Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

In this recipe I used small seeds from Sugar Pumpkins.  Larger seeds from regular pumpkins would require longer baking times.  I will put those in parenthesis.

Ingredients

3 c raw pumpkin seeds (from 6 Sugar Pumpkins)
Olive Oil
1 rounded T of Kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Ancho Chile Powder

After removing flesh from the Sugar Pumpkins, separate the seeds and rinse thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 300*.  Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Spread out the pumpkin seeds in a single layer and bake for 20 (30) minutes; stirring halfway through, to dry them out.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl or ramekin, mix salt, garlic powder and chili powder together.
Increase oven temp to 350*.  When seeds are cool enough to handle, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spice mixture.  Coat seeds completely using your hands.  Spread out in even layer and return to oven for 16 (24) minutes; stirring halfway through.  Pumpkin seeds should be crunchy.

Variations:
Cinnamon-Sugar: For a sweeter snack, replace olive oil with melted butter and replace the spice mixture with 1/2 T Kosher salt, 1 1/2 T granulated sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon.
For spicy sweet, add 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper to the above mixture.
Maple Brown Sugar: Another variation would be to replace the butter with maple syrup and replace the spice mixture with 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, 3 T brown sugar and 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper (optional).
Experiment.  Really, any combination of your favorite spices would work here.

Pepita, Sunflower Seed, Almond & Sea Salt Brittle

Wonderful stuff and very suiting for this time of year, I present to you a nutty brittle with notes of cinnamon, cardamon & nutmeg and an ever so slight sprinkling of sea salt!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
3/4 c light corn syrup
1/4 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cardamon
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped & bean discarded
1 c roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) sprinkled w sea salt
1/2 c roasted & sliced almonds
1/2 c roasted sunflower seeds, sprinkled w sea salt

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet; set aside.  Tear off another sheet of parchment paper the same size and put aside.  Have your rolling pin handy.  Spray a wooden spoon with cooking oil and set aside. Combine nuts together in a bowl. Include any salt that has fallen off the nuts.  Set aside.  This will save you much needed time later.

In a large saucepan add the sugar, corn syrup, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon & vanilla bean seeds.  Heat over LOW heat stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and mixture starts to boil.  Attach a candy thermometer and continue cooking over LOW heat without stirring until the thermometer reaches 330*F.  Remove from heat immediately.  Quickly stir in nuts with the oiled spoon and pour out onto parchment covered cookie sheet. Spread with spoon as much as possible.  Cover the mixture with the loose parchment and with the rolling pin roll in each direction until the mixture is approximately 1/4" thick.  Let cool completely and break into pieces.  Brittle can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month.

Before ...

After ...

This recipe was adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker.

Munch a bunch o'brittle!

Grapevine Wreath in the Garden

It was June of 1999. This will be the first of a few posts that refer back to 1999. Oh what a year it was! I was a subscriber to Garden Gate Magazine (still am) that included a gardening "tip" section sent in from their readers. If they thought it was good enough to publish, they alerted you of your success and sent you a copy of that issue for free. If they indeed felt your tip was great enough to feature, along with an illustration, not only did you get a free copy of that issue, but it also earned you $25! Well guess what people? Yep, it was my lucky year. Take a look!