How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds?

It’s pumpkin carving time and we all know what we get when we carve pumpkins with the kids? No, not a big mess. Pumpkin Seeds! Don’t throw them out. Here’s how to make a delicious and nutritious snack with those slippery little seeds.

Ingredients

Freshly plucked pumpkin seeds
Butter – about 2 ounces of butter per cup of seeds
Salt, to taste

Start by preheating the oven to 400º F

Separate the seeds from the pumpkin flesh. We use a colander under running water to make the job a little easier. It takes a little effort but once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. Be sure to remove all the flesh and the strings so they don’t burn in the oven.

Dry them with layers of paper towels or dishtowels.

Some people will tell you to soak the seeds in salted water for a day and that may make them taste better, but we don’t have time for that. We want immediate gratification.

Put the butter onto a baking sheet and place it in the oven. As soon as the butter melts, add the pumpkins seeds to the pan, season with salt, mix everything together and put the pan back into the oven.

Roast for 15 to 30 minutes until the pumpkin seeds are golden brown. Be sure to shake the pan every once in a while so the seeds don’t burn.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the seeds cool. Have some control and don’t start snacking on them right away or you may burn your mouth.

Alternatives:

Some people get very creative with their pumpkin seeds and season with various herbs and spices. You may want to try mixing in some garlic powder, celery powder, Cajun seasoning, Old Bay seasoning, hot sauce, red pepper flakes (be careful) or even some Worchestershire sauce.

Another event brought me back to Harriton House last weekend. This time it was the Harriton Plantation Fair and featured horseback rides, sheep herding, Pennsylvania Dutch barbecue, music, log cutting and the infamous Stinging Nettle Eating Contest.

Rose Bochansky, the assistant to Curator Bruce Gill, thought up this event and was one of the 5 contestants. Being a vegetarian, I think Rose thought she was a lock to win, but Rose had no idea that my friend Barbecue Bob, that meat-eating gourmand was going to show her how to wolf down a pile of stinging nettles and win the first place prize, a case of beer. (Photo is of Rose and Bob extracting honey from honey bee combs back at the end of July.)

Stinging nettle (or should I say Urtica dioica) is an herbaceous flowering plant that can be found in Europe, Asia, Africa and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It is covered with tiny little hairs that act as needles that release a toxin when penetrating the skin. The toxin is harmless but burns at first and causes a nasty itch afterwards.

Why Eat Stinging Nettles

Not that I’m recommending you eat them raw, but stinging nettle has been used by many cultures as an herbal medicine. Because they are rich in calcium and iron, nettle is often used to make soups. (See http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/stinging-nettle-000275.htm) Supposedly, when you cook the leaves, the stinging hairs are disabled.

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The Secrets to Great Guacamole at Home 

On vacation I read a travel magazine that featured an article about a cooking school in Mexico at a posh resort called Las Ventanas al Paraiso that is located in Los Cabos. In the article executive chef Fabrice Guisset talks about making a classic guacamole recipe that he says is “the best guacamole in Mexico.”

My wife is the guacamole maker in our house and she makes, in my opinion, a great guacamole. She tells me the trick is not to over work the avocado and that’s exactly what this article talked about. It said, “Every bite should have a slightly different taste and texture.” It went on to say, “if it all tastes the same, it’s no fun to eat and it hasn’t been made right.”

Basically, what they are saying is if you put all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree them up, you won’t be able to taste the different layers with each bite. I’m sure most of you are used to a whipped style of guacamole that you are served at Mexican restaurants or purchase at the supermarket.

Not there is anything wrong with this style guacamole. We purchase a brand of refrigerated guacamole at Costco that is perfect when someone drops over unexpectedly and you need a quick appetizer. We usually buy a few at a time and keep some in the freezer. My wife has often adds some pieces of fresh avocado to give it the extra flavor and texture and our friends rave about it.

Back to the Best Guacamole

According to Chef Guisset, the secret to great guacamole is the “combination of whole avocado pieces plus slightly mashed avocado and other ingredients.” The article describes, “the outside of the fruit, just under the skin, is softer than the flesh closest to the pit.” So ideally, you want to mash the softer pieces of the flesh and combine it with the firmer pieces.

Of course you want to use a ripe avocado and not a rock hard unripe one. You won’t get anywhere with those. Once you have the avocado prepped, you want to combine it with, according to Chef Guisset, “small amounts of raw onion, tomato, cilantro, lime juice and salt, all to taste.”

The Best Tool For Preparing Great Guacamole

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