Happy Halloween!

So, I know I'm a day late, but I hope everyone had a wonderfully scary Halloween! After my first attempt to carve a pumpkin in ages, I finally finished up my little one. Quite successfully, if I might say so myself! The big one turned into a disaster. The walls were too thick and my small kitchen knives couldn't make it all the way through. So much for a cute cat carving! While I was scooping out all the insides, thinking how sticky all of this was I remembered something my mom and grandma used to do with me. Toasted pumpkin seeds! Now I was excited to scoop out the goo and squish through it to find all the hidden seeds. Pumpkin seed recipes have come along way from the ones we used to make with salt water and oil. I did some digging to find a recipe and came across 3 very unique ones on 101 Cookbooks: Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds, Curried Pumpkin Seeds, and Black Tea & Butter Pumpkin Seeds. Here are the recipes if you too are dying to make use of your leftover seeds:

Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds:

• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup natural cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt
• 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the egg white, sugar, cayenne and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds and toss well. Drain off any excess egg white (using a strainer) and place seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until seeds are golden. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar and cayenne pepper when they come out of the oven. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Makes one cup.

Curried Pumpkin Seeds:

• 1 egg white
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt
• 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the egg white, curry powder and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds and toss well. Drain off any excess egg white (using a strainer) and place seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until seeds are golden. Sprinkle with a bit more curry powder when they come out of the oven. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Makes one cup.

Black Tea & Butter Pumpkin Seeds:

You can use many different types of tea here. I opted for a smoky black one, but you can go for one infused with other flavors, or even tisanes (I have a dried lime tea that I be would be interesting in this recipe). Choose a tea that is fragrant and has a pronounced flavor for best results.

• 1 teaspoon (black) tea
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt
• 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375. Using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, grind the tea into a fine powder. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl combine the butter and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds and toss well. Place seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until seeds are golden. Sprinkle with the ground tea. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Makes one cup.

TIP: If you have time I do recommend soaking your pumpkin seeds in salt water over night, then letting them dry back out before following the recipe. Even on the sweet recipe you still want that complimentary "salty" taste. Sprinkling salt is just not the same.

I leave you with a great picture of our Halloween party this year!

-Jess