Each year I sit and look admiringly at other peoples pumpkin collecting pictures and want to go. So this year I decided to have a look for somewhere to take the children to collect their own pumpkin. After sitting and looking on the internet the closest place seemed to be York. So I decided to take a look at more local places that we visit. One place that we often go to is The Pink Pig Farm in Holme near Scunthorpe.
Apart from the play area and activities for the children my number one reason to go there has to be for the farm shop and tea room. They produce all of their own pork products and wow they are so good! We always come home with bags full of sausages, Bottesford Black bacon, savoury bakes, fresh vegetables and even gin! So as soon as I saw that they were holding a pumpkin festival I knew that it would be the perfect day out for the kids and I. They could play, I could coffee, we could pick pumpkins, carve them and for once I would not have the stress of pumpkin mess everywhere! Even the hubby decided to take the day off to enjoy the Halloween fun with us!
Before I tell you about our day, let me show you what I cooked up using the pumpkin from our trip...
Keep reading for this delicious recipe!
Keep reading for this delicious recipe!
But first let me tell you about our Halloween pumpkin adventure!
Once we arrived it was time for a play for the kids and a coffee for us adults. The Pink Pig Farm has a fantastic outdoor play area plus an indoor soft play area that means whatever the weather fun can be had. When we booked our tickets we were allocated a time slot to collect our pumpkins. This meant that when we went there were not many people and there were tables free for carving. When our allocated time to collect our pumpkins came we headed over to the field, not forgetting the mini wheelbarrows along the way! As soon as we got to the field the kids ran straight in trying to find the perfect pumpkin! I will admit to looking and thinking that they needed to select a good eating pumpkin as I had remembered to pack a food bag for the pumpkin flesh!
Once we arrived it was time for a play for the kids and a coffee for us adults. The Pink Pig Farm has a fantastic outdoor play area plus an indoor soft play area that means whatever the weather fun can be had. When we booked our tickets we were allocated a time slot to collect our pumpkins. This meant that when we went there were not many people and there were tables free for carving. When our allocated time to collect our pumpkins came we headed over to the field, not forgetting the mini wheelbarrows along the way! As soon as we got to the field the kids ran straight in trying to find the perfect pumpkin! I will admit to looking and thinking that they needed to select a good eating pumpkin as I had remembered to pack a food bag for the pumpkin flesh!
Once we had collected our pumpkins we headed over to the carving area to get started on our Halloween pumpkins.
As we scooped out the seeds we put them in black bags as they feed the leftovers to their pigs but as soon as it was time to cut out the flesh I was there with my bag!
As you can see I collected a lot of pumpkin from the three that we carved. We even managed to put some more in the bag for the piggies! Once we had finished our pumpkins we were certainly ready for our Spooktacular Afternoon Tea in the tea room.
As I was booking our pumpkin festival tickets I noticed that they were also doing Halloween afternoon tea which I knew the kids (and I) would love. Having this booked before we went was ideal as they were extremely busy but we were ok as our table was reserved. The children feasted on spooky pizzas, chipolata wands, finger shortbread biscuits, meringue ghosts and cupcakes while the hubby and I had ham sandwiches instead of pizza and scones, jam and cream!
We had a fantastic day out at The Pink Pig Farm and I was even able to check that they had our Christmas meat order! This year I am super organised. Working in a school means that this is my final week off before the Christmas holidays so I am prepared. I have got our turkey and gammon ordered as are some presents.
Anyway there is plenty of time to talk about Christmas now let me tell you all about what I have made with just some of the pumpkin that we brought home...
Pumpkin and Bacon Orzo Risotto
Ingredients
8 rashers of lean back bacon, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
500g pumpkin flesh, chopped
500mls vegetable stock
500g orzo pasta
Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp herbs de Provence
Salt and pepper to season
Method
1 - Using a deep saute pan add the chopped bacon and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes
2 - Add the chopped shallots and garlic cloves, stir and add the lid
3 - Reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for 5 minutes
4 - Place the pumpkin flesh and the herbs in the pan and mix in thoroughly
5 - Pour over the vegetable stock and bring to the boil
6 - Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes before stirring and leaving for a further 10 minutes, this time will allow the pumpkin to soften up
7 - Add the orzo to the pan and stir thoroughly, if it requires a bit more water add 100ml at a time
8 - Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 8 minutes
9 - Turn off the heat, grate over as much or as little Parmesan cheese as you like, mix and cover
10 - Leave for 5 minutes to allow the Parmesan to melt in before serving
Replacing the rice with orzo makes this dish so much quicker and easier to make. The pumpkin adds a natural creaminess to this dish that goes perfectly with lean bacon.
This meal can be served as it is or as my lot like, with a slice of garlic bread. This recipe served 5 of us and I was even left with some for the following day!
How do you use up your pumpkin after carving?
Enjoy x
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Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for writing about The Pink Pig Farm. We had a lovely day out and wanted to share it with you.
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