Cape Cod Salad with Tomato-Cucumber Relish-type Stuff

My mother-in-law, God bless her, is thoroughly English in every way--13 traceable generations so. While we were visiting, she made a tuna salad that was rather tasty, but also devoid of any color whatsoever.

I like color in my food (must be the Food Network junkie in me), so I played with the recipe tonight to hit a combination Tom and I loved. Even CJ ate most of his plate! So, in honor of my MIL and her inspiration, I call this Cape Cod Salad. Very nice, light, summer-type dish, and it reminds me of eating out on the deck during sunset with a nice breeze.

Salad:
1/2 lg onion, diced.
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and shredded (when working with just one carrot, I like to use my peeler in short strokes to shred rather than dig out my grater)
2 6oz. cans solid white albacore tuna, drained
1 12oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 c (approx) Italian dressing (whatever kind you like).
Salad greens of your choice.

Combine onion, celery, and carrot in large bowl. Add drained tuna and beans. Add mayonnaise and dressing, toss with spatula to combine. Serve on bed of greens or in individual lettuce leaves. Goes great with crackers; serves 4-6.

Tomato-Cucumber Relish-type Stuff:
1/4 - 1/3 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2-3 ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into bite size wedges
1t salt
1/2 c water
black pepper
olive oil
vinegar (red wine or balsamic recommended)
garlic powder (optional)

Dissolve salt into cold water with fingers until completely dissolved; add cucumber slices and place bowl in fridge to chill. Note: My MIL says this will eliminate any burping from eating the cucumbers. I wasn't certain until I ate cucumbers without doing this once and had horrible hiccup-like burping shortly after.

Place tomatoes in another bowl and add a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and garlic powder. Add about 1 - 2t of olive oil (enough to coat tomatoes) and a splash of vinegar. Cover bowl and shake to emulsify oil and vinegar. Drain cucumber slices and add to tomatoes; shake or stir to combine.

Serve tomato-cucumber mixture on top of salad or on the side.