It’s almost Halloween! It sure doesn’t feel like it though, as its still getting into the mid 70’s here in Springs. The past couple weeks have been filled with long work hours and social obligations for both Eric and I; so this weekend instead of dressing up and going to parties, we opted for a laid back/staying in weekend, just hanging out with each other.
Saturday we had a few things on our to do list and while we were out, decided to get lunch. Eric had never had pho before. How you get to age 22 without ever experiencing the deliciousness of that soup, I’m not sure. There just happened to be a pho place in the same shopping center of the Best Buy we were headed to, so it seemed like the perfect place to enlighten Eric on the wonderfulness of Vietnamese cuisine.
The restaurant was family owned and the people were so friendly. The food was amazing, as was the bubble tea. And Eric loved it! He couldn’t believe he had been missing out on it for so long.
On Sunday we decided to carve pumpkins for Halloween. Now, I haven’t carved a pumpkin since I was about 10 years old, and totally forgot how smelly and slimy the insides are. We sat on our kitchen floor pulling out pumpkin guts and dumping them and the seeds into a bowl. Side note: we were planning on roasting the pumpkin seeds afterwards and putting them and the guts in the same bowl was a terrible idea because it took forever to separate.
We each drew our designs on the pumpkins with Sharpie and then Eric cut them out using his combat/field knife. Not the most professional, but hey it worked!
Pumpkin carving is awesome because its fun (duh) and you get to be creative, but also because you get to make a tasty snack from the seeds afterwards.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Separate the seeds from the guts as much as possible. Then put into colander and rinse with cold water. While in the colander pick out remaining pumpkin. The water makes separating much easier. Pour onto a cookie sheet covered in lightly greased aluminum foil. Make sure they are in an even layer. Do not pat seeds dry because they will stick to towel. Put into oven at 300F for 30 min. This will help dry the seeds.
Take the seeds out and put into bowl. Toss in olive oil and salt to taste. Add any other spices you want (cumin, garlic, oregano, etc). For sweet seeds, toss in butter with brown sugar and cinnamon. Place back on cookie sheet and put in for another 30min. Seeds will be golden brown and ready to eat!