Heirloom Tomato and Golden Beet Salad with Arugula Pesto

Now that's a pretty plateful, don't you think?

Heirloom tomatoes and raw golden beets on a bed of arugula with arugula pesto.

I've had golden beets on my mind ever since I saw Melody's post.

I suspect I am the first in an extensive English heritage to eat raw beets. Incredibly, I didn't even know you could eat them raw. (OMG!)

I don't know if this counts as "raw" food, as I dry-pan toasted the pine nuts, a step I would have undoubtably skipped before my Millennium Cooking Class. Heck, now toasted pine nuts seem like a requirement for any ice cream dish!

I used the Arugula Pesto recipe from The Millennium Cookbook as a guide, but basically winged it with arugula, toasted pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and salt. The pesto was delicious and a nice change from basil pesto, although I'd like to try a combination basil/arugula version too. Anyway, I have quite a bit of arugula pesto left over, so what do you think I should try it with?

The salad was a joy that I took my time over! The tomatoes and beets were sweet and the arugula pesto surprisingly mild.

And, if you ever think you're a tad strange/obsessive about your food creations, how weird am I to even have thought of this catch-the-last-rays-of-sun shot.

Yep, that's my salad with Mount Tam in the background.