Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Alex and I have a retreat this weekend with the rest of the Jewish Hospital residents at a State Park in Kentucky.  An e-mail was sent around yesterday with... an itinerary! 

I love itineraries.  Don't you?  For me, planning really is half the fun of a trip.  The itinerary makes it seem so real.  And I really like having a schedule.   I'm weird that way.  Plus it helps me figure out what to pack when I know what the events are going to be.  So now I know that we'll be going on a hike (yikes), going out to dinner to a casual bar, and having a bonfire if the weather is good - a game night if it's bad.  And what's a bonfire or a game night without homemade goodies for snacking?

Enter the Diva!  I've never actually planned what food to bring on a trip before...  I've always been more focused on essentials like shoes...  But this time is different.

As Alex and I were walking into a grocery store this evening, he asks, "Are you making any treats for the retreat this weekend?"

"Sure.  I was thinking a new brownie recipe and some chocolate chip banana bread."

"You know, everyone at the hospital really liked your cookies."

"That's good."

"Yeah.  They kept saying how much they liked your cookies."

"So.....  Does that mean I'm making cookies?"

"Yes please!"

Love his not-so-subtle hints...

Before we have a weekend of indulgence, let's talk about a healthy snack for awhile!

Recipe: (from Sweet Peas and Pumpkins)

Pumpkin Seeds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Place the pumpkin seeds with most of the flesh removed in a large bowl filled with water for about 15 minutes or so.  Most of the flesh will sink to the bottom, and the seeds will float to the top, making it much easier to separate.

Lay the seeds out on a clean, dry towel and allow to dry completely, preferably overnight.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.  Place the seeds on a cookie sheet and drizzle with the olive oil and salt.  Bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, turning the seeds about half way through to ensure even roasting.  (Diva Note: Adjust your baking time for the amount of seeds you are roasting.  This recipe was written for about 2 cups of pumpkin seeds.  I had significantly less and ended up roasting my seeds for about 40 minutes only.)

Enjoy nibbling for the next few days!

Verdict:
The pumpkin guts gave always been my favorite part of carving pumpkins.  The whole carving bit is so... time consuming.  I lack the necessary patience.  Good thing Alex has patience in spades.  One of us needs to.

I dove right into the guts, got the pumpkin scraped perfectly clean, and plopped the guts - seeds and all - into a bowl.  I let Alex set about the business of carving and after taking a *few* pictures, set about the cleaning and drying process for the seeds.

So.  Worth.  It.  So much so that, next year, we're getting two pumpkins.  Alex doesn't know this yet but.....  It's on a need-to-know basis.  Salty, crunch, satisfying.  Nibble, nibble!   They are all gone, and I want more.

I also found this recipe that looks scrumptilicious.  I'm out of pumpkin seeds though, so we'll be saving that for next year.  Maybe we'll need more than two pumpkins...