With all the pumpkin and squash recipes circulation on food blogs recently, I think we can fairly say that foodie fall is in full swing (and it's alliterative!). D. and I joined in the fun last weekend with a Halloween party, and made as many orange fall-y foods as we could think of, including a big cocktail served in a pumpkin. Actually lots of pumpkins got hollowed out for the occasion by us and by friends, and I'm sure they will not be the last of the season.
I love pumpkin carving. There's something inherently satisfying about being up to ones elbows in fibrous pumpkin gook. (Sound appetizing, right?) It helped that when I was doing this last Saturday, I was alone in the house (D. was at an all-day meeting) and I didn't even have to pretend to be civilized. For me, it's the same wonderful feeling as getting totally soaking wet in the rain when you know you can come inside right after and get dry, or digging your fingers into the dirt and wiping them on old jeans while gardening. It reminds me of being a kid and not caring what I looked like or who saw me that way.
Another thing I've always loved about pumpkin carving is pumpkin seeds. When I was little, we'd collect them in a bowl and my mom would roast them the next day. I know you can buy pumpkin seeds in the supermarket, but we never did. They were always for the day after pumpkin carving and therefore a treat!
So this fall, when you're scooping the seeds out of your pumpkin, don't throw them away! Roast them up and serve them with before dinner drinks...mmmm.
Note: If you do this the day after carving, they'll have dried a bit and roast easier. But as someone smart pointed out (Nick, but don't tell him I said so), if you don't wait, you're just drying them out in the oven and then roasting them. Might take a bit longer, but should work fine.
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
3 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 300ºF/150ºC.
In a med-sized saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the salt and pumpkin seeds (for variations, you can get creative with other spices or herbs, i.e. cajun spices, cayenne, garlic salt, etc). Mix until the seeds are well-covered with the butter and salt. Spread seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Roast 35-40 minutes in the oven, or until golden, stirring occasionally.
Yep, it's that simple and considering how little work you put in for the amount of yumminess that comes out, there's no reason not to make them!
5 comments:
These are so addictive you can't stop eating them.
You do realize I had to tell Nick immediately. :)
Makes me want to go out and get a pumpkin! I like the tip about letting them dry overnight.
Ivy - Don't I know it!
Camille - Yes, yes, I figured. It is only fair after all :-)
Psychgrad - Well it's definitely a good time of year to get a pumpkin. Knock yourself out. (Figuratively. I mean, if you get a really big pumpkin, there could be a literal danger, so I just want to clarify ;-))
Y'know, I think I learned about roasting the pumpkin seeds from Noah and Chris's Mom, Norma. That was fun! We have 5 pumpkins this year that grew out of our compost. I'll have to see how the seeds taste. And throw the rest back into the compost for next year! Love, Mom
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