It’s the end of August in the rural and remote center of Sicily. A landscape of infinite gentle, brown-golden hills, different shades of parched, with a house sprinkled here and there rolls into the distance. It makes you feel kind of lost in a labyrinth, unsure of where the hills begin or end. During this time, we follow traditional Sicilian methods to preserve tomatoes and other local summer fruits and vegetables.

The Sicilian sun is the most precious resource we have, and our greatest tool during this busy week. With its power, we make sundried tomatoes, zucchini, and figs. Giovanna, a middle-aged Sicilian woman with oceanic eyes and a slightly stooped posture, has worked in the kitchen of cooking school Anna Tasca Lanza, where I’m employed, for 30 years.