Summer In a Bowl

My friend Rachel served a salsa at a party recently and I'm in love. She forgot to send me the recipe so I winged it and discovered that you really can taste and eyeball your way through it.

In a bowl combine:

1 can black beans, rinsed

3/4 bag of frozen white corn, or as much as looks like a good ratio of beans to corn

1/2 tub of grape tomatoes, sliced or quartered into bite size pieces

1 avocado, in half-inch dice

a good drizzle of your favorite olive oil

a few good shots of your favorite balsamic vinegar

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

I also add cilantro. I'm pretty heavy-handed because I love it, and use about a third of a bunch, roughly chopped. I know it's a polarizing herb so you can adjust as you prefer.

And finally I add garlic, and I think you can do that as you wish also. I used a dry garlic product my mom gave me (Pampered Chef's Garlic Garlic). It's got some other stuff in it, but I don't know what. Freshly minced would work fine I think. Do what you like until it tastes good.

As with most things, it's good immediately, but better after it sits for a day.

I have an old Shawnee Corn King bowl of my grandmother's that would be perfect for serving, but it's not quite big enough to hold a batch. eBay here I come.