Marinated Tomatoes w/ Arugula Chive Pesto on Crostini

   What a mouthful that title is. Should be more like "Good Time had by All" or "Damn that Biatch Can Cook". Me, I prefer the latter. I take great pride in creating random dishes out of nothing. And though I often get inspiration from similar recipes, it's all by me: tried, tested, and devoured (by my husband of course)

   This little gem came courtesy of a very hungry lady (me) who had just finished up a long walk and was starving to say the least. And by the time I cooled down, there was some pretty little whole wheat crostini giving me the stare down from my countertop bin. Since I needed to use up some Arugula from this week's CSA, I figured pesto was the way to go. Very rarely will I eat Arugula raw because I find it is not often picked early enough for it to not be too bitter. I just can't get down with the bitterness in my salad. So I almost always blanch it and use it in pesto.

   Although your typical pesto recipe calls for fresh basil and pine nuts, I used raw pumpkin seeds and added in chives as well. It was so darn good I could probably eat it everyday of my life.

Recipe:

8 slices artisanal bread (I used organic WW Tuscan Pane which is almost like a slight sour-dough)

Marinated Tomatoes:

4 organic Roma Tomatoes, diced
1 garlic clove, smashed and diced
1 Tblsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tblsp EVOO
Sea Salt (about 15 turns of a mill)
Cracked Black Pepper (about 20 turns of a mill)

Pesto:

1 cup wilted organic arugula (roughly about 4 cups fresh arugula tossed into boiled salt water for 1 minutes, then ran under cold water to stop cooking process)
1 handful fresh chives (be generous)
1 garlic clove, smashed and diced
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (toasted in oven at 350 for 5 minutes and tossed with sea salt and coconut oil spray- I use Spectrum, it is refined but more stable when heating)
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup EVOO
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (or more if you like it hot)
1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1.) Toast Bread slices in oven at 425 degrees for 5 minutes until slightly brown. (You never want to char or burn bread or any other carb due to Acrylamides)

2.) Toss pumpkin seeds onto a cookie sheet along with some coconut spray and sea salt. Cook at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until slightly brown.

3.) Dice Tomatoes and garlic and place into a small mixing bowl. Toss with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Let marinate for 15 minutes.

4.) In a food processor, combine pesto ingredients and blend until slightly smooth.

5.) Top Crostini with pesto and then tomatoes. Eat till you need to throw on sweatpants. Or share with others. Whatever you choose.