A peach of a beverage, with basil sprigs as the crowning touch

The dream was realized—our front-porch reno was complete. A ho-hum entrance to our vintage home was spiffied up by an expansive area complete with decorative railings and gingerbread trim. And a front-porch swing! Hubby and I had in mind some relaxing evenings of watching the neighborhood go by while we sipped a cool beverage.

The first cool beverage to sip while we test-drove our new swing had to be something special. I had a recipe in reserve: Peach-Basil Iced Tea. Two of the major ingredients were from my garden: 3 cups of peach nectar (made by pureeing peaches from our trees) and 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves. How would this blend work? To my knowledge I’d never had basil in a glass of tea.

All I can say is, Hubby and I, with our chilled glasses in hand and the gentle breezes whistling by us, thought we were in heaven on our new front-porch perch. The knock-your-socks-off beverage was refreshing and delicious. Our place is now staked out to spend the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend!

Peach-Basil Iced Tea

2 family-sized tea bags

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, rinsed

2/3 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

3 cups peach nectar (this can be purchased on the grocery aisle, but I enjoyed using my own peaches

      that in my blender I puréed to a fine liquid)

crushed ice

garnish: fresh basil sprigs

In a large saucepan bring 8 cups water to a boil. In a pitcher pour boiling water over tea bags and basil. Cover and steep 6 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags and basil. Add sugar; stir until dissolved. Stir in peach nectar. Serve over crushed ice. Makes about 3 quarts. (Source: Southern Living February 2011)