Halloween Hootenanny part 2

     I am not quite sure why I have been posting each recipe as a separate entry.  I am still getting the feeling of this blog thing, I suppose.  Eventually I'll have it sanded out as smooth as silk.  Is that even a sensical simile?  Ah well, on to the recipe!
     After the party (see previous post), Scott and I went home and finally carved our pumpkins!  We listened to the CD "Halloween Hootenanny" (thus the title of the last two blogs) and broke carving tools (well, I did).  It was a lot of fun and meant I got to make one of my favorite Halloween recipes; fiery pumpkin seeds!  I had tried this recipe last year and it came out deliciously.  I could hardly wait to try it again this year.  I started saving the pumpkin seeds from the Pasta with Penne recipe and then topped it up with seeds from my carved pumpkin.

      Do you see the ghoulish face?



FIERY PUMPKIN SEEDS
Makes: 2 Cups
Time: About 45 min


2 cups (approximately) fresh pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp light vegetable or olive oil
About 1 tsp salt
About 1 tsp cayenne, or more if you like
1/2 tsp cumin, optional


1) Separate the seeds from the pumpkin strings by rinsing them in a bowlful of water. Dry the seeds between paper towels.
2) Mix the oil with salt, cayenne, and cumin, and toss the seeds with this mixture until they are coated. (Then wash your hands well.)
3) Bake the seeds on a baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven for 30-45 min, tossing occasionally, until they are tan and crisp, or spread the seeds between two layers of paper towels and microwave on high for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until seeds are tan and crisp.  They will crisp up further as they cool.

     What can I say?  Yum!  The cayenne pepper just adds that little bit of zing which turns it from being good into being great.  The salt adds to the crispness of a hot, just out of the oven pumpkin seed.  I completely missed the part about cumin so didn't add it to this batch.  Next batch I definitely will!  These seeds only lasted overnight because my stomach started hurting from so much cayenne pepper (and food!).  Did I care?  Nope!

     Oh, if you're curious, here's what our pumpkins looked like:


A cleanly-shaven Scott proudly holding his pumpkin




The author holding her carved pumpkin. 
The make up?  Left over from my costume!