How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

First go the Sunday farmer’s market and, after you’ve tasted the little tiny pears and decided you must have a half dozen along with the Braeburn apples and the orange-est sweet potato you’ve ever seen, and after you’ve marveled at the size of the broccoli (which you can’t seem to grow properly yourself) and imagined it in a wok with cauliflower and maybe some of that baby bok choy, after you’ve run into one friend and traded Halloween stories and another who you catch up with over coffee – after all that, go home hungry.

In your kitchen, put “Drag the River” in and think of the friend who sent you this CD from your home town in Florida, and think of everyone back home and dance by yourself in the kitchen while the dog looks on. Then take out the cute little cooking pumpkin you bought last week at the market, but never got around to cooking. Cut around a couple bad spots. Hope it’ll still taste good.

Preheat the oven (and don’t forget to take it off the “preheat” setting, like you did last Wednesday for the baked potatoes). Cut up the pumpkin with the energy you now have from one too many cups of morning coffee (but really, how could you resist, as Heather’s coffee at Summer Delights, Sunday only, is the best in town), and follow the recipe you got from James Ricciuti, who does this great Sunday market thing of his own out in Olney (James runs Ricciuti’s Restaurant, and several times each season takes a bunch of fans from the restaurant to the farmer’s market down the street, and back to the restaurant to cook up the season’s best in his great little kitchen. Cooking lesson and lunch, all in one. Yum.)

Season the pumpkin with what you’d think are pumpkin pie spices but what turn out to be perfect for a salad. Toss ‘em with some olive oil and put ‘em in the oven and, while they cook, fish through the gooey pumpkin guts on the counter to separate out the seeds. They go on a smaller tray, all spread out by themselves. Into the oven.

Sit down with the Sunday paper. Then hear that funny popping sound

This has never happened before. Maybe these seeds were a little overripe? They did look plump. Take the seeds out and hope they’re not under-done. Note that a couple fell on the floor of the oven. Turn to clean up some of your pumpkin skin mess, then turn back and see

Flame.

In the oven. A pumpkin seed on fire.

You are alone in the house. You don’t have a fire extinguisher. You think quickly, open the door of the oven (no, no, no! My friend Captn Jarboe from the TPVFD says CLOSE the oven door if there’s a fire!! And why the hell do you not have a fire extinguisher?!?). Oven door open, feel foolish while blowing on the little tiny flame and thank God it actually goes out.

Still saying prayers, grab the tongs and try to get the seed that is still smoking at the bottom of the oven so it doesn’t catch flame again. Burn your hand as you slide out the bottom rack so you can actually reach the little smoker. Grab the other two seed escapees while you’re at it.

A few minutes later, the pumpkin is finished. It’s a tiny bit mealy – but the spices are fabulous, so it’s still an addictive little roasted treat. It’ll combine beautifully with roasted pecans and fresh apples, from today’s market, plus fresh greens and a vinaigrette.

The pumpkin seeds are a little too chewy. But things could be worse.

Put “fire extinguisher” on your Home Depot list.