Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater
We had our annual “Trunk or Treat,” chili supper and pumpkin-carving tonight at church. As I have the past few years, I came prepared to take pumpkin seeds from those who didn’t want them.
I like pumpkin seeds. I eat the store-bought ones year-round, but of course it’s fun to try to make your own, and season them.
There are a variety of contradictory recipes online. One thing I have picked up that seems to work well is soaking the seeds overnight with salt water, to infuse some salt into them. Dry seasonings sprinkled on the seeds are fine, but don’t stick very well, and this way at least you know each seed will be properly salted. Plus, there are some people who only eat the kernel, not the hull, and soaking is the only way to get any salt onto the kernel.
You do, however, have to let the seeds dry after soaking; I speed up that process using my dehydrator.
For the rest of the recipe, this year I’m going to use the instructions from a relish magazine handout which was given to kids at Eakin Elementary School during Chef Jon Ashton’s visit last week, in connection with the T-G / relish Cooking Show and Expo that night.
The handout suggests the proper spices but doesn’t specify amounts, so I’ll have to play it by ear. It calls for coating the seeds with oil (I will use cooking spray), sprinkling on the seasonings and then baking for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
or at 
.
|