Plain salted, Greek and Wasabi pumpkin seeds.
Saturday we hosted our church middle school youth group. Josh, the youth leader supplied the pumpkins and carving tools, we supplied the dinner.
I knew I’d be away all day at a PMA Trader Show (Produce Marketing Association) in Anaheim, and didn’t know when I’d return. I made White Chicken Chili the night before, so all Spencer would have to do is heat it up in the crock pot, and make a salad.
Five girls cleaned and carved pumpkins, under shop lights, on a perfectly pleasant Saturday evening. They were so engrossed in carving, they didn’t sit down to eat until after eight.
I arrived home just before 6 to a sparkling clean house, that had been spookily decorated, and the strains of eerie music. Spencer had heated the chili, put out chips and salsa and Sophie had made a big green salad.
Kate and Sophie deciding on which designs to carve.
We try to stay out of the way for these events, well, except for the picture taking thing, so I busied myself in the kitchen cleaning the zillions of pumpkin seeds that came out of all of those pumpkins. I thought maybe I’d try roasting them with a couple of different flavors, just for the heck of it. Cleaning the seeds takes FOREVER! There are all those little stringy bits that stubbornly cling to the seeds. Aw, what the heck. I’d had a busy day…the slippery seeds and water streaming through my fingers was a bit cathartic.
“Picking” out the pattern on the pumpkin before carving.
Youth leader, Josh brought lots of good sized pumpkins and patterns for the girls to choose from.
Sophie loves to use tools.
They “picked” out their designs using a plastic awl. Then they finished the design using mini saws. It was quiet, as they all concentrated on their designs, except for the Halloween tunes coming from Josh’s iPhone speakers.
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes.
The late night turned into an impromptu sleep-over with three girls on the pull-out sofa in the den. That meant an impromptu breakfast of what else, but Pumpkin Spice Pancakes, bacon and fruit.
Toasting Pumpkin Seeds
Pre-heat oven to 325*
Clean the seeds well under cold, running water.
Toss with seasoning, kosher salt, garlic salt, Greek seasoning, chili powder and salt, wasabi powder and salt or whatever tickles your fancy. Spread seeds out on cookie sheets and roast for about 30 to 45 minutes until seeds are golden brown and dried.
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Looks like fun! I’m all over your pumpkin pancakes. They look delish!
They’re perfect for this time of year too!