#Tuscany: Italian Home Cooking with Fresh and Seasonal Veg. Homemade Pumpkin and Leek #Risotto!

#Pumpkin and Leak Risotto with seasonal vegetables

Recently I discovered that I can do the shopping directly from my home, from my computer.
I do not buy almost anything fresh on-line, for what there are open-air markets, which are one of my favorite destinations, along with forest walks to collect herbs, or tours to the gardens of my farmer friends around Tuscany.
However, as regards everything else, well, I must say it’s a comfort crazy. Practically, in this way, I safely avoid the whole part of the grocery which involves:

Take the car
Find parking
wander around in a supermarket (minimum one hour)
Maybe wait in line (ex. delicatessen counter)
Return home
Empty the car
Bring the groceries home

It only remains, magically: remove the grocery from the bags and reorder it … that’s all!
And this too is much more simple, because my grocery, directly at home, is divided in differently coloured bags…what else?
I have much more time to spend on what I most like, partly because we women are always very busy on many fronts, and let’s face it: not many people like grocery shopping at the supermarket.

And so this morning, while my “on line grocery” was leaving the supermarket of Pisa to arrive at my house around 11.00, I had all the time to go to the my friend’s Franco garden where I bought some fresh, seasonal vegetables to be eaten during the week.

Now in Tuscany is the season of Leek, Pumpkin, Black Tuscan Cabbage, Broccoli …
To see all these good things I’ve thought about a second and then … voilà, I decided…

today at lunch: Pumpkin and Leeks #Risotto from Franco’s Garden, a real “cuddle” to keep warm the heart and soul in this rainy day.

#Pumpkin and Leak Risotto

Recipe by Erika Elia
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 minIngredients

2 glasses rice (Carnaroli, Arborio, Roma)
10 oz pumpkin
2 leaks
1 oz butter
1/2 onion
1 1/2 garlic clove
1 3/4 Pint vegetable broth
to taste salt
3,5 oz parmigiano
to taste extra virgin olive oil
4 sage leeves
1 rosemary sprig

Cooking Directions

Chop the onion
chop the leak
chop the pumpkin in small cubes
melt the butter and 2 spoons of oil in a large pan
add the sage leeves, the rosemary sprig and the clove of garlic cut in half
add the onion and wait until soft
pour the rice in the pan and stir it with a wooden spoon until it becomes translucid
when the rice “sings” add the pumpkin and the leak finely chopped
stir and mix
pour a bit of hot broth just to cover the veg (medium fire)
continue stirring
pour the broth whenever is drying
when the rice’s ready (you don’t feel the small-hard heart under your teeth)
turn off the heat
add the parmigiano and a knob of butter and continue stirring
let it rest 5 minutes
bring to the table and eat immediately

Other “tunnel” in which I’m falling is trying to tidy up my house … in this regard, I heard a radio Dj who spoke of a book that has upset her life:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing is a best-seller in Japan, Germany, and the U.K. Kondo favors a radical approach to decluttering that advocates downsizing your stuff in one fell swoop; insists that storage containers promote hoarding, not organization; and takes an emotional approach to helping people discard excess possessions. Here at The Eye, Kondo shares an excerpt from the book that argues that those unable to separate from their possessions suffer from an attachment to the past or anxiety about the future.

The Dj says that this book changes your life, and the author does not simply tidy up the rooms, but she tends to think following the “categories” and, once reorganized everything, there are no more problems, because it is a lifestyle, rather than a simple reordering impromptu.

Well, what do you think about? Me, about one hour ago, I bought the book on line!!

I’m so curious about hie experience, I will let you know soon.

Salva