pumpkin time

I love Fall!  I really do!  It is, by far, my favorite season.  I never really appreciated fall until I was pregnant with my first child and about to pop.  I'm not really sure why I, all of the sudden, decided to love fall, but I think it was because of the wonderful food.  Pregnancy can really make you appreciate food more than you ever thought you could. 

I love the crisp air, sweaters, jackets, hot cocoa, cookies and, most of all, soup with fresh baked bread.  This year, for the first time, I decided to save my pumpkin seeds and roast them in the oven.  They are so tasty and I will, for sure, be making this a yearly tradition.  The only part I don't enjoy is getting the seeds out.  Maybe one day my kids will actually enjoy putting their own hands inside the pumpkin.

The one activity I really dislike is carving the pumpkins.  I'm not a scrooge, I promise.  The thing with carving is that I get stuck carving all of the pumpkins.  The kids choose a picture with the idea that they will help me and their father carve the pumpkin.  What usually happens?  I carve the pumpkins while they play video games with their dad.  At least that's what happened last night.  It must be awesome being them!

If you ever want to roast pumpkin seeds it's so easy.  Just rinse them off and let them dry out overnight.  I then melted about a teaspoon of butter, mixed it with 1 teaspoon olive oil and tossed my seeds with the mixture.  Lay them flat on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt.  I also sprinkled mine with a bit of garlic salt.  Roast in a 300 degree oven for about 40-45 minutes.