'Just Beet It' Dip

Does this dip taste as good as it looks? The answer my friends is YAS. Aside from being the most beautiful dip we've ever photographed, it's also one of the tastiest. Earthy, bright beets, roasted and combined with chickpeas, Greek yogurt and spices. We highly recommend serving this dip with your own homemade pita chips. Just spread some oil or butter on top of tortillas, cut into wedges, and sprinkle with whatever spices you want (we love garlic salt!). Bake in the oven at 400°F until crisp and enjoy the combination of flavours. You can also use this dip as a veggie sandwich spread. On a bagel or baguette or sourdough bread...we swear it's the dip that just keeps on giving.  

Ingredients:

2-3 beets, ends trimmed
¼ cup olive oil + some for drizzling
15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
½ tsp. cumin
salt & pepper
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup Greek yogurt
¼ tsp. chili powder
1 cup feta
¼ cup pistachios, de-shelled & crushed
3-4 green onions

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and wrap them in aluminum foil. Roast on a baking sheet for 30 minutes.
2. Pour half of the chickpeas into a food processor or blender, and the other half into a bowl. Drizzle the chickpeas in the bowl with olive oil and season with cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat thoroughly.
3. Add the chickpeas to the baking sheet in the oven and continue roasting until the beets are fork-tender and the chickpeas are crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool slightly (open the foil to allow the steam from the beets to escape).
4. Add the garlic, Greek yogurt, olive oil, chili powder, and almost all of the feta - leaving some for garnish - to your food processor. 
5. Once beets have cooled, slide the skins off (or keep them on if you want!). Add them to the food processor and pulse until smooth.
6. Garnish with roasted chickpeas, crumbled feta, crushed pistachios, and green onions. Serve with your favourite baked tortilla chips!

Enjoy!

xx Just The Dip

Watermelon Beverage

Is there anything better than consuming food or drink out of the vessel it originally came in? Think about it. Coconut drinks on the beach. Pineapple drinks on the beach. Watermelon drinks on the...ok so maybe there's a common theme here. There's just something about drinking out of a fruit drink that can instantly transport you to a tropical state of mind. Which is exactly what we needed since all summer long we spoke about going to the downtown restaurant Patois to drink out of a watermelon (we did make it there once but the wait was two hours long). So of course, we decided to make our own, which wasn't too hard except for the de-seeding part (note to self: buy a seedless watermelon). Enjoy this drink while the watermelons last and you'll be able to taste the sun, for real.  

Ingredients: 

1 watermelon
½ pineapple, peeled & chopped
1 mango, peeled & chopped
½ cup fresh basil
1 lime, juiced
4 shots rum
4 shots tequila
lavender, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut the watermelon in half and scoop out the flesh using a spoon, leaving about a ½-inch-thick skin
2. Combine the watermelon flesh, pineapple, mango, basil, lime juice, rum and tequila in a food processor or blender
3. Purée until completely incorporated
4. Divide your watermelon drink evenly between the two watermelon halves and garnish with lavender, if desired! 

Enjoy!

xx Just The Dip

Friendsgiving Part Two

As we previously mentioned, this year Just The Dip decided to host it's very own Friendsgiving. We set the date one week before Canadian Thanksgiving and sent out a Paperless Post to some of the wonderful people in our lives. All we asked was for everyone to dress wedding fresh and bring one dish to share. Let's be real, our friend group is way too big for us to feed everyone and not go into debt. 

Day of, we slaved away in the kitchen (to view all the dishes click here) and created one of the best table settings we've ever had the pleasure of sitting down to. No seriously, we're still in awe. There is an amazing flower market near Kim's condo, so we used lots of fall flowers, decorative gourds, gathered every last candle we owned, and even went out and foraged pine needles.

We also decided to craft a pumpkin cooler for the hell of it. (We are grown, independent women who love to DIY and shouldn't have to explain this). We carved the top 1/3 of the pumpkin off, scooped out the guts and seeds, stuck a bowl inside, and then added ice + beer. Not only did it look great but was a simple as roasting the pumpkin seeds afterward. We highly recommend it.

Needless to say, Friendsgiving was a hit. And while every time we get together always guarantees lots of laughs, a high consumption of alcohol and food, this time just felt really special. We love all these idiots who we call our friends. Below is just a few photos of the table setting and polaroids from the night. We hope this inspires you to also host your very own Friendsgiving in the future! 

xx Just The Dip