BASIC, ALL OCCASSION PESTO

Pesto, otherwise known as the green thing you smother your pasta in, and has a woody, nutty taste, is a staple in Italian cuisine. You probably get them in jars at the fancy grocery store, or say stuff like "Ohhh I had them when I was in Rome with my now ex-husband!"
Well, guess what. You can make perfectly decent, fresh pesto at home, right here, in your (my) humid, SE Asian apartment. It takes 5 minutes, and tastes 5 times better than the ones in the jar at the Italian food section. You can even freeze them for future use. The traditional recipe uses pine nuts, and pine nuts are basically so freaking expensive here, and no one should be paying that much for some nuts. No one. So for this recipe, I'm recommending a much cheaper substitute - whole almonds. 
Once you have yourself a batch of fresh pesto, the possibilities are endless. Endless. Spread them onto your grilled cheese sandwiches. Toss some warm pasta with them. Slather a piece of roast chicken with them and think of yourself as Martha Stewart. Roast a pile of vegetables and toss them in the pesto, and you've got yourself an elevated roast veg tray.

What You Need:
100 grams fresh basil
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 handful almonds, roasted or not roasted
1 tbsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp grated parmesan

What You Do:
1. There is only one step here, to be honest. Dump all that stuff in your food processor, and blitz until smooth. If it's still chunky, add a small dash of water to get it going.
2. Store in a small jar, in the fridge, or freezer. In the fridge, it keeps until 4-5 days.