Pumpkin seeds

With Halloween coming, it’s time to start carving up those pumpkins. I enjoy doing it, although my father made it look like less work than it is!

My favorite thing to do while we’re carving is to set aside all the seeds. I had never toasted pumpkin seeds as a kid, so I had to look at different recipes and play around with it for awhile, but I found a straightforward recipe by testing it out for awhile.

Here’s my version:

Preheat the oven to 275F.

Remove seeds from all the stuff inside (the kids think it’s horribly gross yet fascinating), and give them a quick rinse in a strainer. Dry them off with a paper towel but don’t get carried away. In a bowl toss them with a bit of olive oil. One year I was out of olive oil and regular vegetable oil worked fine as well.

(Seriously, this isn’t a picky recipe)

Stir the seeds to coat well, then sprinkle on a bit of salt, garlic powder, and if you like a little kick to it, a wee pinch of cayenne pepper. I usually do one tray with cayenne and one without for the kids.

Place on a cookie sheet and spread out well. Sprinkle a bit more salt if you’d like, then bake until they’re lightly brown, stirring every so often.

Let cool, then enjoy! They can be stored in an airtight container but I couldn’t tell you how long they last – we never manage to keep them more than two days before eating them all!