I’ve mentioned the wonderful Giulia of Juls’ Kitchen a few times – she’s one of my favourite food writers and her site is absolutely gorgeous. A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of actually spending a few hours in Juls’ Kitchen in the Tuscan countryside, when my friend Jenia and I had a cooking class with her. All the photos accompanying this entry were taken by Jenia, although I took the liberty of cropping/resizing them a bit to fit on here all in one big post.

It’s amazing what a sensory experience cooking can be. We can read recipe after recipe, get detailed instructions and see step by step photos on countless blogs, but being taught in a real kitchen is something else entirely. When we made pasta, I could rub the semolina between my fingertips so now I know what texture I’m looking for when I buy it, and I could feel the elasticity of the dough and see the slow spring back when I touched it so now I know how much it needs to be kneaded.

I could hear things sizzling, smell the herbs, vegetables and cheeses, taste things as we made them under the watchful eye of an expert.

In just a few hours we took the freshest ingredients, learned about their origins and variations, got busy and made a meal fit for a king.

Delicious crisp radishes and carrots with a simple olive oil, salt and pepper dip. Roasted vegetables under a topping of capers, olives, breadcrumbs and herbs.

Fresh and flavourful panzanella.

Crostini topped with zucchini. Tomato and mozzarella lasagne.

Peach pound cake.

Thank you, Giulia, for a glorious day in your kitchen.