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When life hands you a Meyer lemon tree, you had better get busy. Meyers are some special lemon jewels, and they are not to be wasted or ignored on the tree.
I wanted to appreciate them in all their perfumed glory, so was casting about for a new lemonade recipe. My lure pulled in an intriguing Strawberry Basil Lemonade at the inspired website whatsgabycooking.com, and I promptly made it. (Tangent: I couldn’t get her immersion blender method to work quite right for me (your mileage may vary), so I tried a blender. That produced too much foam that took too long to subside, so I came up with an alternate method that worked like a charm for me.)
Back to the main story: It was worth playing around with because the herbaceous floral taste was out of this world! So I turned around, got some more lemons, and made it again, slightly altering the method and some ingredient amounts to suit my taste buds.
This is a charming thirst-quencher, and perfect to revive families wilted by the summer heat. I could see building a party around this drink! Gaby adds vodka, but this is so easy to glug and so refreshing that if I added alcohol, I would be afraid of getting liquored up too fast. Suit yourself.
Basil, strawberries and lemons, you ask, screwing up your face in wonderment?
Never fear, it is a match made in summer heaven.
Strawberry Basil Lemonade
1 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar (use super fine sugar if you have it)
4 cups water
12-15 fresh strawberries, hulled
About 20 leaves fresh basil
Put lemon juice in a large pitcher. Add sugar and water and stir to combine and dissolve the sugar.
Using a mini chopper or mini food processor, pulse to grind the strawberries and basil into a chunky paste. Stir this paste into the lemonade. It will turn a beautiful pink, and some of the basil and tiny pieces of fruit will float.
Refrigerate until chilled. Give it a stir before pouring over ice in glasses.
Serves 4-5.
Welcome to my kitchen, where the oven is always on, and the fridge is packed with delectables! 
