Beet Skordalia + Variations: Greek Almond and Sweet Potato Dips

There is nothing better than a friend calling me up to come over, taste some amazing dip, dissect and recreate them ... oh yeah, and bring the kids and she will feed and watch them while I play in the kitchen with the ingredients that she bought. DREAM COME TRUE!

Needless to say, I wasted no time and was over the next day. She bought three skordalia dips from the farmers' market. They were super delicious but super expensive. We are all for supporting our local businesses but at one point we need to be practical and make things ourselves if we can. One dip original, one was beet and the other chipotle. They were all delicious! By the time I left her house I was so full from taste testing and adding a pinch of this and a dash of that, but it was worth it! We got all three dips down to what we thought was perfect.

I am currently on beet overload. I have pickled them, froze them, added them to my smoothies for breakfast, beet ice cream, beet cupcakes, we've had them for dinner for the past two weeks and have been living off of this dip during the day. I am about 32% beet as I type this!

I still equally the love the other flavors, but until I use some of these fresh garden beets I have, I won't be making the other flavors as much. If you've hung out with me in the past month, there's a good chance I've served this to you and many have asked for the recipe so I had to showcase the glorious beet!

I love harvest time! On a side note, my garden is doing terrible, but I am soaking up what my family and friends are sharing with me. Thank you everyone! I guess it's to be expected with a July baby ... it's not my fault (ha ha ha).

Beet Skordalia

Makes 2 cups

1 c blanched almonds
1 cup beets, chopped
1/2 c sweet potato, chopped
3/4 c olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 c lemon juice
3 T basil
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven for 375 degrees F. Bake beets until they are soft. 

In a pot of boiling water, potatoes until they are soft. Drain.

In a food processor, add all ingredients together and puree until smooth. It should be the consistency of hummus. Enjoy!!!

Sorry, not pictures of these right now ... but enjoy them just the same. They are yum yum yum! Happy Harvest all!!

Plain Skordalia

1 c blancbed almonds
1/2 c sweet potatoes, chopped and cooked
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 c olive oil
1 T basil
1/2 t salt
2 garlic cloves

Chipotle and Pepita Skordalia

1 c pepitas
1/2 c alomds
1/3 c sweet potatoes, shopped and cooked
2 T lemon juice
1/2 c olive oil
1 clove garlic
3/4 t salt
1/2 chipotle pepper, I use canned ... adjust according to your heat liking.

Vegan Fig and Cashew Dip

Figs are not one of those things that I normally buy. They are a nice treat that I have every now and again. Dates on the other hand, I eat all the time! But when your father-in-law asks to pick up some dates for you and picks up a gigantic Cosco bag of figs, you start eating more figs! They do look delicious, right?!

I made fig preserves twice, but have you ever had that urge for something creamy? I love creamy dips ... Okay, I love all dips but creamy ones are the best! We were doing a morning brew session (brewing a danky West Coast IPA) with some friends. I always have snacks as we brew, but we were starting at 9 am so my normal salty snacks didn't sound right. I decided to give the fig preserves an overhaul and make more of a dip out of them.

The dip went over as good as the beer! I served them with apples, pepper water crackers and some more dried fruit. It went great with our coffee stout!

Vegan Fig and Cashew Dip

Makes 1 1/2 cups

8 dried figs
6 oz cream cheese
1/2 c cashews
1 t minced ginger
1 T lemon juice
dash of salt

Place figs and cashews into a food processor and mix until they are finely chopped up. Then add remaining ingredients and mix until everything is well incorporated and smooth.

Top with fresh chives ... it's pretty and adds and extra savory flavor to it!

Don't forget to try my fig preserves too!

Protein-Packed Cheesy Zucchini Cornbread Waffles

We have always been a pancake family. The kids love them, and so do I because there are so many variations that I can do with them! Recently, waffles were introduced to the kids. They looked at me like I had robbed them of their youth! Since we have always had pancakes, it never occured to me to have waffles ... plus, I didn't have a waffle maker.

Now that my kids were waffle addicts, a waffle maker was amazingly gifted to me and everything in the universe was right. We were having waffles on one of the pancake days and the kids were more than happy (except for one kid ... there always has to be one). Then another lightning bolt came down on the kids ... "breakfast for dinner".

"Is that true mom, can we really have breakfast for dinner?!?!"

But, this is where I draw the line a burst a bubble in their little lives. We were going to have waffles, but no syrup. I can't believe how much complaining I heard! Sorry kids, but your mom doesn't have a sweet tooth. I like salt and cheese!

Once the waffles were all done, their tune quickly changed and everyone loved them (again, except for one kid ... there always has to be one)! Breakfast for dinner is now happens quite often around here, one of these days I may give in and give them their chocolate chip waffles with syrup for dinner ...maybe!

You can easily make these totally vegan, dairy-free or mix and match according to what you like!

Protein-Packed Cheesy Zucchini Cornbread Waffles

Made 6 waffles

1/4 c organic refined coconut oil
3 eggs (or egg replacer)
2 c almond milk or milk of your choice
1 c shredded cheese (I used almond cheese)
1 c shredded zucchini, squeezed
2 c whole wheat flour
1 c toasted walnut crumbs
3/4 c fine cornmeal
1/4 c hemp seeds
1/4 c nutritional yeast (optional)
4 t baking powder
1.5 t salt

In a bowl, whisk together coconut oil, eggs and milk.

Add in remaining ingredients and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Spray your waffle maker and add batter according to your waffle maker's instructions.

I topped mine with a little extra cheese right before serving, so it slightly melted.