I always attempt to eat more colorful food, to get a greater variety of vitamins.

I was in a beet mood. And I don’t like eating pre-cooked beets by themselves (I can do a beet salad when I combine finely sliced beets with finely sliced white onions, a bit of salt and pepper, and some apple cider vinegar, to taste…. but I digress, I could eat apple cider vinegar with everything…. but I digress further).

Anyway, I decided to make a beet hummus. You can use fresh beets (yellow or red, clean, boil and peel and let cool). But I used the pre-prepared red beets, 400 grams (3 cups chopped, or 3-4 small beets).

Before all of this, I used two jars of chickpeas (3 cups basically). I’m horrible at measuring when I’m just playing around, I just eyeball everything. I’m great at tasting!! And making my friends taste…

To prep the chickpeas (you can use dry chickpeas, takes more prep): I suggest not just draining the chickpeas, rinsing and throwing in the food processor. If you want your stomach and digestive track to thank me… take my advice. Drain, rinse, and cover with water in a pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes. You may need to add more water, just ensure the chickpeas stay covered.

Drain the chickpeas, and rinse with cold water. Then spend that extra care and hand-peel that outside layer on the chickpeas. THAT is the part that your body can’t really digest. I don’t know all the science, but essentially you can’t digest it. Treat your body well and take the extra care. Everyone will thank you. And you’ll be thanking me.

Then you are free to season as you wish. For 3 cups of beets and 3 cups of beans, I added 3 cloves of fresh garlic (you could also roast the garlic in the oven: chop off the top and drizzle olive oil, wrapping the head of garlic in foil; bake on 350 F/175 C for 20-30 minutes, you’ll smell the greatness), salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, and one red onion. You can use a blender or food processor and will need to add olive oil as you blend, approximately 3/4 cup to 1 cup. You can add water to. Just don’t add more water than you did oil. I also added peperoncini peppers (3)

Take chances with seasoning. The beets are sweet, so you can really add seasoning. In fact, it was all too sweet for me to eat right away. And things like hummus and salsa gets better as it sits. I suggest making this at least 4 hours in advance, to allow it to rest. This lasts in the fridge for one week (IF it lasts that long…).

I didn’t take more pictures, but if you have questions on the prep don’t hesitate to ask in the comments.

And for any of you who have ever “milked” a cucumber, you will win reader of the day!

Head on over to PassioXP.com, to see my other work.