Friday's Favorites

I thought I would start a new post each Friday.  Kind of like a newspaper column.  I am calling it "Friday's Favorites."  In here, I am going to just talk about things that I really like or enjoy.  It may be a movie, a book, a recipe, a restaurant, or even little things that make me smile.  

This week I am going to share two of my favorites.  

First, I am going to post a recipe that a friend of mine gave me.  This is a fresh salsa, but Tamzen calls it Mexican Caviar.  Thanks Tamzen for one of my new favorite things!

Mexican Caviar

Dressing:

1/2 C oil

1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar

1/2 tsp. Salt

Mix dressing, then add:

2 Cans (16 oz) black beans - drained and rinsed

2 Cans (11 oz) Mexican Style Corn 

1/2 C Chopped Scallions

Marinade, stirring a few times, at least three hours.

Just before serving add:

1 Large Tomato

1 Avocado, halved, pitted , Peeled, and Chopped

Enjoy!

* A couple changes I like:

1. Tamzen told me you could use regular sweet corn, instead of Mexican.  I like this, because I am not a big fan of Mexican Corn.  So I use Niblets.

2. I also add the juice of one lime.  This not only adds to the flavor, but helps keep the avocados green.

3. Occasionally I put in two avocados, depending on their size.

Also, if pressed for time, this can be made all at once without marinading.  Though it is best marinated.

!WARNING!  This stuff is addictive!

The other thing I wanted to share is one of my favorite vacation spots.  Many of you know that my husband and I went to the Bahamas last year.  And I have had a lot of people ask me to give details about where we went.  We stayed on an island called Long Island.  It is an "out island" of the Bahamas.  It takes a little planning to get there, but it is worth it.  The retreat we stayed at was called The Cape Santa Maria Resort.  The island itself has a population of about 4000 people.  It is eighty miles long and as much as four miles wide.  It has the cerulean calm seas of the Caribbean on the west side and the deep, sapphire blue  waters of the Atlantic on the east.  The resort we stayed at is located on the caribbean side.  The water was like warm bath water, and the sand was like baby powder - super soft and white.  It was upper 80's while we were there, but the trade winds were constantly blowing, so even if you are hot, you are instantly cooled down.  Our little bungalow was ten feet from the beach, and about forty feet from the water.  The food was fabulous, and you could even have one of the workers there climb up a coconut tree and have fresh coconut if you wanted to.  The locals were very friendly, and even gave us fresh mangos (a totally different fruit, in my opinion, than we have here) right from their own trees.  We found the most beautiful white sand dollars, and other various shells.  The bonefishing is a total kick, even if you don't normally fish.  It isn't cheap, but having "Docky" guide you on your fishing adventure was well worth it for us.  His web address is:  www.bonafidebonefishing.com  It is so beautiful on Long Island!  It truly feels like paradise!  If you want to find a place for your next romantic or family getaway, go to this website: www.capesantamaria.com.  Also, as a stopover on our trip, we stayed at a bed and breakfast in Nassau called A Stones Throw Away (www.astonesthrowaway.com).  It was really nice, and that combined with this little restaurant close by called The Traveller's Rest, (they serve an amazing dessert called Guava Cake - pure ecstasy!) have convinced me that if/when we go again, I would allow for two nights at this quant place instead of one.  Well, I hope you all enjoyed Friday's Favorites!  Oh, and I would love for you to share your "favorites" with me!