tray to a family birthday gathering on the weekend, and wanted a non-dairy, non bean veggie dip to take along side it. Still having quite a few beets in the garden left to pull, I thought it was an awesome time to try out a roasted beet hummus. There are quite a few recipes floating around in cyber-recipe land that use many different kinds of beans, but beans and I still have a tenuous digestive relationship. I wanted to keep this simple, and have the flavour of the roasted beets as the shining star. The result was an earthy tangy and downright addictive dip that was amazing with raw veg.
I hope you love it as much as I did!

Bean-Free Roasted Beet Hummus 

5-6 medium beets, scrubbed and trimmed (peel if desired, mine were garden fresh, I left the skins on)
2 tbsp avocado oil
3/4 tsp Herbamare (or other quality sea salt of choice)
1/4 cup tahini (organic!!)
Juice of 1 lemon,


Preheat oven to 450F

Chop beets into 2 inch cubes, (mine measured a very generous 2 cups when chopped) and place in a baking dish. Drizzle with avocado oil, sprinkle with Herbamare and roast for approx 30 minutes, or until the beets are soft thru when poked with a sharp knife.

Remove from oven and cool until just about room temperature
When beets are cool, scrape them and all of the pan juices into a food processor. Add the tahini, and lemon juice. Process until mixture forms a nice smooth paste, stopping and scraping down sides of processor bowl a few times during the process.

Scoop hummus from processor into serving bowl or storage container. Chill before serving alongside a nice organic veggie tray!!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

This is a mix I have used for quite a while for anything that you want that bit of Mexican flavour with. I have always called it taco spice, but it works equally well for fajitas and nachos too.  I really like knowing what ingredients are in spice mixes, and this gives you complete control. Smoked paprika gives a wonderful smoky flavour to the mix. If you cannot find it, a regular paprika would do, just not a hot one. If you like it spicy, use the whole amount of cayenne. As always, choose organic herbs and spices whenever possible. The oregano that I used this time was dehydrated from my garden. I used my mortar and pestle to grind it up. 

The onion powder is from a batch I made last year...I dehydrated a whole load of onions, and then ran them thru the blender to make my own onion powder. 

This mix works equally well with beef, chicken or turkey too! The recipe makes enough to just fill a 1 cup mason jar, and it should store well for at least 6 months in your cupboard.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

8 tsp chili powder

6 tsp smoked paprika

1-2 tsp cayenne

2 tsp salt

4 tsp cumin powder

4 tsp dried oregano

4 tsp arrowroot powder

2 tsp coconut sugar

4 tsp onion powder

Mix all ingredients together well and store in a 1 cup glass mason jar.

To use: Brown 1 lb meat of your choice (ground beef, chicken, turkey, chicken or turkey chunks or strips, strips of steak, etc) in , drain fat if desired. 

Add 3 TBSP of taco spice and ½ cup water to the pan.  Mix in well and simmer until the liquid is reduced and the sauce is thickened, approx 3-4 minutes.  Serve as desired.