Beet Green and Toasted Pecan Pesto

I try to be good about not wasting food, but it's tough when you live alone. There is only so much food you can eat and/or freeze, especially when it comes to fruits and veggies. Too many turn before I get a chance to get to them. I've been eating a LOT of Beet, Carrot, and Apple Salad lately, and it occurred to me that, although I had used beet greens in a Greens and Beans recipe a while back, I usually end up throwing them away. This time, the greens were so pretty, I couldn't bring myself to toss them, so I decided to try a pesto.  I took a chance on the color being something less than appetizing by keeping the purple stalks intact. It doesn't have that bright green, vibrant color of some other pestos, but it is equally delicious. I also don't normally bother toasting my nuts for pesto, but since these had been in the freezer for quite a while, I wanted to toast them first to bring some life back to them. INGREDIENTS: 1 bunch beet greens 1 c pecans 2 cloves garlic 1/2 t salt 1/2 t crushed red pepper 1/2 c parsley 1/2 c grated Parmesan 1 lemon olive oil Wash the beet greens well and chop into large pieces; transfer to food processor. Toast pecans in a dry pan until lightly browned, then remove from pan to prevent burning, and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add pecans to food processor, followed by garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, parsley, and Parmesan. Squeeze in the lemon juice - if you want, first wash, dry, and zest the peel and add that to the mix. Pulse to combine everything, then drizzle in a little olive oil, pulsing again and repeating until you achieve the texture you like. I typically leave mine on the thick side so I can adjust it for whatever I'm using it in - whether as a marinade, dressing, dip, etc. See, look how pretty - couldn't throw these away! I always chop and freeze leftover parsley. No need for water or olive oil and ice cube trays! You can see little flecks of purple from the stalks. Whenever I make a batch of pesto, since I won't be using it all at once, I like to portion it out into little silicon molds, or even muffin tins, freeze it, then pop them into a zip-top bag. Two of my favorite uses for pesto are slathering it on chicken before baking, or whisking in a little red-wine vinegar for a salad dressing. I't also great on pizza and bruschetta, and of course, pasta.