SEED STORAGE This would seem to be an especially good year for pumpkin seeds,if you judge by the number of recipes using plain,old instructions on ways mildly mad methods for roasting them as dependable supplies of snack foods for young and old eaters alike.
Old-timers say - ten-to-one "Boy-oh-boy! It's been years since I've had any roasted pumpkin seeds :"Usta eat 'm like crazy, but.." Crunching sounds may cover the memory words the recite,but someone else will overlap those happy sounds by saying: !When I wuss a kid, we used to put our "spelunkings away" as fast, or faster,than Grandma could roast 'em." There's always a clown in such groups,too., so another would chime in with: I prefer watermelon seeds! They spit better!"
This year I have come across roasting instructions in most of the homey magazines. It's an annual thing with lots of food writers, of course, but it sees to match up with a pumpkin,gourd and squash sort of garden thing ...oh,plenty of 'em!.. but not that over-the edge glut we get so often in October. Once Halloween Night is over,you can't give pumpkins away! Locally,it was not the best growing season this year for such Fall foodstuff but there are plenty of pumpkins at your local market- or nearby.
There are fancy ways of roasting pumpkin seed The simple way asks only that you wash up a supply of seeds from medium size pumpkins. Wash until they no longer tend to gather in sticky lumps. Dry them quickly on paper towels or better still a clean cloth. Rinse them in a weak lime juice solution. Loosely sprinkle seeds on cooking sheets or shallow pans so they do not overlap. Form a thin layer with repeated sprinkles. Add perhaps a teaspoon of chili powder and more if you want them to be spicier.
Bake them at 250 degrees until chili powder forms a film on the surface...twenty minutes or so.
Now,for the roasting. Salt generously,and pour all of them into a large skillet it over medium heat to be held in such a manner that you can shake it and stir the contents constantly. The flat seed will each pop and become round. They won't all do so. Give them five minutes or so to encourage cooperation.
You can serve them plain or some people like to"stretch" them by mixing them with salted peanuts.
It think every "Grandma" had her own spice level. They used all sorts of spices and herbs.
Experiment and you, too, can be among the beloved pumpkin seed poppers!
Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 10-31-06
[c451wds]
