A week or two ago, I was getting tired of our kitchen. Through the windows, dishwater skies; in the fridge, fresh ingredients waited, wilting, while I dived into the freezer for another ready meal.
But then, Carmelita Caruana of Cook Italy arrived. And suddenly, the heart of our home at Los Piedaos came alive again. Bright blue borage, starry jasmine and big bunches of fresh mint and coriander bloomed in jugs on the windowsill. And on the two kitchen islands, I found myself creating still lifes of flesh and fruit as Carmelita recited from the day's recipes. Rosewater and orangeflower; pale green pistachios and arbequino olives like khaki pearls. Pale amber corn-fed chicken and plump fudgy dates.
By the end of the morning, elaborately sidestepping each other, seven cooks would turn 20 or 30 ingredients into four courses of eight dishes, a Moroccan feast. And we'd all sit round the big table outside to enjoy lunch in the warm spring sunshine. And we'd do it again next day with the Catalán menu, and on day three with curvaceous Italian cuisine.
Friendly, funny and just bossy enough to make us trim fresh artichokes perfectly, Carmelita made the whole workshop flow as smoothly as a good hollandaise, and sent us away inspired to become Mediterannean kitchen divas. Especially Fred.
You can drool over pictures and full menus for each day here on the Los Piedaos website. And for a kaleidoscope of the dishes we created, take a look at Fred's gallery on Flickr. Let us know which menu you liked - and if you'd like to Cook with Carmelita here at Los Piedaos next year!
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