For someone who eats as many pumpkins and squash as I do, and who vocally abhors food waste and works hard to limit hers, it probably seems inevitable that I would end up making my own toasted "pumpkin" seeds. Pumpkin is in quotation marks because, though the principle is the same, I used the small seeds from a Carnival squash in this particular recipe.
I had made larger sized toasted pumpkin seeds in the past and had not been impressed. They never got crisp enough and I was always very aware, and not in an enthusiastic way, that I was upping my fiber intake of the day. The smaller seeds used here, combined with the additional step of the recipe below that I followed slavishly, that of boiling the seeds first, made a huge difference. These are absolutely amazing and I cannot stop eating them. They are delightful with a glass of wine, sprinkled on avocado toast, as a salad topping, and in pumpkin granola, a recipe that I will post soon. I spiced mine up with ground bay leaf, turmeric and Espelette pepper, but any of the spices combinations suggested in the recipe sound good.
My gain is the birds' loss, though I will continue to put larger seeds and pumpkin innards in their feeders to help them through the colder months.
Here they are used in a fall salad dandelion greens, roasted Carnival squash and beets, grilled Halloumi, a pumpkin seed oil and red wine vinegar dressing with mustard, and a generous portion of toasted seeds.
Inspiration recipe, here.