Roasted Pumpkin Seeds — The Free Snack Walter Earns Every October

Halloween. I don't celebrate it — never have, not as a child, not as a parent, not now. Bergstroms aren't against fun, exactly, but we're suspicious of any holiday that requires a costume. Helen, who is more flexible about these things, puts a jack-o'-lantern on the porch and buys candy for the trick-or-treaters, of which we get approximately four because we live on a road that most people in Burlington don't know exists. The four children who do make the trek get an enormous amount of candy each, because Helen buys for thirty and only four show up, and those four children go home thinking our house is the promised land of Halloween.

I carved the pumpkin. Helen says I carve the same face every year — two triangle eyes, a triangle nose, a jagged mouth. She's right. It's a good face. Why would I change a good face? Innovation for its own sake is a trap. Sometimes the triangle eyes are perfect, and the man who carved them should be left alone.

I saved the pumpkin seeds. You wash them, dry them, toss them with olive oil and salt — maybe a little garlic powder, maybe a little cayenne if you're feeling adventurous, which I was — and roast them at 300 degrees until they're golden and crispy. Twenty minutes, stirring once. They're the best snack in October and they're free, which is a combination I find irresistible. Helen and I ate them on the couch while watching the news, which is a depressing way to spend an evening but slightly less depressing with roasted pumpkin seeds.

David's family did Halloween properly. Teddy was a dinosaur. Anna was a princess. James was too young to be anything, so Karen put him in an orange onesie and called him a pumpkin, which is the infant Halloween strategy of parents everywhere: pick a color, call it a costume, move on. David sent photos. Teddy's dinosaur costume appeared to be homemade, which means Karen made it, which means Karen is capable of making a dinosaur costume while managing a six-year-old, a three-year-old, and a four-month-old, and I am once again in awe of what mothers do when no one's looking.

November tomorrow. The clocks go back. The darkness comes earlier. The soup pot comes out more often. The house contracts into its winter self — smaller, warmer, more inward. I don't mind. There's a peace in winter's approach. The garden is done. The canning is done. The wood is split. You've done what you can. Now you wait, and you eat what you put away, and the house keeps you warm. That's the deal Vermont makes with you: survive the cold, and I'll give you everything else.

The pumpkin onesie got me thinking about pumpkins, and thinking about pumpkins reminded me that I’d been ignoring the seeds from our carving pumpkins, bagged and sitting in the fridge for three days. It felt right — the season turning inward, the house contracting into its winter self, and here was something small and useful to do with my hands on the last night before November. Roasted pumpkin seeds are one of those things you make not because anyone asked for them, but because the house needs the smell of something in the oven and you’re not yet ready to let October go.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• Seeds from 1 medium carving pumpkin (roughly 1 cup raw seeds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, but advised)

Instructions

1. Rinse the seeds. Scoop seeds from the pumpkin and place them in a colander. Rinse under cold water, pulling away any large strings of pulp. Don’t worry about getting every last bit — a little pumpkin flesh on the seeds is fine.
2. Dry thoroughly. Spread the rinsed seeds in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Pat dry and let them air-dry for at least 20 minutes. The drier the seeds, the crispier they roast.
3. Season. Preheat your oven to 300°F. Toss the dried seeds with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne (if using) until evenly coated.
4. Roast. Spread seeds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring once at the 10-minute mark, until seeds are golden and crispy.
5. Cool and eat. Let seeds cool on the pan for a few minutes — they crisp up a bit more as they cool. Eat warm or store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 148 | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 245mg