BIG NEWS!!!

I woke up this morning to find out that the Flourishing Foodie was nominated for Best Original Recipes in the Fifth Annual Saveur Best Food Blog Awards. Words can't even begin to describe how excited I am. It is such an honor to be nominated with so many fantastic friends, who continually inspire and amaze me with their creativity.  I would be so thrilled if you voted for the Flourishing Foodie. (The polls close April 9th). I have updated the site with a fancy new voting link on the right sidebar, or you can follow the link here. I want to thank all of you for your support. xo

Mid last week, I told myself that I was going to plan ahead for this week's post. I was going to write a mouthwatering description of this spring-y bean salad. I was then going to wake up Wednesday morning and hit send (from Costa Rica!!!). Instead, I left everything to the last minute, like I do, and ended up arriving late to the airport and almost missing our flight. It's now 10pm, and I'm laying, rather siding off the bed, in my air conditioned hotel room, after one too many margaritas, on a pretty terrible internet connection, trying to piece together some thoughts. Life is pretty grand.

We arrived here last Saturday morning after a series of flights, lay-overs, and bus rides. So far, I've spotted some little monkeys out the window of our hotel. There are these tiny adorable bright green birds that flutter in the trees at night. We are going to see the sea turtles on the beach tomorrow morning at 6am, and I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to be as chipper as I am right now, because 6am is a crazy time to be awake on holidays. There is LOTS of delicious guacamole and plantain chips, and an endless supply of margaritas. Seriously, I am not kidding. I have this weird splotchy sun burn on my arms and legs where my sun screen had smeared away, and I TOTALLY PREDICTED THAT WOULD HAPPEN. My cousin is getting married tomorrow and I am going to have to apply an even lay of cover-up to my arms. There is no other way around it.

I want to tell you about my time here so far, but Brent is giving me the stink eye, and I'm pretty sure he wants me to stop clicking away and turn out the lights. I will be back next week with some pictures and a new recipe to share, I promise!!! In the mean time, I will leave you with my favorite spring salad. It's fresh and colorful and the perfect pop of color for this time of year. I got this crazy awesome mandolin at Christmas, and it slices the radishes into such perfectly beautiful thin strips. I like to soak them in a cold water bath to crisp them up. Avocado is a nice and creamy addition to the beans. Some olive oil, Maldon salt, and garlic, is all you really need to flavor this salad. I like to finish it off with a little squeeze of lime juice. It is just so perfect.

p.s. I am still freaking out about the Saveur nomination. Ahhhhhhh!!!

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SPRING SALAD WITH WHITE BEANS, AVOCADO, AND RADISH

serves 2

1 - 15 oz can white beans

1 clove garlic, pureed

2 tsp good olive oil

1/4 tsp Maldon salt

cracked black pepper

1/4 tsp chili flakes

3 - 4 radishes, thinly sliced

1/2 avocado, diced

8 basil leaves, chopped

lime wedges

In a colander, rinse and drain the beans. Pat dry. Place them into a bowl with the pureed garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Toss.

Thinly slice the radishes with a mandolin. Place them into a cold water bath for a few minutes to crisp them up, while you prepare the other ingredients.

Plate with the beans with the sliced radishes, avocado, and basil. Season with additional salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Alternatively, you could toss all of the ingredients in a bowl and then serve. Serve with a lime wedge for dressing. I also like to eat mine with a grilled piece of fresh bread with olive oil.

The beans can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days, although avocado will turn brown within a couple of hours.