Growing up in Pennsylvania, I became acclimated to the usual citrus crops found at the local grocery store. Lemons were just lemons, oranges usually dry, and grapefruits incredibly bitter without the addition of some sort of added sugar. I wasn’t too much of a citrus girl growing up. Truth be told, I just didn’t know how delicious and tasty fresh grown citrus really were. I was missing out, people.

Luckily, moving to the Arizona has completely opened up my eyes to a whole new magical world of citrus. Grapefruits are sweet, bursting with juice, and not one bit bitter. Lemons are juicy, unbelievably large, and ridiculously cheap when in season. Oranges are sugary, fresh, and sweet – never dry. I’ve landed in citrus heaven.

So, you can also imagine my surprise when I discovered that citrus fruits grow in people’s backyards here in AZ! What a luxury, what a treat! Do these Arizonians know how good they have it? Sweet, juicy, delicious citrus right in their own backyard? Oh paradise!

Now I’ve become spoiled. Citrus spoiled. A backyard with lemon, lime, tangelo, and grapefruit trees? Yep, life is good.

Unbelievably, we still had grapefruit on our tree since winter. I picked the last of them, and decided to make them into a tasty and refreshing juice. Grapefruits are packed with vitamin C to help give a little boost to your immune system, which is especially ideal in winter when grapefruits are usually in season and flus and runny noses roll around. Pink grapefruits also provide lycopene to our bodies, which helps fight against free radicals, icky things that damage our cells. The addition of basil gives it a crisp freshness, and the bit of honey adds a warm and sweet finishing taste. Basil also has flavonoids, which enhances the power of vitamin C (hello grapefruit!) and protects cells from oxygen damage. Raw honey is packed with tons of vitamins and minerals and is absolutely delicious. So grapefruit, basil, and honey…here’s to be citrus spoiled!

Grapefruit Juice with Basil and Honey

5 grapefruits
½ cup packed basil leaves
1 cup water
¼ cup raw honey
Zest of 1 lemon

First juice your grapefruits. I have a handy-dandy citrus juicer that slides onto my Cuisinart food processor and juices the grapefruits right up. You can also use a handheld citrus juicer, which works just as well. Once all the grapefruits are juiced, strain the pulp through a fine sieve and set aside.

In a small saucepan on the stove combine the basil, water, and honey. Bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring frequently. Once the mixture begins to boil, add the lemon zest, and reduce heat to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat to let cool.

Once the basil mixture cools, strain through a fine sieve and add to the grapefruit juice. Give the juice a good stir and throw a fresh sprig of basil inside to infuse more delectable flavor.

Store in the refrigerator, and enjoy!