Food (With Art) Friday: Baked Pumpkin Seeds and Paint

November 4, 2011 by thismummaslife 3 Comments

Last night I finally cut into our pumpkin. It has been living with us for a few weeks now, and I knew that if I didn’t do it soon, I would miss out on the chance to bake the delicious seeds. Yes, I know it is after Halloween. But who says you can’t carve a pumpkin in November?

If you have never made your own baked pumpkin seeds, I urge you to try it someday. No store-bought seeds can compare. And here is a tip: Don’t wash or rinse them before baking. You will strip them of some yummy pumpkin flavor.

Here is how I always make them: Simply spread all of the seeds onto a baking sheet. (I lined mine with tinfoil to simplify the cleanup.) Then, I sprinkle them liberally with sea salt and bake them at 350 degrees. They do not take long. In my oven it was no more than 15 minutes. Once they start to brown, take them out, scoop into a bowl and enjoy! Someday, maybe I will experiment with seasonings. For now I don’t dare mess with a good thing.

After harvesting the seeds and scooping out all the goo, I decided to paint the pumpkin instead of carving it like I usually do. I painted a quick scene of an Autumn tree and a Winter tree with a big, turquoise moon. Since Halloween is passed, I focused more on the season than any holiday.

Now it lives next to the pumpkin Simon painted, until the day when they start to turn. For now, we are enjoying the table decorations while munching our seasonal snack.