Pumpkin Seeds... The Good & The Bad

Yesterday we finally got around to doing some carving...

What do I want this to look like???

After setting the small pumpkin in front of Kai and the large one in front of me I was told that I was supposed to have the small one and Kai was supposed to have the BIG one.  Silly me!  So we promptly switched places and got down to business.

Using a crayon Kai sketched the shapes she wanted me to cut out.

Then I did all the cutting...I let Kai try to use her safety scissors but it turns out there less effective on pumpkin than on paper.

After cutting the top off it was time to dig out the seeds.  I LOVE this part.  It's so gooey.  I couldn't wait to see Kai's reaction to it this year.  

Her thoughts, "This is messy, I'll let you do it."

Yeah, she'll "let" me clean out her pumpkin....

Because it's messy...

This is the same girl who will coat herself in paint...

But OK, Sure, she doesn't want to get messy.

What ever!

Fortunately, I like to pull out the squishy, slimy pumpkin guts. :D

After that, and with a little guidance from Kai, I carved our pumpkins.

Then we dropped a glow stick into the big guy.

Can you tell it was Fire Safety Week at school?

Bwha-ha-ha!

Now to cook up those seeds...


THE GOOD


This time, instead of roasting them in the oven, which takes FOREVER (ok, maybe just a few hours), I cooked them up on the stove top.  Same day.  No drying required.


Into a hot skillet I put a spoonful of Coconut Oil, the pumpkin seeds, Tamari Sauce (soy sauce) and a few shakes of Liquid Smoke.  Then I let them cook for about 20 minutes, stirring  periodically, until they're all dried out and golden brown.

Starting out...

Just about done...

Ready to eat!

These were the Hub's favorite so far. :D

THE BAD

I also tried to make up a small batch in my popcorn maker...

The hubs wanted spice so I thought to cook them with Franks Hot Sauce and a dash of Liquid Smoke.  I figured all you're really doing is heating the water out of the seeds so the popcorn maker should work perfectly.  PLUS it has that little arm that's constantly stirring so I could set it and go.

Wanna' know what happens when you heat Franks Hot Sauce with wet seeds in a popcorn maker?

You create a pepper-spray like atmosphere!

It was so awful!  We opened all the windows and retreated to the living room to watch the newest X-Men movie while the house aired out a bit. 

Seriously, My throat was burning, my eyes were watering and neither of us could stop coughing.

It was Bad.

Very Bad.

Don't do it!

Ever!!