Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 

Pumpkins are popping up around us and the kids are overflowing with creative ideas for decorating these festive gourds.  But for those of us who love to go deeper, filling our cheeks with crunchy, fresh roasted pumpkin seeds is just the beginning to savoring Autumn’s fruits.

Let’s get to thrashing a pumpkin for its seeds.

First, cut out the top of pumpkin.  Look at the stringy, web-like action going on in there.  This is where I discover another place God is so COOL! Look at that beautiful creamy orange color. The center mass looks like an explosion and the seeds are just hangin’ out on the sides.  There are so many hidden places where God tucks His coolest artwork.

Fill a large bowl with water and give the seeds a good swishin’ around.  The stringy stuff sinks to the bottom and the seeds float.  Proceed to skim the seeds off the top with your hands and move them to a cookie sheet.  Allow them to dry just a bit and they’ll become sticky.

Now salt the heck out of them! I use good ol’ table salt. Much of the extra salt falls off during the roasting process, so don’t be afeard to be generous with the salt.

Heat the oven to 350F degrees.
Bake.  Stir.  Bake.  Golden brown, done.  Cool.  Eat.

Simple and very accurate.  It doesn’t sound like enough information, but it doesn’t take any time at all to roast pumpkin seeds.  It might take 7 to 10 minutes and 10 minutes is pushing it.  I set the timer for 5 minutes, then come back to stir them.  They tan up mighty quick.  I give them one stir with a spatula then stand there a couple of minutes and voila!  Done.

I immediately move the seeds off the sheet and allow them to cool.