Before settling in the south, I made an artistic journey, and visited my friend Victoria Bermejo in Barcelona, a writer since dawn, very early, every day in her penthouse in Plaza Tetuan. I was surrounded by artists and illusion but I was missing a name.
They say you can’t please everyone – in Spanish, it never rains to everyone’s liking.
Rain has always been unwelcome in the city but a blessing in the countryside.
I remember seeing the weather forecasters on TV, faces apologetic and concerned whenever they announced incoming rain: “This weekend, the weather will be bad…”. Without fail, my father would challenge that statement.
A premium extra virgin olive oil is incredibly versatile in the kitchen and it has health benefits.
Today I invite you to try a simple recipe that paired with La Cultivada Picual will pepper things up.
I had just come back to Spain after living in Brazil, and was reflecting on my new career path.
Following several years surrounded by exotic nature and artistic exuberance, I was now seeing my homeland as leathery bull’s hide…
I wanted to write, but I also needed to earn a living… and I couldn’t figure out how to balance creativity with paying the bills.
I was at La Fábrica, half-asleep, half-dreaming… when a bird appeared. An owl, to be exact. And since I’m nothing if not original (by birthright), I named it Noctua —because why not throw in some Latin (our language’s mother, after all)? Also, because I actually studied Latin back in school (which, as you can tell, means I’m definitely not Gen Z). So Noctua it was—meaning night, the nocturnal bird. Then it turned into Nochuza, until it finally stuck as Lechuza—which, let’s be honest, sounds more like a dairy-free drink…
La Cultivada was born from a dream. And I don’t mean symbolically, but literally. One night, while I was sleeping at La Fábrica, the window of secrets opened and there was a bird…
La Fábrica is a beautiful spot in Moratilla de los Meleros, Guadalajara, Spain It used to be a Spanish factory where they made soaps from olive oil.
There’s something magical about beginnings, isn’t there? A mix of excitement, anticipation, and the desire to start a new story. Today, I myself am going back to where it all began to share something special with you: the story of La Cultivada. You see, my “close friends” say that I can talk the hind leg off a donkey, indeed I’ll talk to anything standing… and even underwater. I use quotation marks because with friends like this, who needs enemies… oh well.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is ‘EVOO’. The new jewel in the crown of millions of kitchens worldwide, either for its characteristic flavor, its nutritional properties or simply for being an essential and very healthy ingredient, for a long time now, in all our meals.
A long time ago, when the world was still forming and animals were still talking, a little owl was born and named Noctua. That was me, a tiny bird whose eyes were so big and clear that they saw where others only found night.
