West Yorkshire makes one very cynical regarding the weather.
Living in the perpetual dampness that is the Calder Valley has made me expect
rain at least once a day, regardless of what time of year it is. When spring
starts to shine its first few feeble rays of sunshine, we are invariably left
out. Weather reports are watched with hardened hearts and we can’t even watch
Gardener’s World anymore because it’s so depressing. Time to start moving
seedlings into deeper soil? You must be joking. Anything planted outside now
would turn to mulch after a few weeks of being battered by our storms. On a
rare day last week, however, we were blessed with a bit of sunshine; the high
winds kept us on our toes but Mum-y and I still managed a foray into the
garden, spending two hours attacking the overgrown mass of brambles and plants
in need of a prune. When we were finished, the sun was still shining so I
rustled up a spring lunch feast consisting of dips, flatbreads, cheeses and this
tomato salad. If like us, you’re still in root veg mode when what you crave is
a vibrant, zingy salad, then this will be enough to remind you that summer will
happen… someday.
