Yes, yes, yes… I know… it’s not a Thursday, and here I am, chattering away like a squirrel on espresso. Again.

However, I thought this may be just what you were looking for on this fine, October 30th.

Pumpkins.

They’re so incredibly useful for so many things! Many buy them for decorations for this time of the year, while others crave their Autumny goodness in pies, cookies, breads, and soups. Even Cinderella got a coach made from one. But today, I wanted to make sure you knew what to do with those wonderful seeds inside that big orange squash.

Sugar.

“Sugar Pumpkins” are those cute little round ones that I’d recommend for all things baked, as they’re the least watery, and the easiest to work with. So, the little sockmonkey chose a beautiful one for today’s recipe.  Step one: Preheat your oven to 300°.

Making the Cut.

As long as you’ve got a sharp knife, you’ll have no problem cutting into one of these pretty pumpkins. I like to cut all the skin off first, as you would do with many veggies. Because you’re not making it into a jack-o-lantern, just cut it in half afterward, and scoop out the seeds. I prefer to use a grapefruit spoon, because they get the area nice and clean 🙂
Separate the flesh from the seeds.

Roasty.

Put all your seeds into a collander and wash thoroughly. Make sure to get all the orange strings off of the seeds. Lay them out on a cookie sheet that’s been greased with olive or coconut oil. Place pan in the oven for 30 minutes. Why? So you can get all of the moisture out. After all, nobody likes chewy seeds.

Shake It Up.

Tip the cookie sheet and let all your seeds spill into a bowl. add a bit of good olive oil, salt & spice. Mix them up really well, using a spoon. When they’re all coated, lay them out on the cookie sheet again.
(I used lemon olive oil, himalayan pink salt, black pepper, and a bit of garlic powder. I also shook a bit of fresh meyer lemon juice over them as well. What can I say… I love lemons!)

Toasty.

Once your seeds go back into the oven, they’ll start getting a bit golden and crunchy. After about 20 minutes, they’ll be ready to eat…but be careful – they’re hot!

I’m ready for my Close Up.

You can put any type of spice on these goodies. Cinnamon and Sugar is tasty, or Cayenne and Onion Powder, or even Sage and Salt.
In case you’re wondering about the spots on mine, those are the drops of lemon juice 🙂

Finish.

I love these seeds all by themself, but one really yummy way to enjoy them is as the garnish on pumpkin soup. While I was making the seeds, I boiled the pumpkin flesh for about 20 minutes, drained the water, and mashed it all up with chicken stock, salt, pepper, and a bit of cinnamon. Here’s the finished product:

So, what do you think? What spice combos will you come up with this year?

I’d love to hear what you have to say, and as always, I promise to reply 🙂
Happy Roasty Toasty Halloween!