{31 Days} Back to Basics Day 25 – Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

What I am eating is a link up for recipes and other food related posts.  Since this month I am concentrating on getting Back to Basics and since I am writing about local eating this month, I thought it only fitting to include local food!  Feel free to link up any recipes or food related posts below, they do not need to be all local!

Everyone thinks of summer as when the abundance of food is available from the garden.  There definitely is truth to that.  However, I often feel like fall is the real abundance.  Your cupboards and freezer are filling up with your preserving efforts, and all of the fall vegetables are able to be harvested.  Last week I talked about the abundance of apples that we have.  And this week I am going to talk about another fall favorite, pumpkins.

I absolutely love pumpkin.  Everything from pumpkin pie and pumpkin muffins, to curried roasted pumpkin soup.  I think that my favorite thing to make with pumpkins does not actually use the pumpkin, but the seeds.  I love roasted pumpkin seeds, and they are a great nutritious snack.  So don’t throw away your pumpkin seeds when you are carving pumpkins, roast them!

There are a million different ways to season pumpkin seeds, but my favorite is the classic sea salt variety.  Clean all the goo off of your pumpkin seeds and pat them dry with a towel.  Then in a bowl add a little bit of coconut oil and some sea salt, then place in a roasting pan in a 325 degree oven until they are browned ~25 minutes, and make sure to stir them up about halfway through.  Some other delicious ways are adding curry powder, garlic powder, or even a little cinnamon and honey.  You can also throw them in when making homemade granola.  Yum!

I actually roast all seeds from the winter squash and pumpkins that I cook.  They are always a delicious snack.

You may notice that I don’t have a picture this week…well that would be because we ate them before I got a picture…next time I will have to roast more pumpkin seeds…or be faster with the camera!

Do you roast the seeds from your pumpkins?  What is your favorite way to prepare them?