Steps to breaking down a pumpkin
- Drive to the pumpkin store.
- Make a bee-line for the donuts.
- Gorge yourself on pumpkin and apple cider donuts and momentarily forget that you came here for pumpkins.
- Remember the underlying reason for your visit when the pumpkins catch your eye.
- Wander over to the pumpkins at a slightly slower pace and try not to jostle the lead ball of donut sitting in the pit of your stomach.
- Pick your perfect pumpkin.
- Drive home and try to ignore the slight resting tremor as the sugar surge sets in.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut your pumpkin in half, scoop out the innards and set them aside for later.
- Place the two halves, cut side down, on cookie sheets and bake for 1.5 – 2 hours (or until the pumpkin is soft).
- While the pumpkin is cooking, separate the pumpkin seeds from the “connective tissue”.
- Rinse the pumpkin seeds and spread out on a cookie sheet in a thin layer.
- Set aside the pumpkin seeds to dry overnight…only 12-14 short hours until you get to dig into some tasty Sweet and Sriracha Pumpkin Seeds.
- Sit back and relax (while watching Downton Abbey perhaps?) as your house fills with the mouth watering smell of baked pumpkin.
- Once the pumpkins are done baking, use a large spoon to scoop out the pumpkin meat.
- Either store the pumpkin as is or pureé 2 cups at a time in a blender.
- Refrigerate for use within the next couple days or freeze for later use…Recipes for your homemade pumpkin pureé to follow.
Sweet and Sriracha Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dried, raw pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbs sriracha (more if you want spicier seeds)
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 1 tbs olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Mix together the sriracha, brown sugar, soy sauce and olive oil.
- In a large bowl, toss together the pumpkin seeds with the sriracha mixture.
- Spread out the coated pumpkin seeds on a greased cookie sheet in a thin layer.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, or till golden brown.
Delicious! I just had a handful!