Pesto is a food group

You really can't go wrong with pesto. It's a great no-heat recipe you can use hundreds of ways in the kitchen - literally! (More about that later)

The best thing about making pesto is that you can't go wrong with the recipe. It's quite simple, and you can modify the ingredients to your liking. Just make sure you have a food processor on hand. A mini one, for those who don't already own one, is around $10 in most department
stores. First, a breakdown of the ingredients.

Fresh basil - This time of year, you can get a bunch of basil at the farmers market for a dollar. Some like to freeze pesto, but in the winter, i prefer to obtain FRESH Thai basil from local asian markets (Long Chang Market on Belliger is my favorite) for around $2 a bunch. Can't beat that.

Whole, unsalted almonds - I know, I know, pesto often does contain pignoli or pine nuts. But they're pricey. And, in my opinion, don't have much flavor. So for years now I've been making pesto using almonds. It adds a sweetness and a nice, thick crunch. I buy the big bags at Farm and Fleet for around $4 a huge bag, it's way cheaper than in the cookie section at supermarkets.

White granulated sugar - I use sugar to bring out the dimensions of the basil instead of salt. However, I will add salt if I'm serving the pesto over pasta, or in a salad. Also, if you're going to add parmesan to it, that's quite salty in itself.

Garlic - I make so much pesto that I buy the 16 ounce jars of minced garlic at the Mexican Grocery in Eau Claire for $2.99. Fresh cloves give a more pungent, peppery flavor. Roast whole garlic bulbs ahead of time for a mellower flavor. You can use any version of garlic you want,
just please don't use powdered garlic!

Olive oil - Use as good of a quality as you can afford. If you've wondered what "light flavor" olive oil is for, this is a good example. Things to look for on the label: Cold-pressed, extra virgin light.

Salt - I skip adding salt. If I decide to put it on pasta, for example, and want it saltier I just add it then.

Cheese - I generally don't add any cheese to my pesto. I find it to be completely flavorful without the cheese and this saves majorly on calories. But, it does have a terrific flavor and if you do decide to add the cheese, don't use the powdered stuff in a container. Grind or shave some cheese off an actual chunk of parmesan or romano and add it to the pesto just before serving.

Basic recipe: Wash the basil under cool running water. Then pluck off the leaves - you don't need to be super picky about not having any stems, just don't use the thick woody stems or they won't puree well. Also, don't worry too much about black or wilted spots on the basil leaves. It just means the basil wasn't picked yesterday and is a little dried out.

Next, dump about a quarter cup of olive oil in the food processor. Add a heaping teaspoon of the sugar and about one heaping teaspoon of the minced garlic. Toss in a small handful (10-15) of the almonds. Then, loosely pack the clean basil leaves until it hits the top of the food processor. Puree until relatively smooth, about a minute. When you remove the pesto from the processor, it should pour when you "dump" it. If it doesn't, add more olive oil before removal to liquify a bit.

Repeat the process until you've used up all the basil. The amounts of each ingredient are really a matter of personal taste, so experiment.

Your prepared pesto qill quickly lose its bright green color and turn practically black if left exposed to air, but you can get around this by putting it in an airtight container and smoothing out the surface. Then dump several tablespoons of olive oil on top, to barely coat the surface, thereby preventing any contact with air. The pesto will stay bright green for several days this way.