In a couple of my previous articles we learned the benefits of growing and/or eating pumpkins and we learned how to prepare pumpkin for making puree.
For those of us who grow our own herbs or who just cook with herbs it is important to know which herbs are great herbs for adding to your pumpkin recipes other than pumpkin pie which include Ginger, Cloves, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. However, keep in mind that Oregano, Basil, Bay, Cayenne , Cumin and Paprika also will enhance your pumpkin recipes.
Here is my recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Seeds and I find that these make great little gift bags for friends any time of the year. For those who like Cajun I just add a Cajun blend to give it just the right amount of zesty punch for a real healthy snack. Other times I might add variations of garlic powder or cayenne pepper.
Remember in my article, "How to Prepare a Pumpkin" we split the pumpkin in half and scooped out the stringy fibers and pumpkin seeds setting them aside.
Now we remove the strings from the seeds and blot on a paper towel. Do NOT rinse the seeds.
In a small bowl thoroughly combine 1 cup of whole raw pumpkin seeds with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, tsp. salt, 1/8 th tsp. of garlic sale and 1/8 th tsp. of your favorite or desired seasoning such as cumin, curry or cayenne pepper.
Now spread in a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet. I am a great fan of parchment paper since it makes every pan easy for me to clean and I use it basically every chance I get. So at this point I would line my cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper and spread my oiled and spiced pumpkin seeds on top.
I place it all in a pre-heated oven at 275F. I watch this and toss and turn the seed occasionally until the seeds are golden brown and fragrant.
I next remove the pan from the oven, turn off the heat and let the pan and seeds cool down. Once cooled I can store them in a glass jar and put in the closet or place in a decorative plastic bag, tie with a ribbon and give them to a friend or loved one as a holiday or even a birthday gift.
As someone once said, "nothin says lovin like something from the oven."
"Tread the Earth Lightly" and in the meantime May your day be filled with Peace, Light and Love,
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