Red Beet Pesto with Gluten-Free Linguini

The classic red sauce is a staple in our rotation, but coming up with a fresh new sauce was a welcomed addition to our tired routine. At least for me; Phil is still on the fence about beets… and pesto. One thing we do agree on is our love for brown rice pasta. We use the gluten-free pasta brand Tinkyada, and honestly once you throw some sauce on it’s hard to tell the difference, I DARE YOU!

I can’t take full credit for this recipe. My food-savvy friend Sarah — the same one who made her own wedding cake — put the idea in my head. Though our recipes differ slightly the end result is a deliciously light sauce. It all comes down to a few simple ingredients: beets, spinach, garlic, and basil. You can elaborate or adapt the recipe to your tastes;  for instance, Sarah makes hers by sautéing spinach and kale with onion and garlic before blending it with the beets. Sometimes when I’m feeling decadent, I stir in some cream.

Red Beet Pesto

2 roasted red beets
spinach
garlic
fresh basil
lemon zest
shaved parmesan
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

I roasted two beats with EVOO, salt and pepper for about 45 minutes. When all’s cooked and cooled enough to handle, I peel and chop the beats and put them in a food processor with a couple generous handfuls of spinach, some crushed garlic, basil leaves, and more EVOO. I blend to desired consistency, adding more oil if needed. I also mix in a little shaved parmesan if i have it, then garnish with lemon zest come presentation time.  The lemon zest is SO important to this dish! It makes all the difference in creating a fresh and exciting meal. 

Best enjoyed right right away but can last a couple of days in the fridge if you have extras.

As you can see, I snuck in a little piece of honey garlic sausage for an extra protein kick. It was delicious.

Easy Crockpot Brisket

As if a crockpot recipe could ever be anything but easy! I also thought about calling this post “Omnomnom Meat”, but decided a more descriptive title would be more effective.

We rung in the New Year with this slow cooker brisket recipe and it’s been steadily feeding us ever since. Actually, we bbq’d steaks on New Years Eve and dined on leftovers the next day, but this juicy beast was the first official recipe of 2013. Apologies for the delayed post, but amidst the healthy new-year-new-me blog posts I didn’t think you’d have time to savour this beauty for all of its meaty goodness.

I rubbed her down with salt, pepper, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and a lot of garlic. Then I cracked a can of America’s finest beers ( a Pabst Blue Ribbon) and let it cook on high for one hour, followed by 6 hours on low. Then, we ate.

Update: Someone didn’t know that you could cook brisket in a crockpot, so I told him what I knew: THAT IT WAS DELICIOUS.

Roasted Chickpeas with Rosemary Garlic Oil & Sea Salt

Can we just take a moment and drool over these photos? Excuse me while I toot my horn for a second.

Now that we’ve taken care of that, I made a yummy snack! I’m not reinventing the wheel here people, but if you haven’t tried roasted chickpeas you probably should. Especially if you’re prone to munching on chips and other less body-friendly treats, ahem, myself included. The salt and oil measurements can be adjusted to your personal taste, as can the seasoning, plus a can of chickpeas is like what, a dollar? Hey-o to that!

1 can chickpeas ( although I would highly recommend using two cans and doubling the recipe because we ate everything within 5 minutes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Sprinkling of sea salt, to taste
Red pepper flakes, optional, but why not spice it up a bit, right?

Preheat oven to 375.
In a medium bowl add chopped rosemary, minced garlic, and olive oil.
Drain and rinse chickpeas under lukewarm water and pat dry. If you’re patient, remove the skins. If you’re in a hurry, toss them in with the rosemary and oil mixture.
Toss chickpeas around in the bowl to fully coat. Add a pinch of salt.
Pour chickpeas out on a baking sheet and cook for 30-45 minutes,depending on how crunchy you like ‘em. After 15 minutes I shook the pan to rotate the chickpeas to ensure even baking.
Remove from heat, season with sea salt and red pepper flakes. They’ll be hot, so let them cool first. Enjoy!

Mediterranean Couscous Salad with Arugula and Spinach

Lately I’ve seen couscous take a back seat on the quinoa bandwagon, so I thought it was about time to bring it to the foreground again. Mixing the couscous with arugula and spinach stretched out the ingredients and we were able to get two delicious meals of it.

This was a great meal for a hot summer night, and was even better the next day after the flavours had soaked in. Add some sliced avocado for a little extra umph and put it into a whole wheat pita with humus for lunch the next day. Yummers.

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

1 cup couscous
1 big clove garlic, minced
1 roma tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup each of cucumber, red, yellow, and orange peppers, finely chopped
red onion, finely chopped (to your taste)
4-5 depitted olives and a splash of olive juice
a big handful each of arugula and spinach
juice from half a lemon. Garnish with extra lemon slices and/or zest
fresh feta, to your taste.
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp olive oil

Pour 1 cup uncooked couscous into 1 cup salted boiling water. Remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes. When cooked, drizzle with olive oil and fluff with a fork.

Chop tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, olives, and onion to similarly sized pieces. Add vegetables to couscous along with minced garlic, parsley, crumbled feta, and the juice from half a lemon. If you’ve bought bottled olives, adding a splash of the juices extends the flavour without having to use a lot of olives.

In a large salad bowl pour two tablespoons olive oil over arugula and spinach. Add couscous and mix. Salt and pepper to taste, garnish with lemon zest or additional lemon wedges.

I had every intention of making my own rosemary/garlic/thyme/lemon chicken, even bought all the ingredients… then I stumbled upon Jackson’s Rotisserie at The Public Market and everything smelt so good and it was all ready to eat … so I caved a bought a pre-made chicken. It was delicious, but next time I will make my own.

Garlic Basil Bites & Strawberry Feta Bruschetta

I have two fresh summer snack ideas for you today. One recipe is sweet, a great treat or appetizer, while the other is a savory revamped take on your classic garlic bread. They are quick and simple and delicious.

Strawberry Feta Bruschetta

1 Baguette
1 1/2 cups strawberries, rinsed and chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup feta cheese (goats cheese also works well) but let’s be honest with each other, you’re gonna use as much cheese as you want
Dash of salt
A liberal drizzling of balsamic reduction (balsamic vinegar does the trick if you’re not up to making the reduction)

Warm the whole baguette in a 350 degree oven. Meanwhile in a medium-sized bowl mix together all other ingredients. When the bread is warmed through, remove from oven, slice horizontally and spoon the strawberry mix onto each slice. Drizzle with more balsamic, serve and enjoy!

BASIL GARLIC BITES

1 Baguette
5 finely chopped basil leaves
2 finely minced garlic cloves
3 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan (optional)

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. When butter starts to bubble add minced garlic and basil. Sautée until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

There are a couple of ways to prepare this:
Warm the whole baguette in a 350 preheated oven. Slice and brush with basil butter, serve.
Or, if you have access to a BBQ, slice your bread diagonally and grill before brushing with garlic basil butter.
Or, slice open your baguette lengthwise. Brush either side with the garlic basil butter, top with grated cheese and broil until golden.

Nomnomnom! This goes great with a red sauce and of course, a bottle of wine. Happy Eating!

Easter Weekend Mixed Grill

It was another orphan holiday for i♥toeat and friends this Easter weekend. Don’t cry, we made the most of it with booze, a mixed grill, and hockey – Go Canucks!

I contributed Rosemary & Garlic Roasted Potatoes. Simple enough I’m sure you can all figure out the recipe. I added lemon juice while they marinated and a little squeeze after they came out of the oven, yum!

TheGlutenFreeDom made a Greek salad, so delicious, so fresh! Much better than any store-bought version. We decided the key to great Greek salad is FRESH FETA and big fat juicy olives.

Last but certainly not least came the mixed grill, provided and cooked by Mr. Phil. What a great idea! We had a juicy steak, spicy SouthWest style chicken and my favourite, Maui Ribs. All the items came pre-seasoned/marinated (except the steak) so we can’t take credit for it but everything was delicious. Way to go Hamilton Beach Grill for turning another basement suit BBQ adventure into a success! Just goes to show you don’t need a fancy grill to get the job done … although if anyone wants to buy me a BBQ this summer I won’t protest!

Holy CRAP look at that steak! Aren't you jealous!?

Oh ya, and there was strawberries.