My partner loves roasted pumpkin seeds. Like, you have no idea. Last year, I forgot to get pumpkins, which meant no roasted seeds, and I never heard the end of it. This year, The Great Pumpkin Seed Eater started talking about getting gourds at the end of August. August! I kept hearing “don’t forget about the seeds this year,” and “you’re going to remember about the seeds, right?” and “please don’t forget like last year, ok?” OK. YES. Geesh, stop with the reminders already. Gawwwwd. ?
Cat for scale.
Well, Halloween 2017 came and went and I FORGOT ABOUT THE PUMPKINS! I wish I could give a good excuse, but I don’t have one, just slipped the mind. So the day after the 31st, I arrived home to a box of pumpkins. At least he knows me well. But that one box of gourds was not enough. Oh, no. The Great Pumpkin Seed Eater (GPSE), said we will need more. So much more! Ok, ok, calm down, I’ll get more by Friday.
Well, Friday came and went and I FORGOT ABOUT THE PUMPKINS! I’m nothing if not consistent. Luckily, I was at a friend’s place for drinks Friday evening and as I was leaving her condo, I saw a box of pumpkins in the hallway. Not carved, just abandoned (I hope they were abandoned, if not, I’m a thief). So I picked up the box…and voila! More pumpkins! Such a good girlfriend.
Out of my two boxes of pumpkins, I made three cookie sheets of seeds. The big white pumpkin had the biggest seeds, natch, the yellows had the tastiest and the small orange ones had the most. Once the GPSE arrived home, he was ecstatic about the still-crackling seeds sitting on the oven. “It smells AH-MAZING in here!” But what he wasn’t cool with is that I left some seeds behind in all that pumpkin carnage. So he went through EVERY LAST PUMPKIN to get EVERY LAST SEED. ? Give me strength ?
Oh, and cut to two days later and I open his fridge to see two large bowls of seeds ready to be roasted! He’s got a side-operation going on! He also said he’s not quite done collecting gourds. Good Grief!
Spicy roasted pumpkin seeds
Preheat oven to 350.
2 cups of pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons of melted butter (or olive oil)
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a mixing bowl, toss seeds in melted butter (oil). Add spices and sprinkle with salt.
Spread seeds evenly over parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Roast for approx 45 mins at 350. Check and toss every 10 mins. If you like ‘em crispy, remove from oven just before they start to burn.
