Fast & Fresh: No so melon-choly

Watermelon, Jalapeno and Cucumber Salad

By Marie Simmons
Los Angeles Times Syndicate

(Los Angeles Times Syndicate) -- Mark Twain once said, "When one has tasted watermelons, one knows what angels eat." Evidently he felt about watermelons as I do. I just can't get enough of them.

When summer rolls around I find myself lugging watermelons home from the market over and over again. I love them best cubed into chunks and eaten with my fingers. Gone are the days when I would sit on the porch eating a thick slice and flicking the dark black seeds into the grass. Not because I am more grown-up now, but because today's luscious melons are often seedless.

Some melons are more tasty than others, but when they are sweet, they are, indeed, good enough for angels to eat. It is then that I go beyond eating chunks of it out of hand and buckle down to a little watermelon recipe creativity.

In the following recipe for watermelon salad I combine small chunks of cold melon with cucumber. I then add minced jalapeno, fresh lime juice, rice vinegar and cilantro. Like a chunky salsa or a chopped salad, I like it served with grilled meats and fish. For the following menu, I serve it with Soy-Ginger-and-Orange-Marinated Grilled Lamb Steaks.

For dessert, serve fresh blueberries, either plain with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or lemon ice, or if you are ambitious make the Blueberry Sauce and serve it over vanilla ice cream or lemon ice.

Soy-Ginger-and-Orange-Marinated Grilled Lamb Steaks Watermelon, Jalapeno and Cucumber Salad Blueberries with vanilla ice cream or Blueberry Sauce with ice cream

Marinate the lamb. Make the salad. Make the sauce. Grill the lamb.