It's the Great Pumpkin!

Another weekend has gone by way too fast. I'm not quite sure how that managed to happen this time around, since our weekend was pretty uneventful and oh so boring. Brett worked and I spent the majority of the time consoling an upset baby, who had received his one year immunization vaccines and wasn't feeling so hot. My "sewing day" didn't happen, as it turned into a "running errands" and driving all around town kind of day. The only highlight of the weekend was getting pumpkins for Halloween.

Halloween is mine and Brett's favorite holiday/time of the year. But this year we just don't have the time or energy to get excited about the spooky festivities (the little one has really wiped us out!). Each year Brett goes nuts about the pumpkin carving and seriously plans out what he's going to carve and goes on a massive search for the right pumpkins. That's right. I said pumpkin with an 's'. He doesn't just buy 1 pumpkin, but a handful! One year he even had 7 pumpkins! The man is a pumpkin carving machine! With that said, I leave all the pumpkin designing stuff to Brett (you don't want me around sharp, pointy objects!) but I do hound him to save the seeds for me.

I was never a pumpkin seed fan, until a few years ago when a friend's mom insisted I try out her recipe. I have to admit, it was pretty darn tasty. Since then I've been baking my own seeds every October. This year I'm so stoked that I have 5 pumpkins to reap the seeds from. The recipe is really easy too. All you do is separate the seeds from the guts, but don't rinse them! All that pumpkin slime that's left on the seeds is where all the flavors come from. Toss the seeds in a few tablespoons of melted butter then dump them onto a baking sheet and spread them into a single layer. Toast the seeds in a 280℉ oven and toss them every 15 minutes. At this time I usually sprinkle some salt over them, but you can also do that at the very end. Depending on how wet the seeds were, it can take anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour and a half to get them all baked and yummy. You'll know they are done when they are golden brown and if you eat one, it should be nice and crunchy. Unfortunately I forgot to take an after photo of my first batch of the year...I got so excited when they were done that I spent 15 minutes chowing down before I even had a chance to transfer the yummy seeds to a bowl! Oh well, Brett does have 4 more pumpkins to carve!

Speaking of which, here is the first carved pumpkin of 2009:

Yep. That's the Evil Monkey from The Family Guy! I think Brett did a fabulous job. My favorite part is the monkey's hand. Not sure why, but I like it! I'm curious as to what else Brett is planning to put on a pumpkin...

'Til then, what is everyone doing for Halloween?