Fall Fun: Halloween Edition

When I was younger (or, more honestly, when I was in school) summer was always my favorite time of year. My birthday is in June, the days are longer, the weather is beautiful and school was out. But after a few years of living in DC where summer = a sweaty hot smelly mess of a city I've really started to love and appreciate fall.

Last weekend my friend L invited us girls to go to a corn maze and pumpkin patch up in northern Maryland. After an hour and a half drive we finally reached our destination - complete with pony rides, farm animals and hay rides! I decided to pick up two pumpkins for J and I to carve that evening.

Pumpkin Patch!

 

On the ride home I had this flash back to being a kid and carving pumpkins with my parents and brother. I called my Mom and asked her for her recipe on how to roast pumpkin seeds - something I remembered her always doing after we carved pumpkins.... Well... seems I was a bit wrong. The wonderful picture I had in my head was a bit off - seems we only roasted the seeds once and it wasn't my Mom, it was my Dad who was in charge of that "fun little project". So I chatted with my Dad and managed to piece together a recipe from his memory.

First - Have some fun carving your pumpkin! Cut the top off, scrape all the guts out (keeping them aside in a bowl) and go to town!

Pumpkin Guts!! Eeewww

Once you have finished carving your pumpkin its back to the pumpkin guts! Pick out and clean all of the seeds and set them aside (you can discard the rest of the insides).

Clean Up Seeds

In a larger bowl mix 8 cups of water with 1/3 cup of kosher or sea salt. Add the seeds and allow them to soak over night.

Soaking Seeds

After the seeds have soaked overnight allow them to dry on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. This should take an hour or so.

Let 'em dry!

While the seeds are drying preheat an over to 250*. After they have dried, coat the seeds in a little bit of olive oil and spread them out evenly on a baking sheet. I would recommend baking them on a piece of parchment paper as it makes clean up a breeze! Bake the seeds in the oven for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes turn and shake up the seeds a little bit.  Allow them to cool for 10 minutes and then store them in an airtight container for up to one week. Enjoy!

Our final creations! J's is on the left (with a mustache! How creative!!) and mine is on the right :)

Happy almost Halloween!!

Kitchen Gadget Fun!

Kitchen gadgets... just the thought of fun new kitchen accessories puts a big ol' goofy smile on this girls face. Seriously, the possibilities are endless - spatulas, serving spoons, cake pans, oh my! A quick trip into Sur La Table on a Wednesday afternoon usually ends with me clutching a bag filled with treats wondering how I could have ever lived before my new... ummm... heart shaped egg poacher. (OK, I don't have a heart shaped egg poacher.... yet).

Seriously cute right?? Right?!

All joking aside, it is a great feeling when you find that one gadget that makes your life easier. The obvious choice for my favorite gadget is the KitchenAid mixer... but for this blog posting I'm going to consider that a full on appliance. (But I will say it is wonderful, it is amazing and I really don't know how I ever lived without one!).

During the summer months I am ALWAYS making fresh lemonade. There is something about a tall, cold glass of lemonade that is so refreshing on a hot and humid summer day. The downside to making fresh lemonade?? Squeezing all of those lemons. I've tried every way possible - squeezing by hand, the fancy (expensive) electric juicer, the the hand operated stainless steel juice press, the hand held juicer and finally... the one that worked best... the citrus reamer! It may seem old fashioned but for just about $6 you can pick one up and not feel guilty about splurging. I find that they are great for getting out every last drop of juice and are super easy to use.

Simple, easy to use, and best of all - cheap!

So what's your favorite kitchen gadget?

Easy Lemonade Recipe

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (depending on the size of the lemons this could be 6-8)
6 cups of cold water
1/2 - 3/4 cup of sugar (feel free to add more or less to taste!)

Mix all ingredients in a pitcher, chill, enjoy!

You can take this basic lemonade recipe and make flavored lemonades by straining in fruit purees. Raspberry is a great, refreshing addition.