Apartment Dining: Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Carved Pumpkins

Written by Grace Baines

It’s that time of the year again, only days away from Halloween and if your doorstop is empty you’re doing it wrong. Carved pumpkins have been a Halloween tradition for centuries, brought over by Irish immigrants to scare spirits away from your home. Now the Fall festivity serves as a family fun way to decorate in a simple manner. But pumpkins can be more than simple canvases. Their meat become pies and their seeds become a simple, easy fall favorite treat in my household. Last year at around this same time we discussed how to toast pumpkin seeds in a microwave. This year we’ll be doing it with an oven and some new flavors.

You can pretty much season your pumpkin seeds however you want, the only limit is how much pumpkin guts you’re willing to sift through. The ratio is simple: one cup of seeds, two tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of whatever seasoning you so choose. Practice can make perfect, that ratio gives a medium glaze. A little less seasoning or a little more makes this a personal recipe, so play around with it and find what suits you best. I’m going to give the full recipe for both salted and cinnamon sugar seeds, but experiment at will — unleash your mad scientist!

Salted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients and Supplies

• •1 large carving pumpkin
• •1 pumpkin or serrated knife
• •1 large bowl
• •2 tablespoons of Butter
• •Salt and pepper to taste
• •A trash container
• •A baking tray

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients and Supplies

• •1 large carving pumpkin
• •1 pumpkin or serrated knife
• •1 large bowl
• •2 tablespoons of Butter
• •1 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar
• •A trash container
• •A baking tray

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit on “bake.”
2. On a newspaper-covered area, place your carving pumpkin. Figure out your design and get it sketched on. Now, cut around the stem or on the bottom of the pumpkin to give you a hole large enough to reach in and clean the pumpkin through.
3. Begin to remove the guts of the pumpkin, putting the seeds in the bowl and the rest into the trash container.
4. After the pumpkin is completely cleaned out, wash the seeds to remove the remaining pulp, measure out a cup of seeds and set them aside.
5. Use a microwave or other method of heating to completely melt 2 tbs of butter (in a microwave-safe dish). Pour the melted butter over the seeds and add your spices.
6. Spread the seeds out on the baking tray. Make sure they are only a single layer thick. Stick in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure they aren’t burning. They should be a lightly golden brown when they’re done.
7. While the seeds cook, carve your pumpkin, taking care not to slice your hand. Even at an art school, people will give you some grief for a pumpkin-carving related injury.
8. When the seeds are done, remove the tray from the oven and let them cool on the tray to avoid a potential hot oil burn. Once the seeds are cool, simply put them out for consumption or into storage for a mid-class snack.

District Staff