Punkin Time

Last night, Paul and I carved our Halloween Jack O' Lanterns. It was a lot of fun. It was Roosevelt's first Halloween, and I think she enjoyed herself. She kept putting her face really close to the knife when we were carving. She also enjoyed eating the punkin innards way too much. She kept sticking her paw into the goop bowl and stealing little pawfuls of the stuff.


Unlike last year, we actively strove to not draw the same exact face on our punkins. I think we did a good. job. Guess whose is whose!

After the carving, we saved the seeds and roasted them. Hooray for healthy snacks! My mom used to make these every year when I was little. They're a real symbol of fall, and especially halloween, for me.


First, we seperated the seeds from the mush. I was pretty pleased with myself that I hadn't actually physically touched the innards during the latern making process, using a great metal spoon. This snackscapade kind of undid all that active avoidance.

Then, we rinsed and strained the seeds, picking off any remaining bits of debris that we could find. After, we patted them dry with a paper towel.

We tossed them in olive oil, and sprinkled them liberally with salt and seasonings. I used a "grilling and broiling" seasoning mix I found in the cupboard. I think we might have inherted it from Tracy Circle. It had garlic and onion flavors, lots of pepper, and bit chilli powder in it. It actually gave them a punch of spiciness I wasn't expecting.

I would say use whatever seasoning you like best though. When I was little, my mom would make them with lawrys seasoned salt. Here's a copycat recipe.

Then we baked them at 400 for 20 mins on a baking sheet, turning after the first 10. They came out pretty darn delicious!