You already know about my love of gardening so it is with great excitement I await tonight's episode of the Chelsea flower show! I love the coverage of the royal horticultural society's annual event, to me it means summer has arrived and indeed the weather these past few days has been gorgeous.
This year the host will be Monty Don as opposed to Alan Titchmarsh, ooh er missus! There are tensions between two tribes of TV gardener: the trained horticulturalists and the hobbyists, enthusiastic amateurs with no gardening qualifications. Whilst Titchmarsh is our country's foremost horticulturalist, Monty Don never studied horticulture and has been described as an awfully nice chap who is a bit zen here: a bit suburban Humphry Repton there.
Much as I love old Al I'm rooting for Monty! Despite no formal qualifications Monty got his first TV break fronting a gardening segment on This Morning in the 1990s. He has since become one of the most prolific gardening authors and presenters, he has said 'my only authority came from a lifetime of gardening and a passion amounting to an obsession for my own garden.'
Naturally Monty is a huge inspiration to someone like myself, he is living proof that if you are passionate enough about a hobby and have a lifetime of experience you are just as qualified as someone who has been formally trained, they call it 'the university of life.'
I'm quite happy to plod along sharing my recipes and the vagaries of my life but hey who knows it could lead to other things, you might see me on TV yet!
Salmon makes for a lovely light summer lunch, when I was a child tinned salmon was a summer staple, doused in lots of vinegar and served with a big salad of lettuce, radishes, spring onions, tomatoes and boiled eggs with a big splodge of salad cream. Picnics were a favourite family past time, my parents and aunties and uncles would pack us children into the car and whisk us off into the Kent countryside, blankets would be spread on the ground and the women would start to assemble the picnic, they were happy times.
This next recipe is very simple and extremely tasty, the salmon can be eaten hot or cold and is delicious served with tortillas and salad
Sticky salmon
Recipe
Salmon fillets
Honey
Soy sauce
Chinese 5 spice
Garlic, peeled and crushed
Olive oil
I haven't given exact quantities as this is really a taste as you go along marinade and it depends how many salmon fillets you're using as to how much marinade you need
Mix the honey, 5 spice, garlic, soy and a glug of olive oil
Brush the marinade over the fillets
Cook under a moderate grill for 10 minutes
Cooking doesn't get much easier than this recipe! A top tip passed on by my friend Jenny: take a tall class, add some crushed ice, a glug of gin, a splash of grapefruit juice and top with sparkling tonic water, a lovely refreshing drink for the summer.
'This was me before I knew about anything hard, when my whole life was picnics and art projects and spelling quizzes.'
-Nina LaCour
Love Donna xxxxxxx
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