Seasonal, vegetarian, farmer’s market–driven cooking lessons taught by a personal chef in Riomaggore, one of the picturesque towns of Cinque Terre, Italy, overlooking a never–ending clear blue ocean? Si, grazie! Tim McDiarmid led myself and a few other eager “mangionas” (Italian for “eaters”) in an unbelievable culinary class last week. The finished meal and the landscape came together in what can only be described as la dolce vita. Salute to the good life! Read on for a peek at this delicious class, and some tips from Tim on putting together a marvelous meal.

Tim McDiarmid, or Tim the Girl, as she is known, has cooked in an intentionally seasonal and local manner since she was a child growing up in remote Canada. She learned from her mother who cooked from the garden out of necessity, before it was relentlessly hip to live on a farm and grow your own food.

After twenty years in New York City, Tim now lives in San Antonio, Texas cooking for private clients, parties, and pop-up dinners and leading cooking classes. Every summer she and an old friend pair up to lead food and walking/culinary focused tours in Cinque Terre, Italy, one of the most stunning places on Earth. Tim’s philosophy of letting the season and the market dictate the menu is particularly harmonious with the early summer, bursting-with-flavor produce grown in the area.

There is nothing like a cooking class to bring a diverse group of people together. We tasted, gabbed, giggled and learned it’s more about technique and peak-ripeness produce, and locally made ingredients such as bread and cheese, than it is fancy, intensive recipes. This is my style of cooking—accessible, colorful, vegetarian and satisfying.

Tim begins each class with a trip to the market to see what’s fresh. She toys around with various techniques and ideas before arriving and sees what catches her eye. It’s quickly decided we will make a meal of two crostini, one sweet iteration topped with the freshest ricotta, flash cooked strawberries, fresh thyme and three local honeys to sample on each bite, and a savory toast with mashed garlic white beans, sauteed greens, garnished with fresh and dried figs. These two creative toasts were accompanied by shaved zucchini salad tossed with local spelt, lemon, fresh mint roasted almonds.

Each component complemented the the next in flavor, texture and spice. Do you like sweet, salty, crunchy, salty, and a balance of lightness and richness in each bite? I do. These crostini embodied all the flavors in a unique, effortless style. The entire meal could be prepared in advance and assembled last moment at the table. So these dishes are both elegant and practical, a winning combination for easy entertaining!

Originally published in “The Kitchin”, by Leela Cyd, June 20, 2012