Pumpkin and Pancetta Soup

online ordering. We also created a range of ready meals made from scratch in the kitchens and suitable for the freezer. It meant family from away could call and order for us to deliver to local relatives when they couldn’t get there personally.

With the café closed, we decided to get creative with our outdoor takeaway area, adding seating when permitted, along with gazebos up tables & chairs. We’ve really tried to meet community needs. People have long used us as a meeting place, whether to enjoy a hearty Farmer’s Breakfast, lunchtime special, afternoon tea, or a chat over a brew and cake. We’ve tried hard to make that experience as normal as possible, whilst keeping folk safe.”

On the food front, Low Sizergh has always been about bringing local people together with the people who grow and produce their food. Their award-winning cheeses are made with the farm’s milk, and many of the vegetables and salad leaves sold are grown by on-site mental health charity, Growing Well which also operates a crop-share scheme for local people. Of course, many of these home-grown delights are used in the café, so you can taste them first-hand. Make sure you are there in time for watching the cows being milked at 3.30pm daily through the gallery window of the café, and you can even buy a litre of the herd’s fresh raw milk from the vending machine opposite the milking parlour. It’s such an immediate connection and really highlights the farm to fork philosophy here.

There’s a two-mile farm trail around Low Sizergh, down to the pond, and through fields and ancient woodland, where you might just spot some faeries in the glade! Then treat yourselves to a scoop of ice cream, made with milk from the cows of course by Windermere Ice Cream company.

Alison concludes: “That’s just one of many relationships built up over years here that makes what we do so special. We are rooted in our community and couldn’t think of a better place to be.”

Low Sizergh Barn is a brilliant place to visit, either on your way into the Lakes to stock up on goodies for your holiday or on your way home to take some delicious memories with you.

As autumn is here, you can’t beat a homemade warming soup, thank to our friends at Low Sizergh Barn for this one.

INGREDIENTS Oil 1 Onion 1 Clove of Garlic Smoked Paprika 1sp Chilli Flakes Salt and Pepper 1 Large Squash 200ml Vegtable Stock 150g Pancetta (Or Cannellini beans/Chickpeas) Yoghurt/Crème Fraiche Coriander to finish

EQUIPMENT Blender METHOD

1. Heat some oil in a large pan, and cook an onion, clove of garlic, pinch of smoked paprika, 1 tsp of chilli flakes, and salt and pepper gently till soft. 2. Add a peeled, diced, and cubed large squash and cook for further five minutes. 3. Pour in 400ml of vegetable stock. Bring to simmer, cook for 20 minutes until all the veg is very soft. 4. Zap with a blender until smooth. 5. Chop 150g pancetta and fry until crispy golden. 6. Add soup and pancetta together again, (or cannellini beans or chickpeas, if wanting veggie version) heat gently for a couple of minutes. 7. Finish with spoonful of yoghurt or crème fraiche. 8. Add a spoonful of chopped coriander to finish. Yum!

Pumpkin Soup: Low Sizergh Barn