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February Is National Grapefruit Month

by Steve Labinski

Grapefruit deserves a month all its own, and February is a good choice since grapefruit are at their peak. Texas produces some of the reddest, sweetest grapefruit on the market today. They are marketed under the brand "Ruby Red" or "Texas Red." Eat grapefruit for breakfast, juice them in a juicer, or utilize their tart, sweet goodness in any number of recipes. Grapefruit are vitamin rich, containing more Vitamin C than oranges. They also have significant amounts of Vitamin A and potassium.

As it happens, I enjoy starting my morning by juicing one or even two Texas grapefruit, often with strawberries or oranges. (I use a Braun MP80 juicer, which I heartily recommend. You can buy it, or a number of other good juicers by clicking here.) Also, we have a number of great grapefruit recipes in Grandma's Cookbook on our website (see below).

Since February is National Grapefruit Month, we want to demonstrate our enthusiasm for the Texas Reds. TexaSweet Citrus Marketing, Inc. promotes the sale of fresh citrus fruit grown and produced in Texas. Their web site at www.texasweet.com contains a wealth of information, including many excellent recipes, among them the two that follow, Frosty Texas Citrus Refresher and Texas (Favorite) Grapefruit Pie.

Frosty Texas Citrus Refresher

• 2 Texas Red Grapefruit
• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 cup pineapple sherbet
• 1 to 2 tablespoons honey
• Grapefruit wedges for garnish

Juice grapefruit and measure 1-1/3 cups juice. In a blender, combine juice, strawberries, sherbet and 1 tablespoon honey. Whirl until well blended. Sweeten with more honey, if desired. Pour into glasses and garnish with grapefruit. Makes four 8-ounce servings.

Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 160; Fat 1.5g; Cholesterol 5mg; Sodium 25mg; Carbohydrate 39g; Protein 2g.

Texas (Favorite) Grapefruit Pie

• 9-inch baked pie shell
• 32 large marshmallows
• ½ cup grapefruit juice
• 1 cup Cool Whip
• 2-½ cups Texas Red Grapefruit sections
• ¼ cup coconut, shredded

Cut marshmallow in quarters and melt them over very low heat, along with ¼ cup of the grapefruit juice. Cool to room temperature. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of grapefruit juice to the grapefruit sections. Fold cooled marshmallow mixture, grapefruit sections and Cool Whip together. Pour into cooled pie shell. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Sprinkle coconut over pie just before serving.

Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 320; Fat 12g; Cholesterol 5mg; Sodium 300mg; Carbohydrate 53g; Protein 3g.

Thirsty? One of our favorite relaxing drinks is Sour Beer Punch, from Grady Spears' Reata Restaurant in Fort Worth. This recipe is from his excellent Cowboy Cocktails: Boot-Scootin' Beverages and Tasty Vittles from the Wild West . Sour Beer Punch is cold, gentle and refreshing. Tastes great on a hot afternoon, maybe on the porch, or outside in a park.

Sour Beer Punch

• 3 lemons
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup chilled grapefruit juice
• 1 can light beer
• Lemon slices, for garnish
• Marachino cherries, for garnish

Using a vegatable peeler, remove zest from lemons, leaving behind the white pith, and set aside (reserve the peeled lemons). In a saucepan over high heat, combine the sugar and water and bring it to a boil, stirring the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon zest and remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the lemon zest from the mixture and let it cool to room temperature.

Juice the peeled lemons. Add the lemon juice and grapefruit juice to the sugar mixture. Pour into a large serving pitcher and chill for at least 2 hours. Just before serving, stir in the beer. Serve in glass mugs, garnish with the lemon slices and cherries.

Recipe from Cowboy Cocktails by Grady Spears & Brigit L. Blinns

More Grapefruit Stuff on Texas Cooking:

• Ruby Red Chicken Salad
  
• Texas Rubies - Winter's Treasures
  by Patricia Mitchell
  Recipes for Citrus Vinaigrette, Braised Pork Chops with Grapefruit and Pears
• Salty Chihuahua
  Tequila variation on a salty dog.

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