THE LADY OF SHALLOTS

Tonight's installment of The Lady of Shallots "Summer Salad Marathon" was inspired by two recipes. The first was this " Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Grapefruit, Avocado, and Watercress Salad " from Real Simple (March 2008). The second was this recipe for Seared Ahi Tuna from SimplyRecipes.com. I made only one minor adjustment to the tuna marinade, and that was that I used powdered ginger out of necessity. I marinated the tuna for two hours and it was terrific. As for the salad, I obviously left out the mahi-mahi (and substituted the seared tuna), left out the avocado*, and added fresh chopped cucumber from my neighbor's garden (a gift, not stolen). I used the dressing as stated in the recipe. This was a terrific and healthy meal for a very hot and humid summer evening. The sweetness of the grapefruit and the honey-lime dressing balances the slight bitterness of the watercress very effectively and is just gentle enough to support the tuna without overshadowing ...

It is very hot here, and that means I like to keep as far away from the stove/oven as possible. So that means we've been eating a lot of salad. I find salad making very tedious and usually delegate that chore to my husband. However, when the main dish is a salad, I find ample opportunities for creativity and experimentation. I started with this recipe from Real Simple (August 2008), Chicken Salad with Potatoes & Arugula , but found that I was without arugula and just simply not in the mood for potatoes, so I lifted the dressing and the rotisserie chicken, substituted dried tarragon for fresh, and turned it into Chicken Pasta Salad with Hearts of Palm INGREDIENTS: 1 package fresh or dried pasta (I like rotini or some other shape that will capture the goodies) 1 rotisserie chicken (or chicken leftovers)--you'll probably only need half a chicken's worth 2-3 large hearts of palm, sliced 1/2 cup walnuts (optional) 1/4 cup EVOO 1-2 tablespoons champagne white wine vinegar...