Beet Pesto aka A Murder Scene in your Cuisinart

Toot toot! Aaaah, beet beet!

Ingredients (makes a lot of pesto, about 2 cups):

6 whole beets, quartered (I buy the pre-cooked from Trader Joe's, Costco etc)

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of pistachios

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of arugula (for kick - optional)

salt + pepper to taste

*I don't like following directions that much so these are approximate measurements. Be your own guide. Fly free!

I really love Buzzfeed. I hate to admit how much, but it's just great. So imagine my excitement when I realized they have a Buzzfeed Food page. This article came up about how many different things you can turn into pesto and this was by far the most interesting recipe to me. I absolutely love beets. Some people say they taste like dirt. Oh well, I guess I just like dirt. The original recipe for this pesto came from Eat, Live, Run Not so sure about the "Run" part, but I see what they're getting at. I'll just stick to the eating and living part.

Sidebar - I recently just bought a food processor which has become my new life partner. Several of the recipes to follow will probably be featuring said processor. It is seriously the best kitchen friend I have ever had - it makes things so much easier! Go get one, you will not regret it.

There isn't really a whole lot to this "recipe" as it just consists of throwing things into the processor and pulverizing the shit out of them. I started with the beets, rinsed and quartered to make the blending a bit easier on my BFF. Then added the garlic, pistachios (no need to roast unless you're feeling ambitious), parmesan, lemon juice and olive oil. Now, a real chef may tell you that it's better to add certain things at different times because the flavors will blend better or it affects the viscosity of the beets, etc.
However, since I am not one of those, I just did it this way. Now, pulverize away. At this point, I could have stopped here but I felt like it was just lacking a bit of something. Here comes my other best friend, Arugula (sshhh don't tell Beet - but really, she knows...) I added the arugula as a last minute impulse. It very well could have ruined the whole thing (how? I'm not really sure but I feel like I needed to just say that) but it turned out to be the perfect missing piece. Now, blend again. Naturally, salt and pepper to your liking and then you have your beet pesto!

Tonight, I paired my beet pesto with gluten-free elbow pasta. Normally I would make normal human pasta but tonight I was feeling extra earthy (hippie) and decided to give it a try. Partner that with your favorite side, wine, what have you et voila!