It's autumn, and as far as I'm concerned, that's more than enough of a reason to be happy to be alive. Of course, this love of autumn has a rather strong connection with food; ok, it pretty much centers around food completely. October has got to be the best month for seasonal food. So much is in full swing: onions, potatoes, carrots, apples and pears. We still have tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, and aubergines, and there are even berries to be had! On Sunday we went for a family walk, first through a teeming apple orchard, and then along a road boardered by what seemed like miles of blackberry bushes. All the kids got stained fingers and hands as they kept spotting more and more perfectly ripe berries just within their reach. I still see local raspberries at my fruit and veg shops.

But I think it's the prospect of what will very soon come into season during this month, if they haven't already, that excites me the most: pumpkins, squash, and wild mushrooms. It's fair to say that I'm obsessed with pumpkins, which makes me think I might be French, at least in spirit (certainly not in body). I have a very interesting cookbook, entitled 'The New Vegetarian Cookbook', which has this intriguing recipe simply labeled 'Pumpkin Soup', which the author claims is 'a traditional French country soup'. I have memories of cooking this soup in October, standing in my kitchen, knife in hand, hacking into a massive pumpkin while the wind blew the leaves around outside. Here is where I first noticed, I think, the combination of pumpkin and sage. I have another book, entitled 'Cooking with Pumpkins, Squash and Zucchini', in which there is a recipe for a spicy, creamy squash soup. I cooked from this recipe first, for years, and it also uses sage, but since there is also a fresh chili in this recipe the sage doesn't play such a dominant role. Hence I never realized the important pairing of pumpkin and sage.

This week the pumpkin and sage combo came to our kitchen table in the form of pumpkin risotto. Proudly, I used the first pumpkin harvested from our own pumpkin patch (one of three, sadly). The recipe I used called for cubed pumpkin, which works, certainly, but the standard recipe I used calls for shredded pumpkin (actually butternut squash), which I think works better. I did something like this: chop an onion, and brown it in some butter. Then add 350 grams of cubed pumpkin, or shredded pumpkin, and stir it around until it starts to get soft. Then add 200 grams of risotto rice, and stir that in the pan until the rice is glossy with the fat. Add 100 mls of white grape juice, stirring until it is absorbed by the rice. When it is absorbed, then add chicken stock, a ladelful at a time, until the rice is tender and cooked. I used homemade chicken stock, which I think must be noted as producing a better risotto. It was creamier and more delicately flavored than it would have been if I had used a stock cube. When the rice is done, stir in chopped sage, a knob of butter, and a good handful of parmasean cheese.