Halloween Recipe!

Today is a Hurricane Day as the northeast prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.  The Washington DC Metro system has shut down for the entire day for the first time ever.  The Federal government is closed as are most, if not all of the school districts in the area.  It is going to be a wild ride for the next 24-48 hours.

Mrs. BA made cupcakes yesterday using up the eggs in the house - she's going to make another hurricane dessert treat today - as long as the power holds.  I've moved our pumpkins off the porch so we can hopefully get to carving them in preparation for Halloween.  One of the primary benefits of having pumpkins is to be able to have roasted pumpkin seeds.

Here's a basic recipe.  We often will make a batch that is sprinkled with old bay on them, too.


Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

• One medium sized pumpkin 
• Salt 
• Olive oil 

Method

1. Cut open the pumpkin by cutting a circle around the stem end, and pulling off the top. Use a strong metal spoon to scrape the insides of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and strings. Place the mass of pumpkin seeds in a colander and run under water to rinse and separate the seeds from the everything else. 
2. Measure the pumpkin seeds in a cup measure. Place the seeds in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pan for every half cup of pumpkin seeds. Add more salt if you would like your seeds to be saltier. Bring the salted water and pumpkin seeds to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat the bottom of a roasting pan with olive oil, about a tablespoon. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan in a single layer. Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 5-20 minutes, depending on the size of the seeds. Small pumpkin seeds may toast in around 5 minutes or so, large pumpkin seeds may take up to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the pumpkin seeds so they don't get over toasted. When nicely browned, remove the pan from the oven and let cool on a rack. Let the pumpkin seeds cool all the way down before eating. Either crack to remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole.