Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: 2 ways

Happy Halloween everyone! I know today is a bit crazy for everyone with preparations for trick or treating, whether you're hitting the cul-de-sacs with your little ones or grabbing last minute candy to hand out. For once I managed to get the candy ahead of time and stash it away where no one found it-which means no last minute Walmart trip for me! Side note: when I did buy our candy earlier this week, the cashier told me I really should only buy enough to get to midnight when it all goes on sale for 50% off. Then I could replenish in time for "the majority" of trick or trickers. Seriously?!!?! Who goes trick or treating at 1 AM?! Or answers the door at 1 AM?!?! Oh, Walmart. You never disappoint.

Even though today is all kinds of crazy, I still wanted to pop in with a quick recipe. We carved two enormous pumpkins Tuesday night and ended up with tons of seeds. I wanted to try something slightly different when roasting them. I made half with a simple sea salt topping, and half with sweet and spicy topping.

The one down side is there really is no easy way to clean the seeds. Despite what November's Martha Stewart Living claims…I'm not going to roast them with all the pumpkin goo still on there. I'm just not. Instead, I filled the bowl of seeds/goop with water and skimmed the seeds off the top as they floated to the surface. Once the easy ones were in the colander, I was able to separate the seeds stuck to the goop. Then I rinsed the seeds in the colander and did the whole process over again. After the second time in the water bath, almost all of the seeds were clean. Then I poured them into a pan of salt water, brought it to a boil and then turned the heat down to simmer them for 10  minutes. This will help get that nice crispy outer shell while roasting.

Pour them all into the colander again, and then dry gently with a paper towel. They won't be bone dry after this and that's ok. At this point they are ready to bake, so pour them onto your baking sheets and season them how you like. The basic seasoning is a little oil (I used coconut, but olive or canola will work great too), and some sea salt. Bake for 8-10 minutes, check and then mix around the pan and bake a little more if need be. The second batch I did was the sweet and spicy version (recipe below) and they were just as addictive as the plain salted ones. Not too spicy that my picky eater would complain, but with a nice kick.

What are you doing tonight? What are you or your little ones dressing up as? My boys will be Darth Vader and the Red Power Ranger! Pictures tomorrow :)

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
adapted from Oh She Glows and Savour Fare

For Salted version:
1 cup pumpkin seeds cleaned and prepped as noted above
1-2 tsp oil (coconut, olive, or canola)
Sea Salt to taste (start with a teaspoon and go from there)

Arrange cleaned and dryish pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Drizzle oil over them and mix until they are all coated. Generously sprinkle salt over them until you are happy with the flavor.
Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. Stir and test a seed to check doneness. If not ready, bake for 8-10 more minutes but check again at the 5 minute mark and the 8 minute one. They can go from perfect to burnt very quickly, and if your oven temperature varies that can be a problem.

For Sweet and Spicy version:
1 cup pumpkin seeds cleaned and prepped as noted above
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of sea salt
pinch of cayenne pepper

Arrange clean and dryish pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil.

Combine all other ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Drizzle over the seeds until they are thoroughly coated.
Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. Stir and test a seed to check doneness. If not ready, bake for 8-10 more minutes but check again at the 5 minute mark and the 8 minute one. They can go from perfect to burnt very quickly, and if your oven temperature varies that can be a problem.

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

The calendar says it's been fall for weeks, but it's just starting to feel like it here. Saturday I nearly froze on the sidelines watching my son play soccer...though to not embarrass myself I won't tell you exactly how cold it was (not very) and how many layers I was wearing (too many) to stay warm.

It's back up to a balmy 80 degrees today but I can't shake the feeling that fall is finally here. I've got a cinnamon and clove candle burning, I'm on a house cleaning and rearranging kick (sorry about the rearranging part honey!) and I want to cook all those fall dishes that just feel weird when you make them in August.

This pumpkin bread is one of my standby's year round. It doesn't have an overwhelming pumpkin flavor, but is more like a spice cake with just a touch of pumpkin. It stays moist for days, and the texture is more delicate than I expect from a quick bread. The fact that it's vegan is a nice bonus, but taste wise this beats any other pumpkin bread I've tried in the last few years. This recipe makes two loaves so it's perfect for sharing...or stashing an extra in the freezer for yourself!

Pumpkin Bread
adapted from Joy The Baker


Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 cup canola oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep two loaf pans by spraying them with nonstick spray.

In one large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda and powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.

In a second bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: pumpkin, canola oil, maple syrup, and water.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a spatula until combined. There is usually flour stuck to the bottom of my bowls, so make sure to check before you finish mixing.

Pour the batter into the two loaf pans and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes then finish cooling on a rack.